Religion Today

Proof that Jesus existed and was a father?

2007-02-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Is James Cameron really serious about this documentary or is this a publicity stunt?

Brace yourself. James Cameron, the man who brought you 'The Titanic' is back with another blockbuster. This time, the ship he's sinking is Christianity. In a new documentary, Producer Cameron and his director, Simcha Jacobovici, make the starting claim that Jesus wasn't resurrected --the cornerstone of Christian faith-- and that his burial cave was discovered near Jerusalem. And, get this, Jesus sired a son with Mary Magdelene... Cameron and Jacobovici claim to have amassed evidence through DNA tests, archeological evidence and Biblical studies, that the 10 coffins [found 27 years ago in Talpiyot, a Jerusalem suburbin] belong to Jesus and his family... This 90-minute documentary is bound to outrage Christians and stir up a titanic debate between believers and skeptics.

If Cameron can prove his findings, that means he would prove that Jesus did exist. Let's face it, that's more than we realistically have today. But of course he would also shoot a major hole in Christianity. So there's good news/bad news in the mix. But I don't see how he can prove it. Saying he has DNA sounds good but whose DNA does he have to compare to? Maybe I don't know enough about DNA but he needs a solid base to compare to. Or am I wrong?

Well, either way, this isn't going to change those who have faith and it's not going to change those who don't believe. But hey, I bet the ratings will be pretty good. And that's the name of the game, isn't it?

Sunni, Shiits, and Kurds: A Primer For Iraq

2007-02-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

With Iraq constantly in the news, and with Iran and Saudi Arabia being influential in the area, it's sometimes hard to keep track of who is who. Are the 3 major groups tribes? Political parties? Grouped by geography? Religion is the major factor in determining the groups. Understanding their history and beliefs help us understand how they shape conditions today.

The magazine Mother Jones as put together a "Iraq 101" document that keeps the explanations very simple. I found the simplicity of presentation very helpful. I hope you do too.

The piece is called Who Is This Ali Cat? Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds -- a Primer.

Although the article includes politics, war costs, and other information about how we got where we are today, the explanation of the difference in the religious groups is what caught my attention the most.

Sara Miles's Take on Prayer

2007-02-17T06:32:00.000-05:00

The following was extracted from this article.

Editor's note: At 46, Sara Miles, a left-wing, secular journalist and former cook, found herself an unlikely convert to Christianity. She joined St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in San Francisco, where she turned the bread she ate at Communion into groceries for a food bank that now feeds over 450 people a week. The following excerpt is from her memoir about what she calls her "unexpected and terribly inconvenient" spiritual awakening -- "Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion."

By Sara Miles

Jose and I met for lunch at a small cafe with outdoor tables one afternoon, when he was in the middle of an excruciating breakup. We sat on the patio and talked, picking at some complicated California sourdough-and-vegetable sandwiches while the fog came in.

Jose was in analysis then, and seeing a dozen patients, and serving as the medical director at a community mental health clinic, and writing scholarly papers on Freud, and doing energetic yoga for hours every morning, and generally overachieving, but he couldn't fill every minute, and whenever he paused, the heartbreak would pour in. "Maybe I should go sit at the Zen center again," Jose said. He was a small, handsome man with wiry hair and little glasses and perfect posture. His eyes were wet. "I'm not sleeping so well anyway; I might as well get up at five, what the hell."

We finished lunch, and I took Jose's hand. "Jose," I said, "you should pray."

As soon as I said it, I felt like an idiot -- worse, like a proselytizing busybody who knows, without ambiguity, what's right for everyone else. Jose looked genuinely surprised. Then he put on his analyst face. "Hmm," he said. "What do you mean?"

What did I mean by prayer? I didn't mean asking an omnipotent being to do favors; the idea of "answered prayers" was untenable for me, since millions of people prayed fervently for things they never received. I didn't mean reciting a formula: I loved the language of some of the old prayers that were chanted at St. Gregory's, but I didn't think the words had magical power to change things. I didn't mean kneeling and looking pious, or trying to make a deal with God, or even praying "for" something. What was I telling him?

