Category: Meaning of Life
Denials and Deceivers
I ran across this interesting post recently on Deltoid concerning a list of (supposedly) 650 “scientists” who deny Global Warming is real (or at least, that it’s our fault in any way). Inhofe, of course, is Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, champion of one of the brightest red states in the union. As it turns [...]
How our time-orientation effects the way we live our lives
Psychologist Philip Zimbardo asks the following question: What if your attitudes toward time could explain why you are chronically late, why you’re likely to fight for rainforest preservation, or why you might be predisposed to addictions? Zimbardo has written a new book explaining the psychology of time. In his opinion, the secret power of time [...]
Mangers Endangered
No one else here has yet mentioned this foo-fah-rah that emerged in the Washington state capitol in Olympia, and is spreading to others. Several governors have allowed Nativity scenes to be erected in their Capitol rotundas. In Washington state, the regional atheists got permission to put up an adjacent sign portraying a rationalist viewpoint. Someone [...]
Sullivan on Warren on Bush on Torture
Here‘s Andrew Sullivan discussing alleged religious leader Rick Warren’s strange position regarding George W. Bush’s policy regarding Torture. To Sullivan’s comment I say “Amen.”
We are gods with anuses: another look at “terror management theory.”
Gods with anuses? This post concerns some of the elaborate ways humans seem to compensate for their anxiety about death.
A 2008 Harris poll shows that 61% of Americans believe that Jesus was born to a woman who was a virgin. Thus, by a landslide margin, Americans believe that a woman named Mary got pregnant without any of that icky sperm/penis/vagina stuff (whether a human ovum was involved is keeping theologians busy ). To keep the Savior pure and holy, I can only assume that Jesus emerged into the world through some sort of Divine Cesarean rather than out of the vagina, but the Bible is not clear on the actual method of delivery. Ever since the alleged birth of Jesus, Mary (who was “without sin”) has been referred to as “Virgin Mary,” despite her long marriage to Joseph, suggesting that she kept Joseph sexually frustrated for the rest of his life.
All of this uneasiness our animal nature is typical of many religions. In order to keep people focused on the other-world, religions work hard to convince people that human animal existence is vulgar and vile. According to many religions, our earliest “ancestors” were taught that human bodies were shameful even as they were being unceremoniously booted out of the Garden of Eden.
Rather than considering our bodies to be exquisite machines that constitute and sustain us, many religions portray human bodies as ungainly, oozing, disgust-inducing earth-bound vessels from which we will eventually escape, thanks be to God! We are to God as slugs are to us. Rather than embracing the marvelous functioning of human bodies, many religions disparage them though, paradoxically, they attribute the “design” of our sordid bodies solely to God, not to natural selection. Thus, there is one notable exception to the general rule: only when Believers are trying to fight off Darwin do they consciously strive to appreciate the exquisite function of human bodies. Oh, such a tangled web religions weave . . .
Why is death a surprise?
I learned yesterday that a fairly recent acquaintance had died. He was 15 years younger than me, and found dead in his bed. He had joined our contradance group this year, so was in better than average health. This sort of event generally leads to sober thoughts. But, why? Lloyds of London doesn’t insure lives, [...]
That disconnect between Catholics and their Church
At Daylight Atheism, Ebonmuse discusses the disconnect between the Catholic Church and lay Catholics: To judge by some recent news articles, the Catholic church, which at least used to stand for good education, has become infected with the same anti-intellectual disease that pervades so many sects of evangelical Protestantism. What are the problems with the [...]
Montana judge sticks her neck out for terminally ill patients
Let’s see . . . who should have the final say over whether a terminally ill person has suffered enough and should be allowed to check out of life Earth. Based on the debacle involving Terry Schiavo I’m betting that the country will be split down the middle in this emerging battle in the culture [...]
The things that bother us
Tonight I’m feeling anxious about the possibility of an immense economic collapse. I’ve been reading about lots of people being laid off. Most of us with 401K’s are afraid to even look at our quarterly statements. The country is running out of fossil fuel and there isn’t anything realistic to replace it. And then I [...]
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