How Progressive Christianity Distorts The Truth

The title above was the subtitle of a medium post entitled “Say ‘No’ to Progressive Christianity” (8/9/2025). I had to read at least a little bit of the post to see what “truth” Progressive Christianity could distort, given that there are over 4500 denominations of Christianity and if there is any truth there, it is very, very, very hard to see.

Bless her heart, the author doesn’t shilly-shally but gets right to it up front, “Progressive Christianity. It’s not the real thing! Please see the differences below between real, biblical Christianity and Progressive Christianity.”

Ah, Biblical Christianity, The Real Thing™ and all this time I thought Coke was the Real Thing! (Coca-Cola has a trademark on “It’s the Real Thing,” not the Bible.)

The real question in my mind is should I keep reading.

Again, the author doesn’t disappoint. The first point in her argument is this:

Biblical The Bible is the inspired Word of God. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, KJV)

Progressive The Bible is simply a human book written by fallible human beings and is subject to error and revision.

Setting aside using a Bible quote to establish its authenticity is a mite circular, it is debatable as to who actually wrote this book in the New Testament. For example: “Paul did not write either 1 or 2 Timothy (or Titus). This is one of the most widely agreed upon things in Pauline scholarship.” Versus “The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.” (Traditionally here means, others did it, you should do it, too.)

It is not uncommon that true Bible believers quote the Bible as if it were the truth whether scholarship supports that or not. I guess it doesn’t bother the author that the point she is making is supported by a forger, and I suspect that anyone forging “God’s Truth” would be unwelcome in her prayer circles.

Okay, I can’t keep reading. This is yet another example of someone claiming to know the truth, when the truth is unknown and will remain unknown unless Old Yahweh/Jesus makes a comeback tour.

Our Terrorist in Chief

I read this morning in The Guardian (Online) “As retired Admiral Mark Montgomery recently put it, the strategy of Donald Trump is not unusual “if you’re watching the Sopranos.” It is unprecedented for a president. In a single word, our commander in chief is an extortionist. He makes threats that exceed his authority, and he counts on his targets recognizing that it is cheaper to give in to those threats than it is to fight them. Seven months into the extortionist’s reign, almost every target has caved.”

But extortion has been Trump’s chief business weapon for decades. He regularly threatened contractors working with him with lawsuits if they didn’t reduce his bills, for example. But since The Donald, aka The Orange Menace, has gone global he has become a terrorist. He regularly threatens poor countries, which by being poor cannot buy as much in the way of U.S. goods as the U.S. buys of theirs, with crippling tariffs. These tariffs are not trivial to a poor country as they put businesses out of business and in small economies, the government can come crashing down quickly.

Why extort a country which has nothing to extort? The only reason is to strike fear in others. Like the mafioso who shoots you in one of your kneecaps and then tells you it would be a terrible shame if that were to happen to your other kneecap. Imagine that, aka The Mango Menace, aka The Mango Mussolini, aka The Mandarin Mussolini has within just one half of a year of his administration made terrorism an official policy of the United States of America.

I am reminded of Henry II of England’s immortal whine: “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” referring to Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170, but in our situation it applies as “”Will no one rid us of this troublesome pol?”

“In whichever way a democratic system might be sick, terrorism does not heal it; it kills it. Democracy is healed with democracy.” (Italian prosecutor Virginio Rognoni, who took on the Red Brigades in the 1980s without resorting overmuch to police-state tactics—Source: Christopher Hitchens, And Yet…: Essays (p. 148). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition)

Just Breathe, Just Breathe

In a recent post my currently favorite philosopher, Benjamin Cain, stated this: “Galileo famously said that the book of nature, as it were, is written in the language of mathematics.” He followed that with:

“What’s less well-known is that when read in context, Galileo’s point was pure scientism, meaning that his celebration of science was complemented by disdain for what we’d call the humanities, including philosophy.
Moreover, this raises the question of what it means to say that one language or another is ideal for telling the universe’s “story.” Is the “book” of nature written in mathematics? Or is it perhaps a work of poetry?”

Or maybe a work of accounting or, oh, I know, computer program documentation.

If one considers the context, Galileo was one of the first European natural philosophers to see mathematical relationships between physical phenomena and, in his enthusiasm, maybe he over spoke. Maybe what he should have said was “much of the book of nature, as it were, is written in the language of mathematics.”

There, no scientism, no problem at all.

If you consider what Galileo truly knew, his claim is a massive overstatement. A prediction that “much of the book of nature …” is a far better prediction, one that has proved close to being true. His philosopher counterpart was making claims equally baseless.

Rather than jumping to conclusions, how about we take a breath, give our topics some room, consider their context and then assume something other than the worst. Galileo a scientismist and before science, and scientism, had been invented … quite a feat.