"Um, well," I said. I was embarrassed. Then I looked at Jose again, and the word tender filled my mind -- tender as in sore to the touch and compassionate, at the same time. After my father had died, Jose had listened to me cry with the deepest empathy and patience, not trying to "comfort" me but just being present. As tenderly as I could, I said to him, "I really don't know. I don't know what I believe or who I'm talking to. Sometimes I just try to stay open, sort of. Especially when it hurts. And I try to -- I know this is corny -- but I try to summon up thankfulness."

Church Goers More Likely To Support War

2007-02-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

This poll showing how those who attend church are more likely to support the war is such a sad statement of where this country's religious folks' mindset is:

Those who say they attend religious services weekly were more supportive of the administration's move to increase U.S. troops levels in Iraq. But a majority still opposed that idea.

Attend church weekly: 46% favor troop increase, 53% oppose.
Nearly weekly/monthly: 35% favor, 62% oppose.
Seldom/never: 34% favor, 63% oppose.

Those who say they attend religious services weekly were the least likely to support the idea of Congress setting a timetable to bring U.S. forces home by the end of next year. But a majority still supported the proposal.

Attend church weekly: 56% support, 41% oppose.
Nearly weekly/monthly: 68% support, 31% oppose
Seldom/never: 65% support, 33% oppose

[USA Today/Gallup Poll, Feb. 9-10, 2007]

Um... I have to ask, WWJS?

Top 10 Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

2007-02-12T10:32:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

Here's a few of the signs that caught my attention. You can visit the link above to read the rest:

You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

10 myths -- and 10 truths -- about atheism

2007-02-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

SEVERAL POLLS indicate that the term "atheism" has acquired such an extraordinary stigma in the United States that being an atheist is now a perfect impediment to a career in politics (in a way that being black, Muslim or homosexual is not). According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 37% of Americans would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist for president... A remarkable 87% of the population claims "never to doubt" the existence of God; fewer than 10% identify themselves as atheists — and their reputation appears to be deteriorating.

This opinion piece goes on to address 10 common myths about atheists. Here's one of the 10:

3) Atheism is dogmatic.

Jews, Christians and Muslims claim that their scriptures are so prescient of humanity's needs that they could only have been written under the direction of an omniscient deity. An atheist is simply a person who has considered this claim, read the books and found the claim to be ridiculous. One doesn't have to take anything on faith, or be otherwise dogmatic, to reject unjustified religious beliefs. As the historian Stephen Henry Roberts (1901-71) once said: "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

He was gay but now he's not

2007-02-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

From a story in the NY Times:

One of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is ''completely heterosexual.'' Haggard also said his sexual contact with men was limited to the former male prostitute who came forward with sexual allegations, the Rev. Tim Ralph... told The Denver Post... ''He is completely heterosexual,'' Ralph said. ''That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing.''

Can we say these people are "delusional"? Yes, we can and we should because they are!

Evangelist sued for claiming that God heals

2007-01-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

False advertising?

A tele-evangelist with a large following across the United States is being sued by relatives over her claim that prayer cured her brother's throat cancer.

Darlene Bishop's claims appear in her book, Your Life Follows Your Words, which fails to mention that her brother, the songwriter Darrell "Wayne" Perry, died of the disease 18 months ago.

Mr Perry's four children have filed a lawsuit against their aunt for wrongful death, claiming that she persuaded him to stop chemotherapy and to depend instead upon God's healing.

Religion in 2006

2006-12-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

2006 saw a lot of activity related to religion, and at least the stuff that made headlines was mostly negative, save one.

We saw Muslims go freaky over some cartoons. The Pope pouring lemon juice on the paper-cut by claiming Islam was "evil and inhuman" and "spread by the sword." A man named Abdul Rahman faced a possible death sentence after he elected to change his religion -- from Islam to Christianity. Of course, American so-called Christians continued to go crazy over homosexuals, oblivious to the political manipulation. Let's not forget Ted Haggard, Joel Hunter, and a few others who fell from grace. A disproportional support of the Iraq war by followers of Jesus (if this isn't an upside down story, I don't know what is.) The Catholic church stand against birth-control. But...

