Disappearing act

This is my busiest week of school this quarter, so I haven't had much time to blog. But, I wanted to post something quickly. The website for Valley Real Life, a church in my area that I've written about, has disappeared. Maybe they are having some problems with it...who knows. But, in my posts where I've commented on their sermons, the links will no longer work. Sorry about that...I had posted them so that people could listen to the sermons themselves and form their own opinions. If the website goes back up, I'll be sure to update my links.

***UPDATE*** The site is back up today...they must have been having some technical difficulties. I'll make sure my links still work. If not, I'll replace them or post an explanation on those individual posts.***

A Sincere Apology

All of the neighbor kids were over to our house this morning...there is no sleeping in allowed here :) My daughter had spent the night at one of the neighbor girl's house, so she was feeling a little ornery from lack of sleep.

After playing for a while, my husband and I heard crying coming from my daughter's room. When we went in there, we found a little neighbor boy crying, a neighbor girl comforting him and our daughter hiding in the corner. Oh boy. This is not what a parent wants to find.

So, we asked the little boy and our daughter what had happened to assess the situation. Wonderful...our daughter had kicked the little boy out of frustration. We told the other kids that she wouldn't be able to play for a bit. After the kids left, we told our daughter that she would have to go to time-out for 6 minutes (our kids get 1 minute of timeout for each year of their age).

When her time was up, she came downstairs and we talked about the problem and how we should handle problems. Oh goodness, the tears were streaming :) She had thought about the situation while she was in time out and knew what questions she would be asked in our discussion.

"Mommy, um.....sniff sniff (little boy) was touching my wand that I got from the Princess Ice Capades sniff sniff even though I asked him not to. Then, sniff sniff (neighbor girl) told him that I didn't want him to touch it and he still touched it! So, I kicked him."

"Ok. So, do you think that was the right choice to make?"

"No."

"How else could you have handled that situation?"

"I need to use my words....but mommy I asked him not to touch it and he still did!"

This discussion went on for a few minutes. But, in the end she decided that next time she would come and get myself or daddy when she felt that frustrated.

I went on with my studying and she disappeared upstairs. A few minutes later, she came down and told me she had called (little boy) and told him she was sorry. So, could she go and play with the other kids now? Wow...this is such a proud moment for a parent. I didn't coerce her into making this apology...she had regretted what she had done and decided to do something about this by making a sincere apology to her friend. It's moments like these that remind us that we're doing something right :)

This situation made me think about what makes an apology a sincere apology. If someone demands that you apologize or forces someone to apologize, can it really be sincere? I don't think so. To me, a sincere apology would require a couple of things.

1) The person must regret what they did that caused the other person pain.

2) This regret would inspire the person to apologize to the other person.

If one of these does not exist, I don't think an apology can be sincere. In the first requirement, the absence of regret would indicate that the person would not apologize other than to appease someone else. In the second requirement, coercion from another individual takes away the sincerity even if regret is present. Also, I should note that regret may be present but it may not be for the action that one is being demanded to apolgize for. For example, one may regret that they caused another person pain, but it is being demanded that they apologize for the words they said or actions they took. That person may not regret the words that were said or actions that were taken. Therefore, an apology would not be sincere.

Then the question comes up...should an apology be made if it isn't sincere? I don't think so. An insincere apology does nothing to solve the underlying problem. It is a passive way of dealing with an issue. It would be better to talk about misunderstandings than to bury problems with disingenuous apologies. If I had forced my daughter to apologize rather than let her come to that decision on her own, she wouldn't have understood the purpose of an apology. We don't apologize to make other people happy...we apologize when we truly are distressed about something we have done.

Child Rape: It's not just for Catholics anymore.

Well, well, well. It seems a private Christian school's principal has been charged with child rape. I guess his church has not learned from the Catholic's how to cover this type of thing up. But, they do plan on standing by him...
"The board and staff of Highland Christian School stand behind our principal Mark Brown. Mr. Brown is now on administrative leave while this investigation continues. We will continue to support him and his wife and his son through this ordeal he is going through. We continue to plan for the upcoming school year."

