Mark Twain defined "faith" as believing in something you know damned well ain't so.

And irreverent as his definition is, it pretty well parallels lexicographers' and theologians definitions as a belief unsupported by objective empirical proof. I've heard many sermons in my life which extolled the virtues of faith, which invariably point out that there is no virtue in believing that which is objectively and objectively provable, and indeed, it is most virtuous when the faith flies in the face of evidence to the contrary.

Faith Is Denial?

On the other hand, psychologists have another term for that: denial. Faith ain't just a river in Egypt.

Last night on Twitter, @esposimi pointed out that "A pessimist is a man who thinks all women are bad. An optimist is a man who hopes they are." In the same vein, a fundamentalist Christian would point out admiringly that Franklin Graham is a man of faith - and the atheist, alarmed at Graham's attitude towards Islam, would emphatically agree!

Faith is Bigotry?

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Just for the record, Mother's Day has been around about half a century too long to have been Woodrow Wilson's idea. Julia Ward Howe, best known for writing The Battle Hymn of the Republic, became an anti-war activist when she saw the carnage of war up close. In 1872, she wrote this proclamation for the first American celebration of Mother's Day:

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise." Ralph's basso profundo voice boomed anyhow. Add a microphone, and the concrete floor of the church basement, and it boomed even more.

No sooner had he read this verse to the father-son banquet than there was a crash from the adjoining kitchen. Apparently, someone walking past a tray of dirty dishes had fallen off the counter, as the ladies were cleaning up. "Damn," came a familiar voice. Hattie was the sweetest little old lady, and nobody could make egg noodles like Hattie, but when she was stressed out, her language was unladylike.

Let The Floods Clap Their Hands

"Tonight's scripture reading comes from Psalms 98." Ralph continued. "When he got to verse 8, he no more than read out let the floods clap their hands" when the lights in the basement blinked, and thunder that must have rolled 3 or 4 seconds began.

At the same time the market was melting down on CNBC, Andrea Mitchell was interviewing General David Petraeus on MSNBC. (Transcript).

She asked if it was inevitable that the terrorists were going to get one of their attacks to work, one of these days. That has an obvious answer: nobody has ever bats 1,000. None the less, Petraeus was tapdancing as fast as he could, trying to avoid answering the question, and Andrea Mitchell finally gave up.

In The Meanwhile

In the meanwhile, however, he was pointing out that one of the rules in the counterinsurgency manual is that you have to be an adaptive organization - keep changing what you're doing in order to keep the opposition off-balance. Al Queda is doing that, he said, and we are, too. He mentioned that the internet was being used by terrorists, and we need to step up our defense there.

With planting season upon us, traveling in rural counties is especially hazardous.

When I was living among the Amish in Indiana, they usually had weddings on Thursday nights; I don't know if that's true here as well. Drivers there knew that on Thursday nights, they needed to beware. Tired and drunk, an Amish man might fall asleep and let the horse find its way home, but horses don't understand right-of-way rules. They often ignore stop signs, and don't hesitate to take their half of the road out of the middle of the road.

Farmers Work LONG hours

There aren't many Amish weddings during planting or harvest time, but English farmers tend to work incredibly long hours in both seasons. You make hay while the sun shines, but planting and harvest sometimes run as late as midnight, and that's six nights a week, perhaps seven if the weather has been unfavorable.