I was told as I grew up that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. It’s about having a relationship with Jesus, not about following rules. It would seem, then, that I was not raised with legalism, right? Wrong. You see, my parents do not believe that Jesus would tell one person one thing and [...]
Sally Gallaher released a study a few years back revealing that even though the majority of evangelicals agree that the wife should submit to the husband and that the husband is the head of the house, almost all of them actually in practice have egalitarian marriages. Interesting, no? It strikes me that patriarchal gender roles [...]
Earlier this summer, I watched two teenage girls playing in a pool. They were both carefree, both playful, and both fairly new to their suddenly womanly bodies. The first wore a bikini, the other a one piece swimsuit with a high neckline and shorts. The first was an exchange student from Europe, the other my [...]
Another blogger that I have been corresponding with asked me the other day how I, as an atheist, account for the resurrection. When I was a fundamentalist, I was told that the resurrection was incontrovertible proof of the truth of Christianity, the kind of proof that cannot be ignored even by an atheist. This argument [...]
As the New York Times has reported, it appears that Anders Breivik, the man who carried out the bloody killings in Norway last Friday, was influenced by American anti-Islamic bloggers. The man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for [...]
My little girl says “hi” to everyone we pass on the street. And it’s not just a motion, either. She turns, smiles, waves her hand, and practically shouts “hi,” with happiness in her voice. She’s happy to see new people, happy to make new friends, happy to be alive. And what’s more, she doesn’t judge. [...]
On Friday, over ninety people died, victims of terrorist attacks. Eighty-five of these victims were teenagers who had gathered for a youth camp on a scenic island. To some extent, such happenings have become commonplace. Buses bombed in Spain, subways in England, hotels in India. Except in this case, the perpetrator was not a Muslim, [...]
I had been planning to write a post about the way gender stereotypes are imposed on children. See, I would argue that most (or even all) of the differences between the genders are simply the result of social conditioning. Girls are taught to be nurturing and cooperative, boys are taught to be assertive and independent. [...]
Children who go to public school receive sex education. Some sex education programs are better than others, some are more comprehensive, others less so, but at least children attending public schools get sex education. I didn’t. My parents never told me about sex, never had “the talk” with me, nothing. My parents taught me that [...]
Follow Patheos on
Copyright 2008-2013, Patheos. All rights reserved. Terms of Service | Patheos Privacy Policy | Site developed by Avalon Consulting, LLC
Follow Patheos
Atheist: