My Mother, who is 92 with advanced degrees in Psychology, hides the coffee pot when the Home Teacher or Relief Society comes over to visit. My Mother doesn't go to church because of physical limitations and the Church is fine with that. But I notice the Bishop of my Mother's ward comes over to collect tithing. All they want is her money. Whether this is true for other older members is u
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Cl2, When my previous dog was in the vets office, awaiting a lethal injection because she was riddled with cancer, I looked in her eyes and I saw, "Here we go again; the turning of the wheel" Yes, go ahead and laugh, but I truly believe I saw what I have recounted.
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There is a charming and whimsical story by W. Bruce Cameron, 'A Dogs Purpose' in which he tells the story of a dog named Buddy who experiences the totality of samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth. In the story Buddy can remember his previous lives as various dogs. He seems to be reborn to fulfill a mission and take care of his people. Buddy can remember at least six lives and six deaths. Th
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Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) had a long and illustrious career in mathematics, metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy. He was also a political activist when this was not popular, and went to jail for his pacifist views. But it is his insights into religion that I would like to address. His famous work, "Why I am not a Christian" was written up from a series of lectures delivered i
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The Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam insist that God is all-good, all-powerful, and all-benevolent, omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent. This core belief is non negotiable with People of the Book. And that is the dilemma. Christianity, especially, has serious issues reconciling an all powerful God with the existence of Evil. This is the paradox that cannot be reso
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"Thou shall not suffer a witch to live" This was the basis of the Malleus Malifacarum, the witches hammer of Pope Urban 2 in 1099. Because of this scripture, hundred of thousands of mentally ill people were burned at the stake over about 400 years of witch hysteria.
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It is the story of a man going on a journey who encounters a vast body of water, this shore being covered with rocks and treacherous, and the other shore being beautiful and salubrious. There is no bridge or ferry and it is to dangerous to swim. It occurs to him that he might construct a raft of bamboo, grass, and sticks so he could cross over in safety. When he does this it occurs to him that th
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CA girl, I'm sorry for your situation. My family and I have come to an agreement not to discuss politics and/or religion. This works for us. For me, I'm a secular Buddhist humanist biker dude who studies religion for fun, but do not believe.
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In the 1970s the Moonies parked a bus at Sproul Plaza at UCBerkeley. I was invited by a pretty girl to have coffee and donuts and go up to their center in rural Sonoma County. I declined. Living in Berkeley, California made me cult proof. That includes the Mormons...
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Lots Wife, No serious scholar accepts the idea that Jesus traveled to India or was directly affected by Indian thought. This is why it is apocryphal. The Nestorian and Arian heresies were a bigger factor than is commonly thought. As to the Nag Hammadi texts, I defer to your greater knowledge. I have read them, and interesting readings they are. You are quite correct about the pollina
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Commongentile, Good point about the Pali Canon, although it is unknown as to how far the Mauryan Empire extended its influence. There are some apocryphal accounts of Jesus traveling to India. BTW, I have seen sadhus who have the ability to be buried alive by putting themselves into a fugue state. Was this the explanation for the rising of Jesus after the crucifixion? It is fun to speculate.
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Commongentile, Let me clarify; by early works I meant the gospels, or what is termed the gospels today. As to the first three hundred years of Christianity, there was much discussion of Christology, or the nature of Christ amongst the Nestorians, Gnostics, monophysites, Arians, and other Christian groups. The controversy was about the nature of Christ. Some groups felt he was a prophet, som
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The German philosopher Karl Jaspers uses the term Axial age to discuss the time from 800 BC to 300 BC, a time period of only five hundred years. But the Axial age has defined our world. "Confucius and Lao Tse were living in China, all the schools of Chinese philosophy came into being, including those of Mo Ti, Chuang Tse, Lieh Tzu and a host of others; India produced the Upanishads and Bu
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BYU boner, What you say is true. But there is much sub rosa discrimination in hiring positions. Stanford and UCBerkeley seem to get priority in hiring. Because of being local schools? Not sure. While you cannot ask religion, your college transcripts give it away.
