If you didn't give a damn what family friends or anybody thought of you what religion would you choose or are you comfortable with your present faith? Or perhaps you'd prefer none at all?    

    As an FDR democrat I’m pleasantly surprised to tip my cap to Senator Grassley in his attempt to investigate the materialistic excesses of some rock star televangelists who allegedly violate federal tax laws by accepting unreasonable personal gifts from members and church proceeds, such as Rolls-Royces, jewelry, vacation homes, and private jets. The senator wants to make sure churchgoers aren’t getting ripped off. Echoes of the 1980s when televangelist Jim Baker wa...

I extend my hand to Fred Thompson for admitting he’s not much for church-going; Biden, too, has guts to say that his belief is his own business and no one else’s. The three top tier Democratic candidates seldom let an utterance go by without some reference to their God as though that would make them stand out among the crowd.It seems to me that the most important belief—an oath actually—is that they will defend the Constitution and show depth in democratic principles. One who is a nonbeliever or...

Who gives a hoot what Christopher Hitchens thinks about Mother Teresa’s dark confessions? He’s only venting reference to them to justify his atheism in tandem with sadistic pleasure in lambasting the Catholic Church in having allowed Teresa to continue on with her overly “enthusiastic” good will works while it knew that she was but creating maddening busy work to offset and to spite her loss in faith. From Peter’s thrice denial, Judas’ treachery and Jesus utterance of being forsaken by his fa...

The blind faith authoritarian doesn’t think of himself that way: ostensibly society is a long way in history from the witch doctor’s inventive hocus-pocus. Keep in mind, however, that long before countless sacred scriptures, the mystics of cloistered tribes wove their tales into the psyche of the gullible from which out of the necessity of preserving the “golden age” of primary beliefs evolved the written word claimed as truth. Despite over centuries of empirical argument the universal truth ...

Islam objects to the term “suicide bombing.” It prefers “martyrdom.” The way I see it is that it is neither—it’s just downright sadomasochistic murder. Agree?

Why, it’s like Rove obsessing Hillary, when atheists protest theism, then have the effrontery to lump themselves together with secular humanists and agnostics. Why can’t they stand alone as champions of denial?

C is c herished moments with loved ones. H is h appiness that rings the bells. R is r efulgence symbolic of the spirit. I is i ntrospection brought forth by the day’s meaning. S is the touch of s olemnity for the otherwise dazzling experience. T is the t ree to remind us of the cross and the evergreen to think eternity. M is m erriness that fills the air of good will. A is the a ltruism in our hearts that give. S is the s erenity elicite...

Christmas decorations are upon us again and with the cries of commercialism and religion offending the undue sensitivity of the populace in lieu of simply accepting it for what it is: greed and devotion merging to forge, however shallow, a sense of good will. The conservatives are right in that this is a Christian nation and that one must do when in the US do what most Americans do and that is celebrate flauntingly either secularly or religiously. For parents of another faith, or of none at a...

  It is not religion itself that troubles me as much as its officious absolutism. Obviously religion must retain a core of absolutism to remain true to itself yet to be viable it ought to accept change through compromising relativism. The new Pope Benedict XVI does not accept this premise. In an ideal world absolutes are uncompromising because of their prima facie truths, but we do not exist — even if we believe they are the foundation of existence — within the pure essences of a spiritual ...

  Religion as with the abused spouse’s twisted view is a masochistic belief that humans alone are responsible for the abuses of the world. Religion is incapable of understanding that the universe is sadistically indifferent to our plight: we are but babes in the woods left to the wolves. Nature’s epochs can turn on life and render it extinct. We cling to faith not out of love of God but as a haven against the wrath of forces of which we have no control. It is too horrible to contemplate the...

  It is a stretch to carry the “culture of life” to  in vitro fertilization in laboratories for purposes of medical research when it is clear no such “life at conception” exists. The potential if successful is to preserve the culture of life for those plagued by injury and disease. To limit such research to singular adult stem cells is to deny the holistic venture into greater cures. In this respect religious dogma is a plague on the house of reason and science.   Cop...

It is said continually since removal of Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube that the courts are defying the wishes of the majority of Americans when in reality that simply is not true. Over seventy percent think of it as a pragmatic, if not a serious medical decision and not a moral one. This issue is provoked by the religious right that opposes even living wills concerning the right to die; in its judgment only God has that right by religious proxy. What makes this case bazaar is that the most im...

It's time to amend the Ten Commandments: 1. I am the Lord, thy God, who has brought thee out of bondage so that thou shalt comprehend the meaning of freedom under law. 2. Thou shalt extend credence to Me as the sole author of Nature’s elements that have consummated in humanity. 3. Thou shalt not idolize the governance of men, or cults that do not reflect reverence for humanity. 4. Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain, nor mock divine intentions. 5. Preserve the Sabbath to worshi...

There is no denying that this country is God-fearing, loving, and that it is prefaced on religious tolerance. Whether one endorses the Ten Commandments or not, the law has transcended time and is a veritable symbol of law and order. Although it should not be used whimsically, distastefully and unilaterally zealous as did the Kentucky judge, it is not simply a bastion of the Judea-Christian belief , but universally accepted principles — but for a few items that I had pointed out in an earlier blo...