In This Episode: After This is True stories on religion, it’s fairly typical for a reader or two to complain. This time the complaint was, ‘Why should I have to develop a sense of humor’ (about his religion)? This episode is my response to that question; it of course comes down to …a matter of Uncommon Sense.

Tweet
Jump to Transcript
How to Subscribe and List of All Episodes
Show Notes

* To help support Uncommon Sense, see the Patron’s Page, or the form in the sidebar.
* Mike’s tagline on the story discussed is a twist on Ecclesiastes 3.
* If you’re unsure what the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is, there’s info here. Rev. Straw also mentioned the podcast Pulpit Fiction. It is still running as of March 2020.
* Lutherans: Deanna noted the Missouri Synod is the more liberal offshoot, and the ELCA (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), the more conservative, is the larger of the two, representing 1.4 percent of the U.S. population.
* Since she brought it up, the Get Out of Hell Free card site is here, and the place to order some if you want to chill out (or help others to) about stuff like this is here.
* Would I (as the reader challenged) appreciate a cartoon about Mohammed? Sure — “not just because I’m a thinking person,” I said on that page, “but also because I make my living saying what I think needs to be said, even when I know some will be offended by it.”
* My figures for the percentages of Christians in Canada are from here, and in the U.S. from this very interesting study by Pew Research.
* Originally, the episode was co-hosted by my wife, Kit. She’s too busy to co-host now, and doing it alone makes the episodes much shorter because I can keep clearly focused, rather than banter.

Comments Note
Since this is a redo, comments start with those made on the original post — the dates are correct.

Transcript
Welcome to Uncommon Sense, I’m Randy Cassingham.
If my voice sounds a little odd this week, it’s because I’m getting over …a coronavirus. No, not “the” COVID-19 coronavirus, but “a” coronavirus: that’s what the common cold is. So many are letting an unfamiliar term scare them. One of the great things about Uncommon Sense is that it helps people step back and not be afraid, but rather choose to open their minds and work to understand what’s actually going on. OK, so on with this week’s topic.
This is an updated reissue of an episode from the first series, since a lot of listeners not only weighed in on the subject in the comments, but in notes direct to me they said they wanted to be able to poi...