Category Archives: Atheist

Back in 2010, Elana Kagan and Sen Lindsey Graham engaged in a delightful banter that made headlines.

The South Carolina Republican asked Kagan, who had been nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, where she had been on Christmas Day. Kagan replied, You know, like all Jews, I was probably in a Chinese restaurant.

The entire room resounded in laughter and a round of applause.

The celebration of Christmas has always been part of my life and I love the season. But how do non-Christians deal with this very Christian holiday? I posted this question on my Facebook page: As of Dec. 15, I have received 146 answers.

The first the very first, mind you post confirmed the validity of Kagans response. Jews traditionally eat Chinese food and watch movies, a Jewish friend wrote. Taking in a film, although not cited by Kagan during her conversation with Graham, is indeed on the agenda for many Jewish families at Christmas. A non-Jewish friend posted, I used to work for a Jewish company, and a co-worker told me that Christmas Eve was Hebrew Night at the Nashville cinema. Maybe Christmas Day, too.

Another response reflected how national customs play a role in determining how Jews observe Christmas. By celebrating Christmas despite being Jewish. Path of least resistance. This friend wrote that Jews born in the Soviet Union grew up with the tradition of putting up a New Years tree and getting presents from a Santa-like figure on New Years Eve, followed by a feast.

My friend was referring to Ded Moroz (Grandpa Frost). Like our Santa, he wears a long fur coat and sports a beard. Unlike our Santa Claus, however, Grandpa Frost is accompanied by a female helper named Snow Maiden, who is his granddaughter.

Grandpa Frost and Snow Maiden survived the fall of communism and remain a vital part of the Russian New Years celebration. Indeed, the Wests Santa Claus is seen as an unwelcome rival who poses a threat to a beloved Russian tradition.

When I attended Altons Unitarian church, we had a traditional Christmas Eve service that included singing carols such as Silent Night. A friend from my Unitarian days posted, When she was much younger, one of my granddaughters once said that UUs [Unitarian Universalists] are like Jews except we get to have Christmas.

Another UU friend, who now lives in another state, shared I still love the Christmas hymns. We've told the kids that we are celebrating Jesus who we think was a very good man kind of like MLK.

Several friends posted that they observe pagan rituals. I celebrate Yule on the night of the solstice, a San Francisco friend wrote. I light a log with three candles maiden, mother and crone and do a full Yule ceremony. Many ancient cultures built enormous bonfires on the winter solstice to encroach on the darkness and encouraged the sun to grow strong again. This tradition lives on among contemporary pagans. A friend who lives in the Riverbend posted that her family builds a fire to welcome the sun back.

Several friends affirmed that one neednt be a Christian to enjoy Christmas. Its simply human nature and culture to celebrate abundance at the darkest hour of the year.

No one owns Christmas but the celebrant, whether Pagan, Atheist, or Christian, one noted. As though to confirm that assertion, a New Mexico friend posted, Im an atheist who loves Christmas. There are no rules I need to follow, so I simply take the parts I like gathering, giving, sharing and loving -- and ignore the nonsense parts.

Two replies were particularly memorable. My friends and I make a Christmas dinner and take it to a migrant shelter in Mexico, an old high school classmate posted. A romance writer who rescues animals wrote, I visit with a 95-year-old Christian neighbor who is alone on the holiday.

The empathy and compassion of these two women embody the very essence of Christmas.

John J. Dunphy is an author, the Godfrey 15th Precinct Democratic Committeeperson and recording secretary for the Godfrey Democrats.

Originally posted here:

No one owns Christmas but the celebrant - Alton Telegraph

My earliest reading memoryI was being read a picture book of Waltzing Matilda by my dad, when my nose started bleeding again; Id been hit with a ball in the face earlier in the day. A big drop splatted right in the middle of the book and I remember thinking: Uh oh Ive ruined a book! I still have that book and I still see the dried-out splotch.

My favourite book growing upThe BFG by Roald Dahl. It was the first book that didnt feel like homework. There was a darkness to it that felt forbidden, but still on the right side of scary. I felt very proud when Id finished it, but also sad as I didnt want it to be over. A feeling Ive grown used to over the years.

The book that changed me as a teenagerI was not a big reader as a teenager. I had too much else going on, like being a failed delinquent, football, and helping look after my mother. But I read The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, a nonfiction book about a convergence of weather patterns in a north Atlantic storm that made waves so big they broke the equipment used to measure them, and a human story that weaves through the scientific data. It hooked me on a life of reading nonfiction, and the true seismic shift of reading that book was the realisation that storytelling wasnt just about fiction.

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The writer who changed my mindRichard Dawkins, in my very early 20s, about the difference between agnosticism and atheism. I read some of his work at a turbulent time in my life. I had just lost my mother, having been raised Catholic, and feeling the church was wildly hypocritical, I became, as I used to say, devoutly atheist. But I came to understand that this too was a story, and one that was as potentially closed-minded as any of the major religions. Agnosticism, on the other hand, left open the possibility that we humans couldnt possibly know everything. I have given up on trying to be sure of anything and it is liberating. Ironically, Dawkins himself is a famous atheist, but there is a relief in being absent from the arrogance of both atheism and religion. The only main difference in all this is the story we tell ourselves.

The book that made me want to be a writerThe Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I came to it late in life, and realised immediately the raw kinetic power of picture books as a vehicle for art and storytelling.

