In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12, NIV What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary. Talmud, Shabbat 31a. Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.” Baha’u’llah. Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” Udana-Varga 5:18. Tse-kung... Read more
Thank you to Erwin Morales for leaving this quote in the comments today. I have never read it before but was surprised how closely Nietzsche’s recommendation resembles my own experiment this year. These serious, excellent, upright, deeply sensitive people who are still Christian from the very heart: they owe it to themselves to try for once the experiment of living for some length of time without Christianity; they owe it to their faith in this way for once to sojourn... Read more
We still love you! So many of my closest friends and colleagues have said this to me in the past few days. My initial, unspoken reaction was, “Well, I certainly hope so.” Now I understand that this is not a forgone conclusion. I didn’t realize, even four days ago, how difficult it would be for some people to embrace me while I was embracing this journey of open inquiry into the question of God’s existence. I have to say that... Read more
Religion News Service | Seventh-day Adventist Pastor plans to flirt with atheism for 12 months Salon | Enough of the “year of” stunts Read more
Woke up and thought of this prayer I wrote for our Good Friday Service at the Hollywood Adventist Church in 2009. God, We have such fond memories of you. The way you used to comfort us when we were sad. The way you gave us such confidence in the face of uncertainty. We miss you! We had hoped that you were the one to fulfill our dreams and give us the desires of our hearts. We are deeply disappointed and... Read more
Today there were two interesting pieces posted about my Huffington Post piece. Many of you have probably already seen these. They are written by two atheists of serious intellect and experience, who are gently critiquing the methodology of my year long journey. I am grateful for their engagement with me and I look forward to incorporating their comments into my thinking about this journey. Many others have said very similar things in the comment here on the blog (I read... Read more
Let’s start the new year with a little levity after that serious conversation starter yesterday. Some have undoubtedly seen this already but even so, it’s worth a watch. This is Julia Sweeney (Saturday Night Live, etc) performing the first 15 minutes of her 2 hour long solo show, Letting Go of God (2006). Then, listen to the NPR interview she recently did. Below is a funny quote from that interview that I have thought about (and even preached about) many... Read more
Cross-posted from The Huffington Post What difference does God make? About a year ago a friend and Episcopal priest, told me her atheist friend asked her this question. She found it harder to answer than she expected. He had batted away her first few attempts and she was now running it by me. We didn’t end up discussing it for very long but the question has stayed with me. Recently I decided I would find out, by living for a... Read more
What does this tell us about the nature and validity of religion? Read more
What difference does God make? About a year ago a friend and Episcopal priest, told me her atheist friend asked her this question. She found it harder to answer than she expected. He had batted away her first few attempts and she was now running it by me. We didn’t end up discussing it for very long but the question has stayed with me. Recently I decided I would find out, by living for a year without God. Want to... Read more
Year Without God
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