Thoughts of a Freethinker

Women who give inspirational talks to other women are not part of my experience. But reading about them, what they have experienced and how they navigate the world is both interesting and important. As the majority of children born into the faith leave it, the role of their mothers is something to learn about. One woman referred to often as an "influencer" is Jen Hatmaker. She writes best sellers and is a presenter at conferences and remains very successful. She was a deep Christian but not has all but left the faith. Hatmaker and her preacher ex husband adopted several children from another country. Then he cheated on her and they divorced. All of her life up to that time was that of a devoted Christian. She worried about the future of the faith and felt a responsibility to evangelize.  Several years have gone by and she has experienced a different life than she anticipated as a young woman. Now she seldom attends church and feels no need to help the faith save itself. She h...

A drag show created and performed on the campus of the Un. of Nebraska was criticized by the local Neuman Center priest, some Catholic Students and another local Catholic clergy or two. It was created as a gay/trans right project incorporating academic and religious study of gay discrimination.   The University President apologized to those who were offended by the word "Mass" in the work's title. He promised to take the matter seriously and see that such offensive performances are not done on the campus. To this end, he promised to refer the issue to a panel of community and academic leaders who would develop a policy which would be used in the future to decide what material could be presented. The esteemed panel was to have started its work by the end of summer. The link author inquired around campus as to what has happened to esteemed panel project. He found no one who would say anything has happened or the any such work is under way. There seems to be no such discussi...

It's seldom one gets to see the inside of the mind of a vast political/religious operation. This link is a great example.  It is about a fictional woman, "Susan," who speaks up in Catholic churches. I'm not sure where "Susan" fits in with "Karen", another fictional female character who is regarded as annoying. "Susan" is the reason liberal thinking carries the day in so many aspects of culture, including among Catholic church members. Nearly all Catholics practice birth control. The majority of Catholics favor abortion rights. This, in spite of Trump holding up a Bible in front of a church.  The fictious "Susan" in the Catholic link is a member of the "parish council." She knows the pressures her Priest/Bishop are under and knows the buttons to push. She knows well how the culture has changed and where it is headed. She tells the priest to lay off condemning birth control and go light on abortion. She reminds the bisho...

The famous columnist, David Brooks, penned a long article in the NY Times lamenting the ceremony for the shooting victim, Charlie Kirk. Brooks is referred to as a moderate Republican and his piece went in that direction. He thinks of Christianity as a force for good in U.S. society but he did not like merging the Republican Party into a Christian denomination. This is what he saw in the Kirk funeral.  Brooks, however, went off the rail when he wrote that the founding fathers advocated a nation with Christian values but one that is open to all beliefs. In the comments following the article a gazillion posters pointed out his misunderstanding of the diverse group called the founding fathers. There are many books available, and will be for centuries, debating the role the so-called founding fathers envisioned for religion. To begin with, they themselves were of several branches of the faith and, one could reasonably conclude, we not as a group very religious. Aside from the Constituti...

The Archbishop of New York kissed behinds during the time of right wing Pope Benedict. He got promoted from the backwater of Milwaukee to the bright lights of New York City. Then came Pope Francis who saw through Dolan and had little use for him. This past week, before doing home work on Charlie Kirk, Dolan spoke glowingly about Kirk. The prominent Sisters in NYC set Dolan straight . That the sisters are totally unafraid of Archbishop Dolan, even treat him as an uninformed dolt, illustrated how far his star has fallen.  Dolan's rank allowed his expenses to be paid to Rome to select a new Pope and the death of Fransis. Some fans, perhaps at his suggestion, lobbied for Dolan to have a vote even though he had aged out and is ineligible. Those who could have granted him this waver passed. The Sisters who blew off Arch Bishop Dolan understand well the harm done the Catholic denomination by Pope Benedict (preceded Pope Francis). Not only did men like Dolan who are on the edge of shady an...

  National Geographic posted an article about the Garden of Eden. I did not look into back years but I would guess it republishes stuff about this topic periodically.  The article says two or three times that most scholars who study this topic do not believe there ever was an actual Garden of Eden. The article goes through the various theories Christians have put out there about where it was. The Bible gives some information about a location but the landmarks are not present today and may never have existed.  So if the Garden of Eden is unrealistic, why does it remain within Christianity? I think one reason is that the story put men in the driver's seat of the religion and keeps women as only passengers along for the ride. The tale begins with Eve being created from a rib of Adam, not the other way around. A rather contemporary preacher in the Lutheran Missouri Synod used this as a reason there are only male preachers in that denomination. "Men came first." he said. ...