tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36056102011-07-08T13:56:30.009-04:00"Heathens" UniteA blog dedicated to the discussion of alternatives to organized religion.Thehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08620834878047971839noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-1058458558678353952003-07-17T12:15:00.000-04:002003-07-18T09:52:04.256-04:00Jesus' Actions Are Unknowable
As I have mentioned before it is hard to predict how Jesus would act in the present-day world. It is understandable why one might look upon Jesus for the inspiration to understand Jesus' view on an issue. The problem is people promoting issues like whether Jesus would drive an SUV or not or how Jesus would stand on the war in Iraq. Mankind will be better off Cal Ulmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08242107190503113448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-955860422003-06-12T07:51:00.000-04:002003-06-12T07:51:53.296-04:00Will Jesus be a Myth in a Thousand Years?
One of the earliest known belief structures from the Ancient Greek culture. We all learned this one in school. Zeus, Apollo, the mighty Aphrodite, Poseidon and the rest of the gang from Mt. Olympus. This was all but lifted by the Romans, but the names were changed to protect the innocent. We learned the belief structure of the Romans in school as wellMatthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-860014972002-12-14T15:19:00.000-05:002002-12-14T15:20:13.000-05:00It doesn't matter what Jesus would do.
Natalie Solent takes people to task for reasoning the potential actions of Jesus to support a cause. There is no clear way to determine what Jesus may have done in our positions.Jesus offered the suggestions he did as the leader of the reform movement of the Jewish church.What would Jesus have done if he lived as another occupation? We can not know. Nor Cal Ulmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08242107190503113448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-831696442002-10-18T10:32:00.000-04:002002-10-18T10:34:58.000-04:00Religious History: Bad Moments
Many people don't know who King Louis XIV of France was. Most don't even realize that there were kings and queens of France in 1685. And many don't realize that it was on October 18, 1685 that King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes (according to this it happened on the 22nd - other accounts say the 18th - decide for yourself), which had established legal Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-822355832002-09-28T10:56:00.000-04:002002-09-28T10:56:35.996-04:00Read All About It! More Proof ofa Big Bang!
Radio Telescope Proves a Big Bang Prediction.
Link via Mathematical Blog!Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-813544382002-09-09T09:34:00.000-04:002002-09-17T00:44:34.000-04:00Oh relax would you!
This isn't exactly what I meant by keeping a wall between church and state. In fact, this is truly quite silly and is a prime example of the intelligence level of some truly biased by their beliefs. On that note, realize that I think the guy out in California who made the charge about the flag had a few cards missing from his deck.
Yoga is an okay activity and I, a secular Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-811206892002-09-03T22:38:00.000-04:002002-09-03T22:38:20.036-04:00Quote of the week
I am ready to meet my maker. Whether or not my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. - Winston ChurchillMatthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-807634582002-08-27T01:15:00.000-04:002002-08-27T01:15:02.390-04:00On Morality
Nothing is absolutely moral or immoral. I do and always have believed this. What is absolute is laws that guide us into deciding what we believe is and is not moral. Once enough people agree on what is or is not moral, they form a society. A society (the Catholics, Jews, Germans, society is broadly defined) then determines what is moral or not.
A large source of misunderstanding Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-802095752002-08-13T21:03:00.000-04:002002-08-13T21:03:39.160-04:00Traditions should stay despite our enlightened values
Religion in any form should not be imposed on anyone. The addition of religion into any new governmental situations is a bad idea. Religion and government should be separate.While governments should avoid adding the addition of religion symbols into their infrastructure, traditional symbolic involvement should not be forced out of governmentCal Ulmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08242107190503113448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-798997872002-08-06T14:02:00.000-04:002002-08-06T14:02:20.246-04:00If Everybody Had An Ocean...
Ben Domenech is an excellent writer, further evidence of this comes in his most recent offering.
This is thought provoking but unlike Pilate I know that if one wades in he quickly finds himself in too deep of water and will drown. The smarter person realizes this danger, and will survey the land around the shore and the ocean for the better alternative.
Man was Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-798793362002-08-06T01:49:00.000-04:002002-08-06T01:49:45.936-04:00Damn Those Historical Revisionists to Hell: Church and State NEVER Mix
The Hokie Catholic points out this sad article from the Washington Times on Thomas Jefferson and the fact that he may not have really wanted a strict wall of separation of Church and state.
Well so what? Yeah okay so it questions the greatest of the Founding Fathers and the greatest President this country has ever had, but Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-798776482002-08-06T01:01:00.000-04:002002-08-06T01:01:36.536-04:00Down with Miracles and MysticismGod is. God is inherent in the creation and the existence of everything. This is an idea encompassed by all major religions. It is the same idea whether it is called the logos, the word, the spirit or any other name. Through the rules that God has established, there is an order to the world.To allow for God to have the ability to break the rules would go Cal Ulmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08242107190503113448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-796769332002-08-01T02:16:00.000-04:002002-08-01T02:16:02.976-04:00Can We Be Moral Without God? or Is Reason a Sin?
This is a question that I often ask myself. I don’t believe that a being controls our actions and thusly there is no being capable of telling us what is and is not a good moral standard. At the same time, it is clear to me that there are natural laws governing our actions…but do those natural laws dictate good moral standards?
Those natural Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-791742602002-07-19T22:39:00.000-04:002002-07-19T22:39:35.640-04:00Goofy Fun
What Was Your PastLife?
From the Hokie Nun.Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-791323122002-07-18T23:05:00.000-04:002002-07-18T23:05:03.106-04:00Founding Fathers: Christians or Heathens?
