Modern young minds polluted by religion

Good teachers instill curiosity about facts; religion teachers demand rote memorization of past beliefs, manipulative catch phrases. The Rosary remains a very powerful tool for the new evangelization of the Catholic Church, so Dr. Uhl gives full details of how to pray the Rosary. The official Roman Ritual makes clear that the Church still believes the devil can take possession of a human being. A more modern young minister teaches youngsters there are dogs in heaven, no toilets though, and 'maybe God has a beard.'

[Length 18 mins. | File Size = 16.5 MB]

Historic God of wars and divisions

Joshua, King David, Constantine, Mohammad, the Popes of the Crusades, Hitler, Osama bin Laden, Bush and many more got greatly increased killing power by calling on their God. Jihads continue in America as the Eric Rudolphs and the Army of God kill adults and destroy abortion clinics. Some of the thousands of religions split and multiply even further as one side accepts homosexuals and the other insists those disagreeing believers should go to hell. Other old customs hang on and need re-evaluated.

[Length 21:04 mins. | File Size = 19.4 MB]

Is Religion harmful to society?

Charles Dickens wrote that missionaries are nuisances that leave places worse than they found them. Mother Theresa seemed to serve the overcrowded slums of Calcutta while forbidding the use of condoms that could have brought real relief. Presidents and dictators abuse their power when they represent their gods. Multitudes of sects, cults, religions brainwash the young and create hateful and murderous divisions in society. Insofar as religion is anti-scientific, it tends to allow mental laziness.

[Length 18: 01 mins. | File Size = 17 MB]

Read the Bible

The Bible's Book of Genesis states very simply that "In the beginning God created..." Without any to-do God is just presumed, and that's that. Backing up centuries, now join the tired middle eastern camel drivers around the campfire. Trabadours of the various intersecting traveling groups compete to entertain, educate, and boast that 'our heroes and our gods are greater than yours.' Over time, by way of syncretism or a natural synthesis of belief systems, the Jews came to believe that they had only one god and he was the greatest.

[Length 16: 01 mins. | File Size = 14.7 MB]

Does God Exist?

Believers need no proof of God's existence. However, they do offer a lot of emotion based "proofs" that fail to survive close analysis. The strongest and most lasting proof of God's existence is/was the causality proof offered by St. Thomas Aquinas. It turns out that this "proof" that the Catholic Church taught for centuries is based squarely on a gratuitous assumption by St. Thomas. In law as in logic, what is gratuitously assumed can be gratuitously denied.

[Length 18:14 mins. | File Size = 16.7 MB]

Powerful Effectiveness of Fear and Greed

More of the many causes of belief in God: Fear of divine punishment and a  for heavenly happiness make a powerful combination. This stick and carrot combination is so powerful and self-reinforcing for the believer that it becomes addictive and does, indeed, make religion an opiate for hordes of the insecure. Still, religion does a lot of good works--good works that realistically should not need supernatural motivation.

[Length 21:54 mins. | File Size = 20.1 MB]

 

Why Most People Believe in God

Desperate, helpless, weak, frustrated, fearful...regular humans often want more of the good and less of the bad things in their life than they can get on their own. So they pray  for outside help. Such praying is wishful thinking that often becomes self-hypnosis. And self-hypnosis does, indeed, empower the praying person. With credulous society's approval, the hopeful praying person attributes this (totally natural) power to a Higher Power. The relation between wishful thinking, prayer and hypnosis becomes clear.

[Length 12:55 mins. | File Size = 11.9 MB]

The Road to Agnosticism

An insight in Father Stephen Uhl's religious meditation led finally to a complete divorce from Marmion Military Academy and the Catholic Church. This was after some unavoidable hypocrisy while heading for the exit in a responsible fashion. After leaving Marmion, marriage to a fellow teacher made the Ph.D. possible.  Dr. Uhl enjoyed his Suburban Chicago private psychological practice as he helped his clients overcome their guilts and irresponsibilities.

[Length 12:30 mins. | File Size = 11.5MB]

The Chosen One

Stephen Uhl was the sixth child born on the family farm. His older brother was destined to take over the family farm, while his religious mother chose him to head for the altar as a priest. This was to fulfill one of her most precious dreams. So he recognized early in life that he was very special in her eyes; he was her favorite who would one day bring her to her highest joy as the mother of a priest with special supernatural powers.

[Length 12:49 mins. | File Size = 11.8 MB]

Introduction

Stephen Uhl set aside his childhood beliefs as he left the Roman Catholic priesthood and became a humanist psychologist. In today's ten minute introduction, the author of No Gods, No Guilt shows how this book began as an intimate family letter. Dr. Uhl shares enough of his personal experiences and insights to show how this only life can be a real joy.

[Length 11:00 mins. | File Size = 10.1MB]

Author's Greetings

Greetings from Dr. Stephen Frederick Uhl, author of No Gods, No Guilt, the audio version of his autobiographical book, Imagine No Superstition.

[Length 1:14 mins. | File Size = 1.2 MB]