No Message Reaches Religious Lunatics

by Susan Jacoby

I assume that the definition of “religious extremist” is someone willing to kill anyone seen as an opponent of the extremist’s faith or political goals. The idea that there is any point in sending a “message” to fanatics is a fantasy beloved by many good, naive people of all faiths or no faith. What is one to say to Osama bin Laden, whose idea for world peace is that everyone else convert to Islam?

Analyzing Jesus: His Miracles

Analyzing Jesus
Part Four: His Miracles

This is the fourth installment of my series titled, “Analyzing Jesus”. So far, we have looked at the historical figure, looked to see if he was the Jewish Messiah, and looked at further evidence to analyze the authenticity of the Old Testament claims/prophecy of a the Messiah. Today we move on and begin to address another controversial subject in regards to Jesus… his miracles.

Analyzing Jesus: Was he really the Jewish Messiah?

Analyzing Jesus
Part Two: Was he really the Jewish Messiah?

In Part One of this series, we analyzed Jesus as a historical figure in history. The second part of this series is to address if Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, but in order to do that, we need to understand what Messianic Prophecies are. Scholars (Jewish and Christian) believe that the Bible (Old Testament) contains over 300 predictions about the Jewish Messiah. These predictions do not come from one source, but are from multiple authors in a variety of books ranging about 1,000 years. In other words, what we have here is an enormous “library” of statements made about the Jewish Messiah (what he will be like, what he will do, and so on).

Analyzing Jesus: The Historical Figure

Analyzing Jesus
Part One: The Historical Figure 

It’s about that time again. Time for me to start up a new series regarding religion/faith/Christianity. I can already tell that this series will be a long one, so get ready for the long haul. I will address Jesus on a variety of different fronts, trying my best to be objective (like a lawyer). Granted, I cannot completely rid myself of my preconceived biases, but I hope that you can, at the very least, respect my investigative reasoning.

How to Practice Faith at Work Without Offending Others

 I ran across this little article and thought it was interesting. Here’s how some employers integrate religion into the workplace without offending others (and of course, facing some outrageous lawsuit). I was not aware of these initiatives, but I suppose I may see them a bit more as I enter into the corporate world upon leaving graduate school.

What do you out there think of religion in the work place?

CLICK HERE TO READ STORY

Militant Atheism Exposed

Our newspapers and news stations are littered with acts from militant religious leaders. It seems like everywhere you look you see these militants abusing the innocent using a distortion of their religion for justification. However, not only do these religious militants exist in the Middle East, but also on our very own soil. Granted, the militants in the United States don’t go about killing people (at least not on the same scale as what we see in the Middle East), but they still distort religion to suit their own agendas which negatively impacts other individuals. Extreme fundamentalist movements such as the “God hates fags” campaign come to mind.

I believe that most people recognize that the religiously devout can (and sometimes do) negatively impact a harmonious society. But what about atheists? Are atheists above the “militant” label? No. In fact, some take pride in it (just google “militant atheists” and you’ll come up with a variety of t-shirt stores).

While it is certainly true that atheists have been described as militant unfairly in the past, it does not take away from the fact that there are, indeed, militant atheists. This concept is hard for some atheists to swallow because it would mean that *gasp* religion isn’t the only thing to blame for every problem!

However, not all militants (religious and atheist) incorporate violence, but many (especially in the U.S.) do so in much more indirect ways. I’ll show you what I mean…

In my view, a militant religious fanatic is one that imposes on another through irrational thinking. Using this criteria, let’s consider atheist Michael Newdow. Newdow states:

“…keeping ‘one nation under God’ would do irreparable harm to my 6-year-old daughter if she was forced to utter such repugnant language. Even if she remained silent while the rest of the class recited the Pledge, the mere mention of “God” in a classroom would scar the girl for life.”

Is Newdow imposing on others through irrational thinking?  Yeah.

