Tag: Religion

America’s Religion: OIKOS (Economy)

Let me forewarn you. Writing about economics is not my forte. This is my first attempt, and almost certainly my last. But, it’s Sunday (and religion is a forte), and the Bible certainly does have something to say about economics. So, I decided to combine the two …. in part, just to see if I can, as one who enjoys writing.

That being said, here are eight things we can comfortably say are generally true about RELIGION:

1)…  it gives humanity doctrines; a set of rules, regulations, and/or codes how things ought to be.

2)…  it makes many promises. For example, to name but a few; not going hungry, suffering is curtailed, tears are wiped away, prosperity and happiness cometh, and salvation.

3)…  it has ideologues so committed to the cause that their faithful will move heaven and earth to remake entire societies conform to their way of thinking.

4)… it has High Priests, prophets, reformists, moralists, and other elites in their close knit small hierarchy who call all the shots.

5)… it can be highly divisive. Naturally, differing religions will strongly oppose each other. But, it’s even worse within a religion; whereby someone holding a different opinion is quickly branded the worst possible name …  a Heretic.

6)… if you choose the right one, it will set you free. The prosperity of heaven is your destination.

7)… if you choose the wrong one, it will imprison you. The misery of hell awaits you.

8)…  is mostly based on faith. “Just trust us, we know!” say the High Priests.

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Civic Religion

Guest Post by The Zman

Proponents of the propositional state often make the claim that America is held together by a civic religion. Usually, but not always, the argument in favor starts with the first line of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” The emphasis is on the bit about all men being created equal, from which flows the ideals of political liberty, equality before the law, democracy, etc.

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Angels and Demons

Guest Post by The Zman

The general consensus among physical anthropologists is that religion co-evolved with language. By religion, they mean belief, not the highly complex and abstract stuff we now think of as religion. Early humans probably started with supernatural ideas about the forces controlling the parts of the natural world they could see. Then maybe more abstract ideas about what happens to people when they die and the need to properly handle the dead. This is all speculation, but that’s where the evidence seems to point.

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Scariest Thing You Will See Today

Guest Post by Scott Adams

I can’t tell if this secret video is real, but it purports to show a scientist proposing to develop a military-grade virus that would eliminate extreme religious thoughts in people as a way to end terrorism.

The scary part is that it would probably work.

We know which parts of the brain deal with religious thoughts, and apparently we know how to make a virus that would mess with those parts of the brain.

Free will is an illusion, obviously. Otherwise scientists couldn’t change someone’s religion with a virus. But they can.

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Why Americans Turn Their Backs On Religion

The amount of people identifying as atheists or agnostics has increased steadily in the United States in recent years. Along with those saying their religion “is nothing in particular”, they make up 23 percent of the U.S. population. Back in 2007, it was only 16 percent. Pew Research conducted a survey to find the reasons for disaffiliating among those who were raised in religious households. 49 percent turned their backs on religion due to a lack of belief while 20 percent disliked organized religion.

Infographic: Why Americans Turn Their Backs On Religion | Statista
You will find more statistics at Statista

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

I was only two years old when this fantastic cartoon was produced. I’m surprised feminazis, Black Lives Matter race baiters, moronic college students, and left wing Obamanistas haven’t protested the airing of this “racist” (no blacks or hispanics in the cartoon), “sexist” (no lesbians or transgenders), “bigoted” (actually declares Christmas to be about the birth of Christ), and “non-inclusive” (no accolades to Muslims, Jews, or atheists).

I actually watched the airing last night, and it hasn’t lost any of its impact. It could never get produced today, and that tells you much about the degradation and cultural decay of our politically correct shallow society. 


Religious Freedom & War

Guest Post by

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Constantine-Sol Religion has historically been the greatest tool for war and justification for killing others yet we claim to punish people for murder. If you kill someone in the name of the State or what you claim is God’s will, you are creating your own exception to religious principle such as the Ten Commandments. Where does it say thou shall not kill unless a politician orders you or you think this is what God desires? Constantine used religion as justification for civil war saying their was one God so there should be just one emperor. While claiming to be Christian, he also issued coins showing himself along side Sol – the invincible sun god. Constantine was not Baptized until on his deathbed and he used Christianity as justification of robbing all the pagan temples so their was always some economic benefit for the ruling class.

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THE NATURE OF GOD

Being on vacation for two weeks has allowed me to do some reading. I started a biography of Ben Franklin and even though I’m only one-sixth of the way through it, I’ve found him to be a fascinating character. I haven’t even gotten to the years where he was well known. His early years help you understand how his views were developed. I didn’t know he spent so much time pondering the existence of God and the various aspects of organized religion.

I find that my views about organized religion are very similar to his. He was open to going to church and hoping the ministers would be able to apply religious teachings to our everyday existence. He found all the sermons wanting. Rules, regulations, and dogmatism weren’t worth his time and they aren’t worth mine. I went to Sunday mass for decades and rarely if ever heard a sermon that taught me anything or opened my eyes to a new understanding of God or religion. He stopped going to church and concentrated on his own writings and understanding of God. I stopped going to Sunday mass a few years ago after becoming disillusioned and disgusted with the evil hierarchy of the Catholic church.

Franklin decided that how he lived his life, treated others and his own good works would determine whether he got into heaven. Thinking according to some dogma and going through the motions of organized religion meant nothing. A particular passage on page 87 caught my attention. Franklin thought deeply about the nature of God. He considered four options:

“His study of nature, he said, convinced him that God created the universe and was infinitely wise, good and powerful. He then explored four possibilities: (1) God predetermined and predestined everything that happens, eliminating all possibility of free will; (2) He left things to proceed according to natural laws and the free will of His creatures, and never interferes; (3) He predestined some things and left some things to free will, but still never interferes; (4) He sometimes interferes by His particular providence and sets aside the effects which would otherwise have been produced by any of the above causes.”

Benjamin Franklin – An American Life – Walter Isaacson

We differ regarding the nature of God. Franklin decided that number 4 was the most likely, by process of elimination. I believe number 2 is the most likely, and that will disappoint those who believe prayer can sway God. I don’t believe God is constantly deciding whose prayers are more worthy to be answered. Both sides invoked God’s name during the Civil War. Did God choose the North? I don’t think so. He created this world and allows us the free will to make it a better or worse place. We all have good and evil within us, and it is solely our choice regarding which one wins in the end.

What kind of God do you think exists, or not?