A History of Lunacy

Pat Robertson's latest moronic comments about the earthquake in Haiti are just the latest in a history of moronic comments. I'm quite convinced that the man isn't entirely sane and that his lunacy is of a similar nature as what afflicts the anti-gay preacher Fred Phelps.

What follows is a list of Robertson's previous idiocy:

In light of Pat Robertson's most recent outbreak of foot in mouth disease in reference to the school board elections in Dover, PA, here is a small sampling of other moronic things he's said over the years. Makes me wonder why he's running around loose, let alone hosting a TV show.

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."
–Pat Robertson, calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

"Wait a minute, I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our special forces should 'take him out,' and 'take him out' can be a number of things, including kidnapping."
–Pat Robertson, clarifying his call to assassinate Hugo Chavez

"Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up"
–Pat Robertson, on nuking the State Department

"That was never in the Constitution, however much the liberals laugh at me for saying it, they know good and well it was never in the Constitution! Such language only appeared in the constitution of the Communist Soviet Union."
–Pat Robertson, on the constitutional separation of church and state

"I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that's the way it is, period."
–Pat Robertson

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
–Pat Robertson

"I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you, This is not a message of hate -- this is a message of redemption. But a condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation. It'll bring about terrorist bombs; it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor."
–Pat Robertson, on "gay days" at Disneyworld

"Well, I totally concur."
–Pat Robertson to Jerry Falwell following the Sept. 11 attacks, after Falwell said, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say: "You helped this happen."

"Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It's no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history."
–Pat Robertson

"Lord, give us righteous judges who will not try to legislate and dominate this society. Take control, Lord! We ask for additional vacancies on the court."
–Pat Robertson

"Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."
–Pat Robertson, on the dangers of judicial activism

More Thoughts on Religion

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.
--Bertrand Russell

While trying to come up with something to write about today, I visited a quote site where I found the quote above. The first thing that popped into my mind was that of religion. Wars have been fought over differences of opinion about religion and evangelicals of different faiths, particularly Christianity, attempt to convert others to their faith, believing that uniformity of belief to be a worthy goal to strive for. Not merely content to share their beliefs with those who ask, some attempt to enforce their beliefs by changing laws to conform to such beliefs, while more extreme members of various religions will use literal force to impose their beliefs on others in what they believe is service to their faith.

In contrast, I read an entry on Wilford Tibbetts' blog today about the Amish. Unlike many religious people, whose faith is largely a matter of securing their ticket to heaven, for the Amish, their faith isn't merely a belief, it's a lifestyle. The Amish do not proselytize or spend a lot of time talking about their faith; they quietly live it, while content to allow their neighbors to live according to whatever beliefs they have. They are content to coexist peacefully with their neighbors with different beliefs and lifestyles and have no desire to impose their beliefs on others.

It's too bad that more religious people don't follow the example of the Amish.

Hell on Earth

Maybe this world is another planet's hell !
--Unknown

I've never believed in the concept of some people going to any sort of hell after they die. I've always maintained that if there's a hell, it's right here on Earth.

I'm not sure there's an afterlife. I'd like to think that there is, as I hope I will see my parents and other loved ones again one day.

But I can't wrap my mind around the idea of there being an afterlife and some people spending an eternity in the torment of a hell, especially for such silly reasons as picking the wrong god to worship and the like. It's easier to imagine people like Hitler in hell, but I usually think of such people being consigned to oblivion instead.

Thoughts?

One Right Way?

"The plague of mankind is the fear and rejection of diversity: monotheism, monarchy, monogamy and, in our age, monomedicine. The belief that there is only one right way to live, only one right way to regulate religious, political, sexual, medical affairs is the root cause of the greatest threat to man: members of his own species, bent on ensuring his salvation, security, and sanity. "
— Thomas Stephen Szasz

Since my earliest childhood, I've instinctively rejected the idea that there is only One Right Way to do various things. My natural inclination has always been to think in shades of grey, rather than adhere to the simplistic, dualistic limits of black and white thinking. My instinct has never been to unquestioningly herd with the flock, but rather to ask why, doing my own research if necessary. And if I don't find the answers to be logical, reasonable, or currently relevant, I reject them.

Humans by nature are ingenious and malleable. We are able to adjust and adapt to various situations, often finding multiple ways, albeit by different means, to arrive at a workable solution. Few things in life require a single method of accomplishment, as "All Roads Lead to Rome" tends to be the rule, rather than the exception.

