There are two questions that I rather wish I had asked Reverend Rodgers during our confirmation classes. As I’ve written previously, I really liked Reverend Rodgers and I didn’t want to put him on the spot, and I had discovered that when I asked him some skeptical type questions he didn’t really answer them. … Continue reading Two Questions
Religion
Show Me
Re-watching the first season of Justified last night I came across this short scene: Chief Deputy Art Mullen asks where does the Bible justify the killing of innocent people. Like most Christians, he apparently hasn’t read very much of that not very good book, or he wouldn’t ask a stupid question like that because there are … Continue reading Show Me
Independence Day
I was wondering when folks started calling this day the Fourth of July rather than Independence Day, and it turns out it was always thus: When 18th-century state legislatures planned the first July 4 observances, they didn’t bother to give the day a proper name. Meanwhile, Mark Evanier has a good story about a song … Continue reading Independence Day
This Week in God
WI Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty To Child Sex Charges A former Plover youth pastor has agreed to the terms of a plea deal in a child sexual assault case during a hearing Friday in Portage County. Jordan Huffman, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and was convicted as … Continue reading This Week in God
This Week in God
When will the world end? This week’s post from R.A. Absalom concerns the ending of the world according to the Bible. At various points the Bible claims “It will happen soon” or “It will be delayed” or “It already happened” or… Well, go check it out. OR Pastor Sentenced To 13 Years On Child … Continue reading This Week in God
This Week in God
The Daily Show used to do a feature called “This Week in God” so I thought I might try to do something similar. Can’t promise it will cover a full week or that it will be a regular thing, as I don’t like to spend too much time around delusional, disgusting people. First up, the … Continue reading This Week in God
The Practice in Practice
I used to watch The Practice faithfully when it first came on the air back in 1997. It was a David E. Kelley show and it highlighted the conflicts between the strict demands of legal ethics vs. morality and justice. For the first few seasons I thought it was a pretty good show, even though I … Continue reading The Practice in Practice
How Much Is a Human Worth?
Yahweh, or the god of the Old Testament, assigns some precise values to humans, though in keeping with the misogynistic biases of that god, women are valued far less than men. Here is Leviticus 27:1-8 in the New International Version (NIV) translation: The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: … Continue reading How Much Is a Human Worth?
Jeff
The world, we are told, was created by a God who is both good and omnipotent. Before He created the world He foresaw all the pain and misery that it would contain; He is therefore responsible for all of it. It is useless to argue that the pain in the world is due to sin. … Continue reading Jeff
The Story of Ehud and Eglon
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, distributed a Bible to each committee member at the committee’s first meeting on January 31, and invited them to read through it in 2023. Good. More folks ought to see what’s in the Bible. And not just the stories that they taught … Continue reading The Story of Ehud and Eglon