Leaving Christianity – Oh What A Relief It Is!

Oh What A Relief It Is!Although I left Christianity over 20 years ago, it took a long while for me to erase the doctrines that had been embedded within my consciousness for 15+ years. It was not an easy road.

As Stephen Van Eck wrote on the Deism.com website: “Once sucked into the parallel universe of Christianity, [a person] is too intimidated by threats and rationalizations to attempt escape. Even thinking along alternative lines will induce severe feelings of guilt.”
Writing my book helped tremendously because of all the research and reading I did. Learning how and why certain doctrines of the Christian faith (e.g., final judgment, burning fires of hell, Satan and his demons, the end-times) were introduced into the faith was extremely liberating … and removed a ton of guilt and fear.

I also found out some things about the Bible. As many others, I had been taught the Bible was “God’s Word” (even though the interpretation of what “He” said varies considerably among denominations). Through my studies, I discovered that much of what is in the bible is the result of stories, epics, myths, legends, proverbs, etc. that were passed by word of mouth from one generation to another. This is particularly true of the Hebrew Bible, but intrinsically typical of the New Testament scriptures as well. Can you imagine the burden that was lifted when I found out I wasn’t genetically inclined to sin and thus in need of someone to save me from being human??!?

Contrary to what one might think, the many discoveries I made did not turn me into an atheist. However, I definitely do not believe in a supernatural being who lives somewhere “up there,” who can be manipulated by prayer, or who has a “will.” Rather, my image of “God” is far more encompassing and has nothing to do with religious belief. In fact, I’m extremely reluctant to even use the word “god” because of all its connotations.

In any case, I find my life so much more fulfilling now. Truly, what a relief it has been!

A Must Read!

The following is the introduction to a Substack article that was referenced on Zoe’s blog. The entire article is excellent (a link to it is below), but this part was soooo spot-on, I just had to share …

Nixon, Reagan, and Trump walk into a bar …

The bouncers throw Nixon out.

The manager lets Reagan sleep in the corner.

Trump gets a loan from Putin, buys the bar, fires the employees and managers, then hires a circus clown troupe to help him run the bar. He renames it, paints it gold, and it goes bankrupt. The clowns then steal some fuel and he burns the whole thing down. He makes off with the scammed insurance money.

Sadly, it’s not a joke.

Trump has no guardrails, his cognitive decline is augmenting, and his circus clowns are amplifying his pathology with their own agendas.

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Here’s the link to read the entire article.

More On The Murder

Sorry, another post about the recent ICE incident …

Following is an excerpt from an article on the website, “America: The Jesuit Review.” It was referenced in a post by “Ark” … and I feel it continues to add to the discussion.

Mr. Vance claimed further that Ms. Good “viciously ran over the ICE officer” who shot and killed her, an assertion contradicted by video evidence taken from multiple angles. 

Why the obvious lie? Because, similar to Ms. Kirkpatrick and Mr. Haig, Mr. Vance recognizes the potential for this atrocity to turn American public opinion against President Trump’s brutal campaign against undocumented immigrants, particularly because Ms. Good is an American citizen, was apparently denied medical assistance by ICE agents after the shooting and, according to the video evidence, posed no real threat to the shooter. Not even the most fervent supporter of the arrest and deportation of undocumented migrants, one assumes, would defend such Gestapo-like tactics. 

Now why in the world would Mr. Vance think this event might turn public opinion against the President??!!?

P.S. Has anyone else noticed how the guy in the pickup was on his way to Renee when the other ICE guy came out of nowhere and stomped towards her car? To me, it was more than obvious he was ready for a fight.

Trump and Putin

Although Thom Hartmann frequently offers some good Substack writings, many of them tend to be overly long for my tastes. However, I feel his latest contribution, in which he notes the many parallelisms of Trump and Putin, deserves our consideration.

I hope you will take a few minutes and read what he has to say.

How Many Democracies Must Fall Before We Admit Trump and Putin Want the Same Outcome?