It’s rare that you find a newspaper article that actually addresses theology in depth, so I was surprised to see the Chicago Tribune Magazine article this past Sunday on “The New Theology” regarding theistic evolution. The article highlights several Christian scientists, physicist Howard Van Till and geneticist Francis Collins among them, who have reconciled their Christian faith with evolutionary theory by adjusting their view of God. “If your faith requires supernaturalism, or a God who wields overpowering control over nature,… Read more
Pastor Mike here again: In the aftermath of the Iowa Caucuses I thought I’d take the opportunity to do a political post. And if this question doesn’t continue my trend of drawing hundreds of comments, I don’t know what will. Here’s what I want to know: as an atheist, do you consider yourself patriotic? I know this question has a history. For most of the Cold War Era atheism was considered synonymous with Communism and un-Americanism; thus I could understand… Read more
I’m posting this on behalf of Jeff, one of our frequent commentors: “Are you going to church (and writing checks) even though you are an atheist? Are you happily involved in a mixed relationship where one partner is an atheist and the other a theist? Tell us your story of how you reconcile sometimes irreconcilable belief systems. What positive things do you do to make it work? What rationalizations and compromises are necessary? What rationalizations and compromises by your significant… Read more
Pastor Mike here again: So I was going through my Christmas card mailing list last night and wondering if there was anyone I needed to add to it this year. One of the first thoughts that popped into my mind was that I should send cards to some of my new online friends here at this site. Of course this thought was immediately followed by: Wait a minute. Is it appropriate to send a Christmas card to an atheist friend?… Read more
Actually you all here probably do know these things, but this past Sunday the Chicago Tribune ran a fun little “top 10” list about atheism, springboarding off the “Golden Compass” controversy. Here they are from writer Mark Jacobs: 1. Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was expelled from Oxford University for co-writing a pamphlet called “The Necessity of Atheism” in 1811. When Shelley drowned in a boating accident at age 29, a British newspaper observed that “now he knows whether there is… Read more