However, humans throughout history tend to have an atavistic fear of difference, however benign. The desire for uniformity, for mass conformity, probably is at the root of most human conflict. The idea that all the pieces of a puzzle need not be of universal shape and design in order to fit together in a harmonious whole is nowhere near attaining critical mass at this point in human history, if it ever does.

Nevertheless, there will always be a sizable minority of contrary souls like me to make sure the idea is never extinguished.

Thoughts?

An Observation

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
Martin Luther King

"Normal" people don't change the world. People who are normal are complacent; they are unmotivated to devise new ways of doing things or finding new things to do.

"That's the way we've always done it" is their mantra, with includes the implication, "That's the way we should always do it".

Rather, it's the malcontents: the complainers, the lazy, the oddballs, and the misfits of the world who get progress up on its feet and moving forward. They are motivated precisely because they don't fit in and cannot afford to be complacent.

"There has to be a better/faster/easier way of doing it" is a classic malcontent sentiment. The malcontent's answer to "That's the way we've always done it," is "Why?". But they are also the ones who say, "Why not?" when coming up with alternatives to doing things as they've "always been done."

Thoughts?

Quotes and Comments

Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.
--E. Joseph Cossman

When the car is worth anything, the bank owns most of it. When you own it, it's not worth anything.

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
--John Kenneth Galbraith

This pretty much says it all and is what is behind their opposition to all programs designed to help the less fortunate members of society.

The average, healthy, well-adjusted adult gets up at seven-thirty in the morning feeling just plain terrible.
--Jean Kerr

As a night owl, I heartily concur with this.

Traditions are group efforts to keep the unexpected from happening.
--Barbara Tober

And as such, are most treasured by those who fear change.

I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.
--John Cleese

Has he known some of my former bosses?

Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

Workaholism limits lives. What is the use of all the extra money if you're always either at work or too tired to enjoy it?

Maybe this world is another planet's hell.
--Aldous Huxley

I've never believed in the Christian hell, as I think it's right here on Earth.

I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere.
--Unknown

I know this feeling all too well.

Quotes From Winston Churchill

I've always considered Winston Churchill to be one of the most eloquent speakers of the 20th century. Following are a selection his quotes:


Great and good are seldom the same man.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.

Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all.

He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.

Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.

History is written by the victors.

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.

If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.

If you are going through hell, keep going.

If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is make the rubble bounce.

If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.

Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Some Interesting Quotes

My ass is worn out tonight and I'm too tired to concentrate on writing anything, so I leave you with a list of interesting quotes.

A "Normal" person is the sort of person that might be designed by a committee. You know, "Each person puts in a pretty color and it comes out gray."
~Alan Sherman

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
~Dr. Seuss

A man must consider what a rich realm he abdicates when he becomes a conformist.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. ~J.K. Galbraith

Before you can break out of prison, you must first realize you're locked up. ~Author Unknown

I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine.
~Fritz Perls

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it - even if I have said it - unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
~Buddha

Our concern must be to live while we're alive... to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.
~Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

The plague of mankind is the fear and rejection of diversity: monotheism, monarchy, monogamy and, in our age, monomedicine. The belief that there is only one right way to live, only one right way to regulate religious, political, sexual, medical affairs is the root cause of the greatest threat to man: members of his own species, bent on ensuring his salvation, security, and sanity.
~Thomas Szasz

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
-- JFK

Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.
-- W. Somerset Maugham

Each man must grant himself the emotions that he needs and the morality that suits him.
-- Remy De Gourmont

Virtue is its own punishment.
- Aneurin Bevan

A Multiplicity of Vices

Never support two weaknesses at the same time. It's your combination sinners - your lecherous liars and your miserly drunkards - who dishonor the vices and bring them into bad repute. ~Thornton Wilder

There are those who would consider my voracious sexual appetite and my non-traditional ways of going about meeting this need to be a "vice". Naturally, I don't consider it a vice, but, rather as my basic nature. If I did find it be a failing of character, I would certainly take better pains to conceal and/or deny it.

Rather, I think my primary failing, my personal vice, is sloth, better known as laziness. I'm a procrastinator of the first order and I've never worked any harder on a job than was necessary to keep that job. I do what I'm required to do, but not one iota more. My personal motto regarding work is "Never volunteer for anything".

I never do today what I can safely put off until tomorrow. I live in the one house on the block that makes the rest of the neighborhood look bad with its unkempt yard, gutters that need replacing, bits of trash unpicked-up on the lawn. The inside of the house looks similarly "lived in".