The book or author I came back toMy dad always insisted I read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I tried in my mid 20s, but couldnt get my head around the cadence of it, and gave up. Years later, he prompted me again. This time I stuck with it admittedly out of respect for my dad and am thankful for doing so. It was the first time I ever had a physical reaction to a book, like Id been winded or punched in the gut.

The book I rereadAt Home by Bill Bryson. It explains why our homes are the way they are, how we got there through trial and error and centuries of history.

The book I could never read againA Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I adored this in my early 30s, the academic toilet humour of it. I tried reading it again, but perhaps too much has changed, or the humour is no longer fresh.

The book I am currently readingI currently have five books on the go. I know this infuriates some people, but its how I do it. Im not in the same mood every evening.

My comfort readJohn Grisham novels on long flights.

Theres a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers is published by HarperCollins Childrens Books (20). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

See the article here:

Oliver Jeffers: Catch-22 was the first time I had a physical reaction to a book - The Guardian

In 1996, John Updike released his 17th novel, In the Beauty of the Lilies, a story about a Presbyterian minister, Clarence Wilmot, who loses his faith, leaves the ministry and becomes an encyclopedia salesman. In a strange case of art imitating life, Updike was narrating my story. I was a Baptist minister who had slowly been losing my faith. That same year, I left the ministry and embarked on a second career in technology sales.

While Updike captured my painful but liberating movement from Christianity to agnosticism, he failed to narrate the stigma and stereotypes associated with being an agnostic or atheist.

Some equate atheism with being immoral and even amoral.Some of the criticism leveled at nonbelievers comes from the suspicion that those who do not believe in God could not possibly believe in anything else, moral or otherwise.Several years ago, a coworker, upon learning of my agnosticism, said, So you just believe and do anything you want? That he had engaged in several extramarital affairs was lost on my hypocritical colleague but not on me.

The notion that atheists and agnostics do anything they want to do is not uncommon; however, it is woefully and recklessly ignorant.

Comedian and atheist Penn Jillette says hes often asked, Without God, whats stopping you from raping all you want? Jillettes response? I do rape all I want, and the amount I want is zero.

The late Christopher Hitchens had a standing offer to name a moral thing that was done in the name of religion that hadnt been done by an atheist. Morality isnt the sole provenance of religion, and immoral persons can be found in pews and prisons alike. A former member of my second congregation, a deacon in a cross-town Baptist church, axe murdered his wife and mother-in law, believing God directed him to do so. Thank God he wasnt an atheist!

It is precisely because of these religious prejudices and stereotypes that many agnostics and atheists do not discuss their worldviews in public or even private settings, and if they do, they dont necessarily tell the truth.

Timur Kuran, in Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification, argues that social pressures can make people say that they want and believe something they really dont want or believe. Kuran calls this preference falsification, a phenomenon that occurs when you make an inaccurate public statement about your actual preferences or beliefs.

Some of the criticism leveled at nonbelievers comes from the suspicion that those who do not believe in God could not possibly believe in anything else, moral or otherwise.

These same social pressures have forced many LGBTQ persons to remain in the closet, for fear of condemnation (often at the hands of the Religious Right), rejection by family, and in the case of Matthew Shepard, torture and death. The 2015 Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage, however, gave some LGBTQ persons the courage to come out of the closet and affirm their true sexual identity. While we as a country and society have miles and miles to go before we sleep on the issue of LGBTQ rights, we have made measurable strides in the last few years.

The same cant be said for our nations and societys view of atheists and agnostics. In spite of the Obama administrations passing of the International Religious Freedom Act in 2016, many Americans still do not want atheists teaching their children or marrying them. They would, according to surveys, prefer a female, gay, Mormon or Muslim President to having an atheist in the White House.

To be sure, no closet, neither LGBTQ nor atheist, has ever been padlocked. The choice to come of out of either closet is free and deeply personal. But if the LGBTQ closet is largely empty, the agnostic closet remains, with stigma and stain awaiting anyone who decides to leave it.

Last year, I wrote a book in which I discuss my journey from minister to agnostic and critique popular religious notions like everything happens for a reason. I have friends who reviewed my book online, some of whom masked their names to avoid being outed by their association with a controversial topic and agnostic author.

I dream of a day when the atheist closet is empty. When epistemic humility is the intellectual norm and credal dogmatism is the outlier. I envision a world where the burden of proof for an invisible supreme being falls on the believer, not the skeptic. Until then, I hope that the flickering flame of my own religious journey will be a beacon of courage and hope for those cloistered in the last closet.

David Ramsey was a Baptist minister for 10 years, serving as senior minister to two congregations in Virginia. He earned a bachelors degree from Wake Forest University and a master of divinity degree from Duke University Divinity School. He also was a fellow in religion and leadership development at Princeton Theological Seminary.

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Excerpt from:

Atheism and agnosticism: The last closet Baptist News Global - Baptist News Global

Nathalie Charles, even in her mid-teens, felt unwelcome in her Baptist congregation, with its conservative views on immigration, gender and sexuality. So she left.

I just dont feel like that gelled with my view of what God is and what God can be, said Charles, an 18-year-old of Haitian descent who identifies as queer and is now a freshman at Princeton University.

It wasnt a very loving or nurturing environment for someones faith.

After leaving her New Jersey church three years ago, she identified as atheist, then agnostic, before embracing a spiritual but not religious life. In her dorm, she blends rituals at an altar, chanting Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu mantras and paying homage to her ancestors as she meditates and prays.