Hmmm...why no mention of standing by the poor girl he raped? And what the hell....the "ordeal he is going through??? Did she have it coming? You know how those 14 year olds can be...she probably seduced him. Yeah...that's it...go with that story.

You know this is why I teach my kids that they do not have to obey someone just because they're an adult. My kids know that if they have questions about something they are asked to do or if they feel it is wrong...it is OK to ask why? or say they don't feel comfortable with that. There should always be a good reason. If an adult cannot provide a good reason or if something doesn't feel right, my kids are taught to come and get me.

Growing up, I was taught to obey all adults. It was also an unspoken truth that all people at church are good people. Well, unfortunately that just isn't the case and too many kids have been taken advantage of. I hope justice is served in this case and that this girl can overcome the abuse.

*****UPDATE*****

Here's some more information about this case. This whole thing is disturbing. The man had previous allegations against him...not to mention that he is not a state certified teacher....and he was still hired as principal of this school?! And now, he's out of jail because he posted bond.

Part of the oldest Bible goes online this week!

The Codex Siniaticus contains the oldest copy of the New Testament and portions of Old Testament. This copy dates back to 350 CE and has an interesting history. It was discovered in the mid-19th century at the Monastery of St. Catherine near Mt. Sinai. However, it was removed from the monastery and subsequently different portions of it ended up in different parts of the world. In 2005, a project was launched to reunite the portions of the Codex and make the entire work available online.

This Thursday, the first portions of the Codex....the Book of Psalms and the Gospel of Mark....will be made available online. Within the next year, the rest of the Codex should be available as well with transcription, translation, and search functions. All of this will be available for free.

I know I'm going to check it out. I guess this version of the Bible is different from the Protestant Bible that most of us are familiar with because it contains the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. I've also read that there is no mention of the resurrection in this version. Should be interesting.

Free Rice

While visiting one of my favorite blogs,The Meming of Life I noticed a new banner entitled Free Rice. I decided to click on it out of curiosity and found it to be quite fun!

Basically, you play a vocabulary game. For each word you get right, 20 grains of rice will be donated to a hungry person. This all happens through the United Nations World Food Program and is paid for by the sponsors of the vocabulary game. I added a link on my page in the top right corner. Check it out! There's an FAQ section if you want more information :) Have fun, get smart, feed people!

McCain doesn't like free speech??

This is interesting, although not too surprising. I'd be curious to know how McCain attempts to explain this away. And...how is he going to react to someone who has a sign with something much worse written on it.

Trying to prove a Miracle can be tough

After reading one of my posts, Comments on a Valley Real Life sermon A Load to Bear, JSnell made a comment and wanted to show me that miracles do happen. So, I've been corresponding with him through the comment section, but my last response was just WAY too long for a comment. So, again, I've created a new post.

If someone other than JSnell is reading this, you may need to go back to the original post to understand this one :) But, maybe you'll be able to get the gist just by reading my response to his comment:

Oh? Hmm, well I’d like to hear those differing answers? My is based off what doctors have told us, web site research, my wife being a BSN nurse, reading GRFoundation mailers etc. I admit I am not perfect so if there is something I may have misstated please let me know, I am definitely trying to present a correct case to you.

As I said in my comment yesterday, I am not out to prove to you that you did not experience a miracle. That was why I did not feel the need to point out the problems I had with your answers. But, if you would like me to, I will.

Having glaucoma means you'll need to continue treatment for the rest of your life. Because the disease can progress or change without your being aware of it, your treatment may need to be adjusted over time. Regular checkups and adherence to a treatment plan may seem burdensome, but they're essential to prevent vision loss. July 18, 2006

The mayo clinic reference is not a specific reference to infantile glaucoma. I found that the intraocular pressures of infantile glaucoma may be resolved with surgery. The Children’s Glaucoma Foundation says this:
“Surgery is hence indicated to effect permanent reduction of the intraocular pressure.”

When a child/infant is born with glaucoma, they usually have 2 surgeries per eye, called Goniotomies, the child is then on eye dropper or oral meds for the rest of his/her life and those meds can be given in each eye once or twice a day depending on severity of eye pressures.

“Children who have been diagnosed with primary congenital glaucoma must continue to receive follow-up care throughout their lives. Surgery can control IOP and help prevent vision loss; however, it does not cure children of the glaucoma. Children are still at risk for further glaucoma development and vision loss during their lifetime.” eMedicine Health on Primary Congenital Glaucoma.

The way I read that is that surgery can control IOP. Do you plan on your son continuing visits with the ophthalmologist? Or do you consider the glaucoma to be cured? If you consider it to be cured, why?

I wonder what the expected outcomes are for children?
Answered above…

I’ll clarify, what are the statistics regarding the outcomes of children. What percentage respond to each type of surgery? How many children relapse?
Here is some information I found:
Goniotomy surgery was performed for 335 eyes and glaucoma control was achieved with single goniotomy in 71% (239) of eyes and by one or more goniotomies in 94% (313) of eyes.69 Relapse following successful goniotomy is unusual68 and occurred more frequently when the glaucoma was first recognized at birth (36%), compared to results in children recognized before 6 months of age (16%).Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology: Primary Congential Glaucoma.

Time of onset does not matter regarding recovery or surgery schedule. However time frame of initial treatment I am guessing could be a factor of the long term effects of glaucoma. Prolonging a surgery and letting pressures get too high can cause more damage to the corneal surface and/or optic nerve.

I agree with most of that. Age of diagnosis does however effect the outcomes of the goniotomy according to this Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology paper, “Primary Congenital Glaucoma”

What was the time frame between the final surgery and your son's recovery?
Time frame was gradual, as we were expecting our sons eyes to get worse since the total of eight eye surgeries had not helped his pressures go down, we were expecting honestly that our son would go blind. As stated in my original post ALL doctors warned us to be ‘prepared for the worst’, our sons pressures were not going down via surgery nor meds. By multiple professional sources, his future seemed bleak.

So, about how long after the final surgery did your son’s pressures go down? I understand that the doctors told you his future was bleak….you need to be prepared for the worst. It does not mean that everything is hopeless.
Were all 8 surgeries goniotomies?

Would it be unusual for a child to show no signs of glaucoma after undergoing multiple surgeries and medication treatments?
It is VERY unusual, hence our doctors being so amazed at his turn around.

How unusual? Is your son’s the only case or are there others? If there are others, what has been the attributed cause for their recoveries?

Is it possible that the recovery was because of medical interventions?
Not according to ANYTHING I have read, if it were I don’t think the doctors at the Glaucoma Research Foundation would have such an interest in our sons case.

Actually, I can see why they would be interested in his case. If his outcome seemed so bleak, they want to know exactly what was done so they might be able to help other kids in the same situation.

Does it truly defy natural laws?
Honestly, I will let you research Glaucoma and let you come to your own conclusion. The GCF cannot explain why the basic recipe of 2 surgeries per eye and meds did not work. Nor can they explain, why, when he was such a severe case the extensive eight eye surgeries and six different meds at one time did not allow pressures to go down and slated to probably go blind.

“Goniosurgery, filtration surgery, and implant surgery are the three options for the management of congenital glaucoma. ..Children with more severe defects of the filtration channels often do not respond to goniosurgery, and filtration procedures may be required to bypass the malfunctioning system, creating a new egress passage for the aqueous humor. The results of this type of surgery may be disappointing due to the failure of the new passage to remain patent…. Repeat surgery in an unoperated area may be necessary to achieve an adequate lowering of the eye pressure. In case of failure of classic filtration surgery, implants (Molteno, Ahmed, others) may be used to drain the aqueous fluid from the eye by way of a silicone tube to an episcleral reservoir.” Children’s Glaucoma Foundation.
It sounds like there are a lot of kids who don’t respond to the basic recipe.

I also want to point out again that if something has not been explained, it does not automatically mean that god did it. As I said yesterday, history has shown us that sometimes people attribute things to deities that really end up being natural events. So, if there is no explanation, it means we need to do further research.

Not really sure what more I can do or say to provide more evidence? I am not surrendering my sons medical records? The doctors are here in town, I have offered their names offsite. But even then due to confidentiality, if you asked them directly, “Do you think John Doe lived through a miracle?” They would not provide that info to you… ??

