Those of you who have read some of my personal site know that I spent a good portion of my life as a musician, both in the service of the US Military as well as in the service of various church groups. I understand the power of music, and I understand that some of the best music is written when motivated by strong emotion. There are some Christian hymns that still stir my soul. I no longer believe the message of the songs, but when a song is good, it is good, regardless of the message. One of those that has come to my attention again recently is "It is Well with my Soul" by Horatio Spafford. For those not familiar with the old song, or who may have forgotten it, I uploaded a windows media audio file which can be heard here: Mr. Spafford wrote his song inspired by tragedy. Born in New York State on October 30, 1828, Horatio G. Spafford became a lawyer, practicing law and teaching jurisprudence in Chicago. By the time he was in his early 40s he was quite successful and invest...

by Ben Cartwright Many times in my recent years, I have been classified as a “non-Christian.” At first, I objected to this on the grounds that this did not describe anything about me. But nowadays, I’ve gotten used to it, and I would like to tell you a few other things about myself. First of all, a few basic things. My race is non-black. I have non-red hair, and my height is non-five foot six. My favorite sport is non-soccer. My favorite food is non-green beans. In case you’d like to know more about me, I live in a non-house, I speak non-Japanese, I majored in non-mathematics in college, and I love non-classical music. I like long walks on the non-pavement, I enjoy traveling by non-train, I prefer non-Baroque art, and my favorite thing to read is the non-newspaper. I’m sure Christians also won’t mind my applying the same technique when I talk about them, so instead of calling them “Christians” from now on, I’m going to call them “non-Muslims.” read more of Ben's Writing

by Ben Cartwright Does anyone who supports the idea that the Bible is infallible honestly expect me to believe that… …God created the world, knowing full well that most of us would end up burning in eternal hell? …he created it teeming with all sorts of amazing plant and animal life, including dinosaurs, and then shortly thereafter flooded it all and destroyed a devastating amount of them? …by flooding the world in the way he did, he created a fossil record which clearly seems to indicate that the world is extremely old, yet doesn’t want us to believe this? …God also created the stars so that light from them would appear to be millions of years old, deceiving us once again? …he wrote a book which is very similar to all other creation and religious mythology, yet expects us to separate this book from the others and see it as perfect and holy? And if we don’t see that, we go to hell? …Jesus came and died on a cross so that people wouldn’t have to go to hell, yet people keep going? Swi...

submitted by Zachary Moore As much effort is expended to explain and justify the accuracy and validity of the Bible, Christianity is a religion firmly grounded on faith. Faith in the existence of God, faith in the divine sacrifice of Jesus, and faith that acceptance of that sacrifice will bring salvation through grace. Among other things, I’m an outdoorsman; since I was small, I’ve loved exploring the hidden confines of America’s wilderness. I’ve learned to feel at home in the complex simplicity of nature, and I’ve found that sometimes the most important lessons can be found perched in a tree on top of a hill. At night, I can see points of light burning in the darkness all around me; campfires lit by other adventurers in the forest. It occurs to me that faith is like fire. It provides light to see, warms us in the frigid night, and protects us from the unknown. Faith and fire entered the human consciousness at the same time in prehistory, when humanity first put a bright, flickering w...

I recently came across a Christian pamphlet that suggested science was nothing but another religion requiring faith to accept its lofty claims. The basic idea of the tract was that science was so much guesswork resulting in an inferior and false belief system when compared to the time tested truths of Bible. The article attempted to support its premise by pointing out that science had been forced to adjust its claims repeatedly over the years, whereas the Bible had remained steadfast, yesterday, today, and forever. The writer of the essay wanted to offer the Bible as something you could count on because of its unchanging reliability. In contrast, the ever shifting sand of scientific knowledge was presented as an undependable foundation for understanding reality and life. Those who cherish this line of reasoning are correct. It does take a certain amount of faith when it comes to most of us accepting complicated scientific axioms, hypotheses and theories. For example, I learned the basi...

CINCINNATI (EAP) - A Cincinnati teenager was killed yesterday when her plastic Jesus dashboard figure was driven into her chest by her car's airbag which inflated during an accident involving two other vehicles. 17-year-old Darlene Fulps of Cincinnati was apparently holding her Jesus figure close to her chest when she ran through a red light and collided with two other vehicles in a busy intersection. "The air bag inflated and pushed the head of Jesus straight through her heart," said Tom Young, medical examiner at the scene of the accident. "If it wasn't for the plastic Jesus, Ms. Fulps would still be alive today." "Air bags have saved thousands of lives, but in this case it actually took a life, thanks to Jesus," said police officer Graham Pryor, first officer at the scene. Robert Fulps, Darlene's father and devout Christian man said "It was just our daughter's time to go, and we can't question the actions of God. My daughter lov...

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Someone who calls himself Ikhyun wrote this: “Hey Dave wake up! I'm only 20 years old but sorryyour lack of maturity someone your age scares me. It's you that need God. God doesn't need you; if you've abandoned Christianity and you've got your valid reasons, that's that. However the way you've displayed pictures of obscene pictures of Jesus engaged in sexual acts shows that you are still just an infant crying out for attention. Let me prophesy; although you're probably three times my age I can say this to you; if you live your life for yourself rather than for Christ, you will one day be at the end of your journey and look back on your life and see that all that you have done in this world were for your own selfish motives, and you will pass into oblivion knowing that it could have been so much more. Your ex-brother until you come back to Christ. Really; I hope you see you in heaven Dave.” I want to use this interesting post as a jumping off point for th...

