Posted inMiscellaneous

Manti Te’o hoax: a deep desire to believe

Worth reading, even if you don't follow American football: "Behind Manti Te'o hoax about girlfriend lies a deep desire to believe." Quite a few parallels to religiosity here. At its root, this was a story about the deep need to believe. What complicates that is that it’s not clear whether Manti Te’o wanted to believe in a beautiful, fake girlfriend or whether we wanted to believe in him. The impulse obviously isn’t unique to the Internet — the rundown of never-was frauds sweeps back decades, including “Tony Godby Johnson,” whose middle-aged creator hoodwinked legions into believing she was an AIDS-stricken little boy. But…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Spiritual practice/meditation

Why be reluctant to share spiritual experiences?

One of the (few) things I like about Christianity is how open Christians are to talking about their visions of Jesus, heaven, angels, and other aspects of the divine. If a Christian has a spiritual experience, he or she usually feels that this is something to be shared, not kept secret. By contrast, there's a rather cult'ish tendency in Eastern religions, meditative practices, and mystical paths to -- shush! -- keep quiet about "inner" supposed supernatural experiences. I've always been suspicious of this, because it strikes me as a means of control. For example, I'm quite familiar with the injunction…
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Posted inReligions

Atheism: natural, moral, open-minded

I suppose I'm an atheist. After all, I don't believe in God. There's no demonstrable evidence of God. I want to spend what likely is my one and only life as close to reality as possible. Imagination is fine and fun, but it should be a supplement to living, not the main course. I used to shy away from the term, "atheist." It's got a negative vibe in the United States' highly religious culture. Reading Julian Baggini's wonderful little book, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, has made me more comfortable with saying, yeah, I'm an atheist.  Here's some reasons I've…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Radha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

Weird religious stuff I’ve believed or done

A couple of weeks into the New Year, I still haven't completely broken a half-hearted resolution: be more understanding and less in-your-face toward people I disagree with.  Such as on matters of religion or politics. Which are the main areas in life where I can get frothy at the mouth with indignation at how incredibly stupid some people can be who aren't like wise me. I've been trying to remember that over my 64 years of living, my own religious and political views have changed a lot. I've believed and done things in the past that my present self would…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Spiritual practice/meditation

Andrew Cohen is a tyrant, not a guru

It's always a pleasure to get an email message from someone who is thoughtful, churchless, a good writer, skeptical of gurus, and honestly blunt. In short, someone who reminds me of me!  Here's what Scott Little had to say about his conversion to reality from religion. It's nicely said. HIs observations about the tyranny of Andrew Cohen apply to other supposed "gurus" who manipulate devotees through emotional charisma. Thanks for letting me share your thoughts on this blog, Scott. Hello Brian, I found your Church of the Churchless blog today.  Thank you for your work there. I am a former Christian…
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Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Meaning and happiness. Are they really so different?

Thanks to a regular Church of the Churchless visitor, "cc," for letting me know about an interesting article in the Atlantic: There's More to Life Than Being Happy. For sure. Maybe. Who can say? Those are some of my reactions to the article, which focuses on Viktor Frankl and his well-known book, "Man's Search for Meaning." In September 1942, Viktor Frankl, a prominent Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist in Vienna, was arrested and transported to a Nazi concentration camp with his wife and parents. Three years later, when his camp was liberated, most of his family, including his pregnant wife, had…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus Science

People in United States are embarrassingly ignorant of evolution

Way to go, citizens of the United States! We're almost #1 in... Percentage of people who don't accept the reality that humans evolved from earlier species of animals. If we can just get more people in Turkey educated in modern science, and/or divorced from fundamentalist religion, the United States has a good chance of being #1: the most ignorant of 34 countries about a central fact of modern science. Pathetic. Embarassing.  It's no wonder the United States is falling behind the rest of the world in so many areas. Our citizens are astoundingly clueless about basic facts every person should…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Spiritual practice/meditation

David Lane’s honest view of Sant Mat

There's a lot to like in a recent posting by David Lane on his Radhasoami Studies discussion group. "What I Believe? -- a position paper of sorts by David Lane" describes how Lane feels about the Indian philosophy of Sant Mat, Radha Soami Satsang Beas version (Sant Mat comes in various guises, much as Christianity has many competing theologies). One of the things I liked the most in this mini-essay was praise of me -- the person I'm closest to -- at the end. And I wasn't even expecting it! Meaning, I didn't search out the posting because of the me-mention.…
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Posted inMorality Reality

Meaning of life is whatever you find meaningful

What is the meaning of life? I used to think this was an important question. Heck, maybe the only question worth seriously pursuing an answer to. Why? Because once the question was answered, I'd know what were the most important things to do in life. (Which, though I didn't ponder this at the time, had damn well better include "search for the meaning of life," or I was seriously screwed.) Now I'm not nearly as interested in thinking about the meaning of life. I'm actually living a meaningful life -- much preferable to wondering what one might consist of. A few…
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Posted inMiscellaneous Personal/Stories

Skateboard wisdom: loosen your trucks to live freely

I like preaching un-sermons here in the Church of the Churchless. My inspiration can come from any source, so long as it isn't -- ugh! -- a holy book or holy person.  Today I want to praise the glory of loose trucks.  Now, some of you reading this won't understand what the hell "loose trucks" means, especially if you're over thirty. Others, including ancient 64 year old me, will, because we've embraced the marvelous spirituality of skateboarding/longboarding. Trucks are thingies that connect the wooden board to the wheels. They're what make it possible to turn the skateboard by shifting weight…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth Science

Self/Soul is evolution’s trick to make us think “I’m important!”

