The Path Ministry

  Topic: Caring What Others Think Much like “Never back down,” which we have discussed previously, there is another popular sentiment that bears close examination: That you should always do your own thing and not to care what anyone thinks about it. Now, if what you are doing is truly benevolent, but maybe a little bit weird, like building models of human organs out of toothpicks, that is one thing. But if your “thing” is smothering babies or kicking puppies, maybe you ought to care what people think about it. Caring what others think is how we can distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Humans are social animals, and we establish behavioral guidelines as a group. We have to care about what our society thinks of us, to make sure we are not hurting anyone. Of course, some people just kind of suck and you should not care much about what they think of you. So it is a delicate Balance, and you have to be judicious about whose opinions you value. It is also impo...

  In Which the Pastor Takes Down God No idea is above dissection. While we have touched on a few of the ways in which the god character in monotheistic mythology is deeply flawed, I have yet to do a full-on takedown of the character himself. In this sermon, we will be going back over some ground we have covered before, but this time we are compiling all the most compelling evidence against the entity that monotheistic mythology claims controls the Universe. First, let us enumerate the characteristics of the god character: He is claimed to be all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere, but also lives in big, expensive buildings that only certain people are allowed to enter. He loves everyone, except those he hates, a list that varies from sect to sect. He created the Universe and everything in it, but somehow nobody blames him for mosquitoes. Everything that happens is according to god’s plan, but also bad things happen because of the Devil, a being with his own questiona...

 My latest book, which is a collection of essays and sermons, is available in paperback and Kindle. Please note that my sermons are all on secular topics. If you read my weblog, you know I am an atheist with some pretty clear opinions on monotheism, and some of those takedowns are in this book:   40 Years in the Desert: Carlin, CJ: 9798323532636: Amazon.com: Books

  Topic: Life After Mama I am going to get a little real, here. Kind of raw. This sermon might even make both of us cry. But I want to talk about what happens when your Mom is no longer just a phone call away. Way back in the day, when I was between husbands and spent a whole lot of time with my sister, we did not have Google on a mobile device. What we had was our mother’s phone number. Any question, about anything, and we would call Mom. Need directions to the nearest gas station and is it open? Mom. Wondering what that one book is called about the horse and something about a lightning storm? Mom. Later on, I would call my mother for sewing tips, moral advice, and how long to cook something. She was the first person I shared any kind of good news with, because she was always sincerely excited and proud of me. I liked to call her on her birthday and Mother’s Day, and our phone conversations grew longer with each passing year. Mama passed away August 25, 2023, but I still fin...

 In Christian mythology, there is a story about how god told Abraham to kill his son, so Abe was all cool with it because he was apparently a righteous man. So he takes his son out to totally murder him. (Remember, this is the same god who actually included a commandment in the Big Ten about how you are not supposed to kill people.)  So they are up on the mountain, and Abraham is all geared up to kill his kid because god told him to, and some angel shows up and plays the worst Gotcha! moment in just about any given mythology. The kid is saved. What they do not tell you is that from then on, Abraham and his son had the most awkward relationship ever.  "Would you please pass the murder- I mean, rice?" "Want to go hiking?" "No thanks, Dad, I remember what happened the last time we went hiking." "So what brings you to therapy?" "My dad tried to kill me once. No, really. He had the knife in his hand and everything." Just something to think a...