My essay on “exercising” the First Amendment has been published by The Freethought Society.
A Different Defence of the Founders’ Fence
(the original purposely spelled Defence with a “c”)
You might like the other interesting articles in the E-zine, including the Thomas Paine event in January I attended.
Friendly Freethinker 
Good Morning Chris. Today’s writing in the Columbus Dispatch really hit home with me, and helped me to rationalize some of the struggles that I have been having lately. I’ve come to really have bad thoughts and feelings about a lot of the teachings that my grandchildren are getting, being in the Catholic Schools and Church. I don’t like their blind trust that everything their Priest says and does is ok because he is the Priest. We all know where that has gotten many a child. And I don’t like having negative feelings. I see red when I hear people say, “God is always good. God has a plan. God has this. Pray enough and it will happen.” Is prayer nothing more that a popularity contest then?
But today’s message or questioning about combining our beliefs with scientific reasoning really hit home with me. I am a science believer and a graduate of the sciences. Perhaps it is the scientific process of going through this test and then the next to test and prove our theories that can help all of us come together. This works because of this, and this doesn’t work because of that. Example: being nice to people, makes them less angry and less likely to lash out and being snarky with people makes them get snarky in return.
So for me, instead of just blindly believing because someone says so, perhaps we can join the scientific method with the religious viewpoint by just being systematic in our development of faith. The Bible states the creation of the world in a systematic, day by day, scenario. Can we build on this together with our religion and our views to make ourselves better people. I think that this will help me immensely.
Thank you again, for helping me along in this journey of becoming a better person and making this a better world.
I appreciate your note and the struggle with religious influence in the education of young people. Becoming better human beings seems the most reasonable, and positive, aspirations. Thanks.