Faith

"Death is the only wise adviser that we have. Whenever you feel, as you always do, that everything is going wrong and you're about to be annihilated, turn to your death and ask if that is so. Your death will tell you that you're wrong; that nothing really matters outside its touch. Your death will tell you, 'I haven't touched you yet'." -Carlos Castaneda "When a man starts to learn, he is never clear about his objectives. His purpose is faulty; his intent is vague. He hopes for rewards that will never materialize for he knows nothing of the hardships of learning. And his thoughts soon clash.…

"I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know." --Thomas Jefferson, 1819 Thomas Jefferson's audacious act of cutting and pasting passages from various translations of the New Testament has always fascinated me. Why did he do it? From The Smithsonian Museum of American History: {with my emphasis} At seventy-seven years of age, Thomas Jefferson constructed his book by cutting excerpts from six printed volumes published in English, French, Latin, and Greek of the Gospels of the New Testament. He arranged them to tell a chronological and edited story of Jesus's life, parables, and moral…

Is that Jesus looking into a mirror? A recent study shows that Christian conservatives and liberals reflect themselves upon the image of Jesus, and it's not an ordinary mirror. Below is an excerpt from their Abstract: The present study explores the dramatic projection of one's own views onto those of Jesus among conservative and liberal American Christians. In a large-scale survey, the relevant views that each group attributed to a contemporary Jesus differed almost as much as their own views. Despite such dissonance-reducing projection, however, conservatives acknowledged the relevant…

Why has our life expectancy increased so much since the American Revolution? According to Presidential candidate Rick Santorum: "Because God says they have rights." What about the role of sanitation, nutrition, education, medicine? This is an example of religious faith clashing with reason, with all due respect to those with faith. From "Human Longevity: The Major Determining Factors" by Joseph A. Knight, M.D.: Wealth, and an affluent environment, significantly correlate with life expectancy as shown by a marked increase in life expectancy over the past century due to the marked…

Photo source, Stephanie Taylor. Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow, as discussed in my last post has captured America's attention because of spectacular athletic skills and his - some say - shameless display of his religious faith. Such a public display of piety has brought out mean-spirited commentary from my fellow bloggers, referring to Tim Tebow as "impotent," "obnoxious," a "militant evangelical Christian" (quotes below.) Really? From "There is No God:" This is what happens when you vaingloriously give your deity responsibility for carrying a stupid little football game: his…

Tim Tebow Foundation Tim Tebow with Jacob Rainey, one of the many people dealing with health problems Tebow hosted at Broncos games this season. Photo source. Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow has become a popular culture phenomenon not only because of his extraordinary athletic skills but because he lives out the values of his religious faith - displayed publicly and shamelessly - everyday (more on that later.) But something that has not received much coverage in the news media is that three years ago, Tim Tebow had a "mysterious pain in his throwing shoulder" and he sought out some…

This piece was co-authored with Sir Harold Kroto. New legislation suggests a more appropriate name for the U.S.A.: The Unenlightened States of America. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced the "Defending Childhood" campaign, focused on violence prevention, offering an opportunity for us to reflect upon sectarian violence, religious indoctrination and ethics and education. In the 40 years since the April 20, 1971 Supreme Court decision of Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, the landscape of American education has changed beyond its original goal of racial…

Summer Camp at Utøya What did the young victims murdered at Utøya believe in? For many families, this was a dream camp for their children, turned into a hell by admitted terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. My thoughts are with them as they rebuild towards a brighter future. According to the camp's website: Politics We based our fundamental outlook on the democratic socialism. Our vision is that individuals together to create a free and just society, where ecology is in front of the economy, and human values ahead of material prosperity. Our core values are: Freedom for all people.…

American taxpayers are supporting more and more private faith-based schools, including anti-science creationist curricula, whether you like it or not. Consider this, from an article draft that I am currently writing with Sir Harold Kroto: From 1980 to 2001, the opening of private schools outpaced public schools by nearly two to one (15,131 vs. 8,130). During the same period, the number of private schools increased by 73% whereas the number of public schools only increased by 9%. Current data show that about two out of five schools are private, compared to one out of four in 1980. Three…

Source. Watching the "Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - On Stranger Tides" this weekend with my children reminded me that pursing a "fountain of youth" is a timeless tale that plays out in our lives in many ways. For example, you see this everyday in our grocery stores, in the form of "functional foods." Cereals promise to lower your cholesterol, milk to improve brain function, vitamin-enhanced water to boost your immune system. Not surprisingly, it is a big business - US sales in 2009 exceeded $37 billion. Manufacturers have become adept at tip toeing towards the point at which their product…

