Posted inUncategorized

Are you religious, or mentally ill? Take the test.

Problematic symptoms can have many different causes. Differential diagnosis aids mental health experts like me*** to tell what you're suffering from.(*** I have a Master's Degree in Social Work. I had field placements in a Community Mental Health Clinic and a Family Counseling Agency. The fact that I never worked in mental health after I graduated, or got any sort of licensing, shouldn't bother you. After all, this is the Internet -- where advice is free and always worth what you pay for it.)Please consider the following ten statements carefully. Answer "yes" or "no" honestly, according to whether you agree…
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Posted inScience

Evolution reflects the beauty of science

Reality is so much more attractive than illusion. This is why science is so much more beautiful than religion.It just takes an open (and humble) mind's eye to see. Science places us within an interconnected cosmos where we are part and parcel of everything in existence.This is akin to the "oneness" of religion and mysticism. Except, it is demonstrably real. Behold: I'm a couple of chapters into Richard Dawkins' new book, "The Greatest Show on Earth." Which happens to be evolution. Great read. A spine-tingle on just about every page for those, like me, who get turned on by scientific…
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Posted inBuddhism Humor

Enlightenment: there’s an iPhone app for that

Since I love my iPhone, and it can reliably guide me to earthly destinations, I figured that spiritual enlightenment also would be available via one of the many downloadable applications for this marvelous device.And yes, it was. In the form of Guided Insight Meditation.Buddha must have been looking out for me, because I came across this app on the very last day, October 17, that it was still free. (As of now, you'll have to fork out $2.99 for enlightenment. Plus the cost of an iPhone, if you've got bad karma and don't have one yet.)I liked how most of…
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Posted inBooks God

“The Evolution of God” falls flat at the end

My prophesy turned out to be correct: I didn't agree with the final chapters of Robert Wright's "The Evolution of God," just as I anticipated.But there wasn't anything miraculous in my ability to see into the future, just as a transcendent divinity isn't needed to explain how religions change over the course of history -- embracing, by and large, a more inclusive, tolerant, and universal moral code.Mostly, this is what Wright says in his book. This book’s account of the moral direction of history has been a materialist account. We’ve explained the expansion of the moral imagination as an outgrowth…
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Posted inGod

God doesn’t exist, but is improving

I'm expecting to disagree with the final chapters of Robert Wright's "The Evolution of God," as I prophesied a few months ago.So I wanted to write a positive blog post about this book, which I'm almost finished with, before I turn more negative. As a New York Times review says, there's a good news/bad news joke for religious believers here:Wright makes it clear that he is tracking people’s conception of the divine, not the divine itself. He describes this as “a good news/bad news joke for traditionalist Christians, Muslims and Jews.” The bad news is that your God was born…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth

How to cheat death — without religion

Religions offer up a damn good deal on death: have faith, do what you're told, and you won't die.If this was really true, I'd sign up in a heartbeat, since then I wouldn't have to worry about what will happen after my last one. Which appears likely to be nothing... death being the absence of living.But there are worse things than dying and not existing any more. I'd rank the possibilities in this order of preference:(1) Die and live on pleasantly in another form ("heaven").(2) Die and cease to exist.(3) Die and live on horribly in another form ("hell").Most of…
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Posted inScience

O’Reilly vs. Dawkins shows why I’m churchless

A friend of mine is fond of saying, "No one's life is ever completely wasted. He can always serve as a horrible example for others."This adage came to mind as I watched a video of Bill O'Reilly showing his ignorance in an interview with Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is an eminent scientist who has just published a well-reviewed book about evolution, "The Greatest Show on Earth." O'Reilly is a right-wing talk show host who is fond of mangling facts.And, in this case, making up facts when they are lacking.The fundamentalist mindset is on display beautifully at the beginning of the interview.…
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Posted inReality

Wanted: a religion that reflects reality

Well, already there's a seeming contradiction in this blog post -- the title. Because if a religion truly reflected reality, it'd be part of the scientific world view, not religiosity.So what I mean by "religion" is something more like a philosophy, poetic vision, or statement of what life is about. A meaning-dimension that adds depth to the everyday here and now while remaining consistent with the consensual truths about the cosmos known to science.Traditional religions come up way short in this regard, along with most non-traditional faiths.Consider some of the facts (open to alteration, of course) that a reality-based religion…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories

Happiness is five years of churchless blogging

This being my birthday, I figured it was a great time to fire up my Burgman scooter, head to my favorite Salem coffee house, and write a blog post -- stimulated by 20 ounces of the Beanery house blend. Next month is this blog's five year anniversary. One of the presents I opened this morning -- in addition to a bunch of books I gave to myself -- was a wall hanging that Laurel, my wife, thought was fitting for me.Happiness: When one's spiritual needs are met by an untroubled inner life. Happiness comes when your work and words are…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus

Christian cross shouldn’t stay on public land

Driving around yesterday, I heard a Portland talk-show host get enraged about a lawsuit that seeks to have a Christian cross removed from the Mojave National Preserve in California.Right-winger Lars Larson said that a plywood box has been placed around the cross. "Unbelievable. How can this be happening in America!"What's unbelievable is that there would be any controversy over removing an obvious religious symbol from public property -- regardless of whether the cross was put up by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.The National Park Service denied a request to put up a Buddhist memorial. So it looks like only Christians…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories

