The Quest For Eden

  There was an old "Readers Digest" story about a woman preparing to roast a chicken. She began by slicing off the legs of the bird and placing them in the roaster next to the chicken, but with the tips nestled under the chicken's wings. Her daughter asked, "Why did you do that?" "I don't know. My mom always did it that way."   They proceeded to call grandmother to find the answer.  "I don't know. My mom always did it that way."   So, they called great-grandmother. "My pot was too small."   I am reminded of this story as we think about all of the "core beliefs" of religions. How many fundamental beliefs might have been developed over the centuries due to one person's need to position things upside-down in order for God to "fit" in their existing structure? Specifically, I am convinced that the earliest notion that God removed Adam/Eve from Eden as punishment simply exists because the thought that &qu

  What is the role of prison?  In the U.S.A. it is assumed that prison is supposed to serve as a deterrent; the threat of punishment is expected to keep people from committing crimes. Why do we think this system should be working?    Do more prisons equate to less crime? Do more prisons equate to less desire to commit crimes?  Do more prisons equate to less incentive to gain whatever immediate gratification people seem to find in committing the crimes? Without citing any research, I'm going to bet the answer to the previous three questions is "no." And why would that likely be the case? Anyone who knows about the science of Applied Behavior Analysis/Application knows that PUNISHMENT is the least effective way to significantly and/or permanently modify behavior. So - why does the U.S. put all its eggs into expecting punishment to solve crime issues? It's. Because. Christians. Believe. In. A. Punitive. God. I do not believe God believes that punishment solves anything.

  We fight about abortion because we are not seeking solutions. We only want to win "the argument."   There may be a "middle ground" solution, if we can come to understand aspects of the opinions. One group argues that the issue is about "the rights" of a woman to access appropriate medical care. One group argues that the issue is about "the rights" of a zygote to grow to be a healthy human being. The disagreement on priorities is pulled from both ends by morality and science. Morally, we agree that causing death is wrong. Scientifically, we agree that a zygote can not survive without a womb. The problem is not that "women are killing babies," but that the babies exist inside the woman. An equitable solution would need to include scientific methodology for permitting a zygote to develop healthfully outside the womb. An equitable solution would include guaranteed financing for the health and support of children from the zygote stage and

  I live in the United States of America. It is not very united these days. I feel that much of the underlying divisiveness stems from the vague words we hear used to describe what it means to "be American." We use words like Freedom, Independence, & Rights. Similarly, most Major world Religions seldom seem to be consistently united in their concerns and convictions. Again, this may be related to the words that are central to each Religious community. Words are used like Salvation, Sin, & Justification. All of these words are open and vague. All of these words require interpretation and opposition to have meaning. Freedom from __? Independence of _____? Rights in regard to ___? Salvation from _____? Sin defined by ______? Justification for _____?   Every individual has feelings about what these words should mean. Since no two people seem to agree on what Freedom, Salvation, or what Rights are; people are consistently at odds.   What I think has happened is many leader

  There's a part of me that wants to blast out my current belief status on all my social media feeds so that the kind folk who "miss me" at the last church I attended could understand. It almost feels as though it would be easier if there had been some nasty falling out. I have nothing against them. They are fine people. I'm just at a point in my faith journey at which: I don't believe God ever intended ANY form of sacrifice (including Jesus). I don't believe God intends to punish anyone in any way ever. I am indifferent about "heaven." And I am OK if nothing happens after death. I believe that "Worship Services" do nothing for God; that they are little more than a gathering for dopamine-inducing sing-along and TED-talk on mystical plausibility. I feel that "using my talents" in a "Worship Service" only serves to unnaturally prolong the life of a thing that should be put to rest, or at best be put in Hospice. It feels a

When God found Adam and Eve after eating the fruit... Did He say anything about sin? Did He say anything about hell? Did He say anything about needing to offer sacrifices as penance? Did He establish any system for "corrective action?" Nope. He just made sure to remove them from the garden before they ate from the tree of eternal life and lived forever in shame. Sin and punishment are not God's idea. They are man's.