This is a story of two fetching women, one known for glitz and vacuous socializing, one known for serious news commentary and for reinventing the television morning news show format. Yes, as my title reveals, they are Paris Hilton and Mika Brzezinski whose paths crossed unwittingly, emblematic of American female beauty and brains. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Brzezinski last night, as she was the Commencement speaker for our Graduate College. She shared with our graduates, predominantly women, the challenges of equality in the workplace - equal pay for equal work - detailed in her…

My recent post "The Royal Wedding, A Thoughtful Theologian and the Faith/Science Conundrum" stirred up, not surprisingly, some thoughtful and not so thoughtful (or respectful) readers' comments. Some readers mistook my article as an endorsement of Archbishop Williams' writings - it was not. Sadly, readers missed the opportunity to wish the happy couple a bright future. I would like to share an antidote, prompted in a way that only bathroom wall graffiti could provide. We've all seen them - those often profane, ludicrous scribbles on bathroom walls. Today I saw the following (Was it…

Source. On April 29, Prince William and Kate Middleton will exchange wedding vows with Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury presiding. More than two billion viewers are expected to witness the event with well wishes for this handsome couple, with Britain's future in mind. I wish them all the best, with opportunities and joy that they cannot even imagine today. Archbishop Williams is a learned theologian but is not without controversy with his statements about the 9/11 attacks, Muslims and British law. My focus here, however, is to explore his thoughts about faith and science. I…

The winner of the Templeton Prize (1 million British pounds) was announced today. Is this a turning point for Templeton, or more of the same? What is the purpose of this award? The Templeton Prize honors a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works. According to The Guardian: Previous winners have included Mother Theresa, the US evangelist Billy Graham, and last year, a molecular biologist and former Dominican priest, Francisco Ayala, who advised Bill Clinton and helped overturn…

Find out what Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has to say about the weekly Prayer Meetings taking place in Room 219 of the U.S Capital. Also, her perspective of the sacrifices and faith of our Founding Fathers is sure to stir your heart. Find out more by visiting The Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation website at www.findroom219.com. Since the national American Chemical Society meeting last week, I've had an ongoing dialogue with Sir Harold Kroto about his insightful seminar "Science, Anti-Science and Survival." He described the "power of irrationality" as one of the greatest challenges of…

Protecting and sustaining our environment is a core value that seems to be common sense. It never occurred to me that this value might somehow conflict with religion - after all, isn't being a good steward of the earth a goal of numerous faiths? Apparently not. As reported in The New York Times, there is a strong push back by Christian evangelists against environmentalism. I find this mind boggling. This movement refers to itself as "Resisting the Green Dragon" {is such a moniker supposed to conjure images of fire breathing dragons in a prehistoric era?} and refers to enviornmentalism as…

No, I am not a Scrooge or a Grinch, just a pragmatist. The holiday season is, for many, a reminder of tales of miracles, whether of the story of the birth of Christ as a savior, of Chanukah's menorah that was lit for eight days with only enough oil for a single day, Bodhi Day to honor the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama or the Islamic Day of Ashura, to name a few. manymeez's Flickr photostream I envy those who can embrace such miracles; try as I might, it is something I could never do. A common theme of these miracle stories is a spirit of giving towards a greater good. One of my…

Genesis - h.koppdelaney's Flickr photostream Creative Commons As reported in today's The New York Times, a case will be reviewed by a federal judge in Kentucky this February to determine whether an academic astronomer was denied a position because of religious faith. According to the report, this case is a "rare example" of such a law suit. The role of faith in scientific thinking has always been a contentious one. {That may well be a vast understatement.} How does one balance faith vs. reason? Or can a scientist, the rationalist, maintain faith, if not call upon it for inspiration…

tags: Best Church of God Vs. An Atheist, religion, cults, faith, funny, humor, comedy, social commentary, Greg Epstein, books, streaming video A silly video about a bunch of wackaloon religious wingnuts and an atheist humanist discussing religion and how god forces people to live moral and decent lives. (The video is silly, but the protest signs are rather amusing). The Best Church of God takes on heretical "humanist" Greg Epstein, famed author of the controversial book, "Good Without God."-- edited by Aemilia Scott

tags: Religion is the Problem, religion, cults, faith, funny, humor, comedy, social commentary, Bill Maher, television, streaming video Bill Maher points out some of the more idiotic beliefs that various religions claim are truths .. beliefs that have been shown to be false.