The path taken by Charles places her among the religiously unaffiliated -- the fastest-growing group in surveys asking Americans about their religious identity. They describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular.

According to a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, this group commonly known as the nones now constitutes 29% of American adults. Thats up from 23% in 2016 and 19% in 2011.

If the unaffiliated were a religion, theyd be the largest religious group in the United States, said Elizabeth Drescher, an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University who wrote a book about the spiritual lives of the nones.

The religiously unaffiliated were once concentrated in urban, coastal areas, but now live across the U.S., representing a diversity of ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, Drescher said.

Even in their personal philosophies, Americas nones vary widely, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. For example, 30% say they feel some connection to God or a higher power, and 19% say religion has some importance to them even though they have no religious affiliation.

About 12% describe themselves as religious and spiritual and 28% as spiritual but not religious. More than half describe themselves as neither.

Nearly 60% of the nones say religion was at least somewhat important to their families when they were growing up, according to the AP-NORC poll. It found that 30% of nones meditate and 26% pray privately at least a few times a month, while smaller numbers consult periodically with a religious or spiritual leader.

There are people who do actually practice, either in a particular faith tradition that we would recognize, or in multiple faith traditions, Drescher said. Theyre not interested in either membership in those communities formally or in identifying as someone from that religion.

Over recent years, the prevalence of the nones in the U.S. has been roughly comparable to Western Europe -- but overall, Americans remain more religious, with higher rates of daily prayer and belief in God as described in the Bible. According to a 2018 Pew survey, about two-thirds of U.S. Christians prayed daily, compared to 6% in Britain and 9% in Germany

The growth of the nones in the U.S. has come largely at the expense of the Protestant population in the U.S., according to the new Pew survey. It said 40% of U.S. adults are Protestants now, down from 50% a decade ago.

Among the former Protestants is Shianda Simmons, 36, of Lakeland, Florida, who began identifying as an atheist in 2013.

She grew up as a Baptist and attended church regularly; she says she left mainly because of the churchs unequal treatment of women.

Not everyone in her family knows she has forsaken religion, and some who do know struggle to accept it, Simmons said.

There are certain people I cant tell that I am atheist, she said. It has made me draw away from my family.

Similarly, at the beauty store she owns, she feels she must keep her atheism under wraps from clients, for fear theyd go elsewhere.

Like Simmons, Mandisa Thomas is a Black atheist an identity that can be challenging in the many African American communities where churches are a powerful force. Thomas sang in a church choir in her childhood, but was not raised Christian.

Within the Black community, we face ostracism, said Thomas, who lives near Atlanta and founded Black Nonbelievers, a support group, in 2011. There is this idea that somehow you are rejecting your blackness when you reject religion, that atheism is something that white people do.

Another advocate for the nones is Kevin Bolling, who grew up in a military family and served as a Roman Catholic altar boy. In college, he began to question the churchs role, and grew dismayed about its position on sexuality after he came out as gay.

Hes now executive director of the Secular Student Alliance, which has more than 200 branches in colleges and schools nationwide. The chapters, he said, serve as havens for secular students or those questioning their faith.

I think this generation can be the first generation to be majority non-religious versus majority religious, he said.

Being Catholic also was a big part of Ashley Taylors upbringing -- she became an altar server at 9. Now 30, she identifies as religiously unaffiliated.

It just means finding meaning and maybe even spirituality without practicing a religion . pulling from whatever makes sense to me or whatever fits with my values, she said.

Her faith gave her strength when she had cancer at 11, she said, but she also feels that growing up Catholic negatively affected her emotional and sexual development and delayed her coming out as queer.

Eventually, Taylor discovered Sunday Assembly, which provided her with a congregation-like community but in a secular way, offering activities such as singing, book clubs and trivia nights. She's now board president at Sunday Assembly Pittsburgh.

Theyre not trying to tell you whats true, said Taylor. Theres always a spirit of curiosity and questioning and openness.

For some nones, such as 70-year-old Zayne Marston of Shelburne, Massachusetts, their spiritual journey keeps evolving over decades.

Growing up near Boston, Marston attended a Congregational church with his family he remembers Bible study, church-sponsored dances, the itchiness of his flannel trousers while attending Sunday services.

Through high school and college, he drifted away from Christian beliefs and in his 30s began a serious, long-lasting journey into spirituality while in rehab to curb his alcoholism.

Spirituality is a soul-based journey into the heart, surrendering ones ego will to a higher will. he said. Were looking for our own answers, beyond the programming we received growing up.

His path has been rough at times the death of his wife from a fast-moving cancer, financial troubles leading to the loss of his house but he says his spiritual practice has replaced his anxieties with a gentle joy and a desire to help others.

He previously worked as a landscape designer and real estate appraiser, and now runs a school teaching qigong, a practice that evolved from China combining slow, relaxed movement with breathing exercises and meditation.

As a kid, I used to think of God up on a throne, with a white beard, passing judgment, but that has totally changed, Marston said. My higher power is the universe... Its always there for me, if I can get out of my egos way.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,083 adults was conducted Oct. 21-25 using a sample drawn designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The Pew survey was conducted among 3,937 respondents from May 29 to Aug. 25. It's margin of error for the full sample of respondents is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

Associated Press Writer Mariam Fam contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Continued here:

What's your religion? In US, a common reply now is "None" - ABC News

Photo credit: Thomas Lipke via Unsplash.

