Tag Archives: religion

Heretics R Us

Posted on October 22, 2022 by midiguru

In 325 A.D., the emperor Constantine arranged a conference among the Roman world’s Christian bishops. Accounts vary, but about 300 bishops traveled from near and far to the city of Nicaea, in what is now Turkey. Constantine paid for their … Continue reading →

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The Mind Parasites

Posted on June 29, 2022 by midiguru

Religion is a mind parasite. Yes, your religion too. Like other parasites, this one is subject to the normal processes of evolution. We tend to think of evolution strictly in terms of DNA, but DNA is not required. All that’s … Continue reading →

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The God Problem

Posted on June 20, 2022 by midiguru

Why does religion even exist? Lots of people are happy to offer answers to this question, but as Scott Atran points out in his book In Gods We Trust, those answers are really no better than just-so stories. They have … Continue reading →

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Unholy Rollers

Posted on April 10, 2022 by midiguru

People who are religious typically take their religion quite seriously. Some of them simply bask in the glow of their beliefs, whatever those happen to be. I have no problem with that. People who are secure in their beliefs can … Continue reading →

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Freedom vs. the Common Good

Posted on January 19, 2022 by midiguru

There is always, inevitably, a tension between individual freedom and the need to work together for the common good. Neither idea can ever vanquish the other, and in extreme forms both are evil. When individual freedom is elevated as the … Continue reading →

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Cool Hand Luke

Posted on November 12, 2021 by midiguru

So I shared on Facebook one of those cartoons that lampoons a few of the more glaring absurdities in the Bible. One of my FB friends, who is a devout Lutheran, felt that he needed to point out that many … Continue reading →

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Dreams of Destiny

Posted on October 3, 2021 by midiguru

The trouble with religion is that it’s backwards. If you’re religiously inclined, you start with a pre-ordained set of answers and then try earnestly to distort whatever you’re seeing so that it will lead you to the answers you’ve already … Continue reading →

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Theo-What?

Posted on April 30, 2021 by midiguru

Four or five years ago I decided I needed to do something to broaden what we might call my social circle — my contacts with other humans. I had had some losses during the five years before that (Owen, Kelly, … Continue reading →

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Gawd…

Posted on November 9, 2020 by midiguru

One of the advantages of being retired is that I can spend a whole day chasing rabbits — intellectual rabbits, that is; I never leave my chair — if it pleases me. Yesterday a Facebook friend who is an ardent … Continue reading →

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Drove My Chevy to the Levee

Posted on June 7, 2019 by midiguru

I know some of my friends are religious. Their faith baffles me. I don’t understand how anyone could ever think or feel those things: It just isn’t possible. To me, a religious person is like a guy who is delighted … Continue reading →

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