Here’s what I’ve learned since then. The people who scan the heavens and pore over the Bible looking for the return of Jesus aren’t any more faithful, any more Christian, any more privy to the will of God, than the rest of us. Continue reading A Miraculous Intervention…
The more I learn, the more I think for myself, the more I question everything, the more I realize I know nothing. Of course, this is one of the primary lessons from a guy called Socrates. He lived about 2,600 years ago. What I mostly get from Socrates is that even though there is way more to learn than we have years on the earth, … Continue reading We Don’t Know The End, Until We Get There…
There are now over 40,000 different versions of Christianity around today. To this “Avowed follower of the teachings of Jesus”, Stephen Mattson’s version is perhaps my favorite. He concentrates on Jesus as a divine teacher who tells us how to live every day of our lives. Following those instructions is a 24/7 task, not just a couple of hours on Sunday. Continue reading Couldn’t Have Said It Better…
Some cling to traditions as if it were life itself. I am not one of them. To me, traditions are too often used to cling to prejudice and a fanatical resistance to change, any change. I saw that on display in the Lutheran churches I once belonged to. They would often cite this bible verse or that, to justify their outdated and often prejudiced beliefs. … Continue reading Some Cling To Traditions…
For this Sunday’s Look Back let’s look at the MAGA/Evangelical cult. I never would have dreamed that U.S. Christianity would have taken the fatal hit it has when I wrote the above words five years ago. Yeah, we had the Tea Party back then that was identified as a radical right fringe but for the most part they were not identified as a primarily Christian … Continue reading Looking Back – U.S. Christianity
For my winter 2018/2019 project, I have decided to study the topics of philosophy and spirituality and how they intermingle. I am starting out this study by reading a book entitled “Belief without Borders” by Linda A. Mercadante. I will be putting out numerous Sunday posts about it in the coming weeks. Associated with that study, I have also been visiting some of my more than … Continue reading Churches Are Misleading….
My conservative Evangelical friends would like me to believe that you can’t be a humanist and also be a follower of Jesus. From what I have discovered in the last few months, that is categorically false. The two beliefs align very well with one another. Yes, there are differences in beliefs for different versions of humanism, but since there are over 39,000 versions of Christianity … Continue reading Humanism And Jesus…
I just love this Facebook entry on my friend’s page. It says it all on what being an American should be about. You can do your thing but don’t try to prevent me from doing mine. Diversity…… Continue reading About Being American
When I came across this post a while back it got my immediate attention as the topic is probably one of the primary reasons that more and more people are declaring themselves spiritual but not religious. There is just too much baggage attached to too many of our religious institutions today. Too many twist the words of Jesus to match their current view of the … Continue reading Wicked Theology
Some of the biggest problems today are caused by religious certainty. People who are very certain that their religion is better than all the others tend to want to impose the rules laid out in their Holy Book on everyone. They have little respect for the fact that some people are guided by other Holy Books, and other equally valid types of ideals based on … Continue reading Religious Certainty…
That is the moral-ideological core of conservatism today. It presumes that life is a competition or race, that people are unequal in talent, drive, and ambition, and that those who end up on top deserve their victory and rewards — and those who come out on the bottom deserve their failure and hardships. Any attempt to overturn or even mitigate this moral order — whether … Continue reading They Deserve Their Failure….
Last week, Jeb Bush told an audience in California, “It is strength, and will, and clarity of purpose that make all the difference.” This is the Tinker Bell school of foreign policy that has spread over most of the Republican presidential field. Clap if you believe in a stable Middle East where Syria is rid of ISIS, Al Nusra, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and any … Continue reading Like a Death Wish… I Can Only Hope….
This is a continuation of the post about two distinctive worldveiws so prevalent in our society today. Let me say up front that even with violating my self imposed 500 word limit on posts this will only very lightly touch on the matter of good or evil. Lets pull a couple of quotes from yesterday’s post to concentrate on here. Still, the distinction is real … Continue reading Paul or Plato – Part II…
Of course the title of this post came from the Sermon on the Mount found in the Christian Bible. Many, if not most Christians, believe that these teaching called the Beatitudes are fundamental to their faith. They are one of the primary lessons that Jesus left us on how he wants us to act. Here are all eight: Blessed are.. ….the poor in spirit: for theirs … Continue reading Blessed Are The Peacemakers….
Despite a loud minority, most of the U.S. has moved on. Last year, seven states accounted for 80 percent of all executions. And it is even more evident when you look at counties. More than half of death penalty convictions originate in 2 percent of the counties in the U.S. More and more Christians are troubled that 85 percent of executions take place in the Bible Belt. A … Continue reading Despite the Loud Minority…
RJ's Corner 