Iain was a diehard atheist from the United Kingdom.I absolutely knew that I would never believe in a creator. It was inconceivable to me, he recalls.

The orca whale (breathtaking) sometimes gave Iain pause about his atheism. But it wasnt enough to change his mind.

Then he encountered Stephen Meyer and other proponents of intelligent design. Their work convinced him he was horribly wrong, opening his mind to a new reality: I see the natural world now through completely different eyes. I see that this experience I am living is no accident.

Your support of Discovery Institutes videos, books, and educational outreach programs made this transformation possible.

Today, Iain shares resources from Discovery Institute with his friends, hoping to persuade them about thetruth of intelligent design. Just last month, he shared some of our materials with a colleague at work. The colleague responded that he never imaginedI could have presented anything that would dent his belief in evolution, but he was wrong.

You can make more stories like Iains possible through your generous support.

When Steve Meyer and I founded Discovery Institutes Center for Science & Culture 25 years ago, we couldnt have predicted the worldwide impact. But through partnership with people like you, we are reaching millions of people a year through science research, book publishing, education programs, YouTube channels, and online platforms likeEvolution News.

As we move into 2022, we have plans to focus on humanitys incredible uniqueness through books one by geneticistMichael Denton,and another by engineerSteve Laufmannand medical doctorHoward Glicksman.HistorianRichard Weikartwill publish an expos of what happens when humans are regarded as mere animals.

Our plans are ambitious and far reaching, butwe cant make them a reality without your support.

There are more people out there like Iain who need to be exposed to the truth of intelligent design and human uniqueness.Will you join us to make a difference together in 2022?

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Ever Thought You Could Change Someone's Mind? - Discovery Institute

As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the 12-step programme for recovery from addictions, I am disappointed that Oscar Quine had been told that the 12 steps would cure his addiction (I was told the 12 steps would cure my addiction. Why did I end up feeling more broken?, 4 December). We do not claim that. The steps do not work for everyone, but they certainly do for many.

The original 12-step programme for alcoholism has been successfully adapted over the years for drugs, food, gambling and many other addictions. The 12 steps are not a religious programme, but they are spiritually based. Addicts need to connect with a power in their lives greater than whatever has led to their addiction.

Many addiction-free atheists and non-believers are among our fellows. They embrace, alongside those of many faiths, the simple spiritual principles of honesty, open-mindedness and a willingness to help others who suffer. Achieving change is most effective with daily diligent and disciplined practice of the steps. This can be challenging.

Anyone can get recovery for free if they are willing to work for it to the best of their ability. There are hundreds of 12-step live and Zoom meetings running across the UK and worldwide on a daily basis.

The APPG brings these facts to the attention of parliamentarians, government and public bodies, so that in turn those who suffer can find awareness of 12-step recovery. With public funding for addiction services so severely constrained, the entirely free and voluntary nature of 12-step recovery makes this work all the more important, particularly for addicts who cannot access private rehabilitation centres.Clive BrookeLabour, House of Lords

Oscar Quine is right that the 12-step model doesnt work for everyone. It didnt work for my sister, who died recently from a cancer related to prolonged alcohol abuse. But it does work for many others. I worked for five years at the Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust, now the Forward Trust, which ran programmes based on the 12 steps. I met hundreds of people whose lives and the lives of their families were transformed by the programme. Its not a panacea, it clearly takes hard work and commitment, but there was definitely nothing joyless about the people I met.

As I havent been through the 12 steps, I dont want to talk as though I know more about it than I do, but the impression I got was that the reference to a higher power was based on individual choice, not formalised religion. What I do know is that the people I met who were helped by it seemed to be not just clean and sober, but somehow more alive than the rest of us.Claire WildLondon

Oscar Quines experience of working a 12-step programme for addiction is not unheard of but, in my experience, is by no means common.

I am an atheist, and nearly 27 years sober as a reasonably regular attendee of AA meetings. I chose to attend meetings where there is neither a religious overtone nor prescriptive way of following the steps. Instead, I chose meetings where there is genuine kindness, empathy and fellowship. There are many such meetings.

The 12-step programme works, as far as I can see, by bringing together people who share a common problem and are at various stages of recovering. The groups experience of recovery is generally wiser than the individuals. That is the power. People find new friends with a common cause.

The disease model of addiction is widely and internationally accepted. As is the success of the 12-step model in helping numerous people worldwide recover from substance addiction to lead clean, sober and contented lives. Inevitably, while it works for many people, 12-step recovery does not suit everyone. Outside professional help can often provide additional necessary support to resolve mental health and other issues, particularly associated with early-life trauma.

I wish Oscar the same contentment, self-acceptance and happiness in his recovery that I have found on my journey in 12-step recovery.Peter NorthWinchester, Hampshire

Have an opinion on anything youve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.

Read more:

The 12 steps may not work for everyone, but can transform lives - The Guardian

In many ways, Black people in the United States are more religiousthan Americans of other races. This is especially true for immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, who tend to be more religious than U.S.-born Black adults or immigrants from the Caribbean, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

For example, around half of African immigrants in the U.S. (54%) say they attend religious services at least weekly, compared with about three-in-ten U.S.-born (32%) and Caribbean-born (30%) Black adults. And about seven-in-ten African immigrants (72%) say religion is very important to them, compared with 59% of U.S.- and Caribbean-born Black adults who say this.

