Creationism-plus
Word count: 1867
Thus far creationism has enjoyed considerable success in its public confrontation with evolutionary science, anthropology, geology, biology, zoology, physiology, taxonomy, phylogency, and related scientific fields. The question is then, why stop there?
word count: 1754
Open Letter to China
word count: 2653
Here’s a recommendation that, I suspect, is seldom raised these days, in or out of China. How about another cultural revolution? Not necessarily as fervid as the first and certainly not as violent. But one that might have as great an impact over an even longer period. My suggestion is this: I believe the Chinese government should adopt and actively promote a voluntary, non-theistic state religion while, at the same time, retaining its current policy of freedom of religion.
Religious Differences, Act I
Word count: 6284
Author’s note: I originally intended to express my notion of a viable contemporary religion in essay form. However, the more I tried to anticipate expected criticism, the more a dialogue format asserted itself. Hence the dramatic form. If it was good enough for Galileo, I decided, it was good enough for me and, hopefully, for the reader as well.
Reading time: approx. 32 minutes
Alice and Howard, live-in partners, present their marriage counselor with a problem. Although otherwise compatible, they have religious differences. Alice is a staunch atheist; Howard, a regular church goer. They would like to marry, but any thought of such a formal arrangement triggers conflict over the raising of their intended offspring, their choice of mutual friends, and other such issues. After listening to their respective views, the counselor, rather than fatuously urging mutual tolerance, instead chastises both for their erroneous views. The offended couple leave in a huff as the counselor foists upon them a circular advertising the Church of Scientific Guidance.
Religious Differences, Act II
Word count: 8568
Minister McIntyre of the Church of Scientific Guidance instructs the couple in his religion’s system of beliefs. The religion, they are told, consists of a single commandment drawn from nature and ten derivative subcommandments tailored to the human species—five applicable to individual conduct and five to that of organizations. Upon learning of Scientific Guidance’s inherent logic and potential for human progress, the two lovers become devotees themselves and are happily reconciled. In the last scene, they express their gratitude to the counselor for his “tough love” and its propitious results.