Recently I was reading about the "Dawkin's Scale of Belief", which looks something like this:

So where do you sit on the Dawkin's Scale of Belief? I've got a poll up here.

You can listen to the show at:

http://www.blogthereligions.com/podcast/Blog_the_Religions_Episode_02.mp3

or visit http://blogthereligions.com/node/25

This week's religion:

Love First Christian Center

Note: I had some problems with the Podcast feed, but it should all be fixed now.

You can listen to the Podcast version of this episode here.

This morning I was up before the sun so I could attend my first Catholic mass. I've been looking forward to this - by most "history of religions", the evolution of Christian faiths usually goes Roman Catholic Church -> Everybody Else (well, except for the Greek Orthodox Church, which has their own history that that parallels the Roman Catholic Church).

Still, I had heard from some people that a Catholic mass was full of ritual. I also learned:

This might offend one reader who let me know that they dislike "personal blogs" where people post what they eat and so on. Sorry, man!

Yesterday during my interview with Pastor Jomo I had my first chai latte. Basically, black tea with cinnamon and cloves, topped with milk. It even came in a big huge cup.

I rather liked it. Maybe a little too sweet. But it was actually fairly tasty.

I still don't feel like I'm "hooked" on the caffeine. I just like the flavor of the drinks so far. I still have no intention on trying any alcoholic drinks - I don't see that changing anytime soon.

I got my official letter in the mail today from the local LDS (aka - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints aka Mormon) church. I am now no longer a member.

There was a very nice note at the end from the local bishop expressing his regret in my decision. Part of me is a little sad. I mean - 35+ years in the same religion, down to my very identity. And now, it's officially over. Officially, by Church doctrine, I'm not even really married any more in the religious sense (though certainly in the civil sense).

I just got finished meeting with Pastor Jomo, and I think it went rather well. Tonight I'm going to be working on the show for Sunday.

Tomorrow morning I'll be attending Mass at St Stephen Catholic Church and visiting with Father John. We still don't have a book recommendation yet, but hopefully I'll get one tomorrow morning (unless someone else can recommend a good book about Catholicism to me).

You can listen to this episode and the interview at the Podcast episode.

Humanist Association of West Central Florida (HAWCF)
3140 Troy Avenue
Lakeland, FL 33803

Contact: Portia Westerfield

Book Recommendation: The Philosophy of Humanism by Corliss Lamont ISBN 0931779073

Also available for free at Corliss Lamont's web page.

As I drove into work this morning, I saw a sign on a church that read "Our God reigns here."

I don't mean to be pedantic, but - what exactly do they mean? It seems that I've seen religions comment about how "our God" is better than "you're God." So by "Our God", do they mean as in "the God that we worship in our church, which is different from the one in yours, is better?" Or is it "The God that we all worship, perhaps by different names and interpretations"?

I'm getting ready for my meeting with the Humanist Association of West Central Florida, and had a call back from Father John of St Stephen Catholic Church, so that's certainly on. It'll be a little tight on Saturday since he's only got 30 minutes to explain the entire history, philosophy, and beliefs of Catholicism, but we'll make it work ;).