It Is Not What It Is

Is Christianity Idolatry?

2009-11-15T12:40:00.008-05:00

I know I am not the first person to discuss this question, but is Christianity Idolatry?

In both versions of what we now call the "Ten Commandments" (the version in Exodus 20, on the tablets that Moses broke, and the version in Exodus 34), "Thou shalt have no gods before me" is right at the top. Some translations word it "You shall have no other gods before me" or "Thou shalt worship no other god".

Some people think that Christianity is idolatry, because by worshipping or praying to Jesus, you are putting another god before God, the Father. Jesus himself preached that "No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6), which literally puts Him BEFORE God. This goes directly against the first commandment. Clearly, if you look at things this way, Christianity turns monotheism into polytheism, the primary no-no.

Many Christians, including Catholics, explain this away with the Trinity. You know, The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three of these aspects are all actually aspects of the One True God. So in this belief system, it is okay to worship Jesus, as he is, in fact, God. No more commandment breaking. Whew. That was close.

But if God is Jesus and Jesus is God, this breaks another major belief most Christians hold. The one that each person must accept Jesus to get into Heaven.

Why does it break this? Simple. If the Trinity is real, and Christianity is not practicing polytheism, then praying to God The Father IS praying to Jesus. Worshiping Him the Father is worshipping Him the Son. Therefore, the major monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam are ALSO covered. They all worship the God in the old testament who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. By accepting God as the One True God, they are automatically accepting Jesus, as he is also the One True God.

Not Separated At Birth?

You can't have it both ways. Either Christians are all going to Hell for breaking the first commandment, or all monotheistic Abrahamic believers are going to Heaven for believing in the same deity. Either God and The Son are separate entities and Christians are having another god before Him, or God and The Son are the same, and anyone who worships God is also worshiping Jesus, and therefore, saved.

Some of your are angry. After all, it sure looks like I have just suggested that, at worst, worshipping Jesus is a sin, and at best, unnecessary. Some of you want to lecture me on my foolishness. We are addicted to our beliefs.

But I'm just trying to save your soul from either the sin of idolatry or the sin of not loving thy neighbor as thyself. And whichever sin you may be committing, you can save yourself by worshipping God, The Father, and rejoicing in the fact that Jews and Muslims are doing so as well.

However you feel about it, God be with you anyway.

Oh, the horror.

2009-07-03T01:59:00.001-04:00

I used to hate horror movies. I still hate them.

That was an example of two sentences that could have been combined into one, thusly:

"I have always hated horror movies."

But that wouldn’t really be accurate, because before I knew what horror movies were, I didn’t hate them yet. So I guess the sentence should be:

"I have hated horror movies ever since I became aware of them."

The problem with that sentence is that it suggests I always hate horror movies, even when I am not watching them. But I don’t actively hate them at times that the topic hasn’t even come up. I mean, I don’t sit around hating horror movies when I’m eating at the all-you-can-eat donut buffet down the street. So perhaps a more accurate sentence would be:

"Ever since I became aware of horror movies, I hated watching them, and have avoided doing so in favor of other things, including, but not limited to eating at the all-you-can-eat donut buffet down the street."

There. See how much better that structure is than in the beginning two sentences? To be a good writer, one has to consider such things.

Thinking about laughter is not the same as laughing about thinking.

2009-07-02T15:55:00.004-04:00

Q: What do the following comedians have in common?

Dane Cook
Tom Green
Dave Attel
Ralphie May
Bob Sagat
Carlos Mencia
Dennis Leary

Hint: Dan "Larry The Cable Guy" Whitney is an overrated, almost never-funny comedian, but has been known get get a laugh out of me anyway.

Hint two: If your job is "comedian", and I haven't laughed at or at least made a mental note of something you said or did within fifteen minutes, you suck at your job.

Hint Three: This is not a list of comedians that have ever made me laugh. Ever. Not even once. Not even a smirk. The fact that these people claim to be in the same profession as George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Lewis Black, Dave Chappelle, Christopher Titus, Chris Rock, Steven Wright, or about 1000 others amazes me. At least bad singers have Auto-tune.