There are no rules (including this one)

Hopefully my Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter won't burst into flames from the blasphemy of riding it while wearing a Harley-Davidson t-shirt. But I liked the message of the most philosophical piece of wearing apparel I came across in the Indianapolis International Airport shopping area yesterday, and had to buy it. I love my Japanese scooter. Wouldn't trade it for a Harley. However, the Harley-Davidson philosophy of life -- encapsulated on the t-shirt -- fits with my churchless leanings.Here's the answer someone new to Harley motorcycles got when he asked on a forum what being a member of the Florida Crew…
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Posted inTaoism/Tai Chi

A Tai Chi teacher: someone who doesn’t know the way

Here's one of the reasons I enjoy Tai Chi (and it's associated philosophy, Taoism) so much: a Tai Chi teacher isn't looked upon with special reverence, just respect. After having experienced a spiritual path that places the master, or guru, up on a pedestal, it's refreshing to practice Tai Chi -- where the teacher is looked upon quite differently. I like how John Lash, a Tai Chi teacher himself, puts it in his book, "The Spirit of Tai Chi." No one can know with the mind what Tai Chi and the Tao are. These are things that cannot be grasped…
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Posted inBooks God

God offers up whatever religions think will sell

God is a human invention. Notions about God evolve with the times, changing with cultural and societal circumstances.These are some central themes of Robert Wright's "The Evolution of God," a fascinating book that I've about two-thirds through. He further illuminates a lot of misgivings I've had about religion.Like, how religious leaders -- whether of East or West, a guru or the Pope -- basically are selling salvation. Not for money, usually, but in exchange for buying into a belief system. For example, in his section on Christianity Wright talks about how the earliest descriptions of Jesus' teachings didn't say anything…
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Posted inReligions

Indian rationalist denies God on his death bed

Way to go, Mr. Premanand. You're sticking with your non-faith and irreligion even though you're critically ill. I applauded your statement from a hospital bed in Podanur, India -- making clear that no, you're not having a death bed conversion to godliness. Here's an excerpt:I wish to clarify that as on today the twentieth of September, 2009 I remain a staunch rationalist and wish to place on record the following:a. I continue to be a rationalist of full conviction.b. I do not believe in any supernatural power. All the powers that we encounter are in the realm of nature and…
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Posted inReligions

Christian has advice for atheists

Thanks to science blogger P.Z. Myers, I've read some advice for atheists from a Christian who wants unbelievers to be nicer and more reasonable. Not surprisingly, the advice isn't reasonable. What a shock -- nonsense coming from someone religious. I love Myers' feisty style. He makes me seem like a churchless wuss. 1. Stop being so smug.Make me.Look, you start an argument, you don't get to whine at your opponent to be humble about his ideas before you've even taken a stab at criticizing them. Show me a reason not to be smug about atheism, and reason, and science, and the…
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Posted inReality

Primal awe: the mystery of existence

I don't need concepts like "religion," "spirituality," and "mysticism" to feel a sense of awe. All I need to do is contemplate the ultimate mystery these words point to.Existence. The fact that the cosmos is. And I am. As I've noted before, the primal mystery of existence is the black hole of all knowledge, experience, understanding, and whatever. It makes notions like enlightenment, theory of everything, self-realization, ultimate reality, perfect truth, and the like go zap! -- sucked into a cosmic void of not-knowing that erases false claims of knowing-it-all.How could it be possible to fathom the "it" of existence? Where is…
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Posted inHumor

Goatonapole is my new favorite revelation

Recently I got an email alerting me to a revelation: Goat on a Pole. Praise Goat. And Pole. For I have learned there is nothing else to know, no greater mystery to decipher, no image of reality better worth contemplating.From the Holy Goatonapole web site:"Goatonapole is the philosophy of being that holds that there is a Goat and a Pole and that the Goat is on the Pole. In the relation of Goat and Pole we Goatonapolists find an eternal thread of unfathomable cosmic significance, a point of reference in which all opposites dissolve into a unity of infinite breadth,…
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Posted inUncategorized

Open Thread 7

Here's another Open Thread (previous OTs are still open, of course). Leave a comment about anything you want to talk about. From now on comments on other posts need to be related to the subject of the post, or they will be candidates for deletion. So an Open Thread is the place for miscellany and whatever. Feel free. Just observe the comment policies (click on "comment policy" above).
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Posted inGod Spiritual practice/meditation

After God, a richer life awaits

So what's to be done after giving up a belief in God? (Or any other metaphysics founded on blind faith rather than demonstrable evidence.)First, pat yourself on the back -- or any other place that feels good -- and offer up some congratulations from you to you. "Great job, me. I've made the right choice: to embrace honesty rather than deception."But just as smokers often need a nicotine patch to help them break an unhealthy habit, going cold turkey off of God can be tough. After all, believing in the Big Guy Upstairs has been fulfilling, perhaps for a long…
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