Faith is not a Reliable Reasoning Process

Faith is not a Reliable Reasoning Process

Fundamentally, faith is not a reliable reasoning process. Belief without evidence isn’t wise. Try to get beyond what you’ve always known to be true and begin to ask questions to validate or invalidate those beliefs. Ask yourself how you know something to be true. How do you know the sun will come up in the morning? How do you know the earth is round? How do you know your spouse or child loves you? Make a list. Do you apply the criteria on your list to things you believe to be true about God? Ask yourself how you know whether or not something works? How do you know that communication takes place over the telephone? How do you know your car engine works? How do you know if a medication is effective? Make a list. Do you apply the criteria on your list to...

Shocking Bible Verses

Shocking Bible Verses

7 Shocking Bible Verses You Probably Won’t Hear In Church God-commissioned bear attacks, praise of infanticide, and cannibalism? Yep, all in there. Re-posted from BuzzFeed. Jessica MisenerBuzzFeed Staff   Most people know “Love is patient, love is kind” and “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” But here are some, uh, less celebrated verses from the Bible (and how some people have tried to defend them): 1. Basically: “Murdering babies is a good time.” Historical context: The writer has been exiled from Babylon. The Hebrew here is mournful; this psalm is often set to music. What more conservative readers might say: It’s a metaphor wherein the babies are “the sadness of the Babylonian exile” who should be “dashed against the rock of faith,” or “dashing your...

Funny Bible Verses

Funny Bible Verses

Deuteronomy 22:4 Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. (Ooo…sorry, ladies. Shouldn’t have worn those jeans you abominations!) Deuteronomy 22:28 “If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife.” (Rape victim marries the assailant…no comment) Deuteronomy 21:10-13 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them...

Religious Education is Bad

Religious Education is Bad

Wow, how can religious education be bad?! Almost all educators would agree that teaching critical thinking skills to our students is paramount. Religious education is contrary to that very basic premise of teaching and learning. Religion is false–The world was not created in 6 days. The earth is certainly more that 6,000 years old. Sacrificing a person by killing him on an altar or a cross is pointless. There is no evidence of heaven or hell. Noah couldn’t have built a boat that could contain all the species of the earth and provide the food, temperature, and habitat so those specimens could survive. I could go on and on. The point is, these things are false. In a typical Catholic school, students are required to take a full-year religion class every...