The United States is rapidly becoming less Christian. New data shows that “white Christians are the minority in 19 states. Nationwide, Americans who identify as Protestant are now in the minority for the first time ever.” Some of this is owing to growing racial diversity, but another big factor is the general decline in religious …
The religious right, in full cry against Planned Parenthood and family planning talk a lot about the sanctity of life but close their eyes to the implications. It is estimated that the population of the planet will reach over 11 billion people by the end of the century. Add the effects of global warming and …
Continue reading ‘The blinkered supporters of laisser-faire child bearing’ »
What a wonderful message. Here in Washington DC the Pope travelled round in a motorcade. He himself was in a tiny Fiat 500 car, with security men crammed in as best they could. The car window was down and the Pope waved to the crowd through the window, as the car passed quite slowly. …
“35% of men and 21% of women want to live forever”. (YouGov poll) Why would anyone want to live forever? Is it because they are having a gloriously wonderful life, free of anxieties? My wife expects to live to 100 and wants me with her; I will gladly oblige – if I and my memory …
Does religion, in the words of Christopher Hitchens, “turn the world into an agglomeration of vindictive mobs”? Look at the brutal, medieval ISIS, the competing religions in Northern Ireland, or the way that in rural America, if you don’t attend the local megachurch, you can be snubbed, excluded and treated as a pariah. While …
Continue reading ‘As the Pope visits America, give religion its due’ »
Pope Francis has suddenly, and without the usual week’s notice, re-written the process of annulling a marriage within the church, issuing two apostolic letters aimed at making it easier to annul marriages that are deemed invalid by a church court. Only one, instead of two, judgments will now be required before a marriage is determined …
It’s pretty clear where Jesus stands on cheating on your spouse: “Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s wife”. In Mathew 5:27-30 he said that if you even look at another woman with desire, then you should cut out your eye, because it’s better to “lose one of your members than to have your whole body …
Continue reading ‘Hypocrisy and the American christian right’ »
The following is the second half of the letter quoted yesterday: “I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? A friend of mine feels that …
In her radio show, Dr. Laura Schlesinger (an American conservative radio talk show host), quoting Leviticus 18:22, announced that homosexuality cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura, attributed to Professor James M. Kauffman, Dept. of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education, University of Virginia, offered over two days …
There are many people, both in the US and the UK , who oppose immigration not on an economic, but on a cultural basis. They fear that their countries will become less cohesive. This is a challenge to Epicureans, who believe in tolerance and live-and-let-live. Let me take a single example. In London, opposition to …
“Speaking personally, I am attached to the ground. I would prefer to watch the precipitous movements of the damp foot of a duck as it scratches the back of its head by the side of a lake, or the long sparkling drops of water falling slowly from the mouth of a cow as it stands …
“Don’t speak to me about your religion ; first show it to me in how you treat other people. Don’t tell me how much you love your God; show me in how much you love all His children. Don’t preach to me your passion for your faith; teach me through your compassion for your neighbors. …
Somewhat contrary to the expectations of some observers, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not, so far, introduced any extreme Hindu nationalist measures. But in provincial India it is a different story. Hindu zealots have banned eating beef in the state of Maharashtra, for instance; the penalty for breaking the ban is five years in …
Some of the schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram from the town of Chibok, N.E Nigeria, last year may have been brainwashed into fighting for the Islamist militants. According to three women who claim they were held at the same Boko Haram camps as some of the girls, many of them are now being …
Support for Iceland’s Pirate Party is soaring. According to a recent Gallup poll, 34.1 percent of the country said it stands behind the insurgent political movement that received just 5.1 percent of the vote in 2013. The Pirate Party has just had its first major legislative victory — repealing a 75-year-old blasphemy law that made …
Continue reading ‘In Iceland the Pirate Party wins fight against a blasphemy law’ »