My lack of ambition and industriousness has had a major negative influence on my life -- the college diploma never earned, the book not published, the musical career not pursued -- and is, of course, the major reason why I'm as poor as a college student though in my late forties.

Though, for the most part, I don't regret or apologize for my laid-back approach to life, I do regret not getting my degree and I know I need to get my rear in gear and publish a book.

On the other hand, there is nothing I regret about my sexual proclivities. It hasn't had a negative effect on my life and I won't go to my grave with unfulfilled fantasies in this realm. Hence, it is not a "vice" in my life.

In reference to the quote above, many people exhibit more than one major vice in their lives, as part of an underlying addictive personality. Heavy drinkers are usually heavy smokers, and drug addicts often have problems with smoking and drinking along with their primary addiction. Excessive drinking often accompanies chronic overeating, and compulsive gamblers are often heavy smokers as well.

You get the drill; though vices can happen singly, they commonly occur in various combinations together.

Though I consider myself to have the single vice of sloth, and though some would add sex as my second vice, I'm not at all tempted by any of the other common vices.

In fact, I can be rather anal and self-righteous about some of the other vices. I don't allow anyone to smoke in my car and I make gibes about "taking a health break" to my co-workers standing outside smoking. Though I went through a phase in college where I drank a good bit of beer, I left the habit behind when I left college. After years of dealing with asshole drunks on the police force, I never drink at all now, nor can I abide the company of drunks. The only reason you'll ever see me in a bar these days is looking for a hookup -- I always order Coke or Pepsi until I've made my conquest for the night.

I've never done any drugs at all, including pot. I saw all my college roommates doing it, and they'd always choke with their eyes running every time they took a hit, and combined with the revolting odor, it completely soured me on the idea of taking part. Similarly, I don't overeat very often, nor do I gamble beyond buying a lottery ticket once in a blue moon.

I'm not particularly bothered with feelings of envy, greed (indeed, my sloth prevents me from being too greedy), jealousy, and though I can get angry, it doesn't happen constantly, nor at the drop of a hat.

So, what's my point with all this rambling? It's simple. I advise everyone to have one vice and do it really well. ;-)

Just As True Now As It Was Then

Following are some quotes from my favorite president, Harry Truman, that are just as true now as they were at the time he said them.

"In most of my campaigns, I find it is best not to mention my opponent by name because, by doing so, it just gives him a chance to get into the headlines." 1948

Hear that, Hillary?

"It isn't important who is ahead at one time or another in either an election or horse race. It's the horse that comes in first at the finish line that counts".
1948

Both Clinton and Obama should remember the truth of this.

"Secrecy and a free, democratic government don't mix."

Obviously Bush never heard this one.

"We should resolve now that the health of this nation is a national concern; that financial barriers in the way of attaining health shall be removed; that the health of all it's citizens deserves the help of all the nation."

"Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and to enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. And the time has now arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and to help them get that protection."

Too bad that no one listened to him back then or we wouldn't have the mess in the health care system that we have today.

"We must remember that the test of our religious principles lies not just in what we say, not only in our prayers, not even in living blameless lives - but in what we do for others" 9-28-1951

A lesson that the Religious Right has yet to learn.

"Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home--but not for housing. They are strong for labor--but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage--the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all--but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine--for people who can afford them. They consider electrical power a great blessing--but only when the private power companies get their rake-off. They think American standard of living is a fine thing--so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire of Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it."

Nothing has changed here since Truman's time.

Some Thoughts on Love

I was strapped for something to write about today, so I went to a quotation site, intending to do a list of quotes and comments. The following quote inspired the diarrhea of the mind that follows, so the list will have to wait for another day.

Love: A temporary insanity curable by marriage.
--Ambrose Bierce

I think one of my aversions to marriage is related to the difference between doing something as a hobby, simply because you enjoy it and doing that same thing as a daily job, as a way to earn a living.

Many people have told me, some only half in jest, that because I like having sex with a wide variety of people, that I ought to head out to Nevada where prostitution is legal and get a job with a brothel that caters to female customers and make some money doing something I enjoy.

Though I agree that it would probably be fun for a weekend or so, I'm guessing that once the novelty was gone, it would strip all the fun out of sex and quickly become just another job.

I'm guessing the same would also hold true for other activities I enjoy, such as writing. Those people I know who are published authors who describe the demands of their agents, editors, and publishers make me believe that the business aspect of writing just sucks all the joy out of it.

You bring money, scheduling, and obligation into the picture and often times the enjoyment packs its bags and flees.