You seem upset that I am not taking your word for it. I have not asked you for the doctor’s name because I know that it would be useless. Please do not get upset when I ask you to provide evidence. You made the claim and you cannot expect someone else to believe it without providing evidence. In this case, I’m not sure what more you could do. I guess I would try to get some researchers to look at his case….get in touch with the Glaucoma Foundation and see if they think it was a miracle or if they have any hypotheses on his recovery.

I am willing to offer my info offsite, for direct contact, not sure how to do that though on here. I am local to you, it’s not just an ‘internet story’.

It doesn’t matter if you’re local to me. The point is that this is a story from a stranger that I have no prior knowledge of before presenting me with the story.

Red Sea parting? Vision of God witnessed by 30? What exactly would be adequate proof to satiate your curiosity? Unfortunately none of that happened, so we might be left in mire there.

Sorry, it’s kind of like someone saying they were abducted by aliens but we never see any proof. You wouldn’t believe that another god healed your son without some proof. And nobody should expect you to.

I agree they are looking at his case not only for other peoples benefit, but also the simple fact, they “… have never seen anything like this before.” A quote from a doctor who has looked at all of our sons paperwork and been completely puzzled.

That’s great. Maybe they’ll find something to help someone else out.

Well I don’t think anything we are talking about is destructive, and I don’t think I am pushing any ideas on you at all.

Please do not take me out of context. I did not say that you were talking about something destructive or pushing ideas on me. You asked me why I am so strongly against Christianity and that was just a part of my answer to your question.

You had made a post about not hearing about Miracles. I am trying to tell you of one, but you are steadfastly against it.

I have never said that you did not experience a miracle. I will tell anybody who wants to make an extraordinary claim that they need to provide evidence. You have not provided the evidence please do not try to blame me for that. Would you like me to go back and edit the post to say “confirmed miracles”?

I have made quite a case of my sons history, and after answering many of your direct questions I am now reduced to ‘just a story on the internet.’

I thanked you for answering my questions. I explained that some of them differed from the information I found. The fact is that this is just a story on the internet.

Frankly it seems regardless of Miracle presented and answers provided, you are desperate to discount me.

You have in no way presented me with evidence of a miracle. I am being honest in searching for answers and you do not like the fact that I won’t believe something because you say so.

… but I am truly a better man today because of my wife. She is a great person, and has maybe ‘corralled’ (spelling?) me and calmed me down. I hope she would say the same about me.

**UPDATE** I just discovered that some of my smiley faces were turned into "J" when I posted this. It looked really weird, so I'm going back and changing the J's back to the :) that I had intended. Let me know if you notice any that I missed**

That’s great…make sure you tell her that too :)

I think couples bring out the best in people, both the groom to your sister as well as she to the groom. Let me meet him, I’ll knock him down a few levels :).

My sister’s husband is a very nice guy. We get along great…I just didn’t care for their wedding. He has never spoken down to me because we have different beliefs. He has been very respectful actually. Of course, there are some things that bother me about him, but that’s the way it is with anyone. So, I’m sorry if I gave the wrong impression. I’ll have to clarify that in a new post.

Yes, again, how did you work away from the Fundamentalist Christian life, (assuming raised in it?) To being known as HumanistMama?

Long story cut VERY short :) Raised as a fundamentalist Christian; became very active in my church in junior high and early high school; looked at a bible college in MT my sophomore year; wanted to know as much as possible about the Bible; found some things didn’t add up; read “Evidence that Demands a Verdict”…found it to be very lacking; Stopped going to church my junior year; Started looking at other religions to see how they were different; Took classes on Buddhism, anthropology, psychology, science in college; Got married; had kids; Had to decide what to teach my kids; researched more religions; decided none of it made sense; my family started to become very religious and tried to impose their ideas on my kids; created my blog because I needed a way to vent.

See I don’t know you as anything else, but by all your links, posts etc, you are very strong in your stance.

Well, I don’t blame you for not seeing me as anything else, but like I said yesterday this is just a small part of me. I haven’t made a website that says everything about me…I wouldn’t have the time :) But, I did want a way to react to things that were going on and this was a way for me to do that.

