[NOTE: The data is, I think, irrefutable: measured by the “Three Bs” of religion — Belief, Behavior & Belonging — the USA is steadily “losing” its religion(s), and becoming a more secular, nonreligious place. I’m a good example of this, yet also a bad one. Good, in that I “lost” the religion I was raised … Continue reading Exploring Why & How More Americans Are Losing Their Religion
[NOTE: When it comes to religion, history—and in this case the now established American historical religion of guns — for my money, Garry Wills is one of the best writers of his generation . And when Wills draws a bead with a pen his aim is generally true. As it is here.] New York Review … Continue reading Supremes & Guns & Kids: Our Unholy Trinity
BY JIM GOMEZ — April 7, 2023 SAN PEDRO CUTUD, Philippines (AP) — Eight Filipinos were nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a bloody Good Friday tradition, including a carpenter, who was crucified for the 34th time with a prayer for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to end because it has made poor … Continue reading Ritual Crucifixions resume for Easter in Philippines
Washington Post — April 8, 2023 Michael Emerson, professor of sociology at the University of Illinois, said that church racial inclusion efforts suffered under President Donald Trump, who often made incendiary comments about immigrants and Blacks. Many church leaders faced a dilemma, Emerson said: “Do I repudiate it and risk losing many of my White … Continue reading Embracing the New Resegregationist Gospel in a Chapel Hill NC Church
[NOTE: This is the substance of a message offered at Spring Friends Meeting this morning, March 5 2023.] “[T ]he one thing about Jesus that can be known with certainty,” wrote the late New Testament scholar William Herzog II, “was that he was executed as an enemy of the state and the Temple.” Yes. We’re … Continue reading Bible Study: Two Subversive Parables