Category Archives: Religion

Things I Worry About: How Alternative Fact Worldviews Enable Fascism

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

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?

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

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 | 2 Comments

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

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

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

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

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

Posted on December 24, 2021 by 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

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Bob Shepherd

I hope that these guidelines will help people to recognize the insidious, manipulative means by which the evil scam artists who run cults operate. Just about all cults rely on these means of manipulation. DON’T FALL FOR THEM! Make a … Continue reading →

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

A Brief Explanation of Everything. You’re Welcome.

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Bob Shepherd

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

School Vouchers, or, Coming Soon: Bob’s Real Good Flor-uh-duh Skool and Bob’s Ayahuasca School for Little Cosmic Voyagers

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Bob Shepherd

ALERT!!!! PLEASE SHARE. In his 2020 State of the Disunion Address, Don the Con gave Ditzy DeVoid, his Secretary of the Department for the Privatization of U.S. Education, formerly the Department of Education, everything her little walnut-hard heart could have … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Humor, Religion, Trump (Don the Con) | 1 Comment

Espinoza v. Montana

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Bob Shepherd

So, the Supreme Court is hearing a case called Espinoa v. Montana Department of Revenue. It’s about whether a state can refuse to provide religious schools with the same per pupil support (typically, seven or eight thousand per student, though … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Religion, Trump (Don the Con) | 3 Comments

History of Ideas: Background to Puritan and Pilgrim Protestantism in North America

Posted on January 12, 2020 by Bob Shepherd

For some 1,300 years, from roughly 300 to 1600 CE, the Catholic Church, headquartered for most of this time in the city of Rome, was the most powerful institution in the Western world. It was the ultimate spiritual and temporal … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Teaching Literature and Writing | 4 Comments