I know many people that have their own beliefs, just like mine as a Christian but I don’t have blogs, or web pages proclaiming my beliefs, maybe as a Christian I should?

Everybody has their own reason for starting a blog or web page… I’m sure there are plenty of Christian blogs and websites out there. But many Christians probably don’t have the need because there are so many people who are Christians and know what many Christians believe. Many humanists/atheists don’t tell many people because of the hostile reaction they’ll get. We have many communities on the internet and it’s a way to stay connected with other people.


But as you stated many people are turned off by that, so I speak to them when opportunities arise or questions are asked.

It doesn’t bother me if people want to write out their thoughts or opinions on a blog. It kind of acts like a diary…where you can get comments :) I’m turned off by people getting in my face and telling me I’m wrong without asking me what I believe in the first place. I’m turned off by people treating me poorly because of my lack of belief. I’m turned off by people thinking and acting like they are better than me because of what they believe.

But publicly, those that know me would tell you I am a family man, Christian, sports freak, car collector, guitar dork, and dare I say it? Antique collector? I think my testosterone level just went down by three.

Well, nice to meet you family man, Christian, sports freak, car collector, guitar dork…antique collector :)

Anyway, I am not sure what more I can say on this whole topic. My ‘story’ is not made up, no lies, no exaggerations, I am willing to lay my hand on the Bible and swear truth, but I guess that would be the ultimate irony here huh? :)

You know what…I wouldn’t accuse you of making it up or exaggerating. That is your perspective of what happened. I want to say again that I am so happy for your family that your son is doing well. I hope that he never has a relapse.

Freedom of Speech & Religion

Matt, the pastor at Valley Real Life, and I have been having a discussion about freedom of speech & religion. He commented on a previous post that he felt I was violating my daughter's teacher's freedom of speech. (See my postsTeacher crossing boundaries? and Letter to teacher.) This is my response to his last comment.


I will try to answer both your questions to the best of my abilities but I do not claim to be an expert on the interpretation of the law or the constitution or the bill of rights.

Neither do I. But, I don’t think one needs to be an expert to have a discussion.

From the previous statement I see that we disagree on what separation of church and state really means. If you really believe that our President is in violation then why has he not been formally reprimanded by congress or held before an oversight committee for his blatant disregard of such an important legal doctrine?

Good question. I think he should be reprimanded, but I also think that he has done things far worse than violating the wall of separation between church & state.

Why have both candidates for the next presidency made their personal beliefs known so many times to the constituency and have even gone so far as to build their platform on their personal faith?

There is a difference between an elected official and a person who wishes to be elected. When a person becomes elected, he/she is representing all of the people and needs to be neutral in regards to religion when acting as a government official.

In other words, this teacher was well within her rights to send a thank you card with a religious expression contained in it as it did not require your daughter to engage in or participate in something religious.

No, she was not within her rights. She was representing the state (see quote below from The First Amendment center) when she sent the note thus implying that the state endorses her particular religion. As I said before, if she had sent this note to a personal friend, that would be different.

The American Bar Association says this about teacher’s rights to free speech:
“While America bestows upon teachers the freedom and wisdom to educate its youth, that freedom comes with significant responsibilities and some restrictions, largely because of the potential impact on impressionable children.”

According to The First Amendment Center:
“School districts limit teachers’ religious expression in order to avoid violating the establishment clause, which requires separation between church and state. When teachers speak to their classes, they represent the school and the school board. Teachers, as agents of the government, may not inculcate students in religious matters. Otherwise, they run afoul of the establishment clause.”

The links above have some information about this issue. You can also find more information at The Anti-Defamation League’s website.

The separation of church and state was never intended to make the individuals who work for the government in some capacity or another to appear as if they’re neutral toward religion or faith.

Then, you’re saying that you wouldn’t mind if a President, Congressman, or Senator invoked the power of Xenu and read the writings of L.Ron Hubbard in a public speech? Or, would it be OK for a government official speak out against Christianity? These actions are not neutral. When someone is a representative of the people, they need to remember that not everyone believes the same things they do. That is why they should keep it neutral. The government wouldn’t be much without the people who run it.


