Religion

Why I am (apparently) not a Christian

In 2004, I had the following conversation in the parking lot of a Safeway supermarket.
WOMAN: Jesus loves you, you know.
ME: That’s great. I love Jesus too.
WOMAN (pointing to my car’s bumper sticker): Then how could you be voting for John Kerry?
At the time, I wanted to reply with something like, “Because Jesus isn’t on the [...]

An Irreverent Easter

Yesterday I found, via Chaos Theory, I found an article in Salon where Jesus was referred to as a "Drama Queen".  Being a good American in Bush’s America, I thought it prudent to be outraged at the characterization before I went ahead and, you know, actually read the article.*  So I thought to myself, "Jesus? [...]

More Joy

Via the Panda’s Thumb, I found this video of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, "edited for rednecks".  It’s lifted straight from last night’s episode of Family Guy, which I’m afraid I missed.

Occasionally people ask me how I can be a Christian and still believe in things like evolution, the big bang, and so on.  Putting [...]

Snips and Dribbles

In which I expound on cynicism, politics, science, and other random topics. Because I’m bored and unfocused.

The Problem of Pain

The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis
Though my study of philosophy included a few courses in the philosophy of religion, I don’t feel qualified to really discuss the theology that C. S. Lewis presented with any competence. I can offer a few observations, though. So here they are.

Perhaps I should change careers…

…and become an apocalyptic doomsayer. They’re all the rage right now, and, according to this article apparently now we’re in the highest state of “End Times Alert!” than ever before. Higher even than:

1945, when World War II engulfed pretty much the entire globe, atomic bombs were being set off, half the world was [...]

The Top 10 Intelligent Designs (or Creation Myths)

The Top 10 Intelligent Designs (or Creation Myths)
Flying Spaghetti Monsters aside, this article from Live Science presents a list of the top ten creation myths of all time, from the Norse pantheon to the Judeo/Christian/Moslem ex nihilo myth.
Y’know, as a Christian, I do believe in “intelligent design” (insofar as a human defined quality like “intelligence” [...]

Just a little bit…

I’ve taken to hanging out in the talk.origins newsgroup (you can find the website here). It’s a lively place, full of debate between Creationism and evolution. Personally, I have no trouble reconciling my religious beliefs with evolution, but there are a lot of people out there who do. And furthermore, some of the most ardent [...]

Twelve Days

I actually had to leave church today. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt uncomfortable with the way the worship service was conducted, or that I had a strong disagreement with the pastor on any subject.

I consider myself a pretty good Christian; my spirituality is primarily Christian, though I suppose it’s been heavily influenced [...]

‘Tis the Season

I cheerfully admit that by the standards of some people — the more fundamentalist of them — I am probably destined to go straight to Hell. In some sort of handbasket, I don’t doubt. My understanding of God and my approach to religion and spirituality are by no means traditional or even very conservative. I [...]

A Massing of Methodists

My own spiritual explorations have been all over the map: I’ve toyed with Catholicism, Unitarianism, Mormonism, Judaism, Shinto, Islám, and even the Bahá’i Faith. Even though I am a "cradle Episcopalian" — born, baptised, and confirmed in the Episcopal Church — I can’t bring myself to say that the church I identify with is any [...]