I received a Facebook solicitation from an old friend who works for a well known faith-based charity. Her organization is putting on a "Walk for Hunger," and she sent out a generic FB request to her friends for contributions. Now, I happen to know, because I looked it up in public tax documents online, that their CEO made something like $360,000 in compensation in 2008 or 2009..

So, troublemaker that I am, I replied to all that I had trouble supporting a charity whose CEO makes almost $400K per year. Got a couple responses, one of which went like this: "The money is for the 'POOR AND HUNGRY' get past that, seek the 'FACE OF CHRIST AND NOT HIS HAND' this is for the good of the poor.."

Avoiding stirring things up further I wisely chose not to reply, but here are 2 responses I was sorely tempted to make:

1. I'd like to focus on the face but it's hard not to be distracted by the giant hand clutching $400,000.

2. But isn't it the hand that's reaching into my pocket?

Your thoughts?

Follow me on Twitter. Golden Platypus is updated often; the easiest way to get your regular dose is by subscribing to our news feed. Stay on top of all our updates by subscribing now via RSS or Email.

Read More...

I don't believe in the biblical Jesus, but you say you do. So why would you happily follow a man who claims to represent Christ and at the same time enriches himself with your hard earned contributions? Here is a man who takes millions in annual salary and lives like a rock star, yet claims to be like Jesus.

He's been flaunting his hypocrisy before your eyes all this time, so please don't act surprised and shocked to find out that he's been railing against homosexuality and fornication while buggering 17-year-old boys. Please. Just don't.

Follow me on Twitter. Golden Platypus is updated often; the easiest way to get your regular dose is by subscribing to our news feed. Stay on top of all our updates by subscribing now via RSS or Email.

Read More...

Have you heard this before? This is the advice often given to Christians who are seeing, perhaps for the first time, widening cracks appearing in the seemingly solid foundation of their faith. It's a neat little admonition that underlies the defensive mechanism inherent in all faiths.

In which other area of life would it be considered prudent to ignore evidence and cling to what the evidence disproves? Of course people do this all the time, but is it ever a good way to navigate life?

I would rather see clearly, even if the view is painful or uncomfortable.

Follow me on Twitter. Golden Platypus is updated often; the easiest way to get your regular dose is by subscribing to our news feed. Stay on top of all our updates by subscribing now via RSS or Email.

Read More...

I had an experience a few days ago that brought to my mind this question. It remains one of the the believer's primary arguments for the existence of God, the idea that, without God, there is nothing to make us act rightly, or against our own self-interest in order to do good. (Bear in mind that, even if this were true, which it is not, it doesn't mean that God exists, only that belief in God makes us do good rather than evil.)

But to my experience. Sitting in a managers' meeting with my boss, we're discussing the impending holiday season and how we should prioritize our team members' vacation schedule preferences. The boss tells us that priority would be given by virtue of seniority. One of the managers asks if that means seniority within the company or within our department. Department is the answer.

So we're going around the table and my boss says that means I have first dibs on vacation schedule since I've been here the longest of the members of my team. Right away I feel that I have to point out that, even though I've been with the company longer, I'd come over to the department shortly after another team member. And that's what I say.

Now, why did I say that? If I'd said nothing, I would have gotten first choice. What happened is, I would have felt bad about allowing the mistake to stand. To do that would literally have made me feel bad. And when I corrected the record, and when the others remarked on that, I literally felt good. Not only that, but I could easily see the advantage to me in showing integrity, which would engender trust, a cooperative spirit and goodwill in my peers and superiors.

What's the point? The idea of keeping quiet made me feel bad, and the idea of speaking up made me feel good. Added to that is the long term benefit of showing myself to have integrity. So I have lots of reasons to be good, and God is unnecessary and irrelevant.

(Believers will no doubt claim that my "conscience" is proof of God's existence all by itself. Why? Evolutionary biology explains it quite well, no need to pull God out of a hat, since cooperation and harmony is better for the thriving of my species than the opposite.)

Follow me on Twitter. Golden Platypus is updated often; the easiest way to get your regular dose is by subscribing to our news feed. Stay on top of all our updates by subscribing now via RSS or Email.

Read More...