Thoughts of a Freethinker

How could it be that a state prison could ban one holy book read by millions of people while allowing another, the Bible? Such a law has been in effect in Florida for several years.  So many people are incarcerated in the U.S. it has become a huge political, social and business industry. When it got big enough, Christianity decided to go into prisons to recruit followers and hopefully reap donations and later members. From federal prisons down to local jails people were paid to pray. I've heard over and over again from jail wardens that having a chaplain and volunteers in Christianity come in to preach and pray the level of stress and intensity of inmates was reduced.  This is exactly the argument made by clergy in the Hindu faith in Florida. There is testimony that reading the Hindu religious tome and doing Hindu religious rituals helps Hindu prisoners cope with their incarceration. I suppose the Christian jail wardens and chaplains worshipping in the Hindu faith is the pathw...

Many times a month there are posts on the web about the " benefits to society of church attendance." One can learn that the church has been a place where people of different political views became friends. You can learn that those who attend church live longer and divorce less. There are entire books devoted to why society and democracy are better off if most people attend church.  I suspect every one of these articles and books was written by a person who attends church. They enjoy church and cannot imagine someone sitting in church and being miserable. If these authors/speakers could understand that church is voluntary and people normally do not do something voluntarily that makes them miserable they would understand why pointing out the societal benefits of church is pointless.  I pointed out in the discussion following the link above that going to church is for some like going to a restaurant and ordering a dish you dislike. People just don't do that. Then there is th...

It not hard to see the reasons a young priest might get discouraged. There are failing parishes. The average age of priests is rising. This inevitably loads younger ones with more work.  While there are lots of parishes with crowded masses, the general trajectory of the denomination in the U.S. is down. There are regular stories of combining parishes and selling buildings. On top of that are the bankruptcies caused by abuse court cases.  The Catholic hierarchy, and perhaps a large portion of Catholics in the pews, refuse to recognize that priests are part of the labor market. To attract and keep employees of any kind an employer needs to pay market wages and provide a reasonable work environment. If the salary is not high enough to finance the training necessary to apply rational prospects will not apply. They may leave the job is they don't see a good financial future. In the case of priests, celibacy is also required. Maybe evenings sitting around with some boring guys is no...

The link discusses a sermon delivered by Martin Luther Kind at Riverside Church in New York City. I'm not immune to a little name dropping, I was at that event. While I did not understand at the time the significance of King's address, reviewing it now is sobering. King spoke against those who use force and cloak it in moral and religious certainty. He talked about violence being given divine sanction. That was part of justification of slavery and segregation. Now it is used against immigrants and Democrats.  King said there is nothing holy about domination. Trump and his circle hold domination as the highest of callings.  The higher calling, King said, is to subvert those in power by being the face of justice. It is good today to remember those who integrated lunch counters toward that end. King himself walked along a highway to Selma in full view of those with guns and clubs. There were beatings and deaths.  Tension and resolve are present in Minneapolis as we speak. I ...

These days there are many articles on Christian sites that lament its decline. Many advise Christians to read and tell others the literal reading of the Bible. There is the belief that if people in the faith say the same old thing, but say it louder and more often, more will believe it. This has not helped. Another approach is funded by a wealthy Catholic. He paid for many ads a few years ago, some still appear, aimed at lapsed Catholics. The ads pleaded, "Come home to church." Millions of dollars gone. Numbers are still falling. Then there is the cheerleader approach of the link . This fellow says that after the Romans sent lions after the Christians in the Roman Colosseum Christian numbers went up. I've read there is no real evidence Christians were ever eaten by lions but the myth this happened lives on. The link plays on the theme of Christians as victims, one of the old standards, but they are so devout the faith rebounds.  This brings up the question, are Christian ...

Christian and secular archeologists continue to compete in story telling of ancient times. The press releases of Christians always strike me as propaganda. New technology, and of course money, is creating a new field of archeology that holds promise of figuring out the past. It is underwater. It is so logical to realize there are great archeological site in shallow water. Human had to live near water from their beginning. Oceans, lakes and rivers rise and fall. Rising waters swamped cities and divers can find what they left behind. Sometimes cities were drowned because earthquakes broke water free and the swapped cities where people left quickly. The artifacts have been preserved by the water itself.  Some of the underwater artifacts reflect the religious views of an ancient time. One reference was of a statue of a Greek God. The Greek Gods seemed to have been worshipped roughly 1,000 years BCE. It appears to me they lasted longer than the Judeo Christian one had been around. Looki...

It's hard to imagine that there would be a conference about one topic, the coming invasion of the U.S. by the Muslim religion. There was such a conference in Texas. One speaker was the famous Steve Bannon who told the audience Muslims are coming to take Texas.  In reflection, perhaps such a conference could be held in many places. A couple in the atheist group I belong to mentioned during breakfast discussion several times that they were attending sessions of an anti Muslim organization. They would drop phrases from the Koran about taking over the world. The first time they brought this up there was kind of a collective eye roll from the dozen or so present. The next time there was push back by those of us who know Muslims and they claim most in the faith do not consider the Koran literally. They stopped bringing up the topic. All readers know there are crazies in Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and in all religions. Experience shows the crazies gain by being victims. Steve Bannon is...