Hint Four: Hint Three was the actual answer I was looking for.

Discuss.

Coming back, he swears

2009-07-02T00:39:00.002-04:00

Now that I have the ability to update this thing on the run and on the road, I plan to mess with your perception of reality far more often. Aren't you glad?

See it when you believe it, folks.

End of the Hiatus?

2008-12-18T23:23:00.002-05:00

I have not said anything here in a while. Fact is, I am a real person who let other aspects of his life get more important than blogging. This may not give me much "blog cred", but It suited me just fine.

At any rate, I still have plenty of thought to amuse and annoy, particularly if you have a belief system of some kind. If anyone happens to still be out there, i will be happy to share them.

Guilt by dissociation

2008-10-21T19:36:00.002-04:00

All I really have to add is HA HA HA!

Clicky! --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR2YMUjVDm0

Gay Marriage

2008-06-18T14:32:00.005-04:00

Why not? Everyone else is talking about it.

Personally, I don't see why so many people are against gay marriage. Now, I'm not gay myself, but the guy I'm sleeping with is. And I think it's really no one's business what other consenting adults want to do while I'm watching.

But seriously folks:

I actually saw one of the protesters in California when the first marriages were taking place holding a sign that said "Gays can't marry". The interesting thing was that also on the sign was a bit of graphics meant somehow to prove this point. It was a picture of two 3-prong, U.S.-style, electrical male plugs, unable to plug into each other.

I'm not kidding.

First of all, why are people who are hanging onto antiquated ideas that they think came from God trying to prove it with drawings of modern technology that we happen to call male and female? What the heck does THIS prove? Besides idiocy, I mean.

Also, why are they against Gay marriage in the first place? Many say it's because the Bible says so. Well, the bible says that man shall not lie down with man as he lies down with women.^{(Leviticus something:or other - look it up yourself)}

Gay men don't lie down with men as they lie down with women at all! They lay down with each other! No problem.

Leviticus is speaking not against homosexuality, but non-monogomous bisexuality. I didn't write it. I'm just typing about it. It's saying you can't have your cake and eat it too!

And while we're on the subject, note that the Bible doesn't say ANYTHING against women lying down together at all! So lesbianism is also okay, but for some reason it's okay for females to be bisexual, but not for males to be. That God guy had some weird rules back then.

The only rule for women was that they shouldn't "give themselves" to animals. So women can be bisexual, homosexual, or heterosexual, as long as they don't practice bestiality.

On the other hand, it's okay for men to practice heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bestiality, as long as they aren't bisexual.

So stop using the bible to argue against homosexuality anyway.

But I wasn't even going to post about whether or not it's OKAY to be homosexual. I was going to post about whether of not they can get MARRIED.

WHY THE HECK NOT?

Really? If it's so bad for the institution of marriage, than that institution must be pretty weak. If it was strong, it would ignore anyone practicing what it thought wasn't a valid marriage and leave it alone.

Obviously the problem isn't that gay marriage would damage traditional marriage by being bad. The problem is that gay marriage might damage traditional marriage by being GOOD.

The gay man next door is quiet, even when he has guests. But the married neighbors behind his house, diagonally from ours can be heard to yell "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck ***YOU***!"

Maybe we could relearn a thing or two.

Let Me Tell You a Tale.

2008-05-30T08:29:00.004-04:00

When I was a teen, I was going to school in a private school that was located near downtown Detroit.

I took public transportation to and from school in those days. And while the Detroit Metro area is not known for it's public transportation, the bus system was sufficient to get me to and from school with just one transfer.

One day, I stayed late after school, because I was rehearsing for a drama production. When I left, I opted to walk a couple blocks down the road to the next bus stop, because it had one of those plastic bus shelters where you could sit down, and the busses ran less frequently once it got this late.

So while I was sitting there, I was joined by a gentleman who greeted me. Instinctively, I knew this was not going to be a normal interaction. For years, I've credited that to being able to read people, but it was probably just because strangers don't normally greet each other in the downtown Detroit area.

Anyway, after about a minute of sitting there, he asked if I had change for a ten dollar bill.

