Category Archives: Religion

Interrogation

State your name, please. OK. I can do that. I mean, I can give you some names. But these are misleading. You intend to give us false names? I did not say this. But a name suggests a finitude entirely … Continue reading

Posted in Existentialism, Humor, Love, Philosophy, Poetry, Politics, Religion, Teaching Literature and Writing | Leave a comment

Honesty about Religion

I know that people are supposed to “show respect” to religious belief–that that’s a widely held position. But I don’t have any respect for it. I have precisely the opposite. It seems to me breathtakingly ironic that religions make claims … Continue reading

Posted in Epistemology, Metaphysics, Religion | 6 Comments

The Second American Revolution Has Begun, and This New Trump Court Is Carrying It Out

Warning: read this only if you are actually willing to do the minimal work necessary to understand the revolution that the Extreme Court of the United States is effecting right now. It can happen here, folks. It is happening. And … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Religion, Trump (Don the Con) | 40 Comments

Things I Worry About: How Alternative Fact Worldviews Enable Fascism

George Santayana, in Reason in Religion, makes the argument that religion serves the same sort of purposes that poetry does and that, while not literally true,* is nonetheless elevating. William James, in Varieties of Religious Experience, makes a pragmatic argument … Continue reading

Posted in Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Trump (Don the Con) | 4 Comments

Why Is Christianity So Weird?

Imagine for a moment that you have never heard of Christianity. Seriously. Try this. A little thought experiment. A missionary comes to you and says, “Here’s the deal. There’s this all-powerful guy in the sky, and he created everything, including the … Continue reading

Posted in Metaphysics, Philosophy, Religion | 20 Comments

On the Dobbs Decision: It Can Happen, It Is Happening, Here

I’ve never liked the term unenumerated rights because the point is not whether they are numbered but whether they are expressed, so until now, I have avoided it in my comments on this decision. But that’s the standard legal term … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Religion, Sex and Gender, Trump (Don the Con) | 17 Comments

Why Repugnicans Support “School Choice” and a Look Back at the Repugnican National Convention

Republicans face an existential threat. Polling shows that young people oppose them, often by overwhelming numbers, on every issue. And, of course, the country is becoming less white. So, if they are to keep from going the way of the … Continue reading

Posted in Ed Reform, Politics, Religion, Trump (Don the Con) | Leave a comment

On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity [1] | Bob Shepherd

“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” –John 10:34 John,2 for all your skill, O master maker–singer, rhetor, builder, baker–you could not know, though multiply blest,that, choosing this name, you simply guessed,well, from … Continue reading

Posted in Philosophy, Poetry, Religion | 1 Comment

The EZ Guide to Becoming a Cult Leader

You, too, can make BIG BUCKS in the Religion biz! Here’s how: Make a Promise that gets at something people really want and don’t have, such as community, wealth, happiness, sex, mental or physical health, and/or freedom from anxiety or … Continue reading

Posted in Epistemology, Philosophy, Religion, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

A Brief Explanation of Everything. You’re Welcome.

NB: The following is a story. It is not fact. It is based in facts, yes, but it is entirely speculative. This was an exercise I set myself to create a myth that is completely consistent with current scientific understandings. … Continue reading

Posted in Epistemology, Existentialism, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Short Stories | 3 Comments