religion

Like alcohol and driving, it’s hard to mix cultures

(Below is blog post. It contains naive ramblings and no great conclusions—and lots of mizpellings and grammatical errors.)

Why is it hard to mix cultures?…What is a culture?

A culture is a collection of people who share certain beliefs and values and, to some degree at least, share ideas on how those values should be expressed. For example, I was raised a Catholic, but I’m not Catholic anymore. To become a Catholic, I adopted Catholic values and beliefs; indeed, to become a member of the Catholic Church I had to profess those values and beliefs in various rituals.

So why did I leave that culture, that community? (more…)

By Decaf, ago

Pope Francis to Jesus: “You shouldn’t have provoked them” ~ by Heathwood & Lee

This cartoon commentary by Heathwood and Lee illustrates so brilliantly my reaction to Pope Francis’ recent…advice…that one should expect a physical or violent reaction if criticizing another’s faith, so just don’t criticize. Would Pope Francis have said the same to Jesus Christ, whose life was devoted to exposing the hypocrisy of the Jewish leadership of his day. “You shouldn’t have provoked them!”
(more…)

By Decaf, ago

What atheists need to ask the faithful ~ JT Eberhard

JT Eberhard is a persuasive young man. An atheist and advocate for freedom of thought, he speaks regularly about atheism and how to discuss religion and atheism with religious believers. During this talk, JT Eberhard asks a number of questions that hit home and trace my path from reasonably devout Catholic to an irreligious agnostic, or “free thinker” as some like to say. Believers would probably just call me an atheist. Labels are easy. Understanding is hard. (more…)

By Decaf, ago