Ignore The Hurting, You’ve Done Enough.
Memes like this hold the key to happiness. “Focus on yourself. You’ve done enough for the ungrateful.” You will make the world a better place when you stop caring about the needs of others and focus entirely on yourself. Beware! It won’t be easy! Many people are worse off than yourself. You may be tempted […]
Christians Should Force Their Views
There is at least one Christian person out there (I know because I’ve met her) who believes it is WRONG for Christians to seek political power for the purpose of imposing their religious views on the culture. According to her, Christians should strive to be ‘politically neutral.’ Our religious bias makes us ineligible to hold […]
The Selfless Daddy
In celebration of Father’s Day, Jennifer Lopez let her millions of Instagram followers know that Ben Affleck is, ‘the most selfless daddy ever.’ I commented, “The most selfless daddies are still married to mommy.” I’m aware that divorce is a sensitive issue and there are many, many, many reasons for breaking your promises. I understand […]
The Pluralist Oppression
“John, you jerk! We’re living in a pluralistic society! That means you must tolerate everyone else’s views and opinions!” I’m probably more tolerant than you. Right now, at this very moment, I am tolerating your view that there is such a thing as a ‘pluralistic society.’ I’m peacefully coexisting with you despite your ignorant understanding […]
God Is Not A Libertarian
Somebody posed this question to me recently: “When you read the New Testament, you walk away convinced that God wants Christians to force/coerce unbelievers to live better?” I would prefer to ‘persuade’ rather than ‘coerce’ but if you’re forcing me to use aggressive language, my answer is still, “Yes.” I don’t know how anyone can […]
It’s ‘You’ Not ‘We.’
I was told a long time ago that I should avoid saying, ‘you’ when I speak. I was told it is better to say, ‘I’ or ‘we’ instead because saying, ‘you’ is confrontational and accusatory. Our culture internalized this idea over the years and it has become the sacred commandment, “Don’t judge.” While it’s generally […]
Don’t Converse With People You Don’t Respect
Here’s a quick rule of thumb that has helped me avoid countless hours of bitter, pointless conflict. “Never Converse with People You Don’t Respect.” In order to follow this rule, I established some guidelines for determining whether or not I respect a person. In my line of work, it is crucial to have some basic […]
My Comfort Zone Is Too Small
As I prepare myself to grumble about the triple digit temperature outside, I remember just a few weeks ago when I was grumbling about the insufferable cold. It occurred to me that I’ve got a very narrow ‘comfort zone.’ I’m not just fussy about the temperature either. I will complain when my stomach is empty […]
If You Have Ears…
To the surprise of nobody, there is some confusion among the atheists about my motivation for writing stuff. I’ll attempt to clarify my position for any heathen with the courage (and reading ability) to understand. I don’t care if you ever come to believe in God. My goal is not to find agreement with you. […]
Where Did That Bird Come From?
These days, nobody takes atheists seriously. Excluded from all relevant conversations, the non-believers are mostly relegated to tossing silly memes into social media streams. There are no parades for atheists. The atheists don’t get ‘Godless Lives Matter’ campaigns. The most marginalized people in our country are the people who pretend they don’t believe God exists. […]