I said no, sorry, all I have is my bus fare. It was pretty normal for me to leave the house with just enough to get to school and back.

A couple minutes went by, and he asked if I had change for a twenty. This struck me as kind of stupid, as if I cannot change a ten because all I have is my bus fare, how could i change a twenty?

But nonetheless, I answered: No, all I have is my bus fare.

After another pause, he asked if I had change for a fifty.

Now I'm a little scared. this guy may not just be stupid, he may be stupid and hoping to rob me.

No, I answered, all I have is my bus fare.

Now he looked like he was pondering something. Calculating. Thinking. After he worked whatever it was out, he reached into his coat. And as he was pulling an object out that took to the end of his sentence to recognize, he asked, "Do you want to buy a gun?"

I said no, all I have is my bus fare.

Thoughts to make your day more stable

2008-05-27T13:09:00.001-04:00

Just some thoughts to get your day going, and keep me from not posting for too long.

If for every action, there is an equal, opposite reaction, then on the average, nothing is happening.
If we ever successfully travel through time, there would still be the problem that on any given date, the Earth is in a different position in the Universe, what with the Earth rotating around the Sun, the Sun rotating around the center of our galaxy, and our galaxy moving about the Universe in whatever way it travels. So as soon as the time traveller arrived at his destination time, there would be a very good chance they would arrive in open space and explode.
For all we know, the above has already happened and we have not been told.
Humans may not be the only animal that uses tools, but we are the only animal that makes cheese. Remember that next time you eat some. Not only is it delicious, but it confirms our superiority.
Humans are also the only animal that makes dioxin. Scratch that superiority thing.
Anger is a poison. You should not hang on to your anger. A good way to let go of that anger is through calculated, carefully, premeditated homicide.

One of the World's Travesties

2008-05-15T18:40:00.007-04:00

I don't really have time for a full-length post today of tease-your-brain proportions. So I'll just post about something the bothers me to this day.

A while back, a local call-in talk show did a segment on superheroes. They asked who your favorite super-hero was growing up.

I called in and told them Plastic Man.

The Greatest Superhero of All Time

...and they had never heard of him.

These were two guys my age hosting the show.

Let me repeat this for you so the gravity of the situation will sink in.

THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF PLASTIC MAN!!!!

I'm just saying. That's just not right.

Election Prediction

2008-05-14T11:47:00.010-04:00

This is my first post here of a political nature, and I'm afraid it's going to anger some people. I know it pisses me off.

I suppose I should tell you my political leanings first. Not to start an argument about them, but so that you will know that the observation I am about to make isn't because of them.

I am what you might call a liberal. I must be. After all, blogs are "The Media" and everyone knows liberals control the media (because we can read, write, and speak coherently). I am not a Democrat, but I usually vote for them, because I always vote against Republicans.

And that is what this post is about. Very few people vote FOR a candidate. They vote against the one that scares them. It is rare that people find a candidate to get behind because they LIKE their politics or message, and when they do, that candidate usually doesn't get far. Good examples of this are Ron Paul in this election and Howard Dean previously. Both got a very strong following because of their politics and ideas. Neither made it to the end, though.

That's why the Barack Obama thing is so interesting. People are rallying behind him for his message and politics, not just because they dislike the other options. And this rallying has him in a position where he very well could win his party's nomination.

But I am sorry to tell you that he will not be the next president, and neither will his worthy opponent, Hillary Clinton, no matter which wins the nomination.

But the polls are saying either one could beat Republican John McCain. And they could, if the people taking the polls were the people who were going to vote.

The thing is, there are people that would never want a black person or a woman to be president, not for political reasons, but because they are, as anthropologists call them, "racist and sexist assholes", or "RASA's". My argument is that there are more of these people out there and willing to vote than anyone wants to admit.

The Democrats don't want to acknowledge that there are RASA's in their midst, but there are. They are everywhere. And people who normally vote Democrat, but are also RASA's will, at best, not vote, and, at worst, vote against the Democratic nominee because they are so scared of a black or female president.

The Republicans don't want to admit to having RASA's, either, but their RASA's don't count in this discussion, because they were going to vote Republican anyway.

