Be warned: I’m about to start blaspheming here, though not against any widely respected or even recognized faith.
My target is not a god per se, but rather certain beliefs fervently held by adherents of political parties — who, if they know me well enough by now, have already stopped reading. Which is fair enough; if I fail to lend credence while they impugn my faith, why should they pay attention to someone kicking at the underpinnings of theirs?
(more…)Note: This was composed in response to an article in RawStory about a viral series of Tweets written by hopeful writer Patrick S. Tomlinson, @stealthygeek . The text of the Tweets follows: (more…)
“…a heated debate over religion with fellow students broke out at the dorm and led to people accusing Khan of blasphemy against Islam. That attracted a crowd that grew to several hundred people, according to witnesses.
The mob kicked in the door, dragged Khan from his room and beat him to death…”
Main Article:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-04-14/dorm-debate-led-to-death-in-pakistan-blasphemy-killing-witnesses
I have faith, myself.
I’ve never burned anyone, or mobbed or stoned them. I’ve never rioted or chanted or held horror signs outside abortion clinics. And most of the people I know (more…)
There’s a reason the supernatural has such a wide and dedicated following. It holds a fascination for us because, for most people, “real life” is not enough. Some of us are on a quest for deeper meaning and understanding the higher mysteries of life; others are seeking nothing more than an entertaining escape – one more complete, more imaginative than the average soap-opera. Most of us are looking for something else, though: the illusion of power. (more…)
The United States is one of the most heavily armed places on Earth, measured per capita. There are places that have been in civil war for long enough that all noncombatants have fled; they are less heavily armed than we. And we see the results on the news on a daily basis, it seems; just the other night there was another mass shooting, an apparent ambush at a backyard barbecue.
So gun control appears to be a logical necessity. Why is there even debate on the subject?
I’ve examined some statistics that may give us an answer, as well as a possible course going forward. I’ll warn you now, though: The answers I arrived at are vastly different than the ones I at first expected. (more…)
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
– Albert Einstein
A friend and I were discussing this tonight, and we saw it in different ways.
“Science is science, religion is religion. They are NOT mutually dependent,” he said. As he continued, I had to admit I saw the justice in what he was saying. The two are quite distinct, two very different ways of seeing the world, for science applies logic to perception and measures the universe, seeking facts, finding and testing rules; whereas religion seems to apply its own rules to the universe, forcing everything that exists to fit into the laws and commandments and rituals of the faith. (more…)