Perhaps the year's most poignant story was the response of Pennsylvania's Amish community to a schoolhouse shooting that left five young girls and their killer dead. Drawing on deep -- and rare -- wells of forgiveness, the Amish in Nickel Mines, Pa., reached out to the killer's family, attended his funeral and helped raise money to pay expenses.
Their acts of generosity, forgiveness and sturdy resolve won them the vote by the Religion Newswriters Association as the year's biggest newsmaker. "
Forgiveness is woven into the fabric of Amish faith," wrote Donald Kraybill, an expert on all things Amish at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County, Pa., after the shootings. "Such courage to forgive has jolted the watching world as much as the killing itself. The transforming power of forgiveness may be one redeeming thing that flows from the blood that was shed in Nickel Mines."

Of course so many Christians group who support hatred, bigotry, torture, invasions, and exhibit 14th century sensibilities want to be associated with the Amish amazing display of forgiveness, but sorry people, most of you don't even come close. Too many of you have Jesus quotes in your head, but not their meaning in your hearts. Try again next hear.

Sacred and Secular Books Have Subbed for Bible

2006-12-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

Full story

When Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat whose election last month will make him the first Muslim in Congress, announced he would take his oath of office on Islam's holy book, the Koran, he provoked sharp criticism from conservatives and some heated discussion on the blogosphere... Other politicians have departed from the Bible as well. Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle (R) used the Tanakh when she took her oath in 2002, and Madeleine Kunin placed her hand on Jewish prayer books when she was sworn in as governor of Vermont in 1985.

Kudos to Mr. Ellison. I hope he sticks to his guns and gets sworn in on the book that means the most to him.

The Crusade Against Religion

2006-10-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

This is the challenge posed by the New Atheists. We are called upon, we lax agnostics, we noncommittal nonbelievers, we vague deists who would be embarrassed to defend antique absurdities like the Virgin Birth or the notion that Mary rose into heaven without dying, or any other blatant myth; we are called out, we fence-sitters, and told to help exorcise this debilitating curse: the curse of faith.

The New Atheists will not let us off the hook simply because we are not doctrinaire believers. They condemn not just belief in God but respect for belief in God. Religion is not only wrong; it's evil. Now that the battle has been joined, there's no excuse for shirking.

Three writers have sounded this call to arms. They are Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett.

This article contains more details about their views. Also supporting this movement is a series of books by atheists that have climbed well up into book sales lists.

So why is this happening? It sounds to me like a natural response to the religious fundamentalism that we've been experiencing and that has brought us wars, torture, prejudice, persecutions, division, absolutism, and an unabashed desire to shove religion down people's throats.

Faith can't be forced, can't be legislated, and based on every single historical example, shouldn't mix with government. And some people have had enough and are pushing back.

Let's Talk About Sex in Church

2006-10-28T11:51:00.000-04:00

Full article here:

[Pastor Ted Roberts and his wife, Diane,]... host a series of provocative discussions they call "Sexy Christians," where they talk not about the sins of sex, but its joys... In sermons and special seminars, pastors are tackling topics ranging from how to keep passion in a long-term relationship to how to recover from porn and sex addiction. A new billboard in New Jersey advertising the Web site Mysexlifestinks.com is not an ad for an online chat group, but for the Discovery Church, where Pastor Randy Smith hosts weekly discussion groups. "Sex was invented by God for us to use and to enjoy," Smith said... The Robertses, who have been married for 38 years, say God never intended sex to be sinful. But for many couples, talking about sex is steeped in shame.

Good luck to these guys, they are trying to climb a very steep hill. This is a culture that totally freaked out when what appeared like could be, maybe, a resemblance of a nipple on TV (I'm talking about the Janet Jackson fiasco.) Talk about any part of our anatomy and they run for the hills in shame.

But hey, I give these pastors credit for trying. It can't hurt.

The Pope and Islam

2006-10-14T12:39:00.000-04:00

So the Pope made some insulting statement about Muslims. The insulting statements – more insulting when you consider he didn’t find him offensive to begin with, after all, these were not off the cuff remarks – comes after other Christian leaders making similar statements.

Muslims around the world were offended and jumped on the protesting bandwagon with amazing speed and intensity. Many Christians see these demonstrations as just another sign that Muslims are just too sensitive.