This post examining the religious affiliations, practices and beliefs of Black immigrants in the United States draws from Pew Research Centers landmark study, Faith Among Black Americans, published in February 2021. That study was based on a nationally representative survey of 8,660 Black adults (ages 18 and older) who identify as Black or African American, including some who identify as both Black and Hispanic or Black and another race (such as Black and White, or Black and Asian).

Survey respondents were recruited from four nationally representative sources: the Centers American Trends Panel (conducted online), NORCs AmeriSpeak panel (conducted online or by phone), Ipsos KnowledgePanel (conducted online) and a national cross-sectional survey by Pew Research Center (conducted online and by mail). Responses were collected from Nov. 19, 2019, to June 3, 2020, but most respondents completed the survey between Jan. 21 and Feb. 10, 2020.

Here are the questions used for the Faith Among Black Americans report, along with responses, and its methodology.

Statistics in the post about the number of Black immigrants in the U.S. come from a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

In addition, immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are much less likely than other U.S. Black adults to be religiously unaffiliated (that is, to identify as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular). Just 6% of African immigrants identify in one of these ways, compared with 22% of U.S.-born Black adults and 23% of Black immigrants from the Caribbean.

The religious profiles of immigrant groups differ in other ways, too. Both African and Caribbean immigrants are somewhat less likely to be Protestant, and more likely to be Catholic, than U.S.-born Black adults. And African immigrants are more likely than other Black Americans to identify with other Christian faiths such as Orthodox Christianity, or with non-Christian faiths such as Islam.

While the vast majority of the 47 million Black Americans were born in the U.S., the Black immigrant population has roughly doubled over the last two decades to 4.6 million in 2019, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. In 2019, roughly one-in-ten Black Americans were born outside of the U.S., including 4% who were born in sub-Saharan Africa and 5% who were born in the Caribbean. More Black Americans come from Jamaica, Haiti, Nigeria and Ethiopia than from any other African or Caribbean countries, according to Pew Research Center tabulations of the Census Bureaus 2019 American Community Survey.

Some Black Christian immigrants go to churches associated with historically Black Protestant denominations based in the U.S., such as the Progressive National Baptist Convention, while others go to congregations of Haitian Baptists, Pentecostals and Catholics, or those associated with African denominations such as the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Nigeria-based Church of the Lord.

African immigrants also distinguish themselves in the survey through their beliefs about scripture and conversion. Immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are more likely to say they believe in God as described in their religions holy scripture such as the Bible for Christians or the Quran for Muslims than are U.S.-born Black adults. About eight-in-ten African immigrants (84%) say they believe this, compared with around three-quarters in the other groups. And roughly seven-in-ten African immigrants (68%) say people of faith have a duty to convert nonbelievers, compared with approximately half of U.S.-born and Caribbean-born adults who feel this way.

African immigrants also stand out on certain social and cultural issues. Fewer than half of African-born Americans (38%) say homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared with 63% of U.S.-born Black adults. Caribbean-born immigrants fall between the other two groups, with roughly half (52%) saying that homosexuality should be accepted by society. (In general, opposition to homosexuality is far more common in sub-Saharan Africa than it is in the U.S.)

And African immigrants tend to be more supportive of traditional gender norms, in some ways, than U.S.-born Black adults. For example, those born in sub-Saharan Africa differ from other Black Americans on questions about how men and women should share duties in households that have both a mother and father. African immigrants are more likely than other Black adults to say the father should be mostly responsible for providing for the family financially, and that the mother should be mostly responsible for taking care of the children. However, the most common view in all groups is that both parents should divide these responsibilities equally.

Link:

African immigrants in U.S. more religious than other Black Americans, and more likely to be Catholic - Pew Research Center

Atheist anti-theist Jonathan M. S. Pearce is the main writer on the blog,A Tippling Philosopher.HisAbout pagestates: Pearce is a philosopher, author, blogger, public speaker and teacher from Hampshire in the UK. He specialises in philosophy of religion, but likes to turnhis hand to science, psychology, politics and anything involved in investigating reality.

This is a reply to his post,A Spiritual Body Resurrection vs Corporeal Resurrection (12-9-21). His words will be in blue.

*****

I have had another interview with Derek Lambert of MythVision in the series where we are working through my bookThe Resurrection: A Critical Examination of the Easter Story[UK]. This latest episode (8) concentrated on the conflict between Paul, who believed in a two-body spiritual resurrection thesis, as opposed to the Gospels, who argue against Paul for a re-animated corpse resurrection. Of course, Pauls claims from 1 Corinthians and elsewhere explain why he doesnt mention an empty tomb anywhere because there would be no empty tomb as the earthly body would remain in situ.

The Gospels fundamentally contradict Paul precisely because they are an overt counter-argument against Pauls theology, and the related Gnostic position of a full-on spiritual resurrection.

Jonathan seems to maintain (from what I can tell in his brief statements) that Pauls reference to a spiritual body is to a pure spirit, with no physical body. This is immediately absurd, since spirit cannot have an additional description of body. A body is physical, and spirits arent physical; they are immaterial.

Evangelical G. Shane Morris gives a good refutation of this Gnostic-influenced thinking in his article,Jesus Has a Physical Body Forever (And So Will We):

Theres a common misconception in the Christian rank and file that Jesus resurrected body was something other than a real, physical body with flesh and bones, and that our resurrected bodies will likewise be something other than or somehow less solid than our bodies are now. . . .

