On of 2009-SEP-06, we uploaded the 4,945th essay on this web site
to our server in Dallas, TX. This includes our
home page, thousands of menus and many thousands of essays. We update many dozens of essays each week.
We continually add to our interesting quotes
section; we update our news of religious
tolerance, and religious intolerance and
similar topics
frequently.
Essays planned for the near future:
We estimate that we need to write at least another two thousand essays
before our web site will be reasonably complete. Even then, there will
probably be new "hot" topics emerge with a ethical and religious
content -- like polygamous marriages, equal
rights for transsexuals, etc. These will necessitate the writing of new
articles.
During the past four months, we have posted new or
rewritten essays on the following topics:
2009-NOV:
This month, we recommend the book:"Jesus was a liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All"
by Rev. Scotty McLennan Amazon writes:
"For the millions of people who identify as liberal Christians. In
McLennan's bold call to reclaim ownership of Christianity, he advocates a
sense of religion based not on doctrinal readings of scripture but on the
humanity behind Christ's teachings. He addresses such topics as intelligent
design, abortion, same sex marriage, war. torture and much, much more. As he
says in the Preface, 'We liberal Christians know in our hearts that there is
much more to life than seems to meet the rational eye of atheists; yet we
find it hard to support supernatural claims about religion that fly in the
face of scientific evidence'."
This month, we recommended the book: "Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping
Christ and Start Following Jesus"
by Robin Meyers. Amazon writes:
"Meyers takes the best of biblical scholarship and recasts these core
Christian concepts to exhort the church to pursue an alternative vision of the
Christian life: Jesus as Teacher, not Savior; Christianity as Compassion,
not Condemnation; Prosperity as Dangerous, not Divine; Discipleship as Obedience,
not Control; Religion as Relationship, not Righteousness. This is not a call to the
church to move to the far left or to try something brand new. Rather, it is the recovery of
something very old. Saving Jesus from the Church shows us what it means to be a
Christian and how to follow Jesus' teachings today."
This month, we recommend a book: "How God changes your brain: Breakthrough findings from a
leading neuroscientist" by Andrew Newberg M.D. & Mark Robert Waldman.
Publishers Weekly writes: "The authors conclude that meditation and
other spiritual practices permanently strengthen neural functioning in
specific parts of the brain that aid in lowering anxiety and depression,
enhancing social awareness and empathy, and improving cognitive functioning."
This month, we recommend a book: "Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the hidden contradictions in the Bible
(and why we don't know about them)" by Bart D. Ehrman. He specializes in
writing books which are accessible by the public and which reveal truths that
are generally known mainly to academics.
Washington State Referendum 71 on domestic partnerships:
This month, we recommended a book
"Evolutionary Creation" by Denis O. Lamoureaux." He is both an evangelical and
a believer in evolution. He shares his personal struggle to come to terms with
both evolution and Christianity.