But, I ask you, do Muslims religious leaders make condescending and insulting remarks about Christians with the frequency that we see coming from Christian leaders?

I don’t think but maybe I'm just not paying enough attention. I could be wrong, but hard-core Christians seem more bent on confrontation than Muslims do.

Americans May Be More Religious Than They Realize

2006-10-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

The Baylor University survey looked carefully at people who checked "none" when asked their religion in polls. Sociologists have watched this group closely since 1990, when their numbers doubled, from 7 percent of the population to 14 percent. Some sociologists said the jump reflects increasing secularization at the same time that American society is becoming more religious.

But the Baylor survey, considered one of the most detailed ever conducted about religion in the United States, found that one in 10 people who picked "no religion" out of 40 choices did something interesting when asked later where they worship: They named a place.

Considering that, Baylor researchers say, the percentage of people who are truly unaffiliated is more like 10.8 percent. The difference between 10.8 percent and 14 percent is about 10 million Americans.

"People might not have a denomination, but they have a congregation. They have a sense of religious connection that is formative to who they are," said Kevin D. Dougherty, a sociologist at Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion and one of the survey's authors. Baylor is a leading Baptist university, located in Waco, Tex.

That last sentence is very important as you consider the conclusions from the results of the survey. But this article is worth a read because it includes a lot of information about the current state of religion and the American population.

The Amish forgive

2006-10-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

In case you missed this story, a gunman entered an Amish school and killed 5 young girls and wounded a few more. Full story with more details about the Amish life style here:

NICKEL MINES, Pa., Oct. 3, 2006 — ... the Amish families most affected by this tragedy... talk about Monday's school shooting only in terms of forgiveness.

"We're just trying to support each other and trying to let it sink in," said 17-year-old Dorothy King.

Two of her cousins were shot, and one is in critical condition, but like so many in the Amish community, she forgives the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts.

"We think it's all in God's hand," King said. "If this wouldn't have happened, something still would have happened … because their time was up. God's hand was in control."

Midwife Rhita Rhoads was present for the births of two of the five girls who were killed and also speaks of forgiving the gunman.

"If you have Jesus in your heart and he has forgiven you … [how] can you not forgive other people?" Rhoads said.

"I'm sure it's going to be a struggle to go on without a loved one like that," said Elmer Fisher. His 7-year-old cousin, Naomi Fisher, was among those murdered. "But I think they trust in God that he's going to take care of them and everything's going to be fine."

When asked if Roberts' wife would still be welcome in the community, Fisher said he believed she would, adding she would be welcome even at the funerals for the dead girls.

Such are the minds of the forgiving. Passages from the New Testament are taken literally in this community, and the Amish believe they need to love their enemies, which may be beyond the ability of most people, especially so close in time to the
murders.

This is the first example of what I expect Christians to behave that I have heard of in a long time. It's quite refreshing and uplifting.

Know Jesus = No peace?

2006-09-19T00:08:00.000-04:00

I was behind a car today and noticed the bumper sticker. It said: "No Jesus = No Peace. Know Jesus = Know Peace".

Now, I don't have a problem with the second part. I can understand how knowing Jesus can bring you peace, but I do have problems with the first part. Besides disagreeing with it, I have a problem understand how someone can be promoting peace with a bumper sticker that's clearly offensive to those who don't follow Jesus. After all, if you feel you need to make such a challenge, where's the peace in that?

Emerging Churches

2006-09-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

While I extracted only some paragraphs that cover the "emerging church"concept, this article (registration required but free) goes into much more detail about it as well as some opposing views.

[Brian] McLaren has emerged as one of the most prominent voices in an increasingly active group of progressive evangelicals who are challenging the theological orthodoxy and political dominance of the religious right. He also is an intellectual guru of "emerging church," a grass-roots movement among young evangelicals exploring new models of living out their Christian faith.

