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Ezekiel 23:20–21
20: There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.
21: So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.
For that matter the whole of chapter 23 reads like a porn novel…
A more descriptive title for this book for today might be My Path from Christianity to a New Age Religion.
Ms. Besant had a well documented intellectual journey from evangelical Christianity to Victorian Atheism to Theosophy. Quoting from Wikipedia defining theosophy:
“Theosophy refers to systems of esoteric philosophy concerning, or investigation seeking direct knowledge of, presumed mysteries of being and nature, particularly concerning the nature of divinity.
Theosophy is considered a part of the broader field of esotericism, referring to hidden knowledge or wisdom that offers the individual enlightenment and salvation. The theosophist seeks to understand the mysteries of the universe and the bonds that unite the universe, humanity, and the divine. The goal of theosophy is to explore the origin of divinity and humanity, and the world. From investigation of those topics, theosophists try to discover a coherent description of the purpose and origin of the universe.”
Reading her book I was never convinced she was an atheist in the modern sense of the word, a rejection of belief in deities. What she was rejecting was Christianity, Continue reading “My Path to Atheism by Annie Besant”
There a couple foundational documents that many Americans cite as absolute truisms. One is the Bible, Old and New Testament. The other is the Constitution of the United States. Yet when you get to quizzing folks, the actual count of who has read either one of these documents in totality is not staggeringly impressive.
According to one survey, Americans Love the Bible but Don’t Read It Much , showed only 20 percent read the Bible regularly.
“Results of a nationwide survey released Thursday by the Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier show 86 percent of respondents recognize the importance of the document, the 223-year-old framework for American government. Thirty-one percent say they think they understand the Constitution “a lot” and 48 percent say they understand “some” of it. But only 28 percent say they’ve read all of the document, and 14 percent say they’ve read most of it, according to a report by Sean O’Brien, executive director at the Orange, Va., center.”
I can understand the Bible to some extent. It is long, dense and arcane. I once had very “religious” person tell me that he did not need to read the Bible. If there was something in there he needed to know his preacher would tell him. Okay.
The United States Constitution is not long, dense or arcane. It is not any more a perfect document than is the Bible. If nothing else counting people of color as three fifths of a person for the purpose of congressional representation would toss the Constitution from that category. Continue reading “US Constitution – Links to document and audio book – Less than one hour of your time”
…yeah I know you did not ask!
A coworker had on a green Santa Claus hat. I started to ask her, “Does that make you the Anti-Santa Claus?” Some things are best left unsaid in the Bible belt hat is the South.
A friend sent me the following link: Scalia: Women Don’t Have Constitutional Protection Against Discrimination
The gist of the article is this. The 14th Amendment, specifically the Equal Protection clause, requires the states to provide equal protection to all people within its jurisdiction. Scalia is arguing that the Constitution and this amendment does not prohibit the passage of laws discriminating based on gender or sexual orientation. Continue reading “A New God Given Document”
A new study out by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that atheist and agnostics did best on a general quiz of religious knowledge. Jews and Mormons were next. Catholics were last.
Many folks did not know the tenets of their own religion.
My working, unscientific, lacking in research hypothesis on this is that many agnostics and atheists have studied and thought about religion. Many atheist and agnostics did not arrive at their religious point of view randomly. Continue reading “Test Your Religious Knowledge”