It’s Time to Reclaim Religion

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To avoid any doubt and to lessen the chance we get off on some avoidable tangent, let’s summarize my religious views as of 2014.

I believe in God, fully and completely. I pray all the time. I am less sure exactly what God is, but I am certain some greater power is at play. I don’t know that God micromanages the day-to-day operations of life (I tend to end up somewhere along the benevolent ant-farm line of thought), but that doesn’t affect what I want to talk about today.

I believe one’s relationship with God should be direct, and not via some person or organization who offers or demands to tell you what God thinks and what God wants you to do. In other words, the more human beings you put between you and God, the more messed up things get.

I believe that far too many of the human beings who would place themselves between you and God have agendas that aren’t always in the best interest of you or God. This is not to say that there is no place for organized religion. I simply approach so-called religious doctrine imposed by some human beings on other human beings as inherently suspect. God is love. Religious leaders often forget or ignore this foundational reality.

I believe that far too many people who claim to speak for religion and/or God are doing way more harm than good. I notice more of this with Christians, because I am one (more on that below), but it is the case with all or most religions.

I believe that far too many people who claim to speak for Christianity are conscripting religion to further their own purposes. If you doubt this, ask yourself the last time you heard a so-called Christian leader say “I’d really like to do X (marry my same-sex partner; drink a beer; you name it), but the Bible says I can’t.” It’s always “those people would like to do X, but the Bible tells me that they can’t.”

If Christians don’t get a handle on this soon, there is a risk that, by acting in ways inconsistent with right-thinking Christian beliefs (take love and tolerance, for example), we will allow Christianity to become marginalized. In other words, if you make good and just people choose between calling themselves Christians and acting in a good and just manner, they will choose the latter. If I’m hesitant to call myself a Christian because of all the idiots and haters spouting off nonsense on Facebook and in the media, that’s a small problem for me, but a huge problem for a religion that wants to matter in 10, 20, 100 years. I’m in my 50’s and I have a problem with the lack of love and tolerance exhibited by many Christians. Imagine how young people feel.

A big part of the problem is that people (usually old men trying to hold on to diminishing power or influence) start rattling on about what the Bible means, and how if you don’t do this and that- or if you tolerate this and that, you are acting against the word of God. The thing is, it’s not the word of God. It’s some other cat’s interpretation of the word of God. And more often that not, that cat has an agenda.

The Bible is a work of love, not a weapon of control.

If I came face to face with God and could ask him just one question, it would be: “Do you think the Bible is the best thing or the worst thing that ever happened to Christianity?” I think it’s an open question, not because of the Bible itself, but because of the way it’s used by some to influence and control others. The two stupidest things I regularly hear are:

1. Global warming isn’t happening.
2. The Bible is the literal word of God and must be literally complied with.

The problem with number 1 is that it is clearly disprovable, by facts. I suppose one can debate the cause of climate change, but its existence is no more debatable than the existence of atoms and molecules.

The problem with number 2 is that proponents of this theology pick and choose which parts are literal, while ignoring both the parts that don’t fit their objectives, as well as all the crazy stuff. And there is a lot of straight-up crazy stuff in there. By picking and choosing which parts matter and which don’t, the Biblical literalists disprove the foundation on which they seek to stand.

Which leads me to the list. I am tired of debating people on a one-off basis every time someone posts some allegedly Biblical-based reason as to why we shouldn’t let some people marry, why we shouldn’t watch the Super Bowl (the topic of probably the most idiotic thing I’ve ever read), why this group is bad and the other group good, etc., etc. So if you want to claim the Bible is the literal word of God and that word means we have to act in an intolerant or unjust manner, be prepared to explain the following. I’ll add to the list over time.

Or we can stop fighting over the unimportant stuff and get back to love and tolerance.

9 Surprisingly Progressive Moments In The Bible

The 9 most baffling passages in the Bible, and what they really mean

10 Religious Verses Used To Justify Terrible Atrocities

10 Biblical Figures Who Teach Outrageous Morals

The ‘Gospel of Jesus’s Wife’ Is Real: What Now?

