The Longest Speech Ever, In Praise of Phone Books, Did Jesus Ever Sin, and Virginia's Homemade Pizza

Week in Review (October 21-25)

We have been settling into a new way of life, two weeks into our 6-month stay on Thetis Island - a 6-square-mile/350-people island off British Columbia. I’d say the biggest lifestyle adjustments have been:

• managing a wood stove as primary heat source

• compost system for food waste

• ferry rides to Vancouver Island for grocery shopping

• limitations on trash disposal

Island Ferry - You Can Drive On or Walk On.

On Thetis Island you quickly discover that the ferry schedule and phone book (remember those?) are necessities. We have been making a lot of new friends through the weekly Wednesday lunch at the community center, ferry rides, and folk we’ve met out and about on the island. We’ve received several invites for coffee or lunch at people’s homes or the island coffee shop.

We met Virginia who makes homemade brick oven pizza for island residents on certain days of the week. Her availability to make pizzas is posted weekly on the Thetis Island blog. On Thetis, there is no Domino’s or Little Caesars, there is… well… Virginia.

Here’s how it works:

1. You call Virginia

2. You discuss the pizza you’d like her to make

3. You drive over to her nearby home on Clam Bay Road

4. You wind down her long wooded driveway, greeted by her two sweet dogs

5. You knock on the door, invited inside for a friendly chat, get your pizza, pay her with Canadian cash, and off you go

Honestly, Virginia’s pizza may be the best pizza I’ve ever had, and that says a lot having eaten pizza at Una Pizza Napoletana in New York City, and Robert’s in Chicago. Each day on Thetis Island is a bit of adventure. A few things I have especially enjoyed so far are:

• how quiet and still the island is

• slower pace and flow of life

• neighborly and relational way of life

• living more simply and minimally

• extraordinary beauty of the island

• getting more sleep

• meeting interesting people

• how amazing the food is on the islands

• reading the Canadian newspaper

• daily walks, hikes and adventures with Amy

Life on Thetis Island

This Week in Writing

I started this week with the ambition of writing an article titled, “The Top Ten Most Abused Bible Verses”. But then upon realizing that addressing the first verse was turning into War and Peace, I adjusted my aspirations and decided to cover one Bible verse per week. I renamed the series, “The Top Most Abused Bible Verses” and I haven’t made up my mind on how many I will cover.

I guess this is a good time to mention the elephant in the room. I write long articles. I don’t set out to do this; it just happens. To be fair, I’ve never been fond of word counts. The manuscript I submitted for my first published book, Divine Nobodies, was 20,000 words over my allotment. As a newbie author, I thought my publisher would be thrilled to get loads of extra exceptional writing. 35 minutes after hitting the send button, my editor called to ask if I wanted to start cutting chapters or did I prefer him to. Ouch!

Despite my undergrad major in journalism, it was agony back when I wrote newspaper columns. There’s two things you just don’t screw around with in newspaper journalism - deadlines and word counts. I once heard that the New York Times has a secret basement floor where unheeding writers are subjected to untold horrors.

If it’s any consolation, I’m also prone to long orations. In fact, I still have my 4th grade report card in which Mrs. Scott wrote, “Talks too much.” I cannot under any conditions give a presentation or talk that’s under 30 minutes. This is why I will never succeed on TikTok. The average TikTok video is 42.7 seconds. What??? I can barely clear my throat and get the first sentence out in that time. That’s worse than Twitter’s (X) 280 character count.

As a former pastor, professor, conference/event speaker, etc., I considered it a divine miracle if I could keep it under 40 minutes. It’s true that I squeaked out a few podcasts that were slightly under a half-hour but it about killed me. According to Guinness World Records, the longest speech was 90 hours and 3 minutes, given by Dr. Chima Chidubem in Nigeria. I don’t think I could speak for 90, 60, 30 or even 10 hours, but don’t get me started on the Detroit Lions have never made it to a Super Bowl with players like Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, and Chris Spielman

I know my Substack articles can be on the long side, but let’s put this in perspective. Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust is nearly 1.3 million words, with one sentence that is 958 words. I already feel better.

The feedback from people who unsubscribe to my Substack publication is “time” - they don’t have the time to read my articles. I’m going to make an attempt to keep my Tuesday articles shorter. In defense, here’s what typically happens:

1. I wake up and tell myself that this is the day I am going to write a short Substack article.

2. I delve into my subject, confident I can put it all together into a concise piece of reasonable length.

3. As I’m writing, I begin noticing that there are complexities and nuances to the topic at hand, which I feel an obligation and responsibility to my readers to address. Subjects related to religion, theology, philosophy, etc. can be complicated, and people tend to have strong beliefs about these matters. My aim with this Substack publication (“Deconstructionology with Jim Palmer”) is not to steer people toward my beliefs or tell people what to think, but to peel back the layers on topics of ultimate significance in the interest of inspiring more profound and consequential thinking about them.

4. Upon noticing the article is getting longer I begin wrangling over whether I should break it up into two articles, create a series out of it, or just record a heartfelt apology to my Substack subscribers for its length… and keep it under 30 minutes.

