Recently in Religion Category

The best case for marriage in the priesthood is that priests used to be married. We've had popes in our history that were married. This is important because most of the church's doctrine goes back 2000 years. There is a fascinating number of debates that can be had simply going back to the time of Jesus. One of those debates is the debate over the vow of poverty. Some orders have it and some don't...

Note: I am currently running a 101 fever at the moment. So, if my arguments seem off, I'm blaming it on that. Sort of......I seem to recall the now famous lines, "I come not to bury Caesar but to praise him." At least, that is my best recollection of that play. The pope has been in the crosshairs (pardon the pun) lately and as a devout Catholic, I thought I should measure up a defense....

We're all familiar with the shenanigans of Westboro Baptist Church.  From protesting outside soldier's funerals holding signs that say "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" to protesting outside the Obama children's private school to running a disgusting website that I won't link you to because I like you too much, this guy is the very definition of an out of control extremist prick.  He believes that the Iraq war is God's punishment for America's tolerance of...

This subject has been hit hard, but I couldn't let it go by. I've been in education for thirteen years and I've spent ten of them teaching history. I've taught U.S. History and World History and it might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I hold history to be sacred. Therefore, I was saddened by the actions of the Texas School board this past week. Texas is the biggest market for textbook writers, so...

Just as the right scrambles to blame yesterday's plane crash into a building in Austin, TX as a left wing nutjob, about 600 people as of the time of this publication have joined a group called "the Philosophy of Joe Stack" on Facebook. The discussions on the page paint Stack as some kind of "hero" for committing an act of terrorism that " is no different than what was going on in this same land...

This is a difficult time of year for many, and my family is no exception.A time of year that should be filled with peace, love and joy instead brings feelings of anguish, despair and loneliness to some. Family dysfunction is elevated to exponential highs. Some overindulge, over imbibe, or overcompensate as a result. My family certainly isn't immune from dysfunction, and we've managed our varying "toxicity" levels in different ways. Some withdraw ... sometimes...

In my opinion, there's no bigotry worse than bigotry cloaked in religion. More dangerous than the guys in the hoods and sheets are the snakes in 3-piece suits who stand behind pulpits claiming to be followers of Christ while spewing hate for their fellow man. Here is the latest in what is getting to be an increasingly long line of "pastors" who fit that description, Grant Swank, of the New Hope Church in Windham, Maine....

Apparently, the world is abuzz over Chris Mathews and the decision to deny Patrick Kennedy the eucharist. Eljefebob reviewed their performance this morning. It brought a huge discussion on the Hurricane and I thought I would expound on the issue. It is an important one from a political science standpoint and from a religious standpoint. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I can offer a lot to both.Those who are aware of their history know that evangelical Christians...

Warning: there is some random stuff in here, but it's based upon the research I've done and where it randomly took me at the time. I encourage you to think about things and let your critical thinking take you to places you've never been. Because we live in a world of naysayers, I have included links to the sites from which I have derived my information at the end of this piece. I challenge...

Rachel Weiner of the Huffington Post reports today that a conservative group that calls themselves The Conservative Bible Project believe that "Liberal bias has become the single biggest distortion in modern Bible translations" so they are re-translating. Upon first reading this story, I was reminded of the great Kevin Smith movie Dogma, where Jesus is repackaged as the Buddy Jesus (see photo above) to attract a younger crowd to Catholisism.  Sadly, these folks aren't joking.  The...