December 2011
2 posts
Respect
If someone tells me that they believe that the Earth is flat, there are many ways that I can be expected to respond. One of the less likely ones would be for me to declare, “I respect your belief.” If, on the other hand, someone tells me that they believe in a virgin birth, then the only socially acceptable response from me is to say, “I respect your belief.”
In neither...
1 tag
Texan
Hi. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a Texan, but I don’t have to have been born here to cringe when our Governor opens his mouth; when his leadership with abstinence only education has given Texas one of the highest teen birth rates in the country; when our 8th grade students rank near the bottom nationally in their ability to read; when major campaign contributors routinely get...
September 2011
2 posts
Two states. 1967 borders. An open letter
To: The President of the United States, Barak Obama; Hilary Clinton, Secretary, US Department of State; The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, US Senator from Texas; The Honorable John Cornyn, US Senator from Texas.
Dear Mr President, Madam Secretary, and Senators,
I am writing to express my support for the position outlined by Secretary Clinton in 2009 and restated by President Obama earlier...
Country First: Letter to Congresscritters...
An open letter to various Republican Congresscriters:
I have come to believe that the GOP is not so much the party of “Country First” but is more the party of “Country first to be sacrificed for political gain.”
Please prove me wrong by supporting the President’s Jobs/Stimulus Proposal. It’s probably too small to do much good so late in the day, but...
May 2011
1 post
Rapture day publicity stunt (and Britney Spears'...
Just a very short note on the eve of yet another rapture day prediction. To me this looks like a well calculated publicity stunt by Harold Camping and his Family Radio Network.
Next week everyone will be tuning in the hear his excuses and explanations. Camping and his followers will be on every talk show, explaining their purpose and mission. Although they have put money into advertising their...
October 2010
2 posts
Questions for Jesus
I am perfectly willing to open my door to Jesus. In fact, I wish He would drop by some time. This coming Saturday afternoon should be fine. And I have a couple of questions prepared to ask Him.
Why is my soul worth less than Thomas’?
One of my questions will be why He hasn’t (yet) done for me what He did for Doubting Thomas. For those of you who aren’t up on your Bible,...
False reasons: An example of Pascal's Wager
I have once again been presented with Pascal’s Wager as an argument for why I should believe in God. In this essay, I will review the argument, and what I feel is wrong with it. That is very well covered ground, but I hope to provide some new insight along the way. Finally I will use the example of Pascal’s Wager to help me make the distinction between stated reasons and actual...
July 2010
1 post
Arrogance of the Atheist
When reasonable people believe something that seems patently untrue, we have a puzzle. Exactly the sort of puzzle I like musing about. In this post, I will offer my speculation as to why so many religious people believe that atheists lack humility. Although such claims are preposterous on the face of it, there may well be some underlying core that, while still wrong, makes some...
May 2010
3 posts
3 tags
The Deal with Facebook and "Your" Data
Let me just start out by saying that I believe that Facebook is nasty and extremely deceptive with respect to the information we and our “friends” give it. But I will continue to use Facebook and leave my so-called privacy settings close to the default. This posting describes why.
The two sentence summary is that I am a willing grant Facebook the right to do various things with...
Blaspheming the desert dogmas
Jewish blasphemy
The halibut I had last night was good enough for Jehovah. There, I’ve said it.
Christian blasphemy
I deny the existence of the holy spirit. (Though if I did believe in the thing, I would be forced to consider it a motherf*ker. At least that’s my understanding of the Trinity.)
According to the Gospels, denying the Holy Spirit in an unforgivable sin. So for...
2 tags
Blasphemy
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver’d in the moon’s eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,
Make the gruel...