Now I am not here to discuss whether or not ”under God” should be in the Pledge, such an argument will just go in circles and be a waste of time. The message is that “militant-ism” does not lie solely with the religious, but also with the irreligious. Looking at this from a bigger perspective clearly shows that the problem lies not with institutions, but with humanity.  The sooner we can recognize this, the sooner the we can begin to address the issues.

The Flood: was it really Global?

I came across this very well done post by Nick Norelli from Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth.  In it, he discusses the Flood from the Old Testament, and why Fundamentalists/non-believers have had trouble with his perspective.  I really enjoyed this post, I hope you do as well.

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Last night while speaking with a skeptic I was asked if I believed in the flood as recorded in the book of Genesis — of course I said yes — but I qualified the statement by saying that I am open to the possibility that it could have been either local or global. Well this statement drew a funny reaction from the skeptic — in fact his reaction was the same as the fundamentalists in the room. He began to argue for a global flood because then and only then upon getting me to accept a global flood could he argue for the absurdity of the account and accuse the Bible is being fiction (at least in that part).

You see he wasn’t prepared for me to be open to different interpretations or for me to say that I genuinely don’t know — he (being a fundamentalist himself [of the skeptic persuasion]) had a cookie cutter argument that he wanted to use but couldn’t because I didn’t immediately jump on board with a global flood interpretation. He actually had to argue in favor of a position that he really wanted to refute! Such is the irrationality of radical skepticism.

Likewise, the fundamentalist Christians in the room had cookie cutter arguments of basically the same variety that the skeptic was using. But my reluctance to accept them on their face drew charges of heresy and not being a Bible believer, etc. It was even enough to draw a series of emails from a group that shall remain nameless but seem to love talking about me. Here is an example:

the flood could have been global,or it could have not….thank you,oh thank you,mr prophet for that incredible superfluity….i could not in my mind have ever reasoned a conclusion as such…i am glad such prophets exist to open the doors of truth to us….looking at the context of the dialogue,it shows once again the error of latching on to one word,and running with the words meaning to prove a point….so,roofer,in this dialogue,”world” doesn’t mean world,it means…uhhh..local?…

I don’t know what the reference to ‘roofer’ means and all the ad hominem aside – yes… the flood could have been local. This is a distinct possibility. I’m not sure exactly what word this individual feels I ‘latched onto’ or what meaning I have ignored, but I can say this — hyperbole is very common in Ancient Near Eastern literature (to include the Bible) and I can see no reason that would exclude the possibility of it being used here. There are plenty of examples in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures of ‘world/earth’ having reference to local regions and not the entire planet (e.g. Gen. 41:56-57; 1Ki. 10:24). But again — I don’t know if the flood was local or global. I’m open to either possibility — I’ll go where the evidence leads.

Another email in response to this one said:

There is evidence of a global flood everywhere you go. I sit in Capetown South Africa and there is a big mountain twenty minutes from here. On the top of the mountain …and it is way up there….you can see what looks like a beautiful beach….the mountain looks strange…..how did all that white sand get on that mountain way up there and it is covered in twenty to thirty feet deep of brilliant white sand.

I mean white sand on a mountain top in South Africa must mean that the flood was global, right? There are no other explanations for how such a thing could possible be, right? It seems to me that fundamentalists have their answers before they ask their questions and this is something that led me away from fundamentalism — it dishonors God in not seeking the truth — I genuinely question whether these men (or women) have wrestled with the alternatives to their theories — I seriously doubt that they have.

In any event, you’ll have to forgive me for not placing the flood as a doctrinal priority and for admittedly not knowing whether it was local or global. You’ll have to forgive me for not accepting cookie cutter arguments that only make sense to young earth creationists (such as sand on mountains or claimed ‘literal’ readings) — but I stand here as a man whose theology is shaped by his Trinitarianism first and foremost — and my Trinitarianism doesn’t demand a global or a local flood. It can go either way.

