I'm getting so incredibly tired of hearing from the cherry-picking fundamentalists (yes, I admit. I shouldn't have listened to fundamentalist talk radio on the way home from work tonight). Here's a challenge for each of them: If the entire Bible is inerrant, then read each of its passages closely. Don't…
There are some (usually unacknowledged) semantic disconnects ("failures to communicate") whenever theists and Atheists argue. Neither side responds as though they were aware of the unstated fundamental assumptions of the other side. Here are some of these for your consideration. For Atheist and Ignostic consideration: Theist's perceptions of atheism (as…
According to this article from the Boston Globe, Christianity is fading in Western Europe: Nearly 99 percent of Christmas cards sold in Great Britain contain no religious message or imagery. Traditional pictures such as angels blowing trumpets over a stable, Jesus in his manger, the shepherds and three wise men…
In my quest to better understand basic principles of group behavior, I reviewed Intergroup Relations, by Maryland B. Brewer and Norman Miller (1996) [this work appears to be out of print]. The stated focus this book is to better understand “the causes and consequences of the distinctions between ingroups (those groups to which an individual belongs) and outgroups (social groups that do not include the individual as a member). At the outset, the authors note “the apparently universal propensity to differentiate the social world into ‘us’ and ‘them.’” (Page xiii).
It was my suspicion that basic principles of social psychology would give me a deeper context for understanding many modern conflicts. I was not disappointed. By the way, these same principles appear in all basic social psychology books. Nothing I mention here is tentative or controversial among social scientists.
According to Sherif (1966) “whenever individuals belonging to one group interact, collectively or individually, with another group or its members in terms of their group identification, we have an instance of Intergroup behavior.” (Page 2) Such social categories “tend to be less rational than other categorizations in that the beliefs we hold about social groupings often do not rest on firm evidence of actual Intergroup differences.” (Page 6) Once we establish categories, “we are biased toward information that enhances the differences between categories and less attentive to information about similarities between members of different categories.” (Page 7).
We live in a pluralistic society. Therefore, individuals are simultaneously members in multiple …
I just can’t help periodically visiting the site of Focus on the Family, at least once in a while. They address many good topics over there—I often disagree with their conclusions, though not always (I almost always disagree with their attempted intrusions into government). They offer some solid good advice on parenting, marriage and career, some of it without much religion. Sometimes it reads like almost entirely like pop psychology.
For instance, in the current article on Mary Cheney, there is no condemnation, no fire and brim stone, only concern. Actually, lots of concern. Most of it about the absence of a father-figure in a child’s life. This is a legitimate concern, though it seems a bit hollow coming from an organization which is quintessentially homophobic. But they keep their deeper concerns about gays and inerrant bible passages in check in this particular article. Certainly, there is no discussion about hell.
Another current FOTF article features “Worldviews.” The ostensible concern is that “The Lion King” does not teach biblical Christianity, “despite a handful of good moral lessons. Again, no rampant condemnation. Instead, the article warns that
the notion of the “circle of life,” that history is circular and the present is heavily influenced by the spirits of one’s ancestors, is closer to Eastern pantheism or native spiritualism than the linear view of history presented in the Bible.
On a lark, I read a FOTF article on “Marijuana — inhaled intellectual impairment.” The gist of the article is that marijuana …