Christians enduring hope has always been what Paul said the creation itself groans for: the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23) This is what it means to swallow up death in victory. A spiritual resurrection of any kind isnt resurrection. Its a euphemistic redescription of death.

Second, the term spiritual body in 1 Corinthians 15:44 does not, in Pauls original use, mean what the phrase seems to imply in English. [N. T.] Wright points out that to the original audience, a spiritual body understood as an immaterial body would be a contradiction in terms. There is no such thing. You might as well talk about solid mist or dry water. What Paul is doing, in context, is contrasting a body of flesh (which is the most common New Testament metonym for fallen humanity) with the body of the Spiritthat is, a body empowered and animated by the Holy Spirit. The Jews and Greeks had words for immaterial beings.

If Paul had meant for us to expect a non-physical resurrection, he could have spoken of ghosts, or spirits. He did not. For a man of his background, resurrection meant only one thing: To get up out of the grave, body and all, and walk again.Jesus left behind an empty grave devoid of flesh and bones. He took them with Him. And so will we. (1 John 3:2)

James Bishopadds:

Paul was, prior to his conversion, a Pharisee. Pharisees held to a physicalresurrection (see: Jewish War 3.374, 2.163; 4Q521; 1QH 14.34; 4Q 385-391; Genesis Rabbah 14.5; Leviticus Rabbah 14.9). For instance, one leading scholar by the name of NT Wright, in his 700 page volume, argues that the resurrection in pagan, Jewish, and Christian cultures meant a physical and bodily resurrection (2). Paul held the same view (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:14; Romans 8:11; Philippians 3:20-21). . . .

As [N. T.] Wright articulates: Until second century Christianity, the language of resurrection had been thought by pagan, Jew, and Christian as some kind of return to bodily and this-worldly life [The Resurrection of the Son of God, 2003, p. 83].

The context of 1 Corinthians 15 further bolsters this view:

1 Corinthians 15:35-44(RSV) But some one will ask, How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? [36] You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. [38] But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. [39] For not all flesh is alike, but there is one kind for men, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [40] There are celestial bodies and there are terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. [41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. [42] So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.[44] It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:53-54For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.[54] When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.

Does Jonathan think that Paul thought the moon was a spirit and not physical? Its absurd.In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul uses the Greek wordegiro (usually raised in English) 19 times, referring to resurrection, either of Jesus (15:4, 12-17, 20) or of the general resurrection of human beings (15:29, 32, 35, 42-44, 52). The same word is used in the gospels of the raising of the young girl who had died. Sheremained human, with her body, after being raised. Jesus held her hand when she was raised:

Matthew 9:18, 23-25While he was thus speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live. . . .[23] And when Jesus came to the rulers house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult,[24] he said, Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping. And they laughed at him.[25] But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girlarose[egiro].

In John 12, the word is applied to Lazarus three times (12:1, 9, 17: raised from the dead and raised him from the dead: RSV). In John 12:2, the risen Lazarus is referred to, sitting at the table, eating supper with Jesus: obviously a physical being. This is what the wordmeans: a body being physically raised and restored after it had died.

Jesus was obviously also still in a physical body after He was resurrected, but it was a spiritual body, and so He could walk through walls (which modern physics tells us is actually physicallypossible, in additional dimensions and what-not). He ate fish with His disciples, told Thomas to put his hand in His wounds, which were still visible; was touched by Mary Magdalene, broke bread with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, etc.

Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe offer further explanation inthe following excerpttheir book,When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties(Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1992):

[N]otice the parallelism mentioned by Paul:

The complete context indicates that spiritual (pneumatikos) could be translated supernatural in contrast to natural. This is made clear by the parallels of perishable and imperishable and corruptible and incorruptible. In fact, this same Greek word (pneumatikos) is translated supernatural in1 Corinthians 10:4when it speaks of the supernatural rock that followed them in the wilderness (RSV).

Second, the word spiritual (pneumatikos) in 1 Corinthians refers to material objects. Paul spoke of the spiritual rock that followed Israel in the wilderness from which they got spiritual drink (1 Cor. 10:4). But the OT story (Ex. 17;Num. 20) reveals that it was a physical rock from which they got literal water to drink. But the actual water they drank from that material rock was produced supernaturally. When Jesus supernaturally made bread for the five thousand (John 6), He made literal bread. However, this literal, material bread could have been called spiritual bread (because of its supernatural source) in the same way that the literal manna given to Israel is called spiritual food (1 Cor. 10:3).

Further, when Paul spoke about a spiritual man (1 Cor. 2:15) he obviously did not mean an invisible, immaterial man with no corporeal body. He was, as a matter of fact, speaking of a flesh and blood human being whose life was lived by the supernatural power of God. He was referring to a literal person whose life was Spirit directed. A spiritual man is one who is taught by the Spirit and who receives the things that come from the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:1314).

To summarize Pauls doctrine of the general resurrection, I cite the section on that topic in the entry,Resurrectionin theInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia:

As the believer then passes into a condition of glory, his body must be altered for the new conditions (1Corinthians 15:50;Philippians 3:21); it becomes a spiritual body, belonging to the realm of the spirit (not spiritual in opposition to material). Nature shows us how different bodies can befrom the body of the sun to the bodies of the lowest animals the kind depends merely on the creative will of God (1Corinthians 15:38-41). Nor is the idea of a change in the body of the same thing unfamiliar: look at the difference in the body of a grain of wheat at its sowing and after it is grown! (1Corinthians 15:37).

