Posted inPersonal/Stories Science

Doubt is the stepping stone to truth

I was so sure that I was right. It turned out that I was wrong. But after finding this out, I was able to get on the road to rightness. What got me facing in the right direction was doubt. Thank you, doubt! If it weren't for you, I'd have headed in the wrong direction for quite a bit longer. I'm not talking about a religious belief, though I could be. The lesson I learned last week is universal: don't be completely, absolutely, 100% sure about anything. Even when we're super confident that we're correct, it's important to leave open the…
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Posted inPolitics

Republicans want to establish a U.S. theocracy

I used to joke about the "American Taliban" -- fundamentalist Christians who say they want to make this country into a Bible-based theocracy. But now that every Republican presidential candidate has endorsed this crazy notion in one form or another, it isn't nearly as funny to me. Losing our constitutionally-guaranteed right of freedom from religion is a serious matter. And one worth fighting hard to prevent.  I've voted for Republicans in the past, and would consider doing so again if moderates of the sort we Oregonians used to elect came back into G.O.P. fashion. But nowadays Governor Tom McCall, Senator…
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Posted inReligions

Keep the good religious feeling. Discard the religion

Recently I had one of my marvelous enlightened insights. These occur regularly now that I've forsaken the confines of "thou shalt" religiosity. I'm not sure how much more enlightened and insightful I can become. Maybe infinitely. Can't be sure, since one of my core insights is that uncertainty and unknowing are part of the human condition. Mystery is us. Also, the cosmos. Anyway, My Big Insight (haven't copyrighted it, so feel free to share, steal, embrace) is this: If you've given up unfounded religious beliefs that you used to embrace, yet miss the pleasurable feelings those beliefs produced, keep the…
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Posted inBooks Taoism/Tai Chi

I’m loving “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Taoism”

Taoism is a way of life for fools. So when I bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism, I expected a good match between the usually informatively entertaining Idiot's Guide series, and my favorite philosophical approach. (I'm such a fool, I read the entire book through once, and now am re-reading it with a different colored highlighter in hand.) I was right. Brandon Toporov, writer, and Chad Hansen, Chinese scholar, teamed up to produce an overview of Taoism that is easy to read, inspiring, and practical, while also possessing intellectual rigor. I'm confident of that last assertion, since I searched out…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Ah, the wrath that awaits us at death–Satsangi Revenge 101!

Here's David Lane's great response to some highly judgmental (and theologically questionable) rants by a Sant Mat follower on a recent blog post. I say "theologically questionable" because Sant Mat teachings, Radha Soami Satsang Beas variety, at least, say that every disciple/initiate, wayward or not, will return to God within four lifetimes under the guidance of the perfect living guru, a.k.a. "God in human form." So I'm saved! Doubly saved, since I was baptized Catholic. Doesn't that get me entry to purgatory, at minimum? (I'm vague about the details of Catholic dogma; never got confirmed, thank God.) David writes on the Yahoo…
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Posted inScience Universe

“Nothing” replaces “God” in modern cosmology

Nothing is a big deal in physics nowadays. As noted in a previous post, scientists have found that even seemingly empty space actually is seething with energetic activity.  So much so, as cosmologist Lawrence Krauss describes in his new book, "A Universe from Nothing," nothing can reasonably be viewed as the creative principle which brought the universe into being -- a job most religions give to God. We have discovered that we live in a universe in which empty space -- what formerly could have passed for nothing -- has a new dynamic that dominates the current evolution of the…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Does religious familiarity breed contempt?

I'm amused when other people try to understand why I did something -- like diassociate myself from the religious organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), that I was an active member of for over thirty years. Heck, I don't even know why I do stuff much of the time. None of us does. Neuroscience tells us that most of the brain/mind's activity occurs outside of conscious awareness. A desire, thought, inclination, motivation, or whatever pops up and we act on it. But where it came from or what made it rise into awareness is a mystery. To ourselves. To other…
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Posted inPolitics

Republicans want laws to be optional. Drink & drive!

Until I read Rich Lowry's column in the Oregonian today, I didn't realize how wacko the religiousy libertarian wing of the Republican Party had become.  Way wacko.  Following Lowry's logic about why Catholics with a moral distaste for contraception shouldn't have to comply with health insurance laws that apply to everybody else, apparently anybody with a moral objection to any law should be able to ignore it. About a month ago, people who thought religious institutions shouldn’t be forced to pay for things they morally oppose were unremarkable, boring even. Now, they are waging a heinous War on Women. Through the…
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Posted inHumor Personal/Stories

Universe is sending me a “Fuck. That. Shit.” message

I've got no idea who "the Universe" could be. Or if it is a "who." Or if it is, at all. Regardless... The Universe seems to be trying to communicate an important message to me.  Fuck. That. Shit.  It also comes in a different cadence and punctuation. Fuck that shit! Today I came across the Mother Ship source of the first link, a cool xkcd comic. Read it. Maybe the Universe is out to give you the same message.  Here's an excerpt from the comic that I liked a lot: I don't know how to jolt myself into seeing what…
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Posted inHumor Miscellaneous

Got to share some poetic hate-mail insults

I've got to give credit where credit is due: one of my most avid non-fans does come up with some marvelously creative (and alliterative) insulting comments.  Often these go into a Typepad spam filter, where I just discovered some heretofore unnoticed gems. Usually I ignore hate mail, but these communications struck me as possessing an admirable "Howl" style (Allen Ginsberg's classic poem) and deserved to be shared with a wider audience. why you such a two bit second grade hypocritical coward you miserable little runt eyed prat, what you so goddamn chicken about you pitiful little two faced rat? You…
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Posted inGod Science Universe

Science’s “nothing” different from religion’s “nothing”

You'd think that if secular scientists and religious true believers could agree on anything, it'd be the nature of nothing. After all, isn't nothing, well, nothing? Zero. Zilch. Nada. Absence. Void.  But, no, here too science and religion are butting heads. Scientific nothing is quite different from religious nothing. And while I used to be more on religion's side when I thought about what nothing meant in the Big Question, "Why is there something rather than nothing?", now I strongly lean toward the headbutt (or to the faithful, butthead) of science. Physicist/cosmologist Lawrence Krauss does a great job laying out…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus Humor

I’m doing the “work of Our Lord.” Surprise to me.

