Top blogging of 2025 on religion, critical thinking and more

 Again, as with my quarterly posts, not all of these were from 2025, but they were the 10 most read in 2025.

I'll note "evergreen" posts by when they were first written.

No. 10? From last spring, I offered up "ethical and pontifical thoughts on the death of Pope Francis." 

No. 9? From 2023, based on the work of up and coming Tanakh scholar Idan Dershowitz, namely an advance monograph proposing a proto-Deuteronomy, and that this was what Moses Wilhelm Shapira found, and religion researcher friend Paul Davidson speculating on who Josiah really was, I stood traditional ideas of both Josiah and Deuteronomy on their heads. 

No. 8? Way back in 2012, I laughed at a paleogeologist who claimed he had proven via geology that Jesus was crucified on April 3, 33 CE. 

No. 7? Even older, but it continues to trend because I continue to share it. "Paul, Passover, Jesus, Gnosticism" ties those four items together in a bow, starting with biblical criticism of the "Words of Institution" of the Eucharist in I Corinthians 15.

No. 6? From 2020, "A Lutheran College Myth Bites the Dust." (The college in question was my undergraduate alma mater.) 

No. 5? The oldest yet, from 2005. "Genesis 6 Retold" engages in a skeptical poetic retelling of the story of the Nephilim, Ham's would-be castration of Noah (yes) and more. 

No. 4? From 2023, yes, there is fascism of a sort, punningly labeled by others as "Lutefash," in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the largest denomination in the conservative wing of Lutheranism and my childhood religious alma mater. Although Matthew Harrison, the then and now president of the denomination, pruned the visibly worst flowers, he deliberately left the roots untouched, and since Trump's re-election and definitely since the killing of Charlie Kirk, has fertilized the soil for some version of this to arise again. Here's my take. (Rachel Good, killed by ICE in Minneapolis, was reportedly a member of an LCMS church, and at least semi-active. Yes, even with a lesbian wife.)

No. 3? "The great ahistoricity of Acts and radical thoughts on Paul's demise" is from 2022. The "great" ahistoricity, beyond Acts' relative ahistoricity in general, picks up steam with Acts 21, when Paul allegedly hauled a goy into inner courts of the Jerusalem temple. I thoroughly deconstruct that and everything that follows, while at the same time wondering if maybe he DID haul Trophimus or some other Gentile into the temple inner courts.

No. 2? "Ezra, Meet Snopes" also goes back to 2005. It offers brief overview-level speculation on how Ezra might have edited the Torah together. 

No. 1? From 2007, "More proof the Buddha was no Buddha" is one of my top posts all time on the site, and a direct rebuke to Robert Wright, and even more to those who think even less critically about Buddhism than him. 

We're not teaching Plato at Texas A&M

Plato is off the philosophy course list for one class, at least, at Texas A&M because he somehow might say something anti-wingnut about race or gender:

Professor Martin Peterson submitted his syllabus for PHIL 111, Contemporary Moral Issues, for review Dec. 22. On Tuesday, his department head told him he had two options: remove the modules on race ideology and gender ideology, including readings from Plato, or be reassigned to teach a noncore philosophy course. The email, obtained by the Tribune, gave Peterson until the close of business Wednesday to decide. Peterson responded that he would revise the syllabus, saying he plans to replace the Plato readings with lectures on free speech and academic freedom.

Then, A&M regents came up with this spin:

In a statement to the Tribune, A&M said the decision did not amount to a ban on teaching Plato and that other sections of the same course that include Plato – but do not include modules on race and gender ideology – had been approved.

Sure now. 

As many may recognize, per Literary Hub, "The Symposium," with its multiple sexes (not genders, LitHub, see Wikipedia) as far of its human origin story is the trouble spot. Its relatively open celebration of pederasty is also surely an issue.  

Top posts, 3rd quarter of 2025

 Similar to my main site, but on a quarterly not monthly basis, once again, here's a roundup of the most-read items of the last three months of 2025. Not all are FROM that time period; "evergreen" items will be marked.

No 10: Did Leon Festinger commit some sort of research fraud? It looks that way. While this won't demolish the idea of cognitive dissonance, it certainly leaves some of its stronger claims on weaker ground. 

No. 9 was my snarking on Bart Ehrman's retirement announcement; the retirement lecture referenced there is here, talking about "our flawed manuscripts."

No. 8? My brief, and latest, callout of r/AcademicBiblical moronity, focused on James McGrath.