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Sharapatta, Actually, I agree with you. What I printed did occur in one of the big gas companies I can't name. But I think it is more to the point of 200 aplicants for two positions and how particular they can be. Is a school everything? NO. I attended UCBerkeley and a Cal-state university. I got a better education at Cal State, EB Thank you
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Excellent post. Heine is one of my favorite German thinkers. Compare to Hegel and Kant he is the champion of lucidity. Have you read Goethe?
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My wife, who works for a large gasoline company in Silicon Valley to told me that the head of Human Resources skips over any job applicants with a degree from BYU. The reason given is that two previous IT guys from BYU simply couldn't do the job. While this is discrimination, when you have hundred of applicants it is possible to skip over people for any reason possible. Is a BYU degree a
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Hi BYU boner! Did you really attend BYU? Go ahead and tell us; we understand your shame.
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I think the TSCC is slowly withering on the vine. It is dull, lifeless, mind-fucking at its best. At the local Catholic church I can go to a service and leave feeling good, and I am not Catholic or Christian.
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Hi BYU boner, I studied Anthro at Berkeley and it changed my life. Mormonism is just one strange cult that you and I have traveled through. I do look at all religions in the manner of a cultural anthropologist. Step back and enjoy the idiocy of Salt Lake! The Church, I mean, not the city.
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If you submit this question to Google you will get a list of historical events, usually starting from the Council of Nicaea 325AD, through the crusades, the Malleus Malificarum, the witches hammer of Pope Urban 2 in 1099, the Albigensian Heresy, The 30 years war and so on, ad infinitum. God truly did die at the sack of Magdeburg in the 30 years war between the Catholics and Protestants 1618-1648.
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Dude, You might want to bone up on Christian history. Start with the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and work up to the present through the 30 years war, witch burning, inquisition, etc. You will talk yourself out of an attachment to a religion that has killed millions.
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This morning my 92 year old mother was watching old conference clips on BYU Television. This is when I made the joke about Joseph Smith as Penis, Seer, and Fornicator. This caused a verbal conflict with my mother that I actually deeply regret. My mother never goes to church, but the Bishop in her ward comes by faithfully to shake her down for tithing and other church scams. This is not my busi
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BYU Boner! Are you sure you are not talking about my life? There are so many striking parallels, except it was my father and step-father who were alcoholics. My mother married two different alcoholics. Interesting pathology. As to alcohol, I can take it or leave it.
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BYU Boner, I frequently go to Mass with my Filipina wife. I am not Catholic, or even Christian, but I enjoy the services, and the excellent music. Nobody bothers you, and you can think your own thoughts. Iglesia de Santo Nino in Cebu City, Cebu is still my favorite Catholic facility.
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Hi BYU Boner! I'm ashamed to say I have never seen the Washington National Cathedral. You may have noticed that I did not include Salt Lake Temple, or any other Mormon temples other than Oakland. They are simply second rate, in my opinion, compared to the grandeur of say, Jama Masjid. Brian
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What are the most beautiful half dozen temples or churches in terms of beauty and personal meaning. This can be any religion, anywhere. My personal list of the top six temples or churches in terms of impact, grandeur, and personal meaning; 1. Jama Masjid Mosque, Old Delhi, India Jama Jasjid is probably the most outstanding example of 16th century Mughal architecture. The three domes and t
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While doing some research on Ezra Taft Benson on the internet I found a plethora of intriguing tidbits about himself, J Reuben Clark, and Robert Welch, founder of the John Birch Society. The John Birch Society was a group of really scary anti-communists of the era after World War 11. This was a highly secretive and covert organization about which little is actually known. One author maintai
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A member of the church whom I knew well had a memorial service at the local chapel in the Bay Area where I grew up. He was a talented musician who had played for the San Francisco Symphony, and was one of the few church members that I respected. The first really strange experience is that I went in to the chapel, sat down, and no-one said a word to me. Most churches have a greeter at the door
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Free man, I didn't say anything about genocide, just that the Vietnam war was stupid and we lost. Genocide precedes communism. Look at Leopold 2nd and the Congo at the turn of the century, or the Armenian massacres under the Ottoman Empire.
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