5. I’ll work on it… I promise.

In terms of this past week, as mentioned, I began with the article, The Top Most Abused Bible Verses: If “All Have Sinned”, Does That Include Jesus? This piece addresses the verse: Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Some of the themes I discuss in this article are:

• The truth about how people interpret the Bible

• Why the doctrine of original sin can’t be true

• Does the Bible teach that Jesus never sinned

• Why we should stop blaming Eve for humankind’s problems

My second article of the week continued my series, “The Case for Unifying Science and Religion”. My aim in this series is to establish the grounds for science and religion to be allies, and cultivate a stronger relationship with each other. The first four installments are:

• Part One: WWSD? What Would (Carl) Sagan Do?

• Part Two: Can you believe in Darwin and Jesus?

• Part Three: Did Science Discover the Immortal Gene?

• Part Four: Why Science Cannot be a Substitute for God (or can it?)

This week’s Part Five article is, Does Religion Prove Science? A few quotes from the article are:

“When it comes to whether science provides evidence of “God”, there’s quite a bit to sort out, including what one means by “God.”

“If one’s conception of “God” is stripped down to the studs and no longer resembles anything that could be meant by the common usage of the word “God”… then why call it that?”

“There are two different ways you could take this:

1. The world is doomed if we posit a view of the universe that leaves out God.

2. The world is liberated if we posit a view of the universe whereby the ultimate questions of life can be approached through our natural engagement with the universe, and eliminates all the downside and baggage of evoking “God” as the central point.”

“An argument is sometimes made that science leads to God, but what if the study of God leads to science?”

What Subscribers are Saying

Thank you, John, for subscribing to my Substack and your encouraging words! I appreciate you. I could practically turn your recommendation into a religious deconstruction guide:

1. Nurture a relationship of trust with yourself.

2. Be a person who thinks freely and independently.

3. Let go of religious constraints that no longer promote your well-being and growth.

4. Cultivate a spiritual path that is authentic and meaningful for you.

5. Apply critical thinking to the ideas and beliefs you embrace.

This Week in Pictures

Thank you David Hayward for the reminder of how difficult it is for people to cultivate a spirituality of well-being, liberation and peace when they are bombarded by religious messages of condemnation, fear and control.

Freddie Freeman walk-off slam gives Dodgers World Series Game 1 win vs. Yankees.

A super moon rises behind people standing on a headland near Sydney's Bondi Beach, Australia.

Substack Writers to Deepen Your Thinking

What follows are a few Substack writers who have expanded or deepened my thinking on a variety of topics:

• Political Perspective →

  Heather Cox Richardson

• Living Authentically →

  Kirsten Powers

• Life in Cartoons →

  Liza Donnelly

• Radical Philosophy/Theology →

  Cadell Last

• Metamodern Spirituality →

  Brendan Graham Dempsey

• Philosophy of Science →

  Bobby Azarian

• Atheist Thinking →

  Richard Dawkins

• Self-Learning Tools →

  Axel Casas, PhD Student

• EXvangelical Spirituality →

  Christine Greenwald

• Buddhist Spirituality →

  Mel Pine

• Minimalist Mindsets →

  Minimalism Life

• Experimental Living →

  A.J. Jacobs

This Past Week

This past week…

I felt a great happiness when I quieted myself and opened my heart to my true nature

I felt sorrow, grief and compassion in my heart when I realized that a particular person's hurtful actions were coming from their own deep suffering

I felt a profound gratefulness from understanding that every circumstance, experience, and person, even every frustration, annoyance, and difficulty, is a pathway to my liberation.

A blissful peace washed through my being when I had the experience of dissolving into the infinite, beautiful, luminous nature of reality.

I felt my spirit being released from a cage when I realized that I could have universal and indiscriminate love and compassion for every human being equally.

A deep-seated resolve welled up in me that I must vigorously tend to my own liberation, not only for myself but for the liberation of all sentient beings.

I took great pleasure in the progress and growth of people I know and work with who are on their own journey of personal growth and transformation.

I was so happy to learn something new that aided my freedom from suffering, and a catalyst for my liberation.

It brought me immense satisfaction to share useful discoveries, insights, and understandings I have made for the benefit of others.

I carried a deep wish in my heart that those who feel alone and forgotten in the world will experience love and belonging.

I felt a deep sadness with the realization that one day my lived human experience will come to an end, and I vowed to make life itself my religion.

In Summary

• The best pizza in the world is made by Virginia on a 6-square-mile island with a population of 350 people.

• I write long articles but never one sentence that is 958 words long.

• I don’t dislike the Dodgers but my father was a lifelong Yankees fan and I miss him.

• This week I felt a deep sadness with the realization that one day my lived human experience will come to an end, and I vowed to make life itself my religion.

• Thanks for subscribing to my Substack and making this possible. If you find what I write and share meaningful, consider becoming a paid subscriber and recommending this publication. Every paid subscriber receives several goodies, including: my Life After Religion 30-Day Detox Guide, my unpublished book, How to Have a Great Day Without Religion, and full access to my archives, which currently includes 150 articles.

• Thank you to all the extraordinary Substack writers who expand and deepen my thinking, and inspire me to become a more profound human being.

“Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences.” - Sylvia Plath