Category Archives: Religion

An Antebellum Constitution, Christianity, and Christmas

Posted on Sunday 21 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Adam Serwer on how conservatives want an Antebellum Constitution; David French on why Christianity is a dangerous faith; Nicholas Kristof and Bart Ehrman on what Jesus would think of Christmas 2025. – – – Undoing progress and dragging us back … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Religion | Comments Off on An Antebellum Constitution, Christianity, and Christmas

Frogs, Religion, the Ballroom, Bigotry, and Dictators

Posted on Saturday 20 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s relative isolationism: big frog in a small pond. The obvious reasons people are walking away from organized religion; Short takes on the White House ballroom, surging bigotry on the right, and Trump’s alignment with history’s worst dictators. – – … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, History, Human Nature, Religion | Comments Off on Frogs, Religion, the Ballroom, Bigotry, and Dictators

Kindergarten Anthropology, and Ordering Things Into Existence

Posted on Friday 19 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

A Facebook response to the question of where morality comes from; Franklin Graham admits that God is a God of War; Trump thinks he can order nuclear fusion into existence, and order a Moon landing in 2028. – – – … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Morality, Religion | Comments Off on Kindergarten Anthropology, and Ordering Things Into Existence

Detached from Reality

Posted on Monday 8 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Would conservatives insist that student papers defending creationism or flat eartherism qualify in science classes, if citing the Bible as evidence? More about Trump’s white supremacist policies; Brief items about Russia, Masculine public hangings, Trump’s “library,” and AI sermons. – … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Detached from Reality

The Fog of War, Hurricanes, and Cave Man Mentality

Posted on Wednesday 3 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

JD Vance’s caveman rage against a lesbian stepmom; Heather Cox Richardson about Trump’s decline in mental acuity, and Sen. Mark Kelly on Pete Hegseth; Zack Beauchamp on how Trump is advancing the white nationalist worldview; Hegseth’s misunderstanding of the metaphor … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on The Fog of War, Hurricanes, and Cave Man Mentality

Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great

Posted on Tuesday 18 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “How Religion Poisons Everything” (Twelve, May 2007, 307pp, including 24pp of acknowledgements, references, and index) Here is the fourth, and last-published, of the four books by the so-called “new atheists” published in the mid-2000s. While Sam Harris was an … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Religion | Comments Off on Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great

Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 6

Posted on Tuesday 18 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4; Post 5) * Here are glosses on the Preface and 10 chapters of the book, followed by some … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 6

Six Seven and Human Nature

Posted on Monday 17 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

What does “six seven” say about human nature? Brain rot, or something else? Morality: what should we wish upon people who despise us? Short pieces about cattle, single mothers, Obergefell, Trump’s lying about the economy, Christian nationalism, and Trump’s itch … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Religion | Comments Off on Six Seven and Human Nature

Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 5

Posted on Monday 17 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4) * Here are notes on the final four chapters. Glosses follow in the next post. * Ch 7, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 5

Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 4

Posted on Sunday 16 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1; Post 2; post 3) Our chapter today is about morality, and where it comes from if not religion. We could begin with my standard arguments. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Human Nature, Religion | Comments Off on Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 4