The Bible and Christianity have treated women pretty poorly. Aren’t you a believer? Let me “skim the surface” for you. The Bible, used by most Protestants, consists of 66 books written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) over about a 12-century interval by about 42 different individuals who lived on three continents. All, or essentially all, of the authors are believed to have been men. A few theologians have suggested that the authors of Ruth, Hebrews, and particularly the... Read more

The abortion war wages on in America. Welcome to Roe v. Wade. On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its famous abortion ruling called “Roe v. Wade.” “Jane Roe” was a pseudonym for the plaintiff, Norma McCorvey. “Henry Wade” was the defendant, the district attorney of Dallas County, TX who enforced a state law that banned all abortions except those required to save a pregnant woman’s life. Jane Roe launched a lawsuit to have such laws declared unconstitutional.... Read more

Percentage polls say 3% to 100%. Who’s right?   Accurately estimating the percentage of U.S. adults who are Atheists is like trying to nail a custard pie to the wall. Here’s why: Finding #1: Results of two leading public opinion polling agencies found that 3% or 11% of American adults are Atheists. The Pew Research Center reported that the percentage of Atheists in the U.S. had almost doubled in seven years, from 1.6% in 2007 to 3.1% in a 2014... Read more

Original Sin and Scapegoating in the Garden of Eden All Jews and Christians base their beliefs, in part, on the contents of the first five books in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) — also known as the Pentateuch. However, individual groups within these religions, and others, interpret the books’ contents in different ways, and thus reach conflicting conclusions about what the books teach. Genesis is an excellent example of this. Who wrote Genesis? Many religious conservatives believe that Moses was... Read more

Jesus’ birthday is not on Christmas! Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, Jesus was not born during the year 1 BCE (Before the Common Era; equivalent to BC) on December 25. His exact birth date is actually unknown. However, the Bible contains sufficient clues to show it occurred during the fall of 5 BCE… give or take a couple of years. People today who demand a more accurate date to celebrate his birth might choose the Fall Equinox... Read more

Why is there such a conflict about gender? There have been at least three different methods to define a person’s gender: Visually at birth: A doctor typically inspects the body of a newborn. In the vast majority of cases, the doctor can easily identify the sex by looking at the external genital structures. This is typically referred to as the newborn’s gender or “biological sex” which is documented on their birth certificate. Checking DNA after birth: Sometimes a visual check... Read more

“People to whom sin is just a matter of words, to them salvation is just words too.” ~ William Faulkner Lately, I’ve been on a Quora.com kick. This nifty Q & A web forum never fails me when I’m hungry for insightful and sometimes absurd fun. But one recent post stopped me in my tracks. It was from someone obviously agonizing over the death of a family member. It read: “My son recently passed away. I am a Christian but... Read more

Atheists. Lots of them. Surprise! But Regular Public Opinion Polls on Atheism would have you assuming differently. The question is: can these polls be trusted? Firstly, there is no consensus of the precise meaning of the words: “Atheist,” and “Atheism.” Dictionaries, Atheist groups, Christian and other religious groups, and individuals use different definitions. When a polling agency asks whether a person is an Atheist, those participants who reply usually base their response on their own meaning. This may or may... Read more

You heard correctly. Christianity doesn’t exist. But… “Christianities” do. Tens of thousands of them. Gotcha! In the beginning, Christianity was one faith. It was founded by Yeshua of Nazareth, more commonly known today as “Jesus Christ.” “Jesus” is the Greek equivalent of his Hebrew name, “Yeshua,” which is usually translated as “Joshua” in English. “Christ” comes from the Greek word “christos” which means “anointed.” According to biblical evidence, he is believed to have been born in Bethlehem in Judea, circa... Read more

Transgender, smansgender. It’s a choice right? Not so fast. Transgender individuals have received a lot of global attention during recent years and as it many times is when it comes to human sexuality, various religious groups and human rights groups are actively involved and taking opposite positions on the matter. Most people who have investigated the topic agree that about 99.4% of American adults are cisgender. That is, they identify their gender as unchanged from the sex that was recorded... Read more