Then there are the so called "swing voters". People who, for some reason, don't pay attention to what either party is doing to the country and base their vote on what they had for breakfast on voting day. Guess what? They have RASA's in their midst, too.

But the biggest group of RASA's- the ones that are going to take this election away from the Democrats who seem to be winning in the polls, are the RASA's amongst the group of people who usually don't vote at all.

Professionally Prepared Chart

These are a "special" group of RASA's. They normally DO NOT VOTE ("I ain't going into no school!"). They don't respond to polls, because they are too paranoid ("I AIN'T TELLING NO ONE NOTHING!"). But their hatred and fear runs deep, and is deeply motivating. They will be willing to stay home in droves so they can vote against the woman or the black man, and there are enough of them to tip the scales.

So even though the polls say one thing, the outcome could be very different because of these suddenly politically interested individuals.

I pray to the almighty Rip Taylor that I am wrong.

Imaged in who's creation?

2008-05-13T12:03:00.014-04:00

Most people believe that human beings are the most advanced animal.

We'll ignore for a minute how arrogant this is.

Some believe we got that way because we were created by a perfect, infallible God in His own image. Therefore we were created perfect. (Yes, yes, I know, then we ate the pomegranate and knew we had genitalia, only half of which are perfect (I'll let you decide which half), but that is another story.)

Others believe we became so advanced because of the processes of evolution and natural selection slowly taking us to the top. We don't seem to be evolving much anymore, so we must be near perfect.

But here's the problem: If God made us so perfect, why do we need to wear other animals to keep from freezing to death in the winter or being dehydrated by the sun? If evolution has made us perfect, or near perfect, why are we the only creature that has no choice but to kill everything around it and build it's home out of the carnage?

And if God is so perfect, why did He make it so that so many of us don't believe in Him, but in evolution? And if evolution is so perfect, why did it evolve so many of us into believing in God?

Well, I present to you another possibility. One you may not have considered yet. My guess is that if you follow either the God or evolution belief strongly, you lack the sense of humor to entertain this idea or refrain from quoting certain works in the comments section. I could be guessing wrong, of course.

In any case, here is that possibility:

What if we were created by a god? Not the perfect infallible God, but a prankster god? One who laughs at us while we debate our beliefs in perfect God or Science? One that is both delighted by watching us go to war and watching us lovingly scramble to pick up the pieces?

I suspect Loki.

Loki, from Norse mythology fits the M.O.

Here's what makes Loki a good candidate:

He lies.
He tricks people into accidentally killing each other or into wars and battles.
He likes to take the shapes of other people, plants, animals, and gods, just for the sake of fooling someone.
- He takes on shapes and voices to make some people believe in evolution, some believe in one God, some another god, and lets chaos and war ensue!
He messes with dwarves because he thinks it's funny.
- Would God or Evolution do this? I think not.
He has a tendency to get into trouble and wind up imprisoned or tied up in entrails.
- Explains why so many people like to do this, too.

Now, I'm not saying that it is DEFINITELY Loki. Just that he is a candidate. It could just as easily be Rip Taylor.

Our creator?

Is depression a symptom or the cause?

2008-05-12T13:23:00.003-04:00

An interesting report is being leaked to the news, to be released this Friday.

Feds: Teen use of alcohol can lead to dependency, mental illness
By JENNIFER C. KERR – 2 days ago

WASHINGTON (AP)
—
Depression, teens and alcohol are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used alcohol as teens who have not reported being depressed— 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"Alcohol is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years," said John Walters, director of the office. "This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past."

Drinking alcohol can lead to more serious problems, Walters said in an interview.

For example, using alcohol increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who drink alcohol at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.

The report also cited research that showed that teens who drink alcohol when feeling depressed were more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to alcohol — 8 percent compared with 3 percent.

Experts who have worked with children say there's nothing harmless about alcohol.
[...]

This sounds like a pretty good argument that alcohol should not be legal. It is a dangerous drug!

You can read the original article here: ORIGINAL ARTICLE!