With love, I do better when I'm able to give freely without strings, without the baggage of "shoulds" that marriage inevitably brings. For me, if love has to be labeled and structured, then it becomes a cage.

Your mileage may vary of course.

Quotes and Comments

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today, so I leave you with some quotes and comments

I feel like a mosquito in a nudist camp -- I know what I'm supposed to do,
but I don't know where to start!
--Unknown

I always know where to start. It's knowing when to stop that's my problem!

I keep reading this book about anti-gravity and for some reason..... I just
can't seem to put it down
--Unknown

This one would make a good tag line.

If you don't like the answer, don't ask the question.
--Unknown

This reminds me of when I'd be on desk duty at the police station and after I'd tell them something they didn't want to hear, they'd ask to talk to someone else.

I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
--Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

Talk about being wrong in a big way!

There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.
--Ken Olson, 1977

I'll bet he's embarrassed now.

Time is money, money is the root of all evil, and knowledge is power. Therefore, procrastination is the key to world peace.
--Unknown

Works for me!

I don't need cybersex -- AOL goes down on me all the time!
--AOL user

I've never used AOHell, so I couldn't tell you if that was true.

Its not the boulders in my path, but the pebbles in my shoe that really sends me over the edge.
--Unknown

It's the nit-picky small annoyances constantly plaguing me than get me down most often.

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.
--Doug Larson

Why is it that everything that tastes good is bad for you?

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
— Dr. Seuss

My friends love me for who I am, not what I could be.

Quotes and Comments

If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.
--Lane Kirkland

How hard someone has to work is usually inversely proportional to how much they get paid.

Always be smarter than the people who hire you.
--Lena Horne

This has always been true for me, as they don't apparently hire supervisors for their intelligence.

I always like a dog so long as he isn't spelled backward.
--G.K. Chesterton

Dogs are a lot more fun than the reverse.

Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.
--Thomas Jefferson

One would think that if God exists, then we were given the power of reasoning for a purpose.

If you have ten thousand regulations, you destroy all respect for the law.
--Winston Churchill

Better to have fewer, basic laws that are applied with discretion and common sense, than thousands of laws that micromanage every iota of our existence.

A room without books is like a body without a soul.
--Cicero

And those whose room it is tend to be boring and mundane as well.

No matter how much the cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.
--Abraham Lincoln

Nothing better than make up sex!

Some people claim that marriage interferes with romance. There's no doubt about it. Anytime you have a romance, your wife is bound to interfere.
--Groucho Marx

Isn't that the truth!

I was raised the old-fashioned way, with a stern set of moral principles: Never lie, cheat, steal or knowingly spread a venereal disease. Never speed up to hit a pedestrian or, or course, stop to kick a pedestrian who has already been hit. From which it followed, of course, that one would never ever -- on pain of deletion from dozens of Christmas card lists across the country -- vote Republican.
--Barbara Ehrenreich

Friends don't let friends vote Republican!

The only way to make sure people you agree with can speak is to support the rights of people you don't agree with.
--Eleanor Holmes Norton

Free speech is for everyone, even those who offend us.

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.
--Harry S Truman

Truman said this in response to McCarthyism, but it's still just as true today.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.
--Mohandas K. Gandhi

This is why "nanny laws" are wrong and misguided. Freedom connotes the right to either learn or not learn from the consequences of our actions that don't affect the rights of others.

Quotes to Think About

I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants.
— A. Whitney Brown

Die, plants, die!

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.
— George Bernard Shaw

It's all in how you look at it.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
— Albert Camus

Autumn beats spring because the leaves come multicolored then, instead of just in green.

Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.
— Isaac Newton

Argue the point, don't insult the person

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
— Plato

Everyone has their crosses to bear; no one is perfect

In Mexico we have a word for sushi: Bait.
— Jose Simon

Works for me!

I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.
— Anna Quindlen

I wholeheartedly agree.

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
- William Butler Yeats

Education isn't an end; it's a process. The more you know, the more you should want to learn.

Efficiency is intelligent laziness.
--David Dunham

Work smarter, not harder

The only normal people are the
ones you don't know very well.
--Joe Ancis

Everyone has their own peculiar quirks.

Cats know how to obtain
food without labor, shelter
without confinement, and
love without penalties.
--W.L. George

I think I want to be a cat in my next life!

Quotes From George Carlin

In the last month or so, I've done two posts that have been inspired by quotes from George Carlin. The other night when I was bored, I went googling for Carlin quotes, the results of which you see below. Some of these quotes may be elaborated into full length entries in the future.
_____________________

Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.

Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you and he needs money.

Weather forecast for tonight: Dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning.

I put a dollar in a change machine. Nothing changed.

I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol was a man nailed to two pieces of wood.

Have you ever wondered why Republicans are so interested in encouraging people to volunteer in their communities? It’s because volunteers work for no pay. Republicans have been trying to get people to work for no pay for a long time.

Once you leave the womb, conservatives don’t care about you until you reach military age. Then you’re just what they’re looking for. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers.

The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post “Thou shalt not steal,” “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and “Thou shalt not lie” in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?

Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.

Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part to us, do they?

This is a lttle prayer dedicated to the separation of church and state. I guess if they are going to force those kids to pray in schools they might as well have a nice prayer like this: Our Father who art in heaven, and to the republic for which it stands, thy kingdom come, one nation indivisible as in heaven, give us this day as we forgive those who so proudly we hail. Crown thy good into temptation but deliver us from the twilight's last gleaming. Amen and Awomen.

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.

Let a smile be your umbrella, and you'll end up with a face full of rain.

I've begun worshipping the Sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the Sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to God are all answered at about the same 50-percent rate.

If churches want to play the game of politics, let them pay admission like everyone else.

How come when it’s us, it’s an abortion, and when it’s a chicken, it’s an omelette?

All Roads Lead to Rome

"Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes."
--George Carlin

Christianity is unique among the world's major religions in that many of its denominations place a strong emphasis on evangelism. That is, actively trying to "sell" their religion to non-believers and those of other religions, attempting to get them to convert and believe likewise. The more conservative the denomination, the stronger the focus is on evangelism. It is particularly strong among Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, both of which are considered by some to be offshoot derivatives of Christianity and not part of mainstream Christendom.

Other major religions do not actively seek to gain converts, for the most part. Converts are accepted and welcomed, but it is always the convert who seeks out knowledge and initiates the process of conversion. The attitude is "We're here, this is what we believe, ask questions, then decide for yourself". However, you'll never see a Jew or a Buddhist, going from door to door aggressively trying to sell their religion to others. They are apparently content to allow others to determine their own religious paths, if any.

In the Bible Jesus said, "'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."

In other words, Jesus is waiting for people to come to him; he doesn't say, "Behold, I come to the door and break it down and come in". One doesn't need to "sell" Christianity, Christ's words are there for anyone to study and should stand on their own merits -- that's the "knock" part. Whether or not to "open the door" (study and/or convert) should be initiated by the would-be convert.

For myself, the only religion I need is expressed in the Golden Rule; to treat others as we would wish to be treated. I find it highly relevant that this sentiment is expressed in nearly every religion and ethical system on the planet. So, I think it matters little which religious tradition one chooses to practice, if any, as the essential ethics are universal. All roads lead to Rome and all that, you know.

Thoughts?

Human Nature Doesn't Need Religious Salvation

We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.
~ Gene Roddenberry

The quote above expresses succinctly one of the problems I've always had with the traditional formula for Christianity. That is, I don't understand why it's necessary for humans to be "saved" or "redeemed" from their supposedly sinful natures, nor do I see why Jesus had to die on the cross.

If humanity is imperfect, I can see two reasons why this is so, neither of which would require us having to apologize and "repent" from being what we are. That is, supposing that God is real and we are God's creations.

One, as Roddenberry said, is that God made a mistake, in which case, it's not our fault we are the way we are, and there's no need to repent for not having been created perfect. But I find this highly unlikely, if God is the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God that Christianity has always claimed God to be.

I think the second reason is more plausible. That is, I think that if God is real, that we were designed to be imperfect from the get-go intentionally. Perfect people would be boring and static, unable to change and grow, or to make more of themselves. That would be pretty boring and life would be essentially pointless that way. As the imperfect beings that we are, we are like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to eventually get with each newborn baby. Our lives are not mapped out for us ahead of time to follow a perfect, predictable path.

So, again, there's no need to to be "saved" from our essential natures, but rather to try to live life the best way we can with what we've been given and to make the most of what we have.

Thoughts?

Quotes and Comments

The sinning is the best part of repentance.
~Arab Proverb

What repentance? The best part is to keep on sinning!

It's pretty hard to be efficient without being obnoxious.
~Kin Hubbard

Those aiming for perfection tend toward anal-retentiveness

In every age "the good old days" were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intolerable to the people who lived through them.
~Brooks Atkinson

With the passage of time, good memories tend to become exaggerated and bad one tend to fade.

