Ceremonial deism is a legal term used in the United States to designate governmental religious references and practices deemed to be mere ritual and non-religious through long customary usage.

-- Wikipedia



Again, referring to Wikipedia, the term, “ceremonial deism” was first coined in 1962, by the then-dean of the Yale Law School, Eugene Rostrow, and subsequently used by the Supreme Court in…

There is a school of thought which says that atheism offers no comfort to those who hurt, who mourn the unfairness of life, the proverbial “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and cling to religion on the chance that the next life will be a marked improvement on this one.  I submit that this is a mistaken concept, that there can be comfort in the absence of a deity and indeed, a demonstrably better existence in the one life we have.  The four points listed below give some expression to…

With great power comes great responsibility.  With all power comes all responsibility.

-- Brian Keith Dalton



Most of us have heard the first half of the above quote.  It was spoken by “Uncle Ben Parker” to his nephew, Peter Parker, as wisdom and warning, though Ben never had any idea what powers had recently been inadvertently bestowed upon the teen in his care.  The second half of that quote, though, seems to have shown up in multiple places, and Brian doesn’t give it…

Is god good?



If we’re going to ask that question, the first thing that has to be established is: whose “good” are we using as a standard?  If human good is to be the benchmark, then the task is relatively easy.  Whatever good god recognizes, however, will introduce a degree of vagary which may be insuperable.



Regardless of which deity is supervising this reality, he/she/it cannot be said to be good by human standards in the slightest measure, and one need look no…