Postscript Back when I was in the classroom I taught beginning chemistry students that all questions are complex. So, if you add heat to a beaker of water, what happens to the temperature of the water? All said “It would go up.” That is the “direction of the change.” But how much would it go up? That, of course depends upon how much heat was added, how much water is in the container, what the starting temperature of the water is, and … and…. Science without mathematics is cri

Why Conservatives and Evangelicals Get Evolution Wrong

It is a common trope amongst both conservatives and evangelicals (and conservative-evangelicals, if that is not an oxymoron), that evolution has a purpose, that evolution is directed at forming … them. (“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty!” etc.)

Experts on the facts of evolution and the theory of evolution try mightily to correct this error. Evolution is not purposeful, not directed, it happens because of environmental pressures, mutations, etc. For example, the great apes, dwelling on the ground, did not have access to fruit high up in trees, that monkeys could climb up to get, so they glommed onto fallen fruit, fruit that had already started to ferment (yeast spores are airborne, and if the skin of a ripe fruit is broken, the spores will get in there and turn the sugars therein into ethanol, aka booze, before it had fallen or after.

Millions of years of these species scarfing down on these Happy Hour Fruits lead to them being better able to metabolize ethanol, which is toxic to most other species. These species, including humans as one of the Great Apes, are 40% more efficient at metabolizing alcohol than other species. Sláinte! The environment created a situation in which being able to metabolize alcohol made those animals better able to survive and “survival of the fittest” is the watch phrase of evolution.

Of course, the conservatives and evangelicals look at these things differently. To them “survival of the fittest” means the big dog gets to eat. So, if they are a successful business persons, that is an example of them being more fit to be that kind of leader. They actually believe that they, usually white conservatives and white evangelicals, are more fit to lead companies, corporations, states and even the whole effing country.

Their “success” or wealth or whatever is an indicator of their fitness in all other aspects of society. The fact that they inherited a great deal of their wealth is ignored. For example, politician Mitt Romney claimed he was a “self-made man” who earned all of this wealth. He neglected to point out the $2 million his father gave him as “seed money” as well as access to his father’s contacts, and his father was a corporation executive, state governor, and at one point a candidate for the presidency.

Romney’s “seed money” is equal to the amount of earnings I made in 35 years as a chemistry professor. If I had had that kind of help I would be sitting much prettier than I am right now.

These folks seem to think that their god or whatever they believe in made them to be the fabulous leaders they turned out to be. There was a purpose behind their “evolution.”

Of course, individuals do not evolve, species do and it is a very, very slow process. The deliberate warping of evolutionary theory is in serve to their belief that life has a purpose and they are one of those destined to fulfill that purpose. All of the signs (wealth, influence, etc.) point to them being special.

They apparently are unaware of the divine purpose to place them in the Asshole Hall of Fame, because their pastors keep that information from them, in order to keep the tithes and donations coming.

And Trump Will …

Trump has called for expanding the number of federal agents in Washington, D.C. “to fight out of control crime.” Clearly he has no hidden agenda, right?

Oh, but then this report just flashed upon my screen:

Overall crime in the U.S. declined last year, with both violent and property crimes reaching their lowest levels in years. The statistics, published Tuesday in the FBI’s 2024 Reported Crimes in the Nation report, show a decrease in every major category, from homicide to motor vehicle thefts.

Here’s a closer look at the numbers: Violent crime in 2024 decreased 4.5% from 2023, with the steepest decline observed in murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, which fell 14.9% year-over-year. Robbery also saw a notable drop, falling by 8.9%.

Property crime went down 8.1%, the largest reduction recorded since 1961. Motor vehicle thefts declined by 18.6%, reversing the upward trend seen in 2023, when they rose by 12.6% compared to the previous year. Burglary and larceny-theft decreased as well, by 8.6% and 5.5%, respectively.

The numbers are encouraging, and also in line with expectations, according to Ernesto Lopez, a senior research specialist at the Council on Criminal Justice. “After significant increases in violent crime starting in 2020, the decline in all major crime types across all sizes of jurisdictions is promising,” Lopez told CBS News. “These trends are closely aligned with our own findings, which show crime falling last year and continuing to fall in the first six months of 2025.” (Source: Nice News, August 8, 2025)

Oh, and what will Trump do? My bet is on “fire the FBI Director for making him look bad with fake statistics.” Anyone wanna take that bet?

Why Is He Not Grilled?

In lie after lie leaving President Trump’s mouth people sit on their hands as if stunned, but rather they should be asking “How do you know that, Mr. President?

For example Trump stated that he “never had the privilege of going to [Epstein’s] island” but said that he had been invited and congratulated himself for turning it down. (This is a common pattern when telling a lie; he can’t resist patting himself on the back in the middle of it.) He then went on to claim that Clinton visited the island 28 times, an allegation that no public information has yet supported.

Why did no one ask: “If you have never been to that island, Mr. President, how would you know who went or didn’t?”

Recently Giselle Maxwell, a convicted sexual abuser of children was given a cushy placement is a federal prison for VIPs. But child abusers are considered threats to society and are banned from such special treatment but Trump had that provision waved so she could be placed in a cushy cell.