McLaren, 50, offers an evangelical vision that emphasizes tolerance and social justice. He contends that people can follow Jesus's way without becoming Christian. In the latest of his eight books, "The Secret Message of Jesus," which has sold 55,000 copies since its April release, he argues that Christians should be more concerned about creating a just "Kingdom of God" on earth than about getting into heaven... "When we present Jesus as a pro-war, anti-poor, anti-homosexual, anti-environment, pro-nuclear weapons authority figure draped in an American flag, I think we are making a travesty of the portrait of Jesus we find in the gospels," McLaren said in a recent interview

"Emerging church" is a loose network of mostly young evangelicals who believe the Christian message needs to be made more relevant in a time of rapid technological and societal change, particularly to those who've never been part of any church.

McLaren said the name "emerging church" came out of a 2001 discussion he had with Doug Pagitt, pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis, about "why the megachurches were not attracting young people." The reasons, experts said, were becoming evident in the 1990s: dissatisfaction with the rightward drift in evangelical politics; worship styles so contemporary and casual they had no spiritual uplift; a lack of emphasis on social justice; and a theology that some say reduced Christianity to a recipe.

Will emerging churches serve to alter the continuing trend away from religion in the USA? I doubt it. It will appeal to some, for sure, and focusing on social justice rather than political power is a good thing, but the rift between progressive church goers and the vast legions aligned with the christian right will only serve to highlight what many non-believers attribute for their disenchantment with religion today: the hypocritical stances of both sides going at each other with "I'm right. No, I'm right" about their recipes.

This rift between these groups only serves to justify what I'll crudely refer to as a common atheist mantra: if these assholes are going to heaven, to hell with paradise; I'll take my chances with the unknown.

In Need of a Blog Moderator

2006-09-09T00:01:00.000-04:00

Interested in being the Blog Moderator for this blog? Consider what’s involved:

· You must be open minded about religion. This page is NOT intended to be anti-religion or pro-religion; rather, we aim to foster discussion about the role religion plays in our society in general, and current events in particular. We’re also open to suggestions to expand the purpose of this blog, so if you have other ideas, let us know.
· You can either write your own articles that cover thought provoking topics or you can extract comments from published articles, adding your comments as you see fit to encourage exchange of opinions.
· The software we use to update the site is Blogger.com. If you’re not familiar with it, we’ll show you what you need to know (knowledge of HTML is not required).
· There is no specific number of updates you need to make. Although we’d like at least an update weekly, you can update more often if you have the material to do so.
· If visitors submit articles, it’s your decision to use them or not (we almost never get submissions, so don’t count on that).
· You will monitor Visitor Comments to make sure they stay on topic and maintain a sense of decorum.
· There is no money involved. ARGville is a small site and your participation is purely on a volunteer basis (if you have a website we’ll be glad to link to it).

If interested, please click here to complete an application.

Pope Makes Pilgrimage to See 'Holy Face'

2006-09-02T00:05:00.000-04:00

Full story here:

MANOPPELLO, Italy -- Pope Benedict XVI on Friday prayed at a sanctuary in this village in central Italy that holds a veil some Christians believe was used to wipe blood and sweat from Jesus' face on his way to his crucifixion and bears his image on the cloth... The veil is not as famous as the Holy Shroud of Turin, held to be Christ's burial cloth, but some experts say the images on the two cloths can be perfectly superimposed and that they were formed at the same time. Skeptics say it appears to have been painted. According to Christian tradition, Veronica was one of the holy women who accompanied Jesus to Calvary. She offered him a veil or cloth to wipe his face, and the image of Christ's face was imprinted on it. Although the story is not in the Bible, it became one of the most popular in Christian lore... Benedict did not address the veil's origins, as is usual with the Vatican, which is generally very cautious... To many in Manoppello, the visit by Benedict reinforced their beliefs about the veil. "We've been worshipping the Holy Face for five centuries," said resident Gina Virgilio, a retiree. "The pope's visit has confirmed the veil is authentic."

What? The Pope's visit didn't confirm anything -- the Pope didn't even address the veil's origin -- but that won't stop others from repeating the mantra that the veil is authentic. And that's how legends are created, from the imagination of those who want to believe.

So, do you think this veil is authentic?

