After Biff figured out that I was quite serious about having deconverted, the bargaining phase of his grief cycle began. It took a little while for me to realize that his goal was nothing less than to get me to step foot back inside a church, with the assumption that Read more
This’ll be a brief post about assumptions I operated under when I was a Christian. These assumptions were a sort of mental voicemail message that played all the time in my head, in the background, under my radar. They were unquestioned and unexamined–just there. I think a lot of the Read more
The most powerful thing two people can do is really communicate. When there’s a veil in between them, it’s much harder to do that. Not impossible, but a lot harder. I discovered that truth in the early days of my membership in the Unequally Yoked Club (UYC). There’s a reason Read more
Remember what I mentioned last time about promises? We’re going to talk about that a little more today. There’s something about promises that I need to show you.
Before we can really get into the meat of this post, I need to say a few words first about the fundamentalist view of promises, because I don’t think most people outside that mindset will understand fully until this stuff’s on the table. I’ve talked before about the things that Read more
Oprah Winfrey, who apparently didn’t get the memo about labels, came out with this gem the other day when confronted with a person who called herself an atheist but insisted that she felt awe at the beauty of the universe and humanity itself: “‘Well I don’t call you an atheist Read more
It always makes me boggle when I hear Christians comparing themselves to sheep. It’s like they have no idea why shepherds keep sheep: for their fleece, their milk, and their meat. There’s a fundamental disconnect there between fantasy and reality, but the disconnect is hardly new. And that disconnect richly serves the interests of the people benefiting from all that fleece.
Last time we hung out, I touched briefly on why I don’t feel that accommodation is the way to go regarding Christian overreach into the public sphere. I want to expand on that some more. Right now America is going through a really tough time with the Republican Party falsely Read more
You’d think that the proselytization process for a “god of love” and a “prince of peace” would involve, I don’t know, sharing good news about his easy yoke and light burden or something. Maybe sumpin-sumpin about all the miracles his people think he’s done. Well, you’d be surprised. At the Read more
Excellent dialogue earlier, folks, by the way, I want to say again. I mean this: you are the best comment gang on the internet. I appreciate you all so much. Wonderful, wonderful job keeping things civil and productive. I had an interesting exchange today with a rather belligerent young Christian Read more