When I was a kid, I was scared of fire.  I was so scared of fire that I got nervous about birthday cakes.  I was afraid someone would get a sleeve or their hair too close to the candles and go up in flames.  The single most terrifying place for me to be was in […]

I’ve often tried to explain or write down in detail the steps in my life which have brought me to my current set of beliefs.  The difficulty lies not only in defining exactly what my beliefs are at the current moment (at least in terms which are meaningful to anyone but myself), but also in […]

“What’s stopping you?  (That’s right.  Nothing.)” Well, probably not nothing.  It’s likely some amount of fear, which can mean there are actual risks involved with whatever it is you’re considering.   Or maybe you’re being held back by actual constraints like legal restrictions. Perhaps you’re facing systemic inequality which makes it exponentially harder for you […]

It strikes me as funny that there is so much pseudo-religious fury over stores not properly expressing Christian beliefs.  When I was a kid I remember people being up in arms about greed and materialism drowning out the religious message of the season.  Religious parents used to worry that buying gifts for their kids made […]

When I graduated from college and moved out on my own, my parents expressed more concern about whether I’d found a church than whether I’d found a job.  That’s not to say that they didn’t think employment was important.  I assume that they were concerned that I might not consider my religious life a priority. […]