“So, Mr. President, you advocated that Hillary Clinton needed to be locked up for running a child pornography ring (Lock her up! Lock her up! was the chant at Trump rallies.) and yet you are giving special treatment to a bone fide child molester, already convicted of that crime. Why is that, Mr. President?”

Trump also claimed “If people come into our country illegally, there’s a different standard for due process.” (Source: April 29, 2025 interview).

“How do you know that Mr. President?” Who did that study? May we have a copy?”

Then there was “The U.S. is “taking in almost $2 billion a day in tariffs.” (from speech on April 8, 2025)

“How do you know that Mr. President? Who did the accounting?”

During the campaign DJT often lead with his insistence that “I alone can fix America.”

“Gosh Mr. Trump, why do you think only you can fix America when you couldn’t fix many of your own businesses? You even went bankrupt running a casino!”

I now know why Mr. Trump’s lies are so shitty, it is because he mostly pulls them out of his ass. He hears somebody say something like, “the tariffs have the potential of raising $2 billion in their first full year” and he morphs that into “… almost $2 billion a day in tariffs.” A year, a day, whatever. Hey, everything works, just take my word for it … right.

Idiot Trump Is Betraying His Fossil Fuel Backers

Trump’s Idiot Tariffs are making gasoline powered cars way more expensive, so their sales are plummeting. And they aren’t buying Teslas, Elon Musk has poisoned his own well there. Inexpensive, higher quality Chinese electric cars are close to being imported but the Terrible Tantrum Tariffer isn’t done yet.

The clever tariffs of Trump put a 25% tariff on imported vehicles and auto parts is in place, with some exemptions for vehicles complying with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). There’s also a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum used in vehicle production. So, I guess domestic automakers should shift production to Japan where they would face only a 15% tariff on their cars when imported here.

This is what you get when a sociopathic idiot is put in charge.

And because people are not buy new cars, as many as one million units this year by the estimates of auto business observers, they are saving their money to buy a better car later, or maybe a used quality car, or maybe one of those Chinese Tesla’s-ass kicking electric cars, which are cheaper than a Tesla (and charge faster and go farther, and … and …).

The US Is Complicit In Genocide. Let’s Stop Pretending Otherwise

The article with the above title is on The Guardian (Online Ed.) and was written by Mehdi Hasan who makes this point forcefully. Here are some of his points:

As retired Israeli Maj Gen Yitzhak Brick acknowledged in November 2023: “All of our missiles, the ammunition, the precision-guided bombs, all the airplanes and bombs, it’s all from the US. The minute they turn off the tap, you can’t keep fighting. You have no capability … Everyone understands that we can’t fight this war without the United States. Period.”

Donald Trump has given Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and his far-right government not only the green light to “clean out” Gaza and “finish the job”, but also the arms, intel and funds to do so. When Netanyahu launched his blockade of all food and aid going into Gaza in March, he emphasized it was done “in full coordination with President Trump and his people”.

Trump’s Republican allies in the House and Senate are even more gung-ho. Forget complicity; Congress is filled with GOP cheerleaders for genocide, from Senators Tom “bounce the rubble in Gaza” Cotton to Lindsey “level the place” Graham. The newest member of the House, Randy Fine, a Republican representative of Florida, has called for the nuking of Gaza and said just days ago that Palestinians in Gaza should “starve away” until the Israeli hostages are all released. (A reminder that incitement to genocide is also a crime under Article III of the Genocide convention.)

But we cannot let Democrats off the hook either. The first 16 months of this mass slaughter unfolded on a Democratic president’s watch. From the get-go, Joe Biden gave Netanyahu and his cabinet of génocidaires everything they needed – 2,000-lb bombs to drop on refugee camps filled with Palestinian children? Check. UN security council vetoes to prevent the passage of resolutions calling for a permanent ceasefire? Check. The burial of internal US government reports warning of war crimes and famine in Gaza? Check.

It wasn’t just Biden. The vast majority of Democrats in Congress spent much of 2024 casting vote after vote to keep arming, funding and whitewashing the mass killing of Palestinian civilians.

The full article is here: The US is complicit in genocide. Let’s stop pretending otherwise.

No White Hat for Him!

Sometimes a picture is as telling as the words coming out of someone’s mouth. Take this one.

Caption: “Donald Trump with Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve last week. Photograph: Kent Nishimura/Reuters,” Source: The Guardian, 30-07-2025)

Like Biblical scribblings, photos need interpretation. In this case, you see the president and two other white guys all wearing “hard hats” which are worn to protect the head from falling debris and whatnot. But the Black guy? No hard hat for him. He, apparently, is expendable. So, one picture is all we need to see to evaluate Donald Trump’s character. He is “the most powerful man in the world” but he can’t get a hard hat for that guy. I am sure DJT didn’t say “I am not taking your tour until my guy here is safe.” Nope, niggers are expendable in the Trump Universe. In fact all brown people are expendable.