Sunrise
We Don’t Need a Candle to See the Sun Rise In October 1832, several years before he gained fame as a writer and lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson jotted down something…
Tag: Writing
Secular Conversions?
I may do my best to encourage folks to be Freethinkers, choosing to face difficult questions and reflections about faith, but I’ve never tried to convert anyone to my way…
Inter-Season
I was an “Interfaith” chaplain for many years. My wife was the director of an “Interfaith” council. Now, that word doesn’t cover the landscape like it used to, or seemed…
BOOK Your Holidays!
Ok, I’m trying to “hook” you with a catchy title here, but I’m hooked on books myself, reading, writing and publishing books that say something meaningful and make you think.…
Baldwin on Education and Freethought
The more I read James Baldwin, the more I sense he had his finger on the national and human pulse. The following quote on education also serves as a brilliant…
New Secular Religion
Alright, maybe not so new … and just maybe the oldest religion in the human story. “Can a Secular Person be Religious?” After following John Muir’s muddy and marvelous trails…
Human Supremacy
In classes I teach on Freethinkers like naturalist John Muir, I often saunter back to wise reminders of human hubris, especially pride that comes from too much piety. “The world,…
Holding the Opposition
Writer James Baldwin turned nineteen on the day of his father’s funeral (August 3, 1943). A “race riot” had broken out in Harlem that day, so the mourners “drove my…
