The many faces of Christianity

When I was a kid, I was always curious about why there were so many different kinds of Christian churches in America: Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Unitarian, Congregational, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, United Church of Christ, Reformed Church of Christ, Mormon, Quaker, Shaker, Greek Othodox, Russian Orthodox, Christian Science…the list seemed endless. It seemed like there were more different versions of Christianity in America than there were non-Christian religions around the rest of the world (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Bahai, Shinto, Confucianism, etc.). Later, I learned that those other religions also had many different versions (Orthodox Judiasm, Ultra-orthodox Judiasm, Hasidic Judiasm, Reformed Judiasm, Sunni Muslim, Shia Muslim, etc.), so Christianity is not unique in that respect.

Meanwhile, Christians were fond of telling me that the Bible was written by God and, thus, was both perfect and complete. Naturally, this made no sense to me given the cornucopia of churches. If the Bible was perfect and complete, then why didn’t all Christians understand it the same way? Didn’t God know how to write clearly? More importantly, why were there so many different kinds of churches and what were their actual differences? To my immense frustration, churches of different denominations didn’t have signs out front explaining how they differed from the other churches down the street.

Only recently have I learned some answers to these questions. First, it turns out that the number of different versions of Christianity and other religions that I can name are only the tip of …

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Don’t buy gasoline-powered lawn mowers

Unless you really and truly need one, that is. 

The lack of respect given to the push reel mower is a good example of how mindset affects consumer behavior.  I’m referring to the type of mower with a rotating cylinder of blades that is powered by your muscles.  This post is not really about saving energy.  Small residential lawn mowers use very little gasoline compared to our transportation and heating uses of oil.  Rather, I find choice of lawn mowers revealing about the nature of consumer choices, specifically about the American love affair with engines, noise and power (NASCAR, anyone?).

In the past week, we’ve spent some time discussing things people might be willing to do to conserve energy.  Here’s a no-brainer for those with small-to-medium sized yards.  Push mowers are far superior to gasoline powered mowers.  Most people simply don’t consider this choice, however. Thanks to sales hype regarding the much more expensive gasoline-burning models, buying a non-gasoline powered mower never ever occurs to most people. Major hardware stores relegate such mowers to the back shelf.  Consumer Reports gives little attention to these wonderful machines, year after year.

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I speak from experience. I’ve used a push-reel non-engine lawn mowers for 12 years. They are as easy to operate as those powerful roaring gas-powered mowers. Here are seven solid reasons to chose a no-gasoline model next time you buy a mower:

  1. Push-reel mowers cost only $100 brand new. The mower I bought was manufactured by American Lawn Mower Company,
…

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Bicycle Commuting: Consider joining in!

Grumpypilgrim and I are both big advocates of bicycle use, including bicycle commuting. In my own case, I started using bicycle to commute to work in 1999 (I live in St. Louis). I’ve accrued more than 10,000 miles bicycle commuting since that time. I’m about five miles from my place…

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Who gets to be “on top”? Science versus Religion

For centuries, established religions have asserted that science should be viewed through the lens of religion.  Over the past few years, scientifically-oriented writers have turned that view on its head.  They have asserted that it is more appropriate to view religious practices through the lens of science.

The recent flurry of books includes the following:

  • Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought, by Pascal Boyer (2002)
  • The Human Story, by Robin Dunbar (2004)
  • Breaking the Spell, by Daniel Dennett (2006)
  • Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, By David Sloan Wilson (2003)
  • How We Believe, by Michael Shermer (1999)
  • Why God’s Persist, by Robert Hinde (1999)
  • The End of Faith, by Sam Harris (2004)
  • Attachment, Evolution and the Psychology of Religion, by Lee Kirkpatrick (2005)
  • In Gods We Trust, by Scott Atran (2002)

Though I own each of these books, I have completely read only half of them; I’m partly through the others.  They are a priority on my reading list given the high stakes of failing to understand religious practices (religious tensions and wars everywhere one cares to look). 

For anyone just getting started in this area, I recommend Dennett’s 2006 work, Breaking the Spell.  This book is classic Dennett: eloquent, heartfelt and clear.  He works extra hard so that he is not only preaching to the choir. He spends the first one-hundred pages working to convince Believers to give him a chance.  It’s quite an extraordinary opening gambit.

Most of the above books concern …

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Good news on Internet neutrality

This, from http://www.freepress.net/ :  A bipartisan majority on the House Judiciary Committee yesterday passed the "Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act" -- a good bill that would use antitrust law to protect Network Neutrality. Special thanks to those of you who called the key members who cast the deciding votes. The question…

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