The Bible’s appraisal of male homosexuality is clear. Leviticus 20:13 states: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” It is not surprising that this sort of pronouncement sometimes leads [...] [more >]
Does religion exert a positive influence on people’s lives? The answer to this question likely depends on how we define the variables. Yet is it truly religion exerting the influence, when we get right down to it, or something more mundane: social values, adopting a meaningful life narrative, community involvement, pleasing rituals, what? A huge [...] [more >]
Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchins will debate the controversial tenants of Christianity and Atheism on April 6th at 8 pm at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Tickets are free. More info here: http://www.sg.ufl.edu/accent/ Sphere: Related Content [more >]
If the Judeo-Christian god is first in line, with none others before him, that line should be at the unemployment office. Not because we need him to provide jobs, but because he doesn’t. There are thousands upon thousands of unemployed fathers and mothers who pray and wait in vain these days for any half-crappy job [...] [more >]
Demolishing the wall between church and state in order to establish a Christian theocracy is the ultimate goal of the Christian Right. Since they believe their version of Christianity is infallible and the only true means of salvation, they can’t understand why their religion shouldn’t be an integral part of our lives and our government [...] [more >]
According to the drumbeat from religious leaders and the media, religion and science are heading for a profound reconciliation and synthesis that will benefit all humanity. The purpose of this discussion is to expose the irrationality of this contention and state the proper relationship of the two. Let’s deal first with the claims that religion [...] [more >]
The word “faith” is short and appears innocuous. But it has caused much human misery in history and continues to do so presently. A good first step in addressing this problem is to appreciate that “faith,” like most words, has multiple meanings. The type of faith discussed in this essay will be confined to religious [...] [more >]
Most people don’t have to think very hard to come up with organizations they believe are compassionate and moral. Churches and faith-based organizations usually come to mind. It’s a misconception, however, that “religion” is the only measure of morality and that only religious people do good work. There are also many secular/atheist charitable organizations in [...] [more >]
