This December 29th will mark the 125th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre. As students of American history probably already know, this 1890 horror was, in a real way, the end of the so-called “Indian Wars.” That is, it marked the final crushing blow specifically against the Lakota on the Great Plains, but symbolically against […]
Transcendence for Atheists
Let’s begin with a neurological reality: we humans are limited in what we can experience. The finite human nervous system can only absorb about 10% of the information around us. The other 90% goes unprocessed: unseen, unheard, untasted, untouched, unfelt–unimagined. Mind you, that’s only talking about what lies within earshot and vision. It’s not even […]
Why Do Religions Hurt People?
I submit that to understand religion, particularly as practiced in the West, we need a basic understanding of group dynamics: to wit, what sociologists call the “ingroup” and the “outgroup.” Group cohesion and cooperation were essential to the survival of prehistoric Homo sapiens. We have evolved to instinctively assign artificial positive qualities to “our” group […]
Can an Atheist Have a Spiritual Conversation?
While I was away on my five-week “Great Western Pilgrimage,” my better half, Kate, entertained a longtime friend from the east coast. The friend appreciated that I was a minister, now retired. Upon hearing about my “Gentle Atheist” website, though, she was plainly taken aback. “How can a minister be an atheist?” She asked. “How can […]