Introduction: Barry Lynn
Barry Lynn once confessed, though I suspect not with great regret, that “Reverend Jerry Falwell doesn’t like me.” That was as scathing and petty as Barry can handle, but oh my gosh how incisive, informative, and entertaining he can be in defending and promoting church / state separation. Make no mistake, this book is timely, as such defense is vital at this time in the nation’s history. “God and Government” proves as well as any of Dawkins, Harris, Dennett and Hitchens’ flagship books, albeit in a nice and velvety way, that secularists are in a serious battle against a right-wing ISIS of religious cultivators of the mind. whose passions extend far beyond denying evolution, science, climate change, the freedoms of women / gays and non-believers, and the human right to be free from religion. They want what they have long and falsely claimed that we were created by the founders of this country to be: a Christian nation.
If it weren’t for Barry Lynn and others like, if not quite the same, we could already be such a society.
Mr. Lynn has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) for decades. I have heard it in person on several delightful and inspiring occasions. (I mean him with the Reverend deliberately; I don’t mind using the prefix “Reverend” which has been earned and never abused. I try to avoid merging all the religious titles, including “Father, His Excellency, His Holiness, His Eminence” and so on. If Mr. Lynn wished, however, he would make an exception for his case, and for other heroic figures with clergy credentials. I am still a bit flexible. For now, I prefer The Most Right Honorable and Highly Esteemed Sir Barry Lynn.)
Like millions of people, I have enjoyed Mr. Lynn’s articles and countless media interviews and appearances before Congressional committees. (His description of a meeting before a committee chaired by Texas Republican Congressman Louis B. Gohmert is hilarious.)
Mr. Lynn is an attorney and minister of the United Church of Christ. This latter undercurrent is undoubtedly a huge boost to its effectiveness with Christians and others who still have some respect for religion, despite the superstitions that accompany the faith and the grotesque policies and deviant behaviors exhibited by many religious figures. .
Royal welfare and religion
Freedom is a key dimension of REAL well-being – the separation of church and state helps preserve our secular democracy. This is more important than ever now, as the Protestant religious right and the Roman Catholic hierarchy seek a Christian nation agenda. While I believe that most Christian leaders favor an American theocracy, this goal is rarely expressed publicly. Of course, to an unfortunate extent, America is already something of a theocracy, given “In God We Trust” our money, in court, in the Pledge of Allegiance, with huge tax breaks for religions and so on. If there were a god who controlled everything, as most Americans seem to think, I would thank him, her, or him for Barry Lynn, who, among other stalwarts of secularism, works tirelessly and effectively to keep the American UN united in the church and the state and, therefore, far, achieving, hardly.
Why religion and REAL wellness are incompatible
Reason, the “R” in REAL wellness and religion represent two different ways of thinking. One trusts revelation (that is, statements about it); the other in critical thinking, evidence and objective search for understanding of reality. Religion does not mix well with democracy, freedom, human rights, joy, happiness, orgasms of well-being or other states that secularists who seek the well-being of the mind and body associate with the ways of quality. of life. Religion is antagonistic to reason. Religious authorities insist that the faithful submit their will to a higher power (whose wishes only they can interpret). They demand belief in religious dogmas, adherence to rituals and respect for all these things from the rest of society that does not have or seek any of that. They make a virtue of “faith” (“believing what you know is not so,” as Mark Twain put it) which, by definition, means lacking evidence or other rational grounds. Religions have no use for life-affirming reason-based democratic principles, as expressed in the “Affirmations of Humanism” as well as the UN’s “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
While there is no connection to the “A” dimensions (athletics or exercise and nutrition), the “E” (exuberance) and “L” dimensions (personal liberty or liberties) are equally incompatible with the toxicity of religion. So it seems completely legitimate and reasonable, if not imperative, for REAL wellness enthusiasts to approach religion in the context of describing the nature and dynamics of living a healthy, happy, and meaningful life guided by reason and freedom that facilitate exuberance.
So Barry Lynn’s “God and Government” could be and in my opinion is a TRUE post worthy of well-being. You don’t have to be a history teacher to know that religions have not shown much enthusiasm or tolerance for the qualities associated with any of these three dimensions.
Barry Lynn’s “God and Government”
Lynn’s latest work, published by Prometheus Books, contains ten chapters representing a mix of her columns, testimonies, and speeches spanning two and a half decades. The book contains extensive notes (references) and an index. Hundreds of the author’s encounters with activists promoting the theocracy of the Religious Right are described with wit and humor. Among my favorite sections are those that address these critical church / state topics:
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School of prayer and prayer everywhere.
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Taxpayer-subsidized vouchers for religious schools.
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Introduce religious beliefs into the public sector (eg, prevent end-of-life options, promote censorship, etc.).
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The imposition of religious beliefs by legislators in policies and laws.
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Opposition to science in a broad sense and evolution in particular.
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Attempts to proselytize by including religious content in public education curricula.
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Religion in the military, the judicial system, and local governments.
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Fiscal preferences for clergy; chaplain grants, etc.
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Criminal clergymen.
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Encounters with “nice” and “strange” famous people as the battle rages between church and state.
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Descriptions of historical events that shaped the current confrontation so far that prevented the loss of our right to freedom “of” religion.
Five stars
I fully agree and support what comedian Lewis Black, author Frank Schaeffer (“Crazy About God”), Feminist Majority Chair Eleanor Smeal, and filmmaker Jill Soloway wrote in commercials for “God and Government,” respectively. :
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“No one is more aware of the challenges facing the First Amendment than Barry Lynn … with intelligence, wisdom, humanity and a devilish wit, Lynn brings problems to life.”
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“This book is literally a defense of freedom against theocratic disease.”
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“Barry Lynn knows all the tricks, twists and turns of those who want to turn the clock back centuries.”
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“Barry Lynn has the extraordinary ability to show how religious fundamentalism poisons almost every public policy debate that matters.”
Paraphrasing Bruce Springsteen’s tribute to Robert Green Ingersoll, Barry Lynn’s “God and Government” demonstrates “what he has done for equality, education, progress, free ideas and a free life, against the superstition and intolerance of the religious dogma. We need men like him today more than ever. His writing still inspires us and challenges the ‘best angels’ of our nature, as people open their hearts and minds to his simple and honest humanity. Thank God that (is ) here “.