Thoughts of a Freethinker

The question of how or where the first life appeared on earth is weaponized by religious people around the world. In the U.S. Christianity most often weaponizes this question. I saw a piece recently which claimed "Christianity is growing because atheists cannot explain where the first life came from. It proves the Bible is right that God created life. " It is not true that "Christianity is growing." It is true that up until recently there has not been a clear or agreed upon explanation as to how what we think of as life was created in the universe. Richard Dawkins, a scientists and atheist author, has said repeatedly we will have an explanation about how the first life formed sooner than most people expect. A theory about how the first life may have come to be has now appeared in academic literature. An interesting side note is that amino acids have been found on debris from other planets. Since all the elements needed for life were present before life appeared, the...

An interesting exchange of ideas is going on in Christianity. Perhaps it is more accurate to say it has always gone on. One side says Christians should adapt to cultural change and fit in. The other is  Christians should be a group separate from the culture, sticking to their beliefs and not conforming. The link returns to the time when much of the world was Pagan. It argues that Christianity, it was not called "Christianity" in the early centuries, was viewed as radical because of its kindness and generosity. While the Pagan were sacrificing animals to their various gods, Christians were being generous and sharing with the poor. Apparently, that radical behavior gained followers. What do today's Christians think about tolerance and generosity? Would their views be so kind and tolerant they would be seen by the non Christian part of society as radically kind like it is claimed to have been the case back around 200 CE?  It seems to me today's Christianity trends heavil...

I've spent a few minutes of my life watching the conference of Catholic Bishop conduct their "business." They speak their own language. It is full of religious terms lay people do not use. They are so full of themselves they have left their flocks far behind. The link , an independent site that discusses the Catholic Church, explains the bad deal U.S. Bishops made with conservative politicians. They gave their soul to the Republican Party. Now the Republican Party is doing what political parties do, trying to survive. It cares not one twit what the Catholic Bishops want or think. Are Catholic Bishops going to advise the faithful to vote for abortion rights Democrats? They have painted themselves into a corner. In the link is mention of big payments to other anti-abortion groups. Many of these groups, the link says, are headed by bosses who receive lavish salaries. The of imagery of the church helping the poor is set aside when politics calls. Discussed also in the link is...

A few years ago I attended the last service of the rural church I grew up in. I was not part of those in charge of closing or disposing of the building or property. Recently, a professor who studies the decline in church membership wrote about the closing of the church he pastored as a side job. A church owns lots of mundane items with emotional attachments, choir robes, hymnals, pulpit, etc. Several of these disposals take place every week in the U.S. Of course there is an emotional attachment to lots of church items and sending them to the local dump is a painful thought. I'm sure it happens often. When one compares the economics of a church to other small businesses, it has failure written all over it. The offices are used every work day but the rest of the building costs a bundle and is used little. The beloved sanctuary is the biggest drag on a church's bottom line. I suppose the concept of a sanctuary goes back to the Catholic church in the old countries. The hierarchy co...

When Republicans let down fervent Forced Birthers and anti-gays with a luke-warm platform, many of the Christian faithful were angry. One of those who considers herself an insider gave Christians encouragement to keep trying to push politicians into Christian positions. There is a small army of people who make their living working against abortion and the link author, Suzanne Bowdey, is one of them. She wants the resistance to abortion rights to continue because then she has something to write about. In site after site that calls abortion "murder" the same appeal is made, "Don't stop the fight. Join our organization. Send us money. We will keep up the fight with you. Don't forget, send money." But fight for what? Fight so that a few states keep strident no abortion rules. Is it a success and worth your donated money to have all the middle income and up women drive and fly out of state for their abortions while a few sad low-income women are trapped into givi...

While Trump's selection of JD Vance means Vance will campaign all out for Trump and attack Harris, this appointment raises interesting issue around Christianity. Vance is miles from the orthodox Christian right views of his former VP, Mike Pence. When it comes to personal views of traditional Christian orthodoxy the implied answer of Trump and Vance is, "...let's move on to a different topic." The link discusses Vance's peculiar fascination with Lord of the Rings and its influence on him. Lord of the Rings, of course, is about spiritual and imaginary beings who come to be identified and good and evil. Surely the story fits the ancient art of story telling from back before the written language. The Bible itself has such a story line. I'm speculating on the mind of JD Vance when I attribute to him an interpretation of current events. Participants fall into good and evil, the latter being Biden and now Kamala Harris. Vance does not seem to categorize good and evi...

The nation of New Zealand is reeling from an announcement that for many decades, children and the elderly who were placed in the care of church or government institutions were abused. It is thought to have been over 200,000 who were abused. Those abused have been trying to get recognition and justice for years.  Another report done earlier said that of all the children placed in the care of church denominations, 42% had been abused. The estimate is that 14% of priests were abusers. The Catholic Church has come under particular fire for the practice well known in the U.S. as well of moving abusing priests from one diocese to another. Those Bishops hiding abusers used psychiatrist's reports to justify putting priest back on the job in other locations. I recall several years ago chatting with Catholic friends about priest abuse of children and the underground method used by Bishops of moving abusers from one diocese to another. My friends assured me these priests had been cleared by p...