Over the past few years, I’ve done a fair amount of reading on history, anthropology, and psychology – all with the goal of trying to understand how religion began. I suppose that’s the universalist in me: I do think the many varied religions of our world began through the same process, although obviously their details were very different.The exact origins of religion are lost in pre-history, but much can be deduced. For me, what’s important is that every religion began… Read more

The service at Denton UU was led by Scottie McIntyre Johnson, who’s beginning her third year of seminary at Perkins at SMU. It was perfect – appropriate and reassuring. You can read her sermon here: http://www.dentonuuf.org/pdf/SingingForOurLivesSermon08032008.pdfAnd in Knoxville, Tennessee Valley UU held a rededication service. A local TV station broadcast it live, and archived it on their website. I couldn’t find a direct link, but if you go to the video page at http://www.wbir.com/video/default.aspx and type “TVUUC” into the “video… Read more

photo by Angie’s Taylor Made MemoriesBy now most everyone is aware of the shooting at Tennessee Valley UU Church in Knoxville. I knew Linda Kraeger, who was killed, and Joe Barnhart, who was wounded. Last night we held a special service in response to this horrible act. I was asked to be one of eight speakers – below is what I had to say.We Unitarian Universalists like to preach “deeds not creeds.” It can be comforting to immerse ourselves in… Read more

I said this was going to be a religious blog and not a personal blog, but at some point, the religion has to become personal or it’s of no value. So please indulge me for a few paragraphs.I’ve been a bit frustrated lately, not making the progress with study and meditation that I’d like. And when that happens, I start hearing old voices. These old voices were telling me that I was wasting my time, that all this spiritual stuff… Read more

I just completed a new wand as part of my Druid studies through OBOD. I’m not sure the exact species of wood – it came from a thorn tree that started growing wild on the edge of my herb bed. I let it grow for most of a year (2006, I think), then realized it was going to take over the whole bed if I didn’t cut it. When I did, I saved a section of the main shaft –… Read more

Found this story via the DMN Religion Blog, about a Presbyterian theology professor who’s been suspended because his liberal interpretation of the Bible may violate a mandatory oath not to teach anything not in agreement with the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith. My response on the DMN blog is shown below:Does anyone expect doctors to practice according to the standards of 1646? Is our view of law the same as it was in 1646 (think: slavery, witch trials)? How about… Read more

I found this article on Christianity Today via the Dallas Morning News Religion blog. It’s a classical argument for the existence of God, done a bit better than most. Below is my comment for the DMN blog.I find the Cosmological arguments compelling, the Teleological and Ontological arguments weak, and the Moral argument blatantly false. But mainly I’m left with the conclusion that if it takes logic this advanced and this nuanced to find God, then God either isn’t there or… Read more

While I don’t want to completely build my theology from the ground up on this blog, there are a couple of foundational issues I need to discuss. One of them is the question of how many gods there are. Some Pagans see God/dess as The All, and we are simply a part of that All. Others prefer a binary arrangement, with a Mother Goddess and a Father God. Still others are polytheistic and follow the gods and goddesses of our… Read more

OK, so here I am, a 40-something engineer who finds solving technical and business problems only partially satisfying. I work for a decent company (not all corporations are soul-sucking bastions of evil) with some good folks. As jobs go, it’s a good one – it pays the bills, and there are far worse ways to make a living.But that’s not why I’m here. Not why I’m here in this life, and certainly not why I’m starting this blog.There are a… Read more