Thoughts of a Freethinker

Interviews with Republican office holders and party offices revealed they are preparing right now to blame someone else for the coming election failures. Trump is blaming staff of individual campaigns. He has ordered some staff fired and sent his own replacements. Some blame the Republican National Committee for not sending enough money soon enough. Others say Republican candidates have not come up with reasons for people to vote for them. Many point to Trump forcing out good candidates because he felt they did not pay proper respect for him and then he had loyalists selected who are terrible candidates.  Many Republicans, of course, know the principal reason things are not going well for them is Trump's tariffs, Russia in Ukraine and the war in Iran. Many Republican candidates are swimming against the current. Where I live in Iowa the Republican candidate to an open senate seat has served in the House. There she apparently voted seven or so times in favor of Trump's tariffs. ...

I've read that spending on Halloween decorations, costumes, food, etc. now rivals Christmas. I don't claim to understand why it has become so popular. A Christian columnist recently provided a theory from the Christian point of view. Why the ten foot high skeleton, he wondered. It seems to me part of some change in our culture. Over-thinking things like this is a temptation. Maybe Halloween is just something fun to fill up leisure time and something to do with children.  I recall decades ago an active Christian professor friend of ours who had preteen children said he and his wife would not allow any Halloween activity in their family. He said it was just not a morally healthy activity. I'm sure his children now have children of their own and I wonder what happens there. I would guess that Halloween takes over households of those who don't like it just as Christmas has taken over people who scoff at its origins. If it is correct that people spend more time and money on ...

Now in both Texas and Kansas holes are being poked in old Christian myths. It's wonderful. The Methodist preacher candidate in Kansas says Christians can go to heaven even if they don't believe in the crazy myth Mary got pregnant with Jesus without sexual intercourse (God blew into her ear and she got pregnant).   I've been saying for years the liberal branch of the faith will be the one that survives the longest. The conservative literal Bible is just too nuts to hang in there with the changing times. Even if liberal preacher candidates lose they will have had an impact on many peoples' thinking about religion.  Kamala Harris ran for President and talked a lot about abortion rights. Her theory at the time was that because several states had voted to liberalize abortion availability it would translate into votes. We know it did not. Yet, the number of abortions rose after her candidacy, and availability has increased in the mailed pill. There are many other variables in...

  A secular poster on a religious site recently wrote that right wing Christians do not carry the gene that allows them to understand consequences. So many Christians feel it is always open season on bashing opponents, and it does not occur to them opponents have available the same rules to bash them. Decades ago when I was a mayor and protestors were screaming at patients entering the abortion clinic in our city there were others pushing back. People who supported abortion rights spoke out and sometimes carried signs among the protestors.  For some months one of the loudest most aggressive protestors was a man who owned a small chain of hamburger carry out restaurants. One of the supporters of abortion rights suggested publicly her group might picket his restaurants. There were no plans or interest in actually doing this, just a suggestion of the idea. The man was outraged. "Why would anyone picket my restaurants when I'm only exercising my freedom of religion rights?" H...

The Reformation is not discussed enough. In it lies a story that applies to today and all times to come. To summarize, it was a time when Martin Luther, a priest in good standing, wrote and talked about the evils then going on in the Catholic church. That evil was priests taking money for promises they made about the fate of dead people. If grandma sinned and needed a break to get into heaven after she was dead the priest could arrange that for you. But the priest demanded money.  People were fed up with this but, in their limited knowledge, thought they had no choice. Luther came along just at the right time and a revolt took place. He did not intend to start a new branch of the Christianity but that was the outcome. He made up his own stuff; he preached hatred of Jews and no doubt contributed to centuries of grief for them. To me, the Reformation illustrates the dark side of religion. It is a thing those in positions of power use to punish others in the public. The scheming pries...

During much of the past few decades, politicians running for local and state offices saw little downside to preaching against abortion. They would each claim to be more against abortion than their opponents. Then things changed. Abortion is seldom brought up now. What changed, of course, was abortion rights winning statewide referendums. Now politicians do not see anti-abortion as a risk-free issue and seldom bring it up. Readers know Talarico is studying to be a preacher and has stated the Bible does not condemn abortion. He supports gay marriage. Paxton, his Republican opponent along with the religious right, are making the election into a referendum on the right's interpretation of the Bible. If Talarico wins, endorsement of the right's version of the Bible and putting that version into various laws will not be see as no risk postures. Bible Belt politics will be different. It could be even worse for the right. Liberal candidates may see an advantage in lampooning the right...

  In the past when families were large, entering the priesthood training was the pride of parents and siblings. Now it is seen as peculiar. The commitment of years in training and celibacy is no longer on the table for either many parents or children. Some lament this and blame parents and young people.  We all know the variables punishing against being in the Catholic clergy. Plenty of Protestant denominations need clergy but also have in place ridiculous obstacles.  A couple of generations ago families were bigger. Parents may not have lamented a childless child of their own. With only one or two children, the notion of a celibate adult child may not seem as appealing. College costs are more formidable today. Even with the denomination subsidizing the entire life package may not look appealing. If one works all of his/her life, the retirement reward of a nice place in Florida may look better than the denomination's housing for poor clergy.  Most young people look f...