In reading it, you may notice that I actually took the liberty of changing a couple things in my above quote. It may have seemed perfectly believable to you, but I fibbed a little. You see, the original artical is about marijuana, not alcohol. I simply changed all instances of "marijuana" and "pot" to "alcohol" and all instances of "smoke" to "drink".

And yet it still reads as true, because there is nothing in this article about marijuana that is not also true of alcohol.

So, my fine unfeathered friends: Does this mean we should legalize marijuana, or that we should bring back the prohibition of alcohol?

What is the opposite of "dog"?

2008-05-12T11:14:00.009-04:00

Ask any small child, "What is the opposite of DOG," and you will likely get the answer, "CAT!"

A Dog.

This is a symptom of human nature. We like to think in opposites. We like to put things in their holes. And if our choices are seemingly limited to two things, they must be opposites.

In the child's case, people have dogs as pets, and people have cats as pets. Also, they are known for getting in fights with each other. Therefore, in the child's mind, they are opposites.

But we do this into our adulthood. If we are presented with two things that are not the same, especially if we favor one of them, we think of them as opposites. Coke vs. Pepsi. White people vs. Black people. Democrat vs. Republican. Man vs. Woman. It all comes down to an old, basic, tribal survival instinct:

Us vs. NOT US.

And while this tendency- this instinct even- is built in, our intelligence can override it. As adults, we know that CAT is not the opposite of DOG. But people who want to effect our thinking know to play to this instinct. They tell us Coke IS the opposite of Pepsi; White IS the opposite of Black. Democrats ARE the opposite of Republican. Man IS the opposite of Woman.

It is to their advantage to do so. It is to both "sides" advantage to do so.

On the most innocuous level, take Coke and Pepsi. By keeping us in the mindset that they are opposites, or even opposite sides of the same coin, they are driving into our minds that they are the only two choices. They are driving from our minds that there are any other possibilities. Like R.C. Cola or Faygo, both of which, I may add, are delicious.

Our two-party political system perpetuates the idea that the two parties are opposites, and therefore the only two choices, keeping out other parties on all but the most local levels. Some people sense this and react the other way. They see the illusion for the illusion it is, but believe that the truth is that Democrats and Republicans are actually the SAME THING.

This is the difference between intelligence and lazy thinking. It's really coming from the exact same trap: the opposite of OPPOSITE is SAME. If things are not opposites, they must, therefore, be the same thing.

The Opposite Of A Dog.

In reality, very few things we deal with are opposites of each other. They have opposing qualities that must be considered, but what also must be considered is that there are many, many more possibilities than ever cross our minds.

Addicted to Our Beliefs

2008-05-11T23:35:00.008-04:00

We are addicted to our beliefs. To prove this, try to get someone to change their beliefs. They will fight. They will fight hard. They will react the same way as someone you are trying to take an addiction away from. They will rationalize, do, or say anything not to have to give it up.

Our beliefs alter reality. This is an argument made by both quantum physics and religions of the world. Jesus Himself said, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (Mark 11:23)

Therefore, our addictions shape reality.

Discuss.

Sometimes I just say things - The disclaimer post.

2008-05-11T23:27:00.003-04:00

It should be noted that the purpose of this journal is, in fact, to question your reality, and mine. As a result, not everything I say here is actually my opinion. As I once said to a friend while bringing up in idea in a discussion, "...now, I don't believe this; sometimes I just say things."

It is important to know this if you and I are going to get along. Sometimes I have very definite opinions on things, and they aren't usually the popular one. But I hold all deep-held beliefs under great suspicion, including my own. We are all addicted to our beliefs. So I often find myself "making an argument" for something that I do not believe; an idea I have worked out logically in my head, but I know makes no sense in reality. It is an exercise to get my conversational partner and I to think, and to think about HOW we think.

This blog is full of those kinds of "opinions". Be warned.

This is not a normal land, this brain of mine. I am here to make you question things, not necessarily provide answers, or even my own suggestion of an answer. This may anger many people. If it angers you, I apologize. But I do not repent. Long term readers will learn to be able to tell when I am posting my opinion and when I am posting a thought experiment. If you're ever unsure, ask.