Newsletter
of the
Chuck
Koenig, facilitator,
218-525-2224
Radisson
Hotel –
George
Erickson, editor,
On
Sunday May 1, George Erickson, former pres. of the MN Humanists and director
of the American Humanist Assoc. will speak about
Faith
Healing: Death Dealing
by
religionists who withhold medical care from their children
The
Pope - The Holy Father – Il
Papa – Blah, Blah!
It’s
tempting to emulate the behavior of conservatives who “mourned” the loss
of Paul Wellstone by telling liberals, “He’s dead – get over it,” but
I won’t say that to those who miss the pope. However, there’s an upside to
his death for the mourners. No matter how much they miss him, they’re
getting a whole new show, an entertaining extravaganza put on by one of the
biggest and most corrupt businesses in the world – the Roman Catholic
Church.
So,
here’s my take on the death of the pope, on his funeral, and on choosing his
successor from a long list of ancient cardinals who are even more geezerized
than I, with many of them still living in the 18th century. It’s
grand theater for the masses, especially for those who see the Madonna on
potato chips and tunnel walls. It’s smoke and mirrors, and I don’t mean
the puff of white smoke that signals the elevation of yet another reactionary
mortal to a position of high absurdity.
While
the media sprays rosy paint on J P II’s “legacy,” few will have the guts
to mention the millions of unwanted pregnancies and cases of AIDS that have
occurred because the “Papa” preferred Vatican Roulette for his
semi-obedient flock instead of effective family planning methods and condoms
for safer sex.
Back
in the 60s, when Einstein said that the pope was a “dangerous person” he
was referring to the pope’s refusal to endorse modern contraceptive methods
– and AIDS wasn’t even a threat at that time.
I
believe that the pope prefers the rhythm method because it guarantees an
abundance of Catholics, and Catholics vote. In my view, it’s a scheme that
should be called Winning Through Procreation. Yes, he did a few good things,
but so did freethinkers Penn and Teller, and, unlike PJ II, they didn’t undo
some of the progressive improvements made by Vatican II.
The
incessant media coverage of Michael Jackson, Terri Schiavo, Robert Blake and
the hullabaloo aver the pope’s illness, death, burial and replacement
annoyed me so much that I was surprisingly pleased to hear a word about Prince
Charles’ wedding - an event that I’d normally ignore.
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Really
old news – The various forms of the Ten Commandments are derived in part
from the Code of a Babylonian King named Hammurabi, who lives about 1750 BCE.
It’s too bad that they didn’t save more of the Code’s good stuff like
including women’s rights, which many Christians still manage to ignore.
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Doing
Good Can Have Risks
Come with me to what should be a pleasant event – a scholarship
presentation ceremony at
To my left sits Dr. Joe Sertich the pleasant president of the NE
College Association (if I recall the agency right) and as the evening
progresses we share our backgrounds and common interests.
The college foundation has $105,000 in scholarships to distribute
tonite. Some are as small as a few hundred dollars, most are mid-range, with
only a few as large as or larger than ours.
My wife and I spent 2 evenings choosing one of the thirty students who
had applied for a full tuition scholarship. As you might expect, our interest
in those who made too much of religion quickly waned.
We finally came down to 6, then 3, then one – a high school senior
with 3 siblings who was working 2 jobs, had good grades, but needed help with
the $$$.
So we picked
Our turn finally arrives, so Nancy and I walk to the front, where I
present the certificate to her and shake her hand, and off we go for a
photograph. And as we get up to leave,
I am speechless – a rare occasion, believe me. Normally, I’d tell
this fellow who is apparently “witlessing” precisely what I think of his
untimely and inappropriate question – not to mention his ancient beliefs –
but I restrain myself, mumbling something about not being sure that souls
exist. And when he persists, I quietly tell him that I’ve been through all
that stuff and turn away.
I don’t know if “
On the way home I decide to leave her a nice message at her place of
work, wishing her well and telling her that if she has access to a computer,
she might want to check out my web page, which is http://www.voyageurcountry.com/htmls/areawriters/GeorgeE.html.
And then I close with the admonition “Do good work, study hard and keep an
open mind. My wife and I are pleased to give you the scholarship because we
strongly believe in education, but
we have no use for indoctrination.”
If
she doesn’t check the website, so be it, but I’m betting that she will.
There, she will learn of my background and my books, including the
religion-critical Time Traveling with
Science and the Saints.
Would we choose her again, now that I know her background? The answer
is yes, for unlike the loving Christians who fall back on Old Testament
ideologies whenever it suits them, we do not believe that the “sins” of
the father should cause their children distress.
George Erickson
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Letter
by George E. in the Reader Weekly,
I
usually enjoy Marty Duncan's well written columns for their gentle humor and
thoughtfulness, but he laid an egg with his support of the pope when he wrote
"We can all be sure that the millions of prayers said last week helped to
escort John Paul II through those pearly gates." Had he begun his
sentence "I believe that we can be sure..." I wouldn't
complain, but no matter how strongly he believes his ancient
religion, or how many people share it, the fact remains that it's just one of
the religions du jour, none of which offer a shred of proof, though they
certainly have become the largest and most profitable businesses in the US -
if not the world.
As
for JP II being a saint,
The
saints are the ones who work to cure AIDS and prevent unwanted
pregnancies by advocating intelligent effective birth control - not those that
advocate the rhythm method that Catholics candidly call Vatican Roulette.
That
said,
George
Erickson, Eveleth