10 Truly Bizarre Or Unsettling Biblical Accounts

10 Misconceptions About Jesus

Millennials ‘Talk To God,’ But Fewer Rely On Religion, Survey Finds

God’s 12 Biggest [Mean] Moves in the Old Testament

When Thomas Jefferson Rewrote The Entire Bible

Mary Magdalene Was Never A Prostitute

Hout and Fischer conclude that a big part of the decrease in religiosity can be attributed to “liberals and moderates declaring no religious preference as a way of rejecting the growing connection between churches and conservative politics, especially conservative cultural politics on topics such as the family, women and sex. [They] were saying, in effect, if that is what religion means, count me out.”

Again, I love God. I just don’t like a lot of the things human beings say about God. It’s time for right-thinking people of all religions to take back their religion from those who would misuse it for their own purposes.

God is love. Peace.

GoodSongs: Leslie Krafka – On·ward

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Here’s a sad little not-so-secret. There just isn’t much of a music scene in Houston. We’ve had some great bands over the years (Fever Tree, ZZ Top, the Dishes, etc.) and some fine musicians spent time here (Townes Van Zandt and others), but it’s nothing like the Austin or Nashville scene.

So, when I receive a review copy of a record from a Houston artist, you can rest assured I’ll take a listen. In this case, I’m glad I did, because Leslie Krafka‘s new record is very good. The music and arrangements are top-notch, as you’d expect from anything produced by Lloyd Maines. Much of the writing and singing has a nineties-era Suzy Boggus vibe, and for those who didn’t know me back then, that’s high praise. Suzy’s recording of the Cheryl Wheeler song Aces is one of my favorite tracks ever. My favorite track on Leslie’s new record is South Texas Fall. This song is a 10 on anyone’s scale.

She does a great cover of Drunken Poets Dream that oozes girl-power (though I continue to lament the way many musicians and almost all of Hollywood play to the false myth of cigarettes as cool and rebellious (when they are, in fact, stupid, unhealthy and offensive to anyone nearby).

Wine Women and Song is another favorite of mine.

On·ward is set for release on May 3, 2014 at Anderson Fair (I’ve seen so many amazing shows there; Steve Fromholz being one that immediately comes to mind as a favorite). If you share my desire to support Houston musicians (and you should), check it out.

Ghosts is Out – Get Your Copy Now!

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It’s been many years in the making, but Idlewilde South‘s new record is available now, at Amazon, iTunes, CD Baby and Google Play. Give it a listen. You’ll like it.

Here’s a video of Joe and me discussing the title track.

Evening Reading: 4/10/14

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It seems inevitable that the world is moving away from desktop computers, through laptops to tablets. I guess I am an iMac loving dinosaur, but I find it much harder to create anything on a tablet. Read? Sure. Work? Nah.

This would be the best thing that ever happened to every Apple TV competitor, which is why Apple won’t do it. There are pennies in putting geeky headsets on nerds. There are bags of gold in helping non-geeks to cut the cord and get elegant, on demand content.

Let me say it again. No redesign on earth is going to save iTunes. I love almost everything Apple, but I abhor iTunes. It needs to be tossed and a new media application redesigned from the ground up. I’m not the only Mac devotee who feels that way.

10 Most Unnecessary Movie Sequels Of All Time. I’ve never seen any of them. But I eagerly await Sharknado 2. No, I’m not kidding.

This is good advice. I do OK on humble and kind, as long as I trust the intention of those who would seek kindness (e.g., don’t knock on my door at 10:00 at night in some sketchy outfit and offer to sell me magazines). I struggle sometimes with the calm part.

College costs are out of control. I make way more than my parents and I’m not even considering my alma mater (Wake Forest) for my kids because it’s too expensive. Yeah, it’s a great school, but not great enough to warrant the price.

Speaking of too expensive, Feedly, which I love and happily pay for, is really hawking Zapier. I’d never heard of Zapier before, and there is no way I’m paying this much to use it. Word of advice kids. If IFTTT can be free (and I’d happily pay for it)….

OK, about this Heartbleed business. Here’s the source you should trust. If you use LastPass (and you should), they have made it very easy for you. Click the LastPass icon then Tools>Security Check.

