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THE LORD'S PRAYER LAID BARE 2007-07-20 05:26:54 By Bored AgainTo me, one of the clearest evidences of the mindlessness of Christianity is the so-called "Lord's Prayer" spoken by Jesus in the gospels, and repeated endlessly around the world. During my pilgrim's progress through the Roman Catholic Church (yes, I was an altar boy, though undefiled) and through fundamental Christianity (yes, I was a Deacon, Elder, Sunday School Superintendent, etc.), I found myself uttering this "prayer" many times, both by myself and in unison with entire congregations. Yet, until now, I never stopped to think about what I was saying.Priests and preachers have extolled this "divine utterance" as either the exact words we are supposed to pray (Catholic), or as a model of the way we ought to pray (Protestant). Either way, the only serious intellectual controversies I ever faced with respect to this prayer have been: 1) whether to ask god to forgive my "debts," or my "trespasses" (I preferred "debts" because it seemed silly to ask god to forgive me ...

I am at peace 2007-07-20 05:08:58 Sent in by JamieSince de-converting, the question of "what is spiritual" comes up a lot. I am learning to just let it flow and enjoy it, whatever "it" is and even if "it" is simply my imagination.The other day, a man I know shared about how agitated he was and how he realized that he was trying to control everything. "When I remember that it is God's will, not mine," he said, "then things are okay and I am at peace". I had to think about this a lot. From this new perspective of mine, it seemed meaningless. He said he was giving control back to God (or "letting go and letting God" in the cultural parlance). It occurred to me that what he thinks of as "God's Will" is simply the way things are. He is at peace when he accepts the world around him as it is....As it is... If we personified "The world as it is"--if the world could speak in the first person--would it say, "I Am"? Isn't that God's name?The poet in me plays with this stuff. And whatever I call "spirituality" flows ...

The Kingdom of God and Confronting Our Beliefs 2007-07-19 19:28:17 By Bill J Some Christians believe the church should resort to the old ways of the New Testament. They believe the church needs apostles, prophets, teachers, missionaries, pastors all working together in some spiritually accountable system. They fail to see outside of their own belief system. Belief is truth and if they just believed or established the true church everything would fall into place. They put their belief before evidence. Does this remind you of other religious systems? They are desperately trying to establish what they believe is the right way or method to usher in the Kingdom of God. An old friend of mine from California, who wanted me to take over his church when I was a practicing Christian, is under this type of delusion. His life's work is tied to his vision of establishing an apostolic ministry so the true Kingdom of God can be ushered into the church. I'm sure he believes that once this is done all the signs and wonders will really accompany the church and people ...

Ellen meets Paula -- tonight! 2007-07-19 12:46:50 ELLEN JOHNSON, President of American Atheists will be interviewed on thepopular CNN program "The Paula Zahn Show" this Thursday, July 19, 2007.The program will examine the role of religion in presidential campaigns,including the growing use of faith-based sloganeering by most of thecandidates. "The Paula Zahn Show" begins at 8:00 PM ET, check locallistings. For further information, visithttp://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/paula.zahn.now/WHO & WHAT: American Atheists President Ellen Johnson live on "The PaulaZahn Show" discussing the growing role of religion in presidentialcampaigns.WHERE: CNN, "The Paula Zahn Show"WHEN: This Thursday, July 19, 2007 beginning at 8:00 PM ET. Check yourlocal listings.MORE INFO: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/paula.zahn.now/AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights forAtheists; works for the total separation of church and state; andaddresses issues of First Amendment public policy. ...

Supernatural or Explainable? 2007-07-18 18:26:49 By Bill JI've had some interesting experiences during my Christian life.I was directly involved with a couple of exorcisms on people in our church. One involved a lady in her 50s who came to me for marital counseling. About the second session I'd asked her to recall some of her childhood. She told me a horrific act of child abuse perpetrated by her father. At some point she changed the subject, so I asked her to repeat something she'd said earlier. She tried to avoid my question, but I asked her again. Then she told me she didn't know what I was talking about. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I later discovered she was suffering from a dissociative disorder. She had slipped into a dissociative state and was talking to me as if she was a child again. It was fascinating, because in another session I asked her to write some of her story, and her writing was like that of a child's. I also noticed that when she was in her childlike state she took off her thick prescription glasse ...

God is Dead 2007-07-18 11:36:14 An interview with Ron Currie Jr., author of "God is Dead"Just because someone's an atheist, doesn't mean they're not spiritual in some sense of the word. That's important to keep in mind when hearing the title of the new novel by Ron Currie Jr., "God Is Dead." The book is about what happens when God dies, and the world continues on basically the same as before. It does not end, but for a lot of people, it is turned upside down. Q: How did the idea for "God Is Dead" come to you? A: The book started with a single story -- "False Idols," the piece in which American parents have gone off the deep end and started worshipping their children as gods. At that point I'd never attempted a full-length narrative, and as far as I knew this was just a short story, albeit one with a premise and an attitude far, far different from any other story I'd written. But then at some point while writing "False Idols," I of course had to explain why parents were worshipping their children. At first I ha ...

Why I Believe Anti-Evangelism Is Wrong 2007-07-18 04:16:13 by Tyrone WilliamsIf there’s one thing worse than an evangelical Christian, it’s an evangelical UNBELIEVER. Someone who insists on preaching the "good news of UN-belief." Sheesh. Will it never end?There must either be something in the water, or something in our genes, but for some reason every human being, at one time or another, believes it is their (forgive me) “god-given” right to tell someone else how to live/what to do. Why do we often believe that WE have the “right answer” for everyone else? Why do we find it so damned difficult to just shut the hell up and leave other people alone? Why do we derive so much carnal satisfaction from assuming the role of Authority Figure in everyone else’s lives? From governments to parents to teachers to best selling authors to comedians to friends to spouses to neighbors to co-workers, everybody seems to get off on being “right” and correcting someone else’s alleged deficiencies.And if there weren’t enough know-it-al ...