B”H

Israel’s President Resigns over Sex Crimes

Israeli President Moshe Katsav resigned today, a day after admitting to sex crimes against women employees in a case that has brought unprecedented disgrace on an Israeli head of state.

When his resignation from the largely ceremonial post takes effect on Sunday, the speaker of parliament will be president for two weeks. Former prime minister Shimon Peres, elected earlier this month to replace Katsav, takes office on July 15.

Parliament spokesman Giora Pordes said Katsav had written to legislators saying: “I ask to end my tenure in office two weeks ahead of time and announce my resignation.”

With his seven-year term due to end in July, Katsav took a leave of absence in January when plans to indict him were first announced. His duties were taken on by Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik, who will now briefly hold the formal title of president.

The president had immunity from prosecution while in office.

Under a plea bargain published on Thursday, the state dropped a charge of raping one woman employee and Katsav pleaded guilty to indecent acts against another. He also admitted sexually harrassing a third woman who had worked for him.

The attorney-general said Katsav would receive a suspended sentence, pending court approval of the plea bargain. The offences he admitted to carry a maximum sentence of seven years.

Katsav, who had long protested his innocence, also agreed to pay nearly $12,000 in compensation to the two women.

The case has stirred powerful emotions in a country where women’s rights groups complain that authorities do little to counter sexual harassment at work.

Several newspapers criticised the plea bargain deal. “Foul Deal” was the front-page banner verdict of the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth. A poll published by the newspaper found 69 percent of Israelis were dissatisfied with the outcome.

Katsav, born in Iran, had served as a minister with the rightist Likud party before his surprise defeat of Peres in a vote in parliament in 2000 to become head of state.

(story from theage.com.au)

Science’s Overlooked Problem

 It is no secret that science and religion have been butting heads since the 20th century (particularly against the fundamentalist sect of faiths).  Yet I have been a firm believer that science cannot, and does not, provide ample explanation for things such as life, purpose, or even God (despite rather poor attempts).

I think it would be beneficial for you to reflect on the insight from religious scholar Huston Smith.  Essentially, scientists are being forced to reconsider their “bottom-up” reasoning theory of causation (the one that challenges, say, the Christian position).

Since science is empirical, everything in it spins off from our physical senses.  The fact that those sense connect only with physical objects and that the entire house of science is founded on our physical senses has led scientists to assume that matter is the fundamental ‘stuff’ of the universe.

Their familiar scenario begins with the Big Bang, from which issued the smallest conceivable entities – quarks, strings, what have you – that grouped themselves into progressively more complex entities until the latest nanosecond of cosmic time life and consciousness emerged.  It’s upward (bottom-up) causation all the way.

Smith has outlined the basic (dominant) theory and beliefs from the scientific perspective.  However, as he will point out, this type of causation is being question for very important, yet surprisingly obvious reasons.  Smith continues…

What is causing scientists to reconsider that scenario [the one outlined above] is their dawning realization that it contains no explanation for WHY [emphasis mine] complexity increases.  To say that it rides the Big Bang’s momentum is no good, for no one completely knows what powered the Big Bang in the first place.

And to say that the complex forms emerged fares no better, for emergence is a descriptive, not an explanatory, concept.

It would be wise to mull around what you just read and really let this overlooked point sink in.

Open-Minded People are Rare

Let’s face it, finding people with an open mind can be difficult.  So, as a result, I have decided to start a search!  Today I am awarding the following blogs/websites with the “Open Mind Blogger Award”.  These individuals demonstrate respect towards others, research and consideration of oppossing views, allow free-flowing conversation with commenters, and have an overall spirit of civility and openess.  It is time we recognize such commendable behavior on the internet.

Congratulations to our Five Winners:

1. Nick Queen
2. Polliwag’s Pond
3. Agnostic Atheism
4. Hell’s Handmaiden
5. Open Book

*Winners, CLICK HERE to see what to do next*

This is my thanks to these men and women for living live with an open mind.  If you won, remember to acknowledge 5 people in your blog experience who you feel deserve to be recognized.