In Everson v. Board of Education (330 U.S., 1947) the Supreme Court stated in its majority opinion: “The ‘establishment of religion’ clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever from they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between Church and State.’”

Yes….”“The ‘establishment of religion’ clause of the First Amendment means at least this…”

When you claim that this teacher crossed the line you make her out to be “the state” and that robs her of being an individual with rights. That’s how you crossed the line I believe.

She is representing the state when she is a public school teacher. Here is some more information about free speech in the workplace from The First Amendment Center.

Freedom of speech in its simplest form is to speak without fear of censorship or retribution. However, we all know that there are restrictions that have been applied to keep civil order and peace. For instance, yelling “fire” in a crowded theater is illegal and so is public profanity or pornography. Defamation of character or threats against a person is illegal. Sharing state secrets (treason) or company secrets is illegal. And there are other restrictions as well. I hope this answers your question but as I said before I’m not an expert on the subject.

So, in no way did I violate this teacher’s freedom of speech. I wrote my concern about this issue directly to her in the form of a letter…you could say I was exercising my freedom of speech. I expressed that many of her students may have different beliefs than she has and that she should take that into consideration when she corresponds with them. I did not write to the school principal or the School Board. I wrote a letter about a concern to a teacher. By the way, she wrote back and apologized and it was no big deal...she said she had never really thought about it.

Happy Independence Day!!!!

We're heading out camping to celebrate the Fourth of July. But, I wanted to make a quick post acknowledging this great day! I was looking for a good article to link to this year since I don't have time to write a long post.

So, celebrate our independence by educating yourself about a part of U.S history that is often forgotten or ignored...The Treaty of Tripoli. You may already know about it, but it's always nice to have little reminders to keep our history fresh in our minds.

A discussion on what I believe

I've been having a great discussion with the pastor from Valley Real Life, Matt, in the comment section of one of my other posts. I began to write my response to his last comment and found that it was getting really long. It touches on what I believe and I've been wanting to write a post on that anyway. So, I decided to make my response to him a new post. I'm really trying to make my answers as clear and concise as possible so that there will not be any misunderstandings. But, I'm also trying to do a million other things at the same time. So, hopefully I don't miss anything:) Please let me know if something does not make sense.

I was wondering what I should call you. I was going to say "Hi mama" but that sounded a bit weird to me but I could get used to it if that's what you want.

I've had other commenters refer to me as Mama or Humanist Mama. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can just say "Hi" or go straight into your comment. I'm flexible :)

Back to my point...I mentioned before that my brother is an atheist. I have solicited his opinion on many things before and he seems to be ok with me doing so even though he knows that I’m trying to reach as many people as possible with a message I believe is truth; a message that you must be familiar with.

If I were your brother, I'd be happy that you even cared about my opinion. Some people really don't. They just hear the word atheist and make assumptions without asking questions.

Yes, I'm familiar with the message that you believe is truth. I was raised in a non-denominational church that took the word of the Bible as literal truth. I believe your church teaches the same, but there may be slight differences. I'm also familiar with the messages of other religions and they also believe theirs is true.


Anyway, I'm curious as to how you feel about me in a sense using your opinions and advice to help advance Christianity when you are so opposed to it?

That is an interesting question. I'm going to address the last part of your question first regarding my opposition to Christianity. I oppose some of the teachings of some denominations of Christianity. But, I can oppose the ideas without being opposed to people's right to be a Christian. I can also oppose those ideas without being opposed to Christians.

So really, what I oppose are the destructive ideas that are present in some of the teachings and the way members of certain Christian groups push their ideas on everyone else. And that goes for all destructive beliefs and ideas...I don't just limit it to Christianity. Basically, I believe every person has the right to believe what they want as long as they do not infringe on the basic rights of others.

As to my feelings about you using my opinions to advance Christianity, I think I look at it a little differently. I feel that there are many people who simply do not understand the viewpoints of others. The normal human reaction is to reject something that is different. However, we can move past that by communicating with each other and finding some common ground. There have been many areas where people have already done that. I think by putting my opinions out there I'm offering a different perspective to people than what they are used to.