Church voted to reject black membership

2006-08-27T00:10:00.000-04:00

Full story here:

The Rev. John Stevens says Fellowship Baptist Church in Saltillo voted not to approve blacks as members during a scheduled Sunday night business meeting Aug. 6. Because of the decision, Stevens stepped down from the Baptist Missionary Alliance congregation that has an average Sunday morning attendance of 30 people... Mike Dillard, who acted as spokesperson for the church, said the congregation "categorically denies" accusations that the church took such a vote and feels the charge is an attempt by a party to do them harm... After being told of the vote, Cliff Hardy, an officer with the Tupelo Police Department, left the church... "You see, my best friend is a black man," he said. "I wouldn't be comfortable going to a place where I couldn't ask my best friend to go to church with me... Since Stevens' resignation, one church member who was not at the Aug. 6 meeting has called the former pastor and told him he was in favor of what he did. Stevens estimates 80 percent of the church is against having blacks as members of the congregation."

Can anyone explain to me how is it possible to be a good Christian (not just claim to be one) and also be a racist? Is there a passage in the Bible that could somehow be interpreted that way? Or is this pastor lying about the vote?

Hare Krishna Coming of Age

2006-08-07T00:13:00.000-04:00

The Beatle George Harrison sang about it:

In the mid-1960s, when the movement began on Manhattan's Lower East Side, a Hare Krishna service would have been filled with robe-wearing, twentysomething Caucasian converts, who likely lived at the temple or on an ashram.

Today, the typical worshiper is an Indian American who lives in mainstream America and shows up weekly for services, in khakis and with a kid wearing an NBA tank top along with his tilak (the sacred stripe that Hare Krishnas display between their eyebrows, symbolizing the footprint of God).

In the four decades since Indian guru Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York City to begin spreading the Krishna lifestyle, the movement has changed in many ways.

After starting the movement in the West, Prabhupada took it back to India, where today there are hundreds of thousands of Hare Krishna devotees.

I remember seeing them in the streets of New York City. And I remember how so many Americans feared this new cult would spread and suck in their children, turning them into zombies. As with most of our fears, no such thing happened.

Church and State in the USA

2006-07-31T08:22:00.000-04:00

I "stole" this whole piece from Kevin Drum:

CHURCH AND STATE....The New York Times reports that at least a few evangelical preachers are starting to figure out the danger of being co-opted by the Republican Party:
“There is a lot of discontent brewing,” said Brian D. McLaren, the founding pastor at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Gaithersburg, Md., and a leader in the evangelical movement known as the “emerging church,” which is at the forefront of challenging the more politicized evangelical establishment.
“More and more people are saying this has gone too far — the dominance of the evangelical identity by the religious right,” Mr. McLaren said. “You cannot say the word ‘Jesus’ in 2006 without having an awful lot of baggage going along with it. You can’t say the word ‘Christian,’ and you certainly can’t say the word ‘evangelical’ without it now raising connotations and a certain cringe factor in people. “Because people think, ‘Oh no, what is going to come next is homosexual bashing, or pro-war rhetoric, or complaining about ‘activist judges.’”
Preach it, brother. Evangelicals should keep in mind that the separation of church and state wasn't intended to protect the state, it was intended to protect the church. In the long run, becoming a bought-and-paid-for subsidiary of Karl Rove Inc. comes at a steep price.
More here from Steve Waldman in the April issue of the Monthly.

The current political clout of the religious right in the USA is akin to selling your soul to the devil. More of them will find that out, as many well-intentioned communists in the Soviet Union found out the hard way that their good intention were being used for the personal gain of the greedy and the power hungry.

I particularly like this line by Kevin: "Evangelicals should keep in mind that the separation of church and state wasn't intended to protect the state, it was intended to protect the church."

Bottom line is, they have been having their moment of power and all it brought us has been death, destruction, fear, mistrust, debt, and hypocrisy galore. They are now starting to eat their young. It's going to be fun to see their self-destruction. Yes, indeed, Mister Cheney... the revolution is on it's last throes -- your revolution!

Time for humanists to come out of the closet

2006-07-29T10:17:00.000-04:00

Full article here:

Melvin Lipman believes that with the surge of conservative religious fervor in the country, it’s high time humanists come out of the closet.

"We feel now more than ever there’s a need to assert ourselves to stop this creeping theocracy from taking place, to let the public know that religion has no monopoly on morality," the president of the American Humanist Association said.

