Religion

Religion

Big Questions

Has evangelical Christianity become too politicized?


The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power over Christian Values by Ben Howe

Should the constitutional separation between religion and government remain as a foundation stone of our democracy?

Evangelicals, how long do you apologize for Trump’s lies and vulgarity?

If you’re going to believe in a god (or, the “Chosen One”), then believe in your god, not a despicable character.

Is the importance of religion shrinking in our society? Why?

Why do we believe?

    
When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner
Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution by Rainn Wilson
How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures by Robin Dunbar

And/Or,

Is religion also responsible for many of the problems of the world?


Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End by Bart D. Ehrman

Why would you support a religious community that constantly tries to deride and diminish your humanity?

Republican-led statehouses across the country are proposing and passing staggering numbers of bills that serve a fringe, white evangelical agenda that abrogates the rights and freedoms of the rest of us, the majority of U.S. citizens.

Did the Vatican’s Doctrine of Discovery justify colonialism, and thereby provide a holy mandate to discover (invade) and capitalize on (seize, control, convert, extract, oppress) the assets of new lands and new peoples?

  • Does the old adage “To the victor go the spoils,” have any merit in our modern world order?
  • Is Putin operating under that principle?
  • Can the free, democratic world let him (Russia) get away with that?


Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles & Soong-Chan Rah

Is God a

  • he
  • she, or
  • a spirit?

Is abortion a band-aid medical fix to a much larger social problem? Or, is it how some women survive and deal with the most complex, risky, expensive, and life-changing dilemma they will ever face in their lives? Or, is it both?

It Takes Two to Tango

Why should the Catholic Church deserve any moral authority when it comes to abortion, when their policy of accident-waiting-to-happen celibacy has attracted generations of pedophiles that they have covered up and never provided any true and permanent transparency and accountability?

When it comes to priest pedophilia, should the buck stop with the Pope?

  • When will true accountability come to Catholicism?
  • When will Catholics rise up and stop acquiescing to their church?
  • What does true accountability look like?


Spotlight: Break the story, break the silence.

If an alien was sent to live on earth and report back, what religion would the alien choose to follow, if any?

For over 400 years, have white Christian churches tried to bury the first and most egregious original sin in this country, which is slavery and racism, as if it never happened, as if the privileged supremist white man need not apologize and make amends?

What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?

God speed the hour, the glorious hour,
 When none on earth
 Shall exercise a lordly power,
 Nor in a tyrant’s presence cower;
 But all to manhood’s stature tower,
 By equal birth!
 That hour will come, to each, to all,
 And from his prison-house, the thrall
 Go forth.

Frederick Douglass, 1852

The Bible vs. Science: How does this end? Does it ever end?

Big Picture

Big Picture / Religion

For me, the different religions are beautiful flowers from the same garden, or they are branches of the same majestic tree.

Ghandi

Religion in General

  • Knowledge & Understanding
  • Institutions & Practices

Particular Religions

  • Prehistoric & Primitive Religions
  • Religions of Ancient Peoples
  • Hinduism
  • Buddhism
  • Religions of East Asia
  • Judaism
    • Hasidic Judaism
  • Christianity
  • Islam
  • Modern Religions

Brush Stroke’s Song

Further Reading

      
Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction by Bradley Jersak
How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures by Robin Dunbar
Spotlight: Break the story, break the silence.
Why Religion?: A Personal Story by Elaine Pagels

also

What Would My Dad (or Jesus) Do?

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