I guess I'd have to see how you use my opinions to advance Christianity before I could decide how I felt about it. Some pastors take people out of context to make their points...not okay. But, some pastors take what other people have to say and try to adjust their sermons to different perspectives. I'm fine with that. I think that by communicating with each other we can advance understanding...and that would be my goal.

. My understanding of humanism in its basic beliefs is that there is nothing supernatural or any being of divine nature. That human reasoning is supreme and that knowledge of right or wrong is dependant on the understanding gained through individual discovery, rather than a revelation from a transcendental book or being. In other words, the bible or any other book of religion is not a viable source for discovering truth.

I basically agree, but I'm going to clarify a couple of things.
When you say "knowledge of right and wrong is gained through individual discovery, rather than a revelation from a transcendental book or being", I do not totally agree. You are right, I do not believe there are absolute rights and wrongs that have been revealed to us by a transcendental book or being. But, I do not agree that we each gain our knowledge of right and wrong individually. If that were the case, right and wrong would depend on what effects each individual personally.

Our morals, ideas of right and wrong, are based on the fact that we are social animals. We live in groups and depend upon one another for survival. Our societies morals have developed over many years as our knowledge and understanding of the world has grown. For example, slavery was considered moral not too long ago. As we grew intellectually, we understood that it was immoral to enslave people. We use reason to develop and improve upon our morals.

Also, the statement "the bible or any other book of religion is not a viable source for discovering truth" is pretty accurate. But, I would add that that does not mean that there are not some things in the Bible that I agree with. There may be some things in the Bible which are true, but there are some things that are not. My position on that would be that the Bible and other religious books have some good parts, but they should not be used as a person's sole source for truth. We have many other ways of finding truth that were not available 2000+ years ago. In other words, I would not believe something just because it was written in the Bible, I'd want something else to back it up.

you appear to be very active in proclaiming a very different message that strips God (whoever He may be) of any divinity and ultimately insert human opinion in that place.

I haven't really looked at myself as proclaiming a message. I started writing my blog because I am surrounded by very conservative Christians who take the Bible literally. When my atheism has come up in conversations, I am often met with hostility. So, I started writing my blog just as a way to get my feelings out. It's always been natural for me to write things down when something is bothering me.

Also, I don't think I can strip God of anything since I do not believe there is a God. When it is worded that way it makes it sound as though I believe something is there and I'm trying to take away it's supernatural powers. Kind of like the accusation that atheists are "just angry at god." But that just simply isn't the case.

I'll give you an example of something else I do not believe in so you can understand where I'm coming from. I do not believe that there is a pink dragon living in the Big Wagon downtown. Let's say someone else comes along and says there truly is a pink dragon and it has special powers. She tells all the people around me about the pink dragon. I point out to someone that there are some points that do not make sense to me...I don't believe it. Am I trying to take away the pink dragon's special powers? No, because I do not believe it exists in the first place. What I am doing is trying to clarify what the truth is and pointing out problems I see.

That sounds to me like you’re placing humans in the place of God…making humans responsible only to other humans and ultimately in themselves gods.

I do believe that humans are responsible to other humans and our world. We have the ability to reason and we need to use this ability to make the best life possible for everyone. But, I don't see how it would follow that humans would ultimately be gods. I think there could be two reasons that we don't see this the same way.

First, you assume that if your god didn't exist you'd need to replace him with another god. There is a general assumption in your statement that something must exist that is a god. I do understand that because that was how I once felt. That is why I started looking at other religions when I was questioning Christianity. But, I don't think there is any reason to believe that. If your god didn't exist why would he need to be replaced with another god?

Second, maybe our definitions of gods are different. Generally, when someone calls something a god I think they are talking about a being that is outside the natural world and possesses special powers that can affect others. This clearly does not apply to humans. But, maybe you have a different feeling on what a god is.

One more thought…please know that I respect your freedom to believe anything you want to believe and will fight for you. I hope you will do the same for me.

I appreciate that. Of course I would do the same. I don't think everyone needs to think exactly like me if they want their freedoms. Unfortunately, there are many people in this world who do not feel the same. I'll finish this post with one of my favorite quotes:

"Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right you claim for yourself."

Robert G Ingersoll