A well-know pundit, Joe Carter, tried to reassure Christians the future is neither bright nor bad for the faith. He talked about the polls I discuss here often. He told believers there are polls and indexes that make it appear Christianity is failing and others that claim it is in resurgence. He advised Christians that polls can collect objective information and be accurate in their own way but various things can be happening at various places and times the push them in one direction or another. I agree with him on that. My thing goes back to money and I wish he would have gone there as well. While various cross currents are present at any time those who benefit from taking money from Christians will always be promoting the bits of data showing success. Honest Christian pundit should warn believers that those who promise growth in the Christian faith cannot guarantee success. If donors want their money to go some important successful goal experience shows money spent on growing numbers...

One of the most interesting books I have ever read was about six economists in history who, in certain ways, changed the world. In the intro chapter the author pointed out the power of the ideas. None of the economists in the book held political office nor fielded armies. They simple pitched simple ideas that cut through the chaos of the time and moved events in a better direction. I'll mention a couple of the famous ones. Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations  in 1776. While there were and remain evidence he was serving the interests of the wealthy, both then and now, he pointed out the problem with the prevailing religious of that time. The prevailing philosophical thought was that wealth was bestowed on individuals and groups by God. We should thank God for good crops and good prices for some goods. Religious leaders would guide political leaders. Smith went to an economic system. He gave an example of a man who made cut wires that then shaped into nails. The man had a hous...

All of us who follow the news is upset with the killing of a woman in Minneapolis. From what we can all see on the screen, it looks like the woman who was killed by an ICE goon was the victim. President Trump, VP and thousands of others are claiming it was the ICE agent with the gun who was, or was about to be, the "victim." While reading this link   I was reminded that all arguments in religion and politics are about who is the victim.  President Trump often talks of the criticize he receives, telling us he is the victim. The link is an essay by a preacher who wants readers to learn the evil social gospel, the doctrine of most liberal Christians, which focuses on Jesus' view the poor are victims, is incorrect. There is only one victim, the link preacher claims. That is Jesus who, as atheists joke, had a bad weekend being killed and all but came out OK. Shame on anyone, he writes, who thinks there is some victim in the entire course of history other than Jesus.  As I...

Trump told Republican lawmakers to "be flexible" on abortion when making a federal health care plan. This certainly is the opposite of what a large part of anti-abortion politics is all about. It is about absolutes, no abortions. It doesn't take a political genius to see that anti-abortion is a political loser. Most anyone can see, also, that the anti-abortion crowd has signed on to the death with the Republican Party. Party leaders like Trump know anti-abortion cannot leave the party so Trump can abandon rigid anti-abortion and still have its support. Why did anti-abortion leave itself in such a hapless position? I've pointed out before here the foolish strategy of anti-abortion. It should have stuck with its old practice of trying to add many harassing costs like ultra sounds to abortions. Instead it changed to total prohibition which has backfired. Trump is not interested in pictures of babies; the only technique anti-abortion has ever had.   

While the new Pope Leo issued a nice statement against armies like those of the U.S. charging across borders to arrest and/or kill other people, he felt the need to also condemn women who need abortions. He finds is egregious they acquire the abortions is any way available to them. In the case of Texas, it means crossing the border into Catholic Mexico. The strong dominating the weak is something the Catholic Church is against, unless it means women taking orders from men. It is, apparently, "Natural Law" women, the weak, take orders from male clergy, the strong. Pope Leo's way of developing policy is like that of President Trump. Trump has threatened the Ayatollah with some kind of punishment is protestors in Iran are killed. In Minneapolis it was OK to take out a protestor.  In Pope Leo's world, it is women who are expected to expose themselves to the dangers of birth, the decision is not theirs but is the Pope's. In the link, which reviews a statement from Pope...

When one reads about the individuals that were arrested in DC on Jan. 6th one sees, not a unified group of people with one cause, but a bunch of lost souls looking for meaning in their lives. The worst possible outcome was for someone, a preacher or a President, to get into their heads and tell them to head to DC. A book goes into depth with two such people. The two profiled seem like people adrift who wanted themselves to be, or wanted to be part of something, important. They traveled across country to attend what they thought was to be a rally and it turned out to be an illegal riot. A young man who lives not too far from me here in Iowa has small children. He had a wife and a job. It seemed like life was going OK for him. But his passion was right wing politics and when he heard about the "rally" he left for DC. After being arrested he petitioned to be under house arrest rather than in jail. A judge agreed but under the proviso he could not engage in any political activiti...