Just so, I am sown or sent into the world (probably not buried) with one kind of body, but my resurrection will see me with a body adapted to my life with Christ and God (1Corinthians 15:42-44). If I am still alive at the Parousia, this new body shall be clothed upon my present body (1Corinthians 15:53,54;2Corinthians 5:2-4) otherwise I shall be raised in it (1Corinthians 15:52). This body exists already in the heavens (2Corinthians 5:1,2), and when it is clothed upon me the natural functions of the present body will be abolished (1Corinthians 6:13). Yet a motive for refraining from impurity is to keep undefiled the body that is to rise (1Corinthians 6:13,14).

Moreover, Paul describes our own resurrected bodies as like that of Jesus:

Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Philippians 3:20-21. . .a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,[21] who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Paul talks about our resurrection bodies, which we put on being imperishable. In other words, hes saying that according to natural law, physical bodies perish and die, but spiritual, resurrected bodies do not. Hes not talking about spirits. If it were a transformation of a physical body into a spirit, he wouldnt use the terminology of raised either: because that refers to physical bodies, which died, and are now raised.

Nor would he refer to a spiritual body: he would have simply referred to a spirit (which the New Testamentdoes many times). The two are not at all identical. The whole point was Jesus conquering physical death, which applies to physical bodies, not spirits.The Gospel of Matthew exhibits the same understanding of resurrected bodies of the dead:

Matthew 27:52the tombs also were opened, and manybodiesof the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,

Here is another passage from Paul that plainly refer to bodily resurrection:

Romans 8:22-23We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now;[23] and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of ourbodies.

Case closed. Jonathan is wrong yet again about what the Bible (agree or disagree)teaches. Its amazing how often that happens.

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Summary: Atheist Jonathan MS Pearce wrongly contends that Paul denied that Jesus Resurrection entailed His having a glorified physical body after He rose from the dead.

Read more:

Pearce's Potshots #56: Paul & Jesus' Resurrection | Dave Armstrong - Patheos

Nothing is simple during the holiday season. If it is, its an illusion, which you will surely learn at the most inopportune time.

Consider the sadistic words assembly required that accompany 99.9 percent of gifts for children under 12. Despite a cornucopia of gift options for this age group, constructing them with a directional leaflet that consists of three images for an 860-piece contraption is the penance for this plethora. Two out of five marriages end because of differing interpretations of these instructions.

As parents move out of the assembly required phase of gifting, we move into the phase of teaching the value of a dollar. At that point, less shopping is required for teens, because each item they hope to receive costs more than a semester of my college tuition. Hence, fewer packages are under the tree with each passing year. Parents with multiple children explain this to older siblings. Yet, despite the teenager intellectually knowing that their small pile of gifts costs the same amount as their younger siblings hefty, assembly required pile, emotionally, the child will still be in therapy for decades because of it.

Im Italian and thus was raised Catholic. This is a lethal combination for unjustifiable mom guilt, which rears its ugly head when I wrap gifts and witness the glaringly obvious pile disparity. To the untrained eye, it could be interpreted that I have a favorite child. I do, but it changes by the minute. My attempt to distort this imbalance is the reason why my 18-year-old gets a six-pack of underwear, each individually wrapped in six separate extra-large sweater boxes.

The supply chain shortage has put all items, from undies to gift cards, in jeopardy this year, so shopping early is highly encouraged to ensure that the coveted gifts arrive by next Christmas. But todays holiday shortages are nothing compared to the riots that broke out in 1983 when parents were trying to secure a Cabbage Patch Kid. Nothing represents Christmas spirit like adults armed with baseball bats in the check-out line to protect the toy they slidetackled a grandmother for.

But whether its 1983 or 2021, all stores share the same distinct smell that fills us with yule: evergreen and burning plastic. This smell says, Good tidings to you, and your credit card interest is blowing up with every swipe.

But no longer are we beholden to just swiping and signing. Technology is trying to con us into our deficits by eliminating our barriers to spending, all in the name of convenience. Now, we can tap our credit cards, hover our watches or converse with the most deceitful vixen in the world, Alexa. Opening a wallet, using a pen, slow check-out lines; these were the last of the consumer defenses against plummeting credit scores. We may smell less burning plastic thanks to our contactless payment options, but the odor is still eau debt toilette. And it stinks.

Although more convenient payment alternatives exist, lines at the register remain. Line jockeying, especially during the holidays, is the highest form of competition since Cabbage Patch Dolls debuted. Its kill or be killed.

For example, when an additional register opens at any store, there is a current of energy that simultaneously flows through every waiting customer in line. The collective mood instantly shifts from numb to predator, and there exist only three reactions: the commando, ninja-style beeline by those that just shuffled in from a car emblazoned with a handicap parking sticker (they wielded the bats in 83), those who move in a nonchalant, yet highly strategic manner to go undetected, and those who know they missed the opportunity because they were too far away, and are silently swearing, while smiling.

Speaking of foul language, nothing brings out my Jersey vernacular like decking the halls with boughs of holly. The frustration that accompanies incessantly moving a ladder to and fro, while the bough on the opposite side continually falls down, elicits a tirade of blasphemy that would religiously offend an atheist.

Unfortunately, our mischievous dog isnt intimidated and prefers to escalate dcor frustrations into a simultaneous game of keep-away and steal the pin. My wily beagle runs around the house like a festive rhythmic gymnast, leaving a trail of glitter and fake berries, which I seem to vacuum up until July.

