April 19, 2011
First,
I want to post a real news page; my first since the
spring of 2010. Afterwards, I want to discuss some
of the thinking, strategy, and direction that
Ex-minister will be taking in regards to skepticism.
WEBSITE &
EX-MINISTER’S MINDSET/DIRECTION
There isn’t a lazy bone in my body, I have just been very
distracted and have had precious little time to work
and further the ideas that I am passionate about!
Despite the absence of posts (probably less than 1
page per month get added) the website’s traffic
numbers are at an all-time high!
If the past has been any indication, it has been my
practice to secure permission from other authors
whose work I like and re-post them to the website.
I’d gather that 30% of the articles have been
submitted to me.
Part of the reason I don’t add as many as I
used to are due to time limitations, but now I am at
a point to where I am very cautious about the tone
of that work and/or the writer themselves!
Over
the course of the past few years of observation, my
thinking and outlook concerning skepticism has been greatly
challenged through introspection! I would ask
everyone to role-play with me for a few moments.
Consider yourself to be a university trained,
ordained minister charged with the responsibility of
ministering to the needs of society. Now, the only
thing I would ask you to subtract would be the
religious theology…otherwise, you’re still
responsible to nurture, instruct, encourage, inspire
those which are around you! How would you do it?
The
direction and future steps of Ex-minister will
proceed cognizant of the thoughts expressed in the
last paragraph! If Ex-minister’s greatest critics
want to understand why I am upset with destructive
elements of skepticism…I hope that you can now
understand why we are butting heads!
I’m a freethinking skeptic with the love of humanity in my heart! My
friends will be with those having good character and
compassion that seek to make the world a better
place to live. I despise divisive & skeptical
politics and will continue to target those behind
the brand of secularism that is destroying society!
FUTURE PROJECTS
I plan to fill the blue “Values, Principles &
Issues” icon on the lower left hand side of the
main page with Ex-minister’s position papers on
such topics as: Christianity, abortion, death
penalty, Israel and more. At
this point, addressing deism is a future subject
matter.
I hope to finish the position on Christianity first, in
which I plan to lay out what I would consider to be a better version of
skepticism (Statesmanship Skepticism). The title
will probably startle everyone! I hope to
“reframe” how Christianity is viewed within the
freethinking community. Take it from the
epistemological versus critical thinking cross hairs
to more of a pragmatic view en route to a more
statesman-esque understanding. Is statesman-esque
a word? (Laughs) This is the most time
consuming (thought wise) essay that I have written,
and it's only half way completed.
The Israel position paper will employ an argument that I
used to “debate” a Muslim Palestinian I knew
that absolutely hates Israel. He liked the fact that
I questioned “ancient Israel” but he was left
speechless when we moved on to the legitimacy and
rite of Israel to exist subject!
The purposes of these “position papers” are to clearly
define where the organization stands and to position
the organization in an environment whereas religious
entities feel comfortable enough to interact with
Ex-minister.
Once I have completed these position papers, I plan to
place my energies toward reaching out to Christians
and to figure out ways that we can dialogue,
collaborate, co-operate and destroy common good
killers.
LESSER
KNOWN WEBSITE ICONS & RESOURCES
The
top row of the website has:
Article
archives…these
are the entirety of all articles placed upon the
website in alphabetical order under the author’s
last name.
Secular
News…the
National Secular Society (UK) daily news feed is
updated daily, the IHEU news page is listed and a
link to the Humanist Manifesto III and more are
here!
Religious
News…there are 3
important religious news feeds and 12 other icons
linking to international news pertaining to
religion.
Christian
Common Good…I
want to both highlight some of the great things that
Christians do and give those desiring to kill off
religion a chance to reflect upon what they would be
taking away from society if they were successful!
It’s unique and not another page on the entire web
like it coming from a secular perspective!
Human/Civil
Rights…there
are 22 links to human or civil rights organizations
as well as the ACLU and Amnesty International’s
news lines. The struggle for justice and human
rights are much more deserving of secular attention
than is religion bashing!
The lower right hand side of the main page has a blue icon
with:
Understanding: Religion & Peace Links…there
are 38 different icons linking to things that might
interest you concerning the above subject matter.
Don’t overlook the Institute for American Values
link!
At the bottom, in the middle:
Science Links…there are at least 20 different science links, some
of these get into religion as well! I find it
peculiar that so many ignore Tom Van Flandern’s
intriguing work! Note, I have avoided the dogmatists
and have links to skeptics of the skeptics here. As
always, keep in mind that this website has primarily
been constructed with people of faith being our
focus rather than targeting secularist! I like the
work of Templeton, ISHV, Faraday, and one of the
great science writers of our day Philip Ball and his
Homunculus blog!
At the bottom, left:
Search...
you can search the entire Ex-minister website and
blog. There was a length of time in which the old
search just didn't work, now it does!
Facebook...I
have finally figured out how to get everyone to the
organization page rather than my personal Facebook
page! If you use Facebook and visit the
website...would you be so kind to help me and show
your support of what I am trying to do? How? Like
the organization and I promise that I'll do my best
to post new additions and focus more attention to
this page!
SLEDGEHAMMER:
(icon near the bottom left)
Ethics
and morality viewed through the various secular and
religious filters serve as divisive walls in
society. The sledgehammer section will be an open
invitation to attract the world’s best arguments
that I could possibly post upon the website on
issues that matter to both secular and religious
interests.
There
are plenty of things that either side doesn’t want
to discuss…this is exactly what we should be
discussing! Problem
is that losing propositions cannot be surrendered
and become politicized for survival. Weak
politicized positions break the survival of the
fittest rules, which causes tension!
Personally,
I see weakness in both positions but rather than
protecting the moral or ethical weakling…I want
them to have to stand on their own merits! The
pressure will be upon me because I will have to be
the unbiased monitor and judge!
CLOSING
COMMENTS
I
appreciate your visiting the website, telling your
friends and all of the referrals through links! I'm
relatively certain that there have been thousands of
men and women who like myself felt the need to leave
the ministry for conscious reasons. I came from the
middle class, without the silver spoon, and have
searched for a way to make an impact in the world
after the ministry. I have ideas but my finances are
tight and my time is limited. I see a great need and
the value of a secularism that is approachable and
one that can communicate with people of faith
without condescension or sarcasm. I've searched and
would have already joined in with a likeminded
establishment if there were one! I'm sure some have
scoffed at my proposal and call me a dreamer but
I'll keep working! I've had my nose to the
grindstone, trying to keep my dream alive though the
hardships of the last year! I'd relish the time to
reach out and network with likeminded individuals.
As Bob Segar sings, "deadlines and
commitments...what to leave in, what to leave
out" best explains where I'm at. Anyway, look
forward to making friends with all that share
similar convictions!
I'm
grateful for each and every one of you that
has taken a few moments to reach out and encourage
me in the past year! Most of all, I am so
appreciative for a loving and supportive wife that
has endured the hardships that have come due to my
involvement with Ex-minister! I love you Everita!
Brian Worley Ex-minister.org
April 19, 2011
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