Who knew? Certainly not me. Just got this email from Rev. Shawn Malloy, my "brother in Jesus." Dear Brother Brian My brother in Christ I want to say I love the sight [site?] and I pray that your Facebook launch will be success.  You are doing the work of Our Lord so my prayers are with you. Sincerely, Your Brother in Christ Jesus ________________________________ Reverend Dr. Shawn M. Malloy DDFounder and Senior PastorMalloy Ministrieshttp://www.malloyministries.org Excellent news. If I learn after I die that I'm wrong, and Jesus truly is the Son of God who died for our sins, I can…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Is Radha Soami Satsang Beas racist?

With permission, I'm sharing an email that I got from an American of Indian heritage who is outraged at how "brown" people are treated when they go to the headquarters of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) in Beas, India. I've been to Beas twice, also called the Dera. RSSB is a spiritual organization which talks a lot about oneness, humility, love, and such, but I have to agree with this person: there's a lot of hierarchical inequality in RSSB which can look like racism (and maybe it is). Westerners are treated much differently from Indians, getting special treatment and access…
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Posted inMorality Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Kierkegaard and crazy leaps of faith

Recently I listened to a Philosophy Talk podcast about Soren Kierkegaard, a dour 19th century Danish philosopher. I read some Kierkegaard back in college, many years ago. At that time I was into crazy existentialists, loving how they embraced the meaninglessness of life. Now, I see Kierkegaard as simply crazy -- without many, if any, redeeming philosophical qualities that balance his insane defense of religious leaps of faith. The podcast focused on Kierkegaard's take on the Old Testament tale of Abraham and Isaac, as discussed in his book "Fear and Trembling." According to Wikipedia: Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety that…
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Posted inPolitics

Birth control is sinful? That’s religious craziness.

A week after I wrote "Contraception should be covered by religious organizations," I'm still amazed that providing birth control benefits to women via a health insurance plan is controversial in the second decade of the twenty-first century. This isn't the Dark Ages. The Catholic Church doesn't run the western world. Few people, and certainly not the United States Constitution, believe the Pope is infallible when he makes moral pronouncements.  So why should the Obama administration, or anyone else, take seriously the freak-out of religious fundamentalists over its decision to require faith-based organizations which employ members of the general public to…
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Posted inHumor Religions

Bill Maher says “atheism is not a religion.” Yes!

On last Friday's Real Time With Bill Maher, the "New Rules" segment got it exactly right. Atheism is not a religion. It's the absence of religion.  As noted in this post, if atheism is a religion, albino is a suntan. For another thoughtful perspective, check out Skeptico's "Atheism is not a religion." You can watch the whole New Rules segment (six minutes long) here. Atheism bit is at the end. Thanks to HBO, I'll share a transcript of Maher's take on religion and atheism below.  And finally, New Rule: Until someone claims to see Christopher Hitchens' face in a tree…
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Posted inBooks Buddhism Radha Soami Satsang Beas

No need for a creating God in Buddhism

In my previous post I talked about how a book called Buddhism published by a Sikh'ish, Hindu'ish Indian organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, distorts Buddhist reality.  So far I've only read one chapter in the book, "A Perspective on Buddhist Views on Soul and God." Here's a PDF file of the scanned chapter pages, complete with my often skeptical highlighting (yellow question marks in the margins). Download Buddhist Views on Soul and God chapter  I hope other people more knowledgeable about Buddhism than I will read the chapter and leave comments about this question: Does the author, K.N. Upadhyaya, correctly describe mainstream Buddhist teachings…
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Posted inBuddhism Radha Soami Satsang Beas

RSSB “Buddhism” book distorts Buddhist reality

This morning I got angry while reading a chapter in "Buddhism," a book published by Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) which purports to show "the essential unity of the teachings of the Buddha and other spiritual teachings of the time." Anger isn't very Buddhist, I suppose. But it felt justified.  I'm a big fan of Buddhism, the non-religious variety, at least. Ever since my college days I've devoured writings about Buddhism, particularly Zen. So since I was an active member of RSSB for about thirty-five years prior to my churchless un-conversion, I was curious to learn how an author (K.N.…
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Posted inPolitics

Contraception should be covered by religious organizations

Bizarre. Mystifying. Irrational. That's what religion is. And that's also how I look upon the freak-out that erupted after the Obama administration required religious organizations (colleges, hospitals, etc.) which serve the general public to cover contraception, just like others who offer health insurance are required to do. Note: contraception. Not abortion. Birth control pills, condoms, IUD's. The Institute of Medicine recommended that birth control be fully covered under health plans.  But, you know, the Institute of Medicine used facts, evidence, research, and common sense in reaching that conclusion, which weirds out faith-based folks. Preventing unwanted pregnancies saves lives, reduces abortions, and enables…
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