I can't help but think this is a good thing. Franklin Graham's comments about Islam were simply hateful. I mitt find the clash of religions to be a silly contest about who has the better imaginary friend, but that doesn't mean we have to subject our armed forces to either side calling the other nasty names, especially when the armed forces are made up of atheists, Christians, Muslims, and so on.

One of the problems I had as a member of a church was when people would say that they believed because they felt "something in their heart"- and when I found I didn't have that magical feeling, I wondered if there wasn't something wrong with me. No matter how much I payed, studied, fasted, it just didn't come.

One of the things that lead me away from organized religion was the lack of service to the community as opposed to service for the benefit of the church.

So reading about River Of Grace ministries using its resources to help the less fortunate reminds me of what organized religion *should* be about.

I'll be honest - I'm a believer in the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, mainly because every time it comes in face with the evidence, it has proven itself correct. A century before the discover of DNA and the detangling of the code that makes all life, Darwin's theory has held up as well as that of gravity, planetary motion, and other scientific discoveries.

It's funny. Britain has an official state church. America not only does not, but is not allowed to endorse religion in any way according to the Constitution.

Yet, in Britian, a leading politician can admit they don't believe in the supernatural or divine beings, and that's all right.

Funny how that works out.

For those who are fans of the show "Doctor Who" and its spinoff "Torchwood", you may have noticed that sometimes "The Doctor" - the time traveling alien with a penchant for saving humanity (sometimes from itself, sometimes from other alien races) is sometimes referred to as if he's a god. Which, with his abilities, isn't surprising.

I only found out about this while reading the paper this morning. But at Congregation Rodeph Sholom will be a special movie and music event 15 years in the making by Cantor Moshe Friedler.

It will feature songs and images inspired by Wiesel's book, "One Generation After". If you get the chance to go, you might discover something new.

Title: Liars For Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History Vol. 1

Author: Chris Rodda
ISBN-10: 1419644386
ISBN-13: 978-1419644382
Website: http://liarsforjesus.com/

I thought this was neat. A graph indicating the income levels of various religious groups.

Some of them didn't surprise me. For example, the Jehovah Witnesses on average make far less than the national average, and considering their opinion of college education being a distraction from worship, this could be taken as an explanation of their lower earning power.