Not all the Founding Fathers were religious as some want us to believe. Here are some quotes that prove this to be true:
"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches."--Benjamin Franklin
"The way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason."--Benjamin Franklin
"Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are serviley crouched. Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-789085142002-07-13T14:10:00.000-04:002002-07-13T14:10:46.920-04:00The After Life
“Here is the one question you need to get right ....because your life depends on it:
When you die and you meet the Lord at heaven's gates and He asks you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’... What will your answer be? And will your answer get you through the gates into heaven?”
This according to this website sent to me by an anonymous reader. The after life is a seminal Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-788512052002-07-12T01:17:00.000-04:002002-07-12T01:17:25.526-04:00What is Deism?
For those of you not satisfied by our answers, the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA has the best definition I have ever seen.Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-786519432002-07-07T13:01:00.000-04:002002-07-07T13:01:04.706-04:00Religion in Schools/Government
I have thought long and hard about the recent ruling of the 9th Circuit Court regarding the Pledge of Allegiance. My co-workers, my family, my friends – all people I respect not only for their strength of character but also for their power of intellect – have argued to me that this ruling is “another example of politically correct nonsense”. This is why it is so Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-785547172002-07-04T13:12:00.000-04:002002-07-06T22:39:50.000-04:00What About Science?
Evolution or Creationism?
Geologists have stated that the earth is much older than the Bible would have us believe. Biologists have also stated that the earth is much older than the Bible would have us believe. But how right are these scientists?
Evolution is still just as much a theory as creationism is. To say that evolution is the right answer is to put up a set of Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-785267442002-07-03T19:04:00.000-04:002002-07-03T19:04:50.790-04:00Deists are not nihilists.
Deists are not nihilists. Deists believe in an orderly world that embraces the goodness within everyone. The deist appreciation of man as a rational being gives the deist a standard of morality to life up to in order to respect the greatness in man. Atheists who have no orderly structure in the world are more likely to become nihilists with only an appreciation of theCal Ulmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08242107190503113448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-785170132002-07-03T14:18:00.000-04:002002-07-03T14:18:30.760-04:00Why Catholics, Jews, and the Rest of the Organized Folks Should Read This Blog
I got an e-mail from a guy who demanded knowing why we thought this blog was needed, for propaganda? for insulting? or what?
First, non-Deists should read this blog to understand attacks on their religious faiths. Know your enemy. More than that, reading the other side helps reduce your bias and makes you smarter. Thehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08620834878047971839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-785143812002-07-03T13:11:00.000-04:002002-07-03T21:57:00.000-04:00But We Aren't Heathens!
War of Words
According to the online Merriam Webster dictionary, a heathen is:1 : an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible; OR2 : an uncivilized or irreligious personThe idea that we have to be converted is ridiculous. This notion that conversion is dependent on being accepted into society is plain silliness which proves Thehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08620834878047971839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-784917642002-07-02T23:35:00.000-04:002002-07-07T14:06:08.000-04:00What Then is the Difference?
Both Cal and I have offered what we believe in and how we view Deism. A natural question then becomes, well how then does Deism differ from organized religions and beyond that how is Deism not Atheism?
Deism is the belief that the universe can be known through reason and the understanding of natural laws. Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and the rest of the popular Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-784915012002-07-02T23:29:00.000-04:002002-07-02T23:30:47.000-04:00Prayer
I got an interesting e-mail sent to me after my post the other day regarding prayer. Now there is a lot to be said about prayer and I’m sure I’ll be saying more on it later, and especially after the many responses I’m sure I’ll get after writing this. FYI, my direct e-mail is matthew@matthewedgar.net.
The question the reader sent was, “Do Deists pray, if so to who, and what do you Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-784460152002-07-01T23:12:00.000-04:002002-07-02T23:17:42.000-04:00Deism is belief in god without the divine intervention. Rationally certain laws of nature exist that bring an order upon the world. The fact that the world is run under a consistent methodology and set of rules does not necessarily require the existence of god. A belief in God is an idea that explains the origin of the universe. I became a deist as a reaction to the feelings of guilt I Cal Ulmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08242107190503113448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-784075912002-07-01T02:01:00.000-04:002002-07-02T23:31:04.000-04:00Deism 101
(Introduction to, But Not An Argument for, My Personal Religious Philosophy and a Brief Overview of Deism)
"'I also know,' said Candide, 'that we must cultivate our garden.'
'You're right,' said Pangloss, 'because when man was put in the Garden of Eden, he was put there 'to dress it and to kept it,' that is, to work; which process that man was not born to be idle'."
With those words Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-783946172002-06-30T18:20:00.000-04:002002-07-02T23:31:24.000-04:00Ah to be a Heathen!
In response to the creation of the "Theology Department", us "heathens" of the Blogosphere have united on one blog to share with you our beliefs. So far there are only two of us, but I hope that there will be more.
Subjects I plan to touch on through this blog include, but by no means are limited to: natural law, individualism and the impact of it on religion, the nature Matthew Edgarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3605610.post-783555612002-06-29T13:52:00.000-04:002002-06-30T18:33:51.000-04:00Welcome to Heathens Unite
"Heathens Unite" is a blog dedicated to the rational theological discourse of Atheism, Deism, and other alternatives to organized religion. Subjects to be covered are many, but include, for example, a discussion on the existence of God, a reasonable justification for Deism, morality, sexuality, and natural law. If you are interested in joining and posting to this blog,Thehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08620834878047971839noreply@blogger.com