No. 7? From 2022, my in-depth discussion of the great ahistoricity of the book of Acts.

No. 6 is my discussion of my Goodreads review system. 

No. 5 is definitely evergreen, from 2009: "Paul, Passover, Jesus, Gnosticism." 

No. 4? Did Josephus actually write the Testimonium Flavianum? Contra a crudely apologetic book, he most certainly did not; in fact, the author's effort backfired. 

No. 3 was my callout of Massimo Pigliucci both for his top 10 existential questions and his use of AI to help formulate them. 

No. 2, from way back in 2007: "More proof the Buddha was no Buddha." 

No 1, I wrote about the non-immigration portions of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' November statement, and how it reflects convergence of lay Catholics and lay Protestants along religious lines.

The Nones are still not reviving

 Friendly Atheist Hemant Mehta takes a look at new Pew et al data on where the Nones are at.

 Beyond the reasons why, most of which are obviously, one demographic issue, which should also be obvious, is of note.

People leave organized religion (or move from one to another, too) for the most part before age 30. So, if Catholics or Protestants are losing the early adult young, either due to active decision or passive drift, if they don't get them back soon, they never will.

In other words, as Merikkka moves more and more to a non-White majority (it already is natally), it moves if somewhat more slowly to a smaller Christian majority. Most the rest change in the 30-49 age range.

But, beyond most the obvious ones?

Churches are losing people because of increased politicization. And, of course, we're NOT talking about "librul" mainline Protestants. Will the winger churches, especially the ones, whether denominational or independent megachurches, who are not just winger but full MAGA, listen? Probably not. Rather, if anything, they'll circle the wagons.

And, per an earlier piece, Charlie Kirk's martyrdom (sic), semi-officially by many of those wingnut Protestants including the LCMS wingnut Lutherans of my birth, but NOT Rome, has NOT spurred, at least in the few months since, any great revival. 

The Second Great Awakening, and even more, social Christianity of the early 20th century, actually offered something to working-class Americans. The modern success gospel preached by conservative evangelicals, especially outside denominational structures? No.

I don't think the current "holding steady" will pick up massive Nones steam for another decade. After that? Possibly moderate Nones steam for mild growth. By 2050, the US may be where western Europe was in 1950.

The stability is probably due to older Boomers and what's left of pre-Boomers turning back to religion in their later years, especially if they have health problems and even more, psychological turmoil. But, since younger generations are less and less religious in the first place, that will happen less and less in the future. Also, COVID was a one-off mini-bump for organized religion. 

Ignoring the possible roots of Hanukkah, throwing secularists under the bus

Shock me that the "pergressuve" Texas Observer would do this, but it gave TCU prof David Brockman the space to do exactly that.

At the Observer, Brockman talks about how the religious of Texas can take comfort in "sparks of light" to battle the current political darkness.

With Judaism,  he ignores that Jews of Maccabean times got lucky (and weren't all that up to that point, as Yonathan Adler attests on purity, on festivals and Sabbaths, and more, including the actual targets of Antiochus Epiphanes), and also ignores the likelihood that Hanukkah came from the Persian, Zoroastrian, Yalda Night, also known as Chelle Night. Both former Iranian Jews and Syriac Christians (shades of Saturnalia?) have dipped into it, and we of course know the many other Achaemenid influences on emerging proto-Judaism. We don't know if it was first celebrated for eight days; that was derived from Sukkot. The story is from the "deuterocanonical" 1 and 2 Maccabees; the "miracle of the oil," which was seven days, not eight, is pure myth and comes from the Talmud, several centuries later.

Diwali? Not even a winter festival. Brockman is kissing the butt of vague religious pluralism. Also, Sikhs and Jains observe it, not just Hindus.

With a purely lunar calendar, Muslims don't have a solstice event. And, since he also kisses the butt of the Neoplatonist/Gnostic Kabbalah, one wonders if Brockman is a Zionist.

As for this:

One need not subscribe to any religion to recognize and draw strength from this insight. The idea for this essay came to me during a visit this fall to Houston’s Rothko Chapel, which transcends religious boundaries and embraces people of all religions and none. Avowedly multifaith and ecumenical, it stands in stubborn protest against the divisiveness and hatred metastasizing across our nation.

Multifaith and ecumenical is not secularist. Besides, I can get insight about the daylight portion of days lengthening again while hiking and birding.

Finally, a reminder that Laplace is "the reason for the season."