Church of the Churchless

Oh, my God! I'm absolutely loving "The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality." So much so, this morning I finished it, fueled by a strong cup of pre-meditation coffee and the joy of reading good writing. As I said before, Andre Comte-Sponville has a wonderful approach to spirituality. I started to say "in spite of the fact that he's a philosophy professor," but there's no spite involved here....

I don't go to the Radha Soami Satsang Beas version of church (satsang) anymore. But in a way, I still attend a service. And it's a lot more real and satisfying than the one way "sermons" I used to listen to, and give, back in my true believing days. Yesterday I got together, as usual, with my Sunday coffeehouse conversing bunch. Most have had, or still have, a connection with RSSB. We're not...

It's too damn hot here in Oregon today (100 degrees!) to slave over a hot laptop trying to cook up a blog post. So, thanks to Marcel Cairo, my favorite after life medium (also, the only one I know), I've got a readymade Church of the Churchless sharing for this over-heated Saturday. Marcel emailed me a link to Richard Carrier's " From Taoist to Infidel," titling his message It could be you. Yes,...

Not many people find a connection between Zen and Platonism. I do, though these themes are more implicit than explicit in my book about the Neoplatonist philosopher, Plotinus. So it was a pleasure to hear from someone who resonates with a Greek'ish blend of rationality and mysticism. That would be Nicholas Coleman, head of religious education at Wesley College in Melbourne, who wrote to me...

"Illogical" and "fundamentalist" are so closely associated, it isn't big news when a closed-minded evangelist says stuff that makes me go Huh? But James Dobson has broken new ground in crazy ass theological reasoning, as described in a CNN story: "Evangelist accuses Obama of 'distorting' Bible." Dobson is righteously pissed at Obama for making terrific religious sense. In comments aired on...

I was walking along the Metolius river in central Oregon, semi-lost in thought. Which isn't unusual for me. Like most people, I spend a lot of my day focused on what's going on inside my head. That's as far from earth level as my six foot bodily consciousness can rise. Since I've been reading "Tajiquan Theory" in the morning before I meditate, some Taoist lessons came to mind. Breathe. Focus on...

Lots of people believe that God can manifest in a human form. So, why not yours or mine? Speaking for myself (though if I'm God, I'm really speaking for everybody), I'm hugely attracted to the notion that I'm worthy of worship. Unfortunately, other people aren't as attuned to my potential divinity. Notably, my wife. For eighteen years I've been trying to convince her that the way I load the...