Call

You have the right to believe any fool thing you like, but your right to believe doesn’t negate my right to criticize your foolishness.

More on M and M

I have a great deal of respect for people who focus their spiritual energies on the physical and emotional needs of others and who strive to make the world a better place for all. Yet, I am firmly convinced of two things: 1] Religion -- that is to say, a belief in deity -- is not a requirement for living a moral life; and 2] The negative consequences of belief are at least as great as its positive ones.

People with no religious beliefs are capable of living irreproachable lives of personal piety or public service and religion sometimes inspires the most reprehensible behavior in individuals or groups. One set of beliefs doesn’t follow logically from or exclude the other. Morality and metaphysics inhabit separate spheres of the human brain and can comfortably reside in the same head with no ill effects.

For me it’s all a question of natural temperament and perhaps early upbringing and childhood role models. For every person whose moral character is improved or strengthened by their association with a religion, a second exists whose natural tendencies toward kindness and tolerance are warped and corrupted by sectarian doctrine.

Wickedness should be defined by behavior, not by metaphysical belief. A person’s true nature can be assessed by the assumptions upon which they habitually act, not upon the doctrines they openly espouse. It isn't that talk is cheap, merely that it is an insufficient gage of human conduct and therefor should not be afforded a prime role in the formation of public policy.

The Ten Commandments and all such stories of divine law-giving are a myth, albeit a useful and well-intentioned myth. Religion is a form of social control, but it is an imperfect policeman. The  rules for both personal and private conduct should be based upon a careful consideration of human interactions and their effect upon the world and not upon divine edict.

Zeus

Lightning originates on the ground. It doesn’t come down from on high. Zeus is a fraud.

The Torture Scenario

An integral part of the Easter season is the story of Jesus' crucifixion. The allure of the passion isn’t that Jesus died, but that he died in one of the most horrific and gruesome ways possible. His eventual resurrection reads like a postscript to the tale. I wonder if the story would still resonate if he had died in some other fashion? Would Christ’s sacrifice be any less significant if he had been bored to death watching a Gilligan’s Island marathon or died after eating some bad clams?

SPAM

CNN gets way more credit than it deserves for merely "not being" FOX. It's like saying canned Spam is a culinary delight just because it's slightly more eatable than a plate of dirt.

Speaking Ill of the Dead

Let us not speak ill of the dead. Well, maybe a little -- if for no other reason than to loosen the clamps on everyone else’s mouths. Kobe Bryant. A great athlete, but a less then perfect human being. Selfish, egotistic, and possibly criminal. He hogged the ball and the spotlight, cheated on his wife, and frequently treated other people like shit. He was richly rewarded for his athletic prowess, and admired by millions who live vicariously through the accomplishments of others, but what did he really accomplish in life?

He was neither a great intellect or a profound thinker. He wasn’t an artist or a healer or a crusader for social justice. He never sacrificed himself for the greater good or spoke out in support of an unpopular cause. He sank baskets and won championships. Even then, team was merely an addendum to personal glory. He lived comfortably and conventionally and mostly did what he wanted with little or no regard for anything or anybody else. It’s a great shame to die at forty-one, but he wasn’t Jesus Christ and he didn’t die on the cross.

Not Today But Sometime