Dave Morrison | March 31, 2008
Lord – thank you.
Thank you for Everything.
While it’s tempting to just thank you for love + beauty + discovery + joy, for food + family + purpose, in all fairness I feel that I should thank you for all of it; the light and the shadow, strength and weakness, mercy and cruelty – it’s [...]
Steven M. Sloan | March 26, 2008
(AKA: Regarding Historical Fiction)
.
.
Our FictionAbout the heavens,Hollow is thy game.Our thraldom’s come,Thy work’s been done, The world’s enslaved by superstition.
Give us this day our daily dread,
And allow our caloric excesses
As we suppress those
Who’d warn others against us.
And lead us not into reflection
But deliver free-thought to peril
As imprimaturs lend awesome
Power to a story
By reprinting it [...]
Ānanda Selah Ősel | March 19, 2008
Poet and essayist Ananda Selah Osel, whose work is published on The Eloquent Atheist, was recently interviewed, and during the process offered his perspective on atheism and how it influences his life and writing. In the end, the interviewer chose to focus on other matters when writing-up Ananda’s interview, but offered his comments on atheism [...]
Cliff Ashby | March 17, 2008
SCENE SIX: “BLASPHEMY”
PREACHER
LEVITICUS, Chapter 24: (SPEAKING PASSIONATELY) And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear us sin, and he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger as he [...]
Cliff Ashby | March 16, 2008
SCENE FIVE: “ABRAHAM RENTS OUT HIS SISTER / WIFE – TWICE!!”
PREACHER
Exodus 12, 13, 20: And there was a famine in the land; and Abraham went down into Egypt for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass when he was come near to Egypt, that he said unto Sarah his wife, [...]
Cliff Ashby | March 14, 2008
SCENE FOUR: “JEPHTHAH: A PROMISE IS A PROMISE”
PREACHER
Judges 11: Now, Jephthah, the Gileadite, was a mighty man of valor–
JEPHTHAH
(A COUNTRY BOY) –Don’t want to brag, but I could toe the mark with the best of ‘em.
PREACHER
And he was the son of an harlot; and Gilead begat Jephthah.
JEPHTHAH
Gilead, my Papa, took one look at Momma and [...]
Cliff Ashby | March 13, 2008
SCENE THREE: “SODOMY BAD, INCEST O.K.”
PREACHER
Genesis. Chapters 19 and 20. There came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot, seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn [...]
Cliff Ashby | March 12, 2008
SCENE TWO: “ABRAHAM’S COVENANT WITH GOD”
PREACHER
Genesis, Chapter 27. And God said unto Abraham thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This be my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee; Every man-child among you shall be circumcised. And it shall be [...]
Cliff Ashby | March 11, 2008
The play consists of several scenes, featuring different Bible characters. An Evangelical preacher introduces each scene with a quotation of scripture, and also comments throughout the play. A stage manager occasionally holds up cue cards, to let the audience know if they should boo, hiss, cheer, etc.
This play was first performed at First Unitarian Universalist [...]
Joan Mazza | March 10, 2008
Trained in Anglican theology to be a country clergyman,
I never endeavored to disturb beliefs held dear,
even as my own faith wobbled among fossils.
I served on Beagle’s voyage to grasp an opportunity—
exploration any man craves in youth. Would I have traveled
had I known the scorn to be poured on me? For the scientific
truths revealed about life’s [...]