David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby, revealed his goal in life recently in Christian Post. As if he is qualified to give advice to others, he said each person should not be measured by how much money they have accumulated. Instead, a person should consider what legacy he/she left in her lifetime. Obviously, Green, now 83, considers his own legacy to be passing down to future generations the "gift" of Christianity. He spends huge amounts on newspaper ads on Christian holidays preaching the tenets of the faith. He has spent countless millions on the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. I assume he thinks that if large numbers of people visit the museum, or read his ads during Christian holidays, they will remain or become believers. Green used newspaper advertising for his Hobby Lobby stores and become a billionaire. It's obvious he sees himself as a genius in marketing. Further, if his genius in marketing Hobby Lobby was successful he is certain he knows how successfully...

Anti-abortion  groups  thought they would prevail in Wyoming . In spite of the governor talking as if he had a hallow hovering over his head saying the state must keep trying to eliminate abortion, it's still there .  Wyoming went for Trump by well over 60%. Yet, polls show abortion rights remain popular with the majority. When a large majority in a state's legislature plus a governor go in one direction and voters go in a different direction, the result often depends on whether it is a state that allows and holds state-wide votes. State-wide votes, of course, overrule whatever the majority of legislators and/or a governor want. Some states allow state-wide votes, some do not.  It turns out Wyoming allows state-wide votes. I don't know Wyoming politics but certainly it appears that if the state's politicians want to ban abortions its up hill for them. Now they have lost big in court. It seems inevitable they will lose in a state-wide vote. The odds in favor of aborti...

There are billboards across the country that say "prayer works" or "Jesus is the way." Even though those are childish, the same basic ideas are put out there by people who have PhD's and hold positions in universities. The notion the their is only one god, mine, and every other god is an imposter is so powerful it overpowers whatever intellect might be present for other topics.  The link was written by a professor in cultural anthropology. He says other religions are fake and are myths because they cannot answer all questions. Even though his field is one the looks into how other societies function and thing, he is unable to see his own forest for the trees. In the 300,000 years of human we can assume there have been stories, gods and religions that answered every conceivable question. We have to remember that until relatively recently, humans lived many hours a day, on average, in darkness. Torches were too expensive to burn in huts and caves just to look at on...

President Trump's notion he will "run Venezuela" until it is straightened out sounds identical to President W. Bush when he sent troops into Afghanistan and Iraq. We'll go in there for a short time and when we leave the country will be our friend Bush said or implied.  The U.S. was unsuccessful in both cases. A wonderful essay appeared in the New York Times  today written by a professor in Venezuela. He described the current country as one without a functioning government. Instead, it is a country run by corruption that fails to provide revenue to run the essentials of law, safety and education. People are on their own.  He is pessimistic that simply changing the person at the top will change its government when there not much of any government in place. Instead of a government, people live by hustling a little money here and a little there. My understanding is Afghanistan was a place where religion, bribes and local strong men ran that country. Iraq had a central gov...

Non church goers among those who vote for Democrats is about double the national average. Church goers among Republicans are far above the national average. We have all known this for quite a while, but few have considered what will happen if the trend continues into the future. There is a footnote to these trends, however. It is that the percentage of Republicans who do not attend church is rising. Can Republicans claim to be "God's Party" if its church goers are on the decline? In a way, the religious alignment works for both parties. The no regulations and low corporate tax people have the God voters and don't have to compromise on their goals. The God people get the corporations on their side and don't care about anything except anti-abortion and anti-gay and trans. Democrats know the numbers out of religion are trending up and can harvest votes without saying anything about religion. Critics both inside and outside the Democrat Party says it should cater more...

While I'm not an authority in religion, I try to understand it. I've never understood why Christianity is opposed to or the opposite of Communism. Some say Jesus endorsed sharing, communism, and opposed selfishness, capitalism. Another view, the one that seems most likely, is that Christianity and the economic system have little to nothing to do with one another. The internet is buzzing just now, however, about the godlessness of communism and the godliness of capitalism. That's because of one sentence delivered by New York City Mayor Zohren Mamdani, a Muslim, in his victory address. The sentence included the idea New Yorkers should embrace the warmth of collectivism instead of the cold of selfish individualism. A host of Christian clergy jumped on this phrase. They claimed "collectivism" is a communist term and the Bible condemns communism. One would have thought clergy would focus on matters of religion instead of advocating profit. Such is the faith today. We d...

Here is my tongue-in-cheek prediction for 2026: A best-selling book on starting a new religion will be published. An op ed in the Wall Street Journal  told of the author's need to find a Catholic Church every time he moved to a new city. He wrote of the pleasure he found in the services and friendships he made in parishes. Do-it-yourself religion, he wrote, leaves a hole in the soul that requires going to a church.  We know the Bible preaches that very idea. To properly conduct the Christian business there must be at least two people and more is even better. To not go to church is to be among the "unchurched" and this group needs help. There is an opportunity for new faiths.   On my bookshelf is one called Church of the Giant Spaghetti Monster. As some readers may recall this book was based on a submission to a state legislative committee which wanted to require Bible training in all that state's schools. The writer created a god called the Giant Spaghetti Monster wh...