Many women, both within Christianity and outside of the Christian faith have the vague sense that something is missing from traditional views of God or Goodness. Christianity has its roots in patriarchal desert societies, in the traditions of the ancient Hebrews, which in turn have their roots in Akkadian and Sumerian epics and culture. In survival-oriented, food-scarce, warring traditions like these, God is generally thought of as male. But what, exactly, does that mean? Here are some things we can say with confidence about how male humans on the average differ from females: more physical strength, higher aggression, more focus on difference rather than similarities, more mathematical ability, less verbal ability, more self focus, more independence, and lower empathy. Together these qualities lead men on the average to be dominant, to innovate more, and to nurture and cooperate less. These differences are advantages in some situations, not in others. Either way, they don't have...

Ex-Christians, I submitted a testimony on Aug. 7-05. I read every day on this site and have been amazed by the superior thinking ability of some of you. I never have been able to concentrate for long periods of time on academic pursuits, but some of the regular posters here mesmerize me to the extent that when I see their names, I can't turn the computer off till I have scrutinized every word of their posts. I have a couple of questions for you. You are probably already familiar with my philosophy, but I would like to find out whether those as smart as some of you are, agrees or disagrees with my basic assumptions about life. I have already done the natural selection thing here many times, the natural process that brings us to the top of the food chain and made us the smartest species on, at least this planet. These are the questions: 1. If a mother sacrifices her life for her children, is that love? 2. If a man finds a mate who has all of the physical and intellectual characteris...

sent in by Ian When I was a Christian, one of the most frightening and intimidating aspects of the faith was the dreaded judgment day, where God (or Jesus, depending on who you speak too) will judge you and send you to either heaven or hell for all eternity. What better way to keep someone in line by threatening them with a judgment? Because I am no longer a Christian, I no longer believe in a day of judgment. In fact, I find the whole idea to be very juvenile. If you go through life seeing it as a trial, then the view of a judgment makes sense. If you go through life seeing it as an opportunity to learn and grow to become a better individual, the idea of a day of judgment becomes...well...silly. My own views on judgment are not however, the focus of this article. What I do want to call in s the fact that the whole day of judgment may not be as simple as some may think it will be (that is, if it actually happens). How so? In January of 2006, I was just starting to go through what is co...

This is a transcript of the podcast that is available by clicking here . Hello, you're listening to the ex-Christian Monologues, a podcast from ExChristian.Net for April 30, 2006. When Christians show up on this site, it is usually to argue. Rather than present positive evidence for their beliefs, they choose instead to throw out what I call side arguments on a variety of topics. These side arguments are not necessarily meant to show that Christianity is true, but they are meant to show that non-belief is an untenable worldview. Instead of presenting any positive evidence for the existence of a God, a Jesus, angels, devils, etc., they'll attack from different angles. The following is not meant as a comprehensive covering of all the possible apologetic directions Christians are in the habit of taking, but just a few of my favorite. For instance: Hitler was supposedly an atheist. Well, actually, the evidence shows he was a Catholic. Hitler makes reference to God over 70 times i...

By Lorena When I was "saved" they told me that I could not lose my salvation. If I really received Jesus in my heart, then I was as good as in heaven already. However, they said, "faith without works is dead" (book of James); therefore, I had to show changes in my life to prove that I actually believed in Jesus. So I set on a journey to be a "new creature." Along the way, I often noticed that some devout Christians went back to their sinful lives. I was particularly concerned about the substance-addicted ones. Alcohol and drugs are habits very hard to kick, and many fall away and go back to their sad lives, thinking that they have failed God and that there is no place for them in the church. On the other hand, many who came from good homes had no problem following the rules and regulations. They became the pastors and the leaders. They were the examples for everyone to follow. Now a Canadian, I grew up in Latin America and in a dysfunctional home. I wasn’t...

This article is a transcript of the podcast available by clicking here . Hello, you’re listening to the Ex-Christian Monologues, a podcast from ExChristian.Net. I’m Dave, and today’s date is April 24, 2006. Today I want to talk a little bit about Christianity’s historic relationship with witchcraft. This is part one of a three-part podcast. Part One draws heavily on the History of the Christian Church by Philip Schaff and the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge . Schaff’s classic work is in the public domain and freely available on the Internet. Most primitive cultures attributed witches with the power to supernaturally injure crops, animals, health, and possessions. Many ancient cultures created laws to punish the offense. As in other cultures, the ancient Hebrews condemned witchcraft, as expressed in the Mosaic Law ( Deut 18:10 & Exodus 22:18 ). Following in Judaism's footsteps, the early Christian Church believed in and condemned witchcraft Acts 19:19 ,...

by UberGeek I’ve been having a rather interesting discussion via email with one of the Christians who began posting here not too long ago. In my latest response, I began addressing the issue of good and evil and what is God’s relationship to these things, along with further arguments about free will and the Garden of Eden. What follows is an introductory essay that begins to address the first proposition, is God good or evil? At first, the argument could be proposed that since God created everything, including Satan, the embodiment of evil, then God is the author of evil. The Christian could easily respond to this first proposition by simply replying that Satan was created good, but chose evil. You could say that all of God’s sentient creations have the capability for good or evil, and the free will to choose either. Therefore, God did not create evil. We’ll discuss free will later. The Christian could further respond that God did not “create” evil in the sense that evil is not a...

By MICHAEL LAWS It is only fitting that in the week celebrating Christianity's most important festival, the Court of Appeal should order a retrial for an exorcist. Korean pastor Yong Bum Lee, otherwise known as Luke, strangled one of his parishioners to death. He was seeking to rid Joanna Lee (no relation) of her demons, but instead took the direct route. He sent Joanna to heaven rather than dally with temporal deliverance. As a consequence, Luke was found guilty of manslaughter, imprisoned, paroled, then repatriated to South Korea. Only after all these events did our Appeal Court offer him a retrial. And on the strangest of grounds. Apparently the original trial judge denied Luke the defence of consent - that Joanna had consented to grievous harm as part of her exorcism ritual. Which rather proved she was possessed -letting Luke climb on her chest and throttle her would hardly be the actions of an expunged entity. This madness was not some private sadomasochistic ritual between a ...

By Lorena Rodriguez I believe that my years of christianity severely damaged me emotionally. The religion points to Jesus as a solution to each and every problem a person may have. When one expresses pain, disappointment, fear, or anger, the verses are thrown on one’s face: "Don’t let the sun go down on your anger," "Rejoice in the Lord always," "I will fear no evil for you are with me." The idea is to suppress one's feelings and "take every thought captive to the Lord." What are the psychological consequences of suppressing one’s emotions year after year in "The name of the Lord?" Are we all to experience the world in the same manner and apply the bible verses to our lives indistinctly? Are we to erase our individuality to feel the way the bible says we should feel? According to Dr. Elaine N. Aron, writer of The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), one of five humans (20%) experience the world in a unique way. HSPs, she maintains, have ...