But hey, if the holiday was simple, parents would actually go to sleep the night before Christmas, like in that story. Wheres the magic in that?

Read the rest here:

SLICE of LIFE - Newport This Week

ByBilly Hallowell | Wednesday, December 08, 2021

Do you struggle with knowing what to say and how to say it when a controversial topic comes up? Challenging Conversations, hosted by best-selling author and worldview expert Jason Jimenez, is a conversational podcast designed to help Christians overcome their fears and learn to respectfully engage people of a different view or belief system.

Brought to you by Edifi, the premiere podcast app to play thousands of your favorite Christian podcasts every day, Challenging Conversations helps you gain insight as Jason and his guests get into deep conversations about the Christian faith and discuss how Christians ought to be defending the gospel as they speak the truth in love to those around them.

Explore this powerful apologetics podcast. Here are the first six episodes:

The Christian Left Hijacking the Church: Are you concerned about the Christian Left's expanding influence over churches? If that is the case, you don't want to miss what Jason Jimenez and Lucas Miles expose about this ideological movement and how you can defend against it. Hear this powerful episode.

Is Progressive Christianity Biblical? Would you say what progressive Christians believe about Jesus and salvation aligns with Scripture? In this episode, Jason Jimenez and Lucas Miles, author of "The Christian Left," discuss several key tenets of Progressive Christianity and explain why they are not biblical truths. Listen to this episode.

Responding to Atheistic Arguments: Why Their Top Claims Don't Hold Up to Scrutiny: Do you have a friend or family member who is an atheist? If so, then you won't want to miss this episode! Jason and world-renowned apologist, Dr. Frank Turek discuss a few of atheism's top arguments and why they don't hold up to scrutiny. Hear this powerful episode.

How to Raise Hard Working Kids: Is it hard motivating your kids to excel in school or map out a plan for their lives? In this episode, Jason talks with his long-time friend, Jason Benham, entrepreneur and Christian speaker and writer, on what parents can do to instill life lessons that are sure to build their kids up to their full potential as they live to honor God. Listen to this episode.

Why Are You Pro Life? How to Defend the Unborn: If someone were to ask you why you are pro-life, what would you say? In part two, Jason Jimenez and Scott Klusendorf (president of Life Training Institute) lay out the case for why they are pro-life. Their conversation will give you the reasoning and the skills to articulate your defense for the life of the unborn. Hear this powerful episode.

What Does it Mean to Be Pro-life? Part One: Many Christians say they are pro-life. But what does that mean? In part one of a two-part series, Jason chats with his good friend and leading pro-life apologist, Scott Klusendorf, to help Christians better understand the pro-life movement. Listen to this powerful episode.

Stay tuned every Friday for more episodes; you can subscribe on Edifi, Apple, Google, Stitcher, Spotify and other platforms!

Plus, want other Christian podcasts you can binge? If so, youre in luck from explorations of spiritual warfare to daily devotionals and deeply-inspiring conversations, six additional new podcasts on The Edifi Podcast Network will help you grow in your faith:

PLAYING WITH FIRE PODCAST: Evil is real. But are demons active today? Can evil inhabit human beings? Is exorcism real? Join investigative journalist Billy Hallowell as he delves into the strange phenomena of supernatural activity through the harrowing stories of people who believe they have experienced ultimate evil, fought a battle they never expected and have found healing. Listen to Playing With Fire on Edifi today!

CANCEL THIS!: Its time to talk with open hearts, open minds and an open Bible about the pressing topics Christians want to discuss without the fear of being canceled. Join author and veteran firefighter/paramedic Jason Sautel as he explores current events, eternal truths and transformational lessons alongside some truly captivating guests. In the age of rabid cancel culture, Cancel This! isnt afraid to ask and answer the tough questions. Listen to Cancel This! right now on Edifi!

COMPELLED: Compelled is a seasonal podcast using gripping, immersive storytelling to celebrate the powerful ways God is transforming the lives of Christians around the world. These Christian testimonies are raw, true, and powerful. Be encouraged and let your faith be strengthened! Listen to Compelled right now on Edifi!

LIVING FEARLESS DEVOTIONAL: Andy, a former Anaheim Police Officer and Hedieh, a former Muslim and Counterterrorism expert who became a Christian, share their real life joys and challenges of following Jesus, with the help of various daily devotional authors. Listen to Living Fearless Devotional right now on Edifi!

BOLD AND BLUNT: Washington Times online opinion editor Cheryl Chumley brings her no-holds-barred take on the big issues of the day. Listen to Bold and Blunt right now on Edifi!

CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS: Do you struggle with knowing what to say and how to say it when a controversial topic comes up? Challenging Conversations, hosted by best-selling author and worldview expert Jason Jimenez, is a conversational podcast designed to help Christians overcome their fears and learn to respectfully engage people of a different view or belief system. You will gain insight as Jason and his guests get into deep conversations about the Christian faith and discuss how Christians ought to be defending the gospel as they speak the truth in love to those around them. Hear Challenging Conversations right now on Edifi!

Download the Edifi app on the Apple and Android stores to hear thousands of great Christian podcasts today. And be sure to also check out other shows in the Edifi Podcast Network!

See more here:

CP Brand Solutions | Confronting Atheistic Ideas, Debunking Bad Theology and Defending the Pro-Life Position All While Keeping a Christian Tone -...