Might be time to recap my reasons for writing this series. New readers could get confused about the content in the Hell posts, of which this is the fourth. They’re all the result of a convergence of several recent themes and activities in my life; a lot of which have
Continue readingTag: Faith
Scripturient: Blog & Commentary: Hell 2.1, a small update
I left you in my exploration of the Encyclopedia of Hell pondering which version of the Faustus story was better: with or without his final redemption. Personally, I prefer without, because it offers greater dramatic opportunities. I also don’t like the notion of redemption: it seems like a “get out
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Hell 2.0
I left you last time after finishing the letter D, in Miriam Van Scott’s Encyclopedia of Hell. I’m back in book form to take you through a few more entries in her exploration of the afterlife. But first a couple of additions to your reading material. First on the list
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: What in Hell…?
Hades, you know, isn’t a place. It’s a guy. The Greek god of the underworld. His territory consists of a bunch of domains, including the rather unpleasant Tartarus, where souls – called shades – suffer eternal punishment. Hades wasn’t a fun god. If you weren’t getting your skin ripped off
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Believing is Seeing
“He who permits himself to tell a lie once,” wrote Thomas Jefferson (in a letter to his nephew, Peter Carr, from Paris, France, 1785), “finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Review: The Life of Pi
We watched Life of Pi last night, a film that has garnered much critical acclaim and won four coveted Oscar awards (although it has not been without controversies). I had struggled somewhat with the book (for reasons given below), but … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: What if you’re wrong?
Great visualization of the now-famous response from evolutionary biologist, author, and well-known atheist, Richard Dawkins, when asked in 2006 about his argument that there is no god, “What if you’re wrong?” “Anybody could be wrong, ” he replies. “We could all be … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Religion, Logic, and Tornadoes
What has a tornado in common with prayer in schools and US President Barack Obama? Rhonda Crosswhite. Yes, the Oklahoma teacher praised as a hero for saving several children when a massive tornado ripped through her town of Moore, earlier … Continue reading →
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The First Step in Deprogramming the Religious – Superstition
Superstition, and it’s ugly codified twin brother religion, rely on the suspension of one’s critical faculties. When someone is going on about how jeebus talks to them or they are feeling the power of god or <insert prurience for inane godbaggy here> or whatever, the topics covered in this video by
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The other conspiracy theories….
After writing about the nonsensical “chemtrail” conspiracy theory and its tin-foil-hat brigade believers, I amused myself by reading up on some of the other conspiracies-du-jour on the internet. And no, I don’t mean your garden-variety secret-mushroom-farm, PRA dome, lobbyists-and-rec-facilities, aliens-in-disguise-running-the-library, … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Forgery!
Forgery. It’s something that one normally associates with criminals; passing counterfeit bills, scammers, online pirates, people selling fake relics or fake ID. It’s something I would not normally associate with religion. But it’s a significant problem in the book millions … Continue reading →
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: Is belief in God a choice?
The following satirical video, “Gay Scientists Isolate Christian Gene”, pokes fun at the concept of a “gay gene” and religious opposition to homosexuality. The proportion of people who believe that homosexuality is chosen is decreasing. That’s not to imply that homosexuality is the phenotype expressed by a “gay gene”. Just
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: America’s Intolerant WBC Fundamentalists
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I watched this. laugh because Russell Brand* just runs circles around these guys from the Westboro Church and they don’t seem to realize when they are being mocked. Fish in a barrel, I suppose. Cry … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Another popular myth debunked: moon doesn’t make crazies
“Myth Debunked: Full Moon Does Not Increase Incidence of Psychological Problems,” says the headline on a story on Science Daily. I was amused by the notion that, in 2012, anyone would seriously believe that the moon affected human psycholog…
Continue reading350 or bust: Earth Day With A Twist: Giving Our Credit Cards A Holy Pause
Last weekend, I had the privilege of participating in a unique Earth Day celebration in Winnipeg, Manitoba. On the sunny Earth Day Sunday, I joined dozens of other people streaming into the procession as it made its way down the city’s main street. We were bracketed by a golden oil
Continue readingCalgaryLiberal: The Latest Idiocy from David Climenhaga
I would like to draw your attention to this strange piece that Mr. Climenhaga has written about Daveberta blogger, David Cournoyer. Mr. Climenhaga alleges that since Mr. Cournoyer has allegedly appeared on a pamphlet advertising a Christian rock radio station that Mr. Counrnoyer has conservative leanings and a dark, evil
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Two names to be added to Craig Chaplin Memorial Award
This spring’s presentation of the award in my brother’s memory will include a couple of firsts – two individuals are being cited and they’re from across the Canada-U.S. border in neighbouring Vermont. To be more accurate, one-half of the couple of Dr. Delores Barbeau and Carol Olstad, R.N. will be
Continue reading350 or bust: Is Climate Change God’s Will?
The following is a reposting from last January: Recently a good friend of mine shared that, at a family gathering over the holidays, her son and daughter-in-law had remarked that they didn’t “believe” in climate change. Since then, I have been considering her situation. What is an appropriate response that
Continue reading350 or bust: Take Time To Renew Your Spirit
My frustration with religion is people who think it’s about four walls: You go in and are righteous and leave church and it doesn’t go with you. I love the great theologian who said, “Everywhere I go I preach the gospel, but only some…
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