Exodus 32:27, 28. "He said to them, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man and his brother, and every man and his companion, and every man and his neighbor. (28) And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men." Hosea 13:16. "Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up." Judges 21:10. "And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest and commanded them, saying, God and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. (11) And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man." 1 Samuel 15:3. "Now go...

External Link This is a for real full length movie. There is an article on it at Metro Weekly: a review of the movie Here is the real website selling the movie with a different trailer: Click Here to View

Many "Christians" claim that "Christianity" is not a religion , but a relationship. A Christian is taught to consider a 'religion' as something that has to do with any spiritual teacher other than Jesus Christ, and/or a set of spiritual beliefs which includes ritualism or tradition with which they are not familiar. Here is what Dictionary.Com has to say about religion: re·li·gion n. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. The life or condition of a person in a religious order. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. Under the heading of "revealed religion" Dictionary.Com further expounds in part: 1. The outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of ...

Just over 25 years ago in May of 1975, I was on stage with Bob Hope as part of his 75th birthday celebration television special. It was a live broadcast from the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. At the time I was a proud member of the United States Air Force Band stationed in Washington, and all the other service bands also participated in the event. Lucille Ball was there, as was Pearl Bailey , Telly Savalas , and a host of other more or less famous stars and sports figures. It was a big event. Five years later I met up with this icon of American culture in Selma Alabama. I was on stage as part of the back up band for Mr. Hope. The event was in Selma Alabama for a fund raiser organized by Anita Bryant . Now he was 80 years old, as funny as can be, and very transparently open and complimentary toward the military musicians who comprised his band for the day. Vanessa Williams was there for sex appeal and Ricky Skaggs put on a concert as part of the festivities. As I look back to...

By James A. Haught Religion is an extremely touchy topic. Church members often become angry if anyone questions their supernatural dogmas. (Bertrand Russell said this is because they subconsciously sense that their beliefs are irrational.) So I try to avoid confrontations that can hurt feelings. Nearly everyone wants to be courteous. But sometimes disputes can't be avoided. If you think the spirit realm is imaginary, and if honesty makes you say so, you may find yourself under attack. It has happened to many doubters. Thomas Jefferson was called a "howling atheist." Leo Tolstoy was called an "impious infidel." Well, if you wind up in a debate, my advice is: Try to be polite. Don't let tempers flare, if you can help it. Appeal to your accuser's intelligence. I've hatched some questions you may find useful. They're designed to show that church members, even the most ardent worshipers, are skeptics too - because they doubt every magical system excep...

I am re-reading "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide" by Douglas Adams. If you like science fiction, parody, comedy and veiled commentary on religion all in one, I highly recommend it. The part that inspired this little rant is where Zaphod Beeblebrox, one of the main characters, is on a quest to find the man who runs the Universe. Along the way he is captured and forced to enter the "Total Perspective Vortex." This ingenious device, when hooked up to its victims, forces them to comprehend the immensity of the universe in comparison to the microscopic proportion of the prisoner's life in his or her relationship to the universe. The complete understanding of how irrelevant the individual's life is in relation to everything else there is out there, is horrifically mind numbing. No one ever survives the "Total Perspective Vortex." Mr. Beeblebrox, much to everyone's surprise, does survive. In fact he quite enjoys the experience finding it euphoric....

sent in by "likeafish" I haven’t been around this web site long, but long enough to witness some of the ugliest behavior I have ever seen out of those who claim to represent the Prince of Peace. With only a handful of sites on the entire WWW dedicated to the subject of leaving the Christian faith, and perhaps thousands out there for the purpose of propagating the same, believers choose to seek this site out and attack Dave for what he is doing. And ATTACK is the operative word here. I dare say they’d burn him at the stake if they could. So what is he doing? For one thing, contrary to what most Christians who come here perceive, he is NOT out to change anyone’s mind. He is out to free his own mind and to help others to do the same. He does not ask anyone to think what he thinks or adopt any particular take on truth other than what one finds for them self. This is difficult for a Christian to comprehend because of the theistic and dualistic perspective that guides every ...

AUSTIN — Herbert Washington, whom co-workers at Significant Plastics Inc. say was unduly concerned with the rapture and the second coming of Christ, suffered a serious heart attack when co-workers pretended they'd been caught away without him. Last Tuesday, they lay work outfits on their chairs and hid in a supply room, and when Herbert came back from the restroom, he thought the rapture had occurred. The janitor, an outspoken Muslim, pretended to have witnessed everyone disappear and ran around the office feigning panic. Herbert fell to the ground clutching his heart and screaming, "I knew you'd forget me, Jesus! What did I do wrong?" He was taken to a local hospital. The employees emerged, sobered, from the supply room and gathered up their extra clothes. "We didn't mean to scare him to death," said one woman. "He's just always talking about it, so today we decided to turn the tables on him." Washington underwent bypass surger...

Several years ago when I still arrogantly counted myself among the Lord's chosen few, I took my wife to visit yet another church. Why another Church? We were dissatisfied with the lack of spiritual depth or discernment that we seemed to constantly encounter from those in pastoral and leadership roles. For quite some time we remained optimistically (or should I should say naively?) hopeful of finding some place where a demonstration of a higher level of knowledge and awareness might accompany any emotional zeal for God. It continues to amaze me that those who claim to love the Lord the most, insist on remaining the least read, or the most ignorant, in regards to this very person they claim to love. Church is not the place to have a restlessly curious intellect. However, that is not the point of this article. I said all that to explain how we ended up one Sunday in the "Lighthouse Baptist Church." This church was, and still is, an Independent Baptist Church of the " S...