Thoughts of a Freethinker

  Economics is often referred to as "the dismal science." I always thought that was because it preached there are limited resources and when we use some for one purpose there are fewer left for some other purpose. This simple idea almost seems almost self-evident. It has been criticized by clergy because the Bible says "the Lord will provide."                    A popular definition of fascism is a society where the rich own the economy and use their might to dominate politics and pass laws benefiting themselves. Since most (not all) of economics favors using markets to decide who buys what and who works and earns one place while others work and earn elsewhere liberal people sometimes accuse economics of being fascists. You can  read  a rebuttal of this in the link. Economics has always opposed fascism. It is the opposite of competition and of using the talents across the broad sweep of society. Economics has a link to the...

The shofar is a curved horn of a goat or other animal that has been processed to make a sound when a human blows into it. It is discussed often in the Bible. Currently, conservative politicians use it or refer to it as a symbol of political battle. You can buy one on Amazon. So far as I can tell, the only information about the shofar comes from religious sources. The trumpet, not as old, was used to send instructions to troops during battle. Not a religious use, as I understand. It  would be helpful if lots of them were found and it was possible to figure out what they were used for. If the shofar sound carries better than the human voice or drums, why would it not have been used in prehistoric times for practical and daily communication? If the trumpet was used to direct troops why would not the shofar, thousands of years older, have been used for communication? It seems to me the religious use would have been a later adaptation.   That said, I admit to finding symbols u...

Several years ago I was at a national atheist's convention where the leader said, "We atheists are much bigger than the 6% published number. We claim the "nones" too. They are often 'spiritual' but not 'religious.'" At the time I thought his claim was a little over the top. It turns out it may not have been. Almost every day Christian writers claim religion has not declined. Instead, the word "spirituality", they claim is a synonym, is used. A Christian professor today challenged that notion. He wrote that a person who claims to be spiritual is much different than one who claims to be religious. They are not interchangeable.  The reason the link author believes people who claim to be spiritual and different from those who claim to be religious is because of another questionnaire response. When each is asked a follow up question, "How important is this to you?" the religious said very important while spiritual beliefs were not ...

Giving young people tasks that make them feel good about themselves is part of good parenting, teaching and mentoring. In Christianity, however, it includes a scheme to keep them from leaving the faith. Readers all know the program. Summer camps, youth conferences and youth socials.  Some years ago the "mission trip" showed up. Kids and their parents would round up enough money to go to some country for a few days and "help poor people." I suppose there were already missionaries there to arrange for accommodations and come up with some task that was not difficult. I've heard painting was often the choice. I always wondered why so much money was spent on these "mission trips", who paid the overhead and what the locals in the country really thought of them. A U. S. doctor who works in such a country wrote a candid piece advising U.S. churches and parents to pull back on these excursions.   The doctor advised churches in the U.S. to put some thought into ...

  Members of a church in Kentucky is checking out from a public library books they find objectional and not returning them. From their point of view, the Commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Steal" does not apply when it is stealing a book about teenagers who are same sex attracted. The link is from the Christian site, Chirstian Post. In the link, a woman is quoted as say she found a book in her local school library giving instruction to a six year old on how to perform oral sex. Neither the person quoted nor Christina Post said what book she was referring to. I looked at the long article in the Kentucky newspaper from nearby and it did not have her quote now, of course, any reference to such a book. Perhaps the crazy woman who told this exclusively to Christian Post saw a picture of a child licking an ice cream cone and concluded it was training for oral sex. There is no other information. It seems like the woman was lying. But that, along with stealing books, is not a sin if it...

  It was delightful to read humorist Dave Schilling's essay on Trump's current preoccupation with getting into heaven. Trump has speculated on the criteria for making the grade and on the process that precedes selection. We have already seen how he proceeds when he wants an award or to be ranked appropriately. We saw this, are still seeing this, on the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump believes he is entitled to this honor. Some years have gone by when supporters nominated him but he has never come close to receiving it. He works hard at understanding the system for the award and, thinking he understands it, tries to manage it. When Trump has not received the Nobel Peace Prize his response seems to be, "Wait a minute here. I know people. I don't have to take this sh-t." He has been calling up world leaders telling them they need to call Nobel and get the award arranged.  Another strategy he has often used is to sue. In the link, Schilling says he might go to this option if...

The link author, a Seventh Day Adventist,  understands  why so many of us are skeptical of the Bible as a historical account. He admits religion is mostly made up in the mind but thinks that does not detract from its truthfulness and importance. He recounts a lecture given many years ago by a man who was a native aboriginal in Australia. He was a boy when the very first white people ever found his tribe and visited. He told of his sister running to tell him a large stone was moving along the ground. Devilish looking people showed up in the village. The large stone was an automobile. The devilish humans were the first white people they had ever seen. The link author, defending Christianity, says the moving stone was the truth as the little girl saw it. I suppose we could conclude also that when Paul of the Bible had a vision of visiting with Jesus long after Jesus was dead and learned from Jesus the basics of Christianity this gave Paul the credentials to the world's authority ...