Tuesday June 18, 2013
Religions come in a lot of different forms. Most religions are theistic. That is to say they accept the existence of a god or gods. There are others what are specifically anti-theistic: they deny the existence of any god. Some (mostly modern ones) are non-theistic, neither confirming nor denying gods. There are also religions that don't easily fall into any of these categories. They recognize some form of spiritual being, but these beings are not easily labeled "gods." Shinto is one such religion.
The Types of Theism article addresses the most common forms of theism.
Tuesday June 18, 2013

The 19th century saw the development of the New Thought movement, which emphasized a oneness with God that allowed people to perform various actions of mind over matter through the law of attraction. A decentralized school of thought, New Thought believers have created a variety of different systems of belief. Many of them in Christian in orientation: the "God" they speak of is the Biblical God, and they accept the reality of Jesus.
Science of Mind, however, is a major branch of New Thought and it doesn't embrace Christianity, although it was certainly influenced by it. Believers accept that God is an eternal, ever-loving being, for example.
The logo used by some Science of Mind groups is actually a stylized version of an illustration made by founder Ernest Holmes to explain his basic beliefs, where the human mind, being part of the divine mind, can imprint its wishes on the physical world.
The basics of Holmes' beliefs were put down in a statement called "What I Believe," which is now embraced by Science of Mind organizers as "What We Believe." It is presented here as Part One and Part Two.
Science of Mind is sometimes confused with Christian Science or Scientology, although the three religions are, in fact, completely separate.
Thursday May 23, 2013
The caduceus is an ancient Greek symbol of divine heralds, most often Hermes. Today, many people think of it as a medical symbol, which is contrary to its original meaning. It has gotten confused with the rod of Asclepius, god of medicine. Both involve a rod entwined with a serpent, but the caduceus has two serpents, while the rod has only one.
The caduceus show up in a number of alchemical texts. Hermes/Mercury himself is a common symbol for alchemical ideas, so his staff is a logical symbol. The fact that two snakes symmetrically twist around the staff can be used to represent duality, of the bringing together of opposites, which is also a common alchemical concept.
Thursday May 23, 2013
Wolf Blitzer is in Oklahoma talking to, well, everyone, I imagine. But one interview sticks out. he is interviewing a young woman about how she and her baby survived this week's tornadoes, and he ends with this exchange:
"I guess you got to thank the Lord, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," she mumbled, smiling and looking down.
"Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?" he continued.
"I, I, I," the 30-year-old stay-at-home mom stammered before adding, "I'm actually an atheist."
Seriously, in this day and age we're still presuming people, much less Americans, much less young people, must be Christian? Sure, more often than not you'll be right, but there's still a measurable minority who are not. (And if you made that presumption in many European countries, you'd get yourself in trouble really fast.)
We are a country of religious diversity. Moreover, when a disaster victim seems uncomfortable about a religious topic on national television, is it really appropriate to push the issue as if she owes the country some sort of explanation?