I don’t have much of a spam problem in my Facebook news feed. What I do have is a lot of humblebrag. I’m starting to dump folks who use Facebook primarily to humblebrag. It’s tiresome.

Evening Reading: 4/8/14

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So, the Weather Channel fought DirecTV and DirecTV won.

Here are some interesting tidbits about the upcoming iOS 8 ands OSX 10.10.

I bought an Amazon Fire TV, and my initial impressions are positive. Shows seem to load faster, which is a plus at the farm, where our broadband is not all that broad. Consumerist has a good write-up. Google TV was one of- and maybe the- worst designed train-wrecks I’ve ever experienced. I threw mine away (I didn’t want to donate it and ruin someone else’s day). So my expectations for Android TV are low.

Here’s a good read on parenting, routines and Michael Phelps. All I can say is I didn’t do any of that stuff, and it shows at my house.

While we’re thinking about things to do differently, Confront These 10 Inconvenient Truths Today for a Better Life.

I don’t know how I missed this, but I did. Amazing work. Much, much better than typical “fan fiction.”

This does not surprise me at all. And, of course, our broadband connection went out last night. So we get to dive into customer service hell with the winner.

Adobe Lightroom comes to the iPad. Photoshop is the only software application I rent, and only because I need it more than I need to prove how much I hate renting software. Everyone loves Lightroom, so I need to check it out. Cult of Mac loves it.

RIP, Archie. I’ve never been a big comic book reader, but I read a few of these back in the day.

I meant to share this on 4/6/14, but I forgot. Here‘s a site that shows your first tweet. Here’s mine. Follow me on Twitter for daily pointers to interesting stories that don’t make it into Evening Reading.

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Looks like I need to rethink my correspondence valediction. Or maybe not.

Sounds of Tech, Episode 2

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Here’s Episode 2 of the Sounds of Tech (SOT) podcast. Tech talk for grownups, with some fantastic music thrown in for good measure. Let’s see how we can use tech to improve our lives, save us money and make us more productive.

This episode covers how to easily dip your toe into the wonderful pool of home automation products. In less than a half hour you’ll be well on your way to an automated, more secure- and cooler- home.

Tech topics covered

Dropcam, the easiest and most useful entry point into home automation. Purchase at Amazon.

[Update: For some reason, when I insert videos in the show notes, the iTunes feed thinks this is a video podcast and only shows one of them. I removed the sample Dropcam videos, but trust me, they were high quality.]

WeMo, easy remote control for lamps, lights and other appliances. Purchase at Amazon.

App of the week: the best choice for cheap, automated computer backup.

Great songs played

One from Mercury Dime’s 1997 record Baffled Ghosts. Purchase links: Amazon.

One from Country Coalition’s self-titled 1970 record. I can’t find any purchase links. If you know one, send it to me and I’ll add it.

One from Quinaimes Band’s self-titled 1971 record. Purchase links: Amazon, iTunes.

Evening Reading: 4/4/14

Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to be Wake fans. A profoundly uninspired hire by the most frustrating Athletic Director in the history of college sports.

David Sparks writes about Dictate+Connect. It looks very promising. I also need a mobile solution that will let me send dictation to my secretary and/or Dragon Dictation. Sounds like this app may do the trick. On the other hand, David loves him some Omnifocus. I think Omnifocus is about as fun as digging ditches. Here’s my rule on apps: if I can’t immediately see at least the potential of an app, it’s either not useful or poorly implemented. You shouldn’t need to watch a degree worth of screen casts to use a workflow application.

Everybody’s crowing about the 12 million downloads of Microsoft Office. What matters is the number of people that will stick with it. What matters more is the number of new subscribers to Office 365. I remain gymnastically unimpressed with it.

Hey Macworld, how can you not know how completely LAME it is to auto-play videos on your web page? What’s next, flashing text? Should we all move back to Geocities?

10 Bigfoot-Type Cryptids You May Not Know About. Honey Island Swamp Monster, FTW.

All you whippersnappers have no idea how much Netscape Navigator dominated the web back in the day. I went from Navigator to Firefox to Chrome. Even though I’m a Mac guy, I don’t use Safari much on the desktop.