Lipman, the 69-year-old leader of the country’s largest humanist group, will be in Columbus this weekend for several events, sponsored by the Humanist Community of Central Ohio.

While polls show that millions of Americans don’t believe in God, Lipman said public officials ignore them because they are afraid to speak out.

"When you speak to anybody, it’s politically incorrect to be anti-gay, it’s politically incorrect to be a racist. . . . But it’s perfectly OK to say, ‘I hate atheists,’ " he said.

That last part ("But it’s perfectly OK to say, ‘I hate atheists,’) caught my attention because in my experiences I've never heard that. In fact, I quite often here things like: "I hate religion" or "I hate religious fanatics". Further, I disagree that today it is politically incorrect to be anti-gay. Let's face it, in the USA that sentiment is alive and well, especially among a section of the so-called religious.

I just seem very much out of sync with Mr. Lipman, at least on those two issues.

Masturbating in your sleep

2006-07-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

This submission came via the Contact Us page from Anonymous:

I have a friend who is 40 + yrs. of age and sleeps nude, but is starting to feel guilty. This person would like to know if there are advantages to sleeping nude, and while this person sleeps, he/she wakes up with his/her hands sometimes between his/her legs. Is this person masturbating in his/her sleep? If he/she does masturbate as others do in his/her sleep, how is this a proven fact? This person is Catholic and the Catholic Church frowns on masturbation, so if he/she has been sleeping nude for the past 30 years and a good percent masturbating during that sleep time, and being frowned on by the Church, Is he/she destined to hell?

VictorM's answer:

I'm posting this here in hopes that others will use the Visitor Comments section. I'm not qualified to answer this from a religious point of view, but since I was raised Catholic, I'll put my two cents in.

Sleeping nude, as far as I can recall, is not a sin in any way. For some people, any kind of clothing becomes constrictive. If they move a lot in their sleep, clothing can choke them or make it plain uncomfortable. So, nude is fine. And while masturbation is a no-no, doing so in your sleep is a "reflex", not punishable with a sin. A reflex is not "willful thought". Well, that's how it was relayed to me when I a kid. I trust the rules haven't changed. Of course, as a kid, it was also an unwritten rule that when your eyes were closed, you were technically asleep. :)

So Hell need not be your friend's destination unless there are other sins involved.

Now, if you allow me a bit of humor, I'll give a very much paraphrased version of Father Guido Sarducci (from Saturday Night Life) take on all this.

He says that life is like a bank. You do good deeds, and "money" gets deposited in your behalf. You commit a sin, and a withdrawal occurs. The object is to die with a positive value in the bank. So, say you walk a little old lady across the street, you get $5. If you commit murder, you get $5,000 taken out. Masturbation was valued at 25 cents.

So... as long as you don't drop a rock on someone's head on purpose, if you walk a little old lady across the street, you can masturbate 20 times... with your eyes open.

OK... now someone please give this person some informed opinion.

Who says God doesn't like soccer?

2006-07-15T15:13:00.000-04:00

From the front page of the LA Times, this article:

Thousands of people wearing their Sunday best will flock today to the Home Depot Center, the site of a Major League Soccer game between Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy. Before a ball is dropped on the field, though, Chivas USA has arranged for an outdoor Catholic Mass that is expected to fill all 8,000 seats in a stadium next to the soccer field... The Mass is among the first held in conjunction with an athletic contest by a modern-day professional sports organization. "It's the right match between the beliefs of our fan base and the roots of our organization," said Antonio Cue, a Chivas USA co-owner... Supporters say the merging of sports and religion creates a more family-oriented atmosphere at sporting events. Critics argue that mixing the two excludes people who don't share the same beliefs.

Well, first of all, I think any help Chivas USA can get is fine, but I hope the church goers pray for the team on the field -- they sure need the help, maybe even a miracle, to beat the Galaxy.

But I think the comment that mixing sports and religion "excludes people who don't share the same beliefs" is totally bogus. The mass is being conducted in a field adjacent to the stadium, and it will be over an hour before the game starts. So I don't see how having the mass excludes anyone.