Few great men could pass personnel.
~Paul Goodman

Most human resource, aka personnel, departments over-rely on people's resumes; how they look on paper, more than the person themselves.

The good die young - because they see it's no use living if you've got to be good.
~John Barrymore

Life is meant to be enjoyed and it's more fun off the beaten path than on the straight and narrow.

Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent.
~Epictetus

Do what's right for you and allow others to make that decision for themselves.

Filling out job applications is so depressing. I was filling one out the other day and I got to the part that says "Sex?" Well, I prefer to 'F', but I'm usually alone, so I had to circle 'M'.
--Unknown

Fortunately, this isn't my problem.

Anybody who believes that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach flunked geography.
~Robert Byrne

It's a bit....lower...for me.

Give me chastity and continence, but not just now.
Saint Augustine (354-430)
Confessions, 397-401, VIII, 7

I've seen this particular prayer referred to elsewhere as "The Libertine's Prayer".

Quotations About Republicans

I came from a disadvantaged home. They were Republicans.

--Paul Tsongas

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a Republican. But I repeat myself.
--Harry Truman

As I've said repeatedly, Republicans are very good at describing things in black and white; Democrats are very good at describing the 11 shades of gray.
--Joseph C. Wilson

Latins for Republicans - it's like roaches for Raid.
--John Leguizamo

Instead of creating new jobs, Republicans gave tax cuts to companies that send jobs overseas.
--Joe Baca

Republicans don't like people to talk about depressions. You can hardly blame them for that. You remember the old saying: Don't talk about rope in the house where somebody has been hanged.
--Harry Truman

Big government conservatives are spending trillions and wasting billions. Republicans are no longer the party of fiscal conservancy, but the party of runaway spending and corruption.
--Sherrod Brown

Republicans are men of narrow vision, who are afraid of the future.
--Jimmy Carter

I don't hate Republicans as individuals. But I hate what the Republicans are doing to this country. I really do.
--Howard Dean

Republicans have called for a National African-American Museum. The plan is being held up by finding a location that isn't in their neighborhood.
--Conan O'Brien

If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.
--Adlai E. Stevenson

The Republicans believe in the minimum wage -- the more the minimum, the better.
--Harry Truman

The Republicans have a new healthcare proposal: Just say NO to illness!
--Mark Russell

How did sex come to be thought of as dirty in the first place? God must have been a Republican.
-- Will Durst

Oh no, the dead have risen and they're voting Republican.
--Lisa Simpson

Bob Dole revealed he is one of the test subjects for Viagra. He said on Larry King, 'I wish I had bought stock in it.' Only a Republican would think the best part of Viagra is the fact that you could make money off of it.
-- Jay Leno

Comments on Quotes

"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action."
-Johann von Goethe

And the Bush Administration is a prime example of that.

There are more fools in the world than there are people.
-Heinrich Heine

This reminds me of something my father always said: "There are more horse's asses in the world than there are horses".

"Life without liberty is like a body without spirit."
-Kahlil Gibran

A golden cage is still a cage.

"He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice."
-Albert Einstein

Our ability to think original thoughts is what separates humans from the lower animals. No point it letting it go to waste.

You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note.
-Doug Floyd

Nor do all the pieces of a puzzle need to be all the same size, shape, and color in order to complete the picture.

If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
-Thomas J. Watson

A hero dies but once. A coward dies a small death every day.

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
-e. e. (Edward Estlin) cummings

I can attest to the truth of this through experience.

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Ditto.

It is the individual only who is timeless. Societies, cultures, and civilizations -- past and present -- are often incomprehensible to outsiders, but the individual's hungers, anxieties, dreams, and preoccupations have remained unchanged through the millenia.
-Eric Hoffer, Reflections on the Human Condition (Aphorism 183), 1973

One reason why I like to learn history by reading diaries of common people from any given era.

I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention . . . arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.
-Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, 1977

Lazy people with good ideas will find better ways of doing things. Why do it the hard way if there's an easier way available?

"There is a vast world of work out there in this country, where at least 111 million people are employed in this country alone--many of whom are bored out of their minds. All day long. Not for nothing is their motto TGIF -- 'Thank God It's Friday.' They live for the weekends, when they can go do what they really want to do."
-Richard Nelson Bolles, What Color is Your Parachute?, 1970

Work to live, don't live to work.

"Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live."
-Margaret Fuller

Don't base your identity on what you do to make a living.

Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.
-Mark Twain, Notebook (1884 entry)

Amen to that!