Automation: FileThis May Be the First Step to Paperless Wonderland

One of the things I have been interested in for a long time is creating an efficient paperless workflow, that will allow me to easily obtain, process, file and access virtually all of my important documents, in digital paperless format. I’ve been doing this a long time, and most of my documents, from bills to bank statements to press clippings to user manuals, all reside in a specified folder on my Mac, and in redundant, secure backup locations.

I’m going to do a series on the podcast on how to set up and manage a paperless workflow, but generally speaking my documents find their way into a dedicated Document Inbox folder on my Mac, where they are converted to readable pdf format, named pursuant to a logical and consistent naming convention and moved into the appropriate folder in my digital file cabinet (e.g., the “Scanned Documents” folder and subfolders on my Mac). Then they are backed up, once locally via Time Capsule and once to Amazon Glacier, Amazon’s unbelievably cheap cloud storage.

The biggest hurdle to getting started with a paperless program is getting your historical documents in place. There are three ways to do it. Download them from the applicable website (e.g., go online to your bank, find the Statements tab and download them all one at a time); scan hard copies you may already have (this is amazingly quick and easy with a ScanSnap scanner); or figure out a way to have much of this done for you, automatically. That’s where FileThis comes in.

I’ve known about FileThis for a long time, but for a while I was resistant to giving a third-party service some of my passwords. That was, in part, because I used one of a small set of common passwords for many different sites. That’s not a good plan for many reasons. Last year I finally set up LastPass (you should too; it makes password management very simple and much more secure). In addition to better password management, LastPass also results in a different password for every site. This has the added benefit of making it less scary to give out some of them to FileThis, which in turn creates some time-saving internet magic.

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In a nutshell, FileThis collects your user names and passwords for any number of sites (you pick the ones you want to add, from a long and growing list of sites that work with the service) and automatically downloads your statements and bills to the location of your choice: your computer, the cloud or Evernote. I have mine sent to Google Documents, where I have a script to move them into the aforementioned Document Inbox. More on that later, but the important thing is it automates the process. For example, I have not been good at keeping my Amazon receipts. FileThis accessed and downloaded 231 of them when I set it up. Awesome.

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There are free and paid plans, so you can start with the free plan to see how it goes. I went from the free plan (limited to 6 “connections,” or bills to manage) to the intermediate paid plan ($20 a year for 12 connections) within 24 hours. I was that impressed.

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Now, I don’t use FileThis for my super-sensitive stuff, like bank statements, credit card statements and investment accounts, but I do use it for utility bills, insurance notices, and lots of other less sensitive things. And so far, I’m very impressed. I suspect I will rely on FileThis more and more as time passes.

At the end of the process, you have folders, in your designated location, of as many historical statements as your utility company, etc. permits you to access online. For some, that’s only the past 12 months’ worth. For some, it’s more. So you may still have some scanning to do, but FileThis will put a dent in it. And of course it makes obtaining and filing current and future statements a breeze.

I’ll have more on the ideal paperless workflow later. But if you want to dip your toe in the pool, FileThis is a great place to start.

Evening Reading: 4/2/14

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Here is a very interesting read about the rise and fall of professional bowling. I remember watching professional bowling on TV as a kid. I also remember watching- and really enjoying- professional putt-putt. Crazy.

I like to assemble photos into a slide show with music. If I can find an acceptable way to do that on an iPhone, without having to use iMovie or another desktop application, it will save me some time. PicFlow is another potential solution.

10 simple things you’ve been doing wrong your whole life. There are some good tips and hacks in there.

Every time I think Real Player and its kin have been scrubbed from the internet, they come back, like a bad penny. This made me long for the days of their demise.

iWork for iCloud has some nice updates today. As someone who loves AppleScript and hacking up ways to improve my work flow, I am very interested in this.

I’ve mentioned it before, but David Gewirtz’s Ultimate Google Voice How-to Guide, which has recently been updated, is internet gold.

I’ve wondered how much time speeding really saves you, and my quick math led me to believe not too much. Here’s a handy chart that confirms it. So why is there such a compelling desire to do it?

I love Game of Thrones, but this is equal parts hilarious and accurate.