Why do humans feel that we have (or are) a Self/Soul that's distinct from the body/brain? Buddhism and neuroscience agree: there's no such thing, no self, no soul. Yet it sure seems like there is. We look at the world with a consciousness that screams, "I'm floating above my mind and body! I'm in control of my physicality, not just material brain meat doing its thing." A few weeks ago I blogged about Nicholas Humphrey's fascinating short book, "Seeing Red: A Study in Consciousness." The passages I shared in that post showed how Humphrey starts with a description of seeing…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories

Thanks, godless heathens, for a good blog year

This probably will be my last Church of the Churchless blog post. For 2012. (Oh, I so love to tantalize haters of my irreligosity with first sentences like that, who fail to realize that every profane, insulting comment or email they send my way makes me really happy -- because it encourages me to keep on doing what I'm doing: stand up for truth, openness, and reality against religious fundamentalists who hate those things.) It's been a good year. As has been every churchless year since November 2004, when I started this blog. I really appreciate the steady stream of…
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Posted inBooks Religions

Give up religious certainty. Embrace antifragile chaos.

Antifragile. It's my new favorite word. It's the title of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's latest book. I'm only a few chapters into it, but already love the notion that what sustains nature, life, economies, just about everything, isn't rigid robustness. Stresses that leave us the same aren't growthful. What we want is to be able to thrive on unpredictability, not-knowing, random stresses. Wind extinguishes a candle and energizes fire. Likewise with randomness, uncertainty, chaos: you want to use them, not hide from them. You want to be the fire and wish for the wind... The mission is how to domesticate, even dominate,…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus Personal/Stories

No, Virginia, there isn’t a Santa Claus

My wife and I aren't super-grinches around Christmas. We're pleased to let religiously minded people engage in their fantasies about virgin births, humans who are sons of God, and other miraculous supernatural stuff. But I've got problems with encouraging a belief in Santa Claus as a real entity.  Looking upon Santa Claus as akin to the Easter Bunny is preferable. I doubt many kids believe in the literal reality of the Easter Bunny as intensely as they believe in Santa Claus. And giving up a belief in the Easter Bunny seemingly comes earlier and easier than a belief in Santa.…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories

Our Christmas letter shows unbelievers are — shock! — normal people

Every year it's my non-sacred duty to compose a Holiday, a.k.a. Christmas, Letter. I use "Holiday" on the letter itself, because sometimes my wife and I don't get around to mailing them until after December 25, and this gives us sort of an excuse. Hey, you're getting it before New Year's, which is the last end of year holiday.  Have a look if you want to get a glimpse into the Real World of the Church of the Churchless' unpastor. And gaze upon a photo of his amazingly adorable granddaughter. Download 2012 Christmas Letter PDF I capitalized "Real World" to…
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Posted inBuddhism

How to challenge ghosts who seem real

I came across a great story in one of my non-holy inspirational books, "Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living."  Here's a simple way to prove whether a seemingly supernatural vision, thought, presence, or whatever really is other-worldly, or just an emanation of your own mind.  Adapt the proof as desired. There's lots of ways to do what this Zen master advised. An old Zen story tells of a man whose wife, on her deathbed, begged him never to go to another woman. A few months after her death, the man fell in love and became engaged. Immediately, he was haunted…
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Posted inBuddhism

Who the heck is inside my head, talking to “me”?

Last night my wife and I spent a pleasant couple of hours at a holiday gathering hosted by a Tai Chi friend. Meeting some new people, we enjoyed stimulating conversation on a variety of subjects. Including meditation, spirituality, that sort of stuff. At one point, I said something like: A few days ago I had a realization that seemed fresh to me, even after more than forty years of daily meditation. Why do I so often feel at odds with myself? After all, who is there inside my head in addition to me? What's up with my worrying about whether…
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Posted inFundamentalism

Pope acts like an bigot in denouncing gay marriage

How could anybody believe the Pope is a spiritual person worthy of emulation? Clearly the Pope is a narrow-minded bigot who is woefully ignorant about both modern science and the basics of human compassion. Here's proof: "Pope says future of mankind at stake over gay marriage."  The defence of the family, the Pope said, "is about man himself. And it becomes clear that when God is denied, human dignity also disappears." On Monday, the Vatican's newspaper described laws on gay marriage as an attempt at a communist-like "utopia", a day after tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out in France…
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Posted inReality Religions

How atheists comfort children about death

Interesting story in the Washington Post: "Atheist parents comfort children about death without talk of God or heaven." As so many millions of Americans turn to clergy and prayers to help their children sort out the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, parents like Drizin do not. They don’t agonize over interpreting God’s will or message in the event. They don’t seek to explain what kind of God allows suffering, and they don’t fudge it when children ask what happens to people who die, be they Grandma or the young victims of Newtown. It's kind of weird, of course, that non-religious…
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Posted inMiracles Reality Science

Spiritual hallucinations provide illusory certainty

Synchronicity. I don't believe in it as something supernatural or miraculous. Just as an interesting phenomenon which has a natural explanation. Still... I enjoyed the connection between a book I started reading this morning, and a new video from David Lane, a.k.a. neuralsurfer, I came across a few minutes later via a Lane Facebook post. Common theme: brain-produced hallucinations which can seem absolutely real to the person hallucinating. The book is Oliver Sacks' "Hallucinations." Sacks is a professor of neurology who writes books about ways the brain produces unusual experiences.  Here's some of what I learned in the first few…
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