Religious absurdity

[Chris James]

From time to time the religious absurdities of the world crop up in the most unlikely places. I reference this image for you:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/amid-syrias-civil-war-a-40-foot-statue-of-jesus-rises-on-mountain-top-between-front-lines/2013/11/02/39f0eabe-43bd-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html

Here we have Syria in the midst of a civil war with religious and tribal factions on both sides killing innocents in the tens of thousands, and what is the response of the Christian community...why put up a statue of course.

The millions of rubles it took to plan and execute the placement of this statue is the greatest absurdity of our time. Yes, I say rubles because behind this statue is the work of the Russian church. You know, those nice sweet Christians of the Russian Orthodox Church who want to see the word gay eradicated from the face of the planet. Bastards all.

This money spent in the face of the mounting refugee crisis just proves how misguided some Christian minds can really be. The rubles will be wasted since I predict the statue won't last long in its current location.

Back in 2001 The Taliban destroyed the two 1700 year old statues of Buddha in Afghanistan with dynamite. Graven images of deities are an affront to Islam, as are the Taliban themselves, but don't tell them that. So now we have given them a new forty foot statue for target practice. Think of the publicity the destruction of a Jesus statue will give them, the Taliban will.

So why put up a statue like this in the middle of a war? The most idiotic statement in the article only proves that some Christians don't understand their own deity: Because “Jesus would have done it,” organizer Samir al-Ghadban quoted a Christian church leader as telling him. Oh really?

[EleCivil]

Also in the world of religion, the UAE is pushing for harsher laws against sorcerers.

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/fnc-wants-tougher-laws-against-sorcery

[colinian]

And to keep their viewers from laughing at absurdity, CBC, an Egyptian TV broadcaster, took a popular satirist off the air. People who saw the prerecorded program said the episode mocked CBC's management for criticizing the content of his first episode. The station said they cancelled his series for not respecting nationalistic sentiments and "symbols of the Egyptian state."

Colin

[Cynus]

Also in the world of religion, the UAE is pushing for harsher laws against sorcerers.

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/fnc-wants-tougher-laws-against-sorcery

Dammit! Does this apply to energy work? If so I will have to reconsider that trip to Dubai. . .

[JamesSavik]

I was shopping this afternoon and got an entirely new perspective on the topic.

There was a church bus in the parking area and a lot of harried looking parents and pre-school age kids were inside. And - those were some homely looking kids.

The kids were running around like hellions and singing at the top of their lungs:

God made me, God made me,

I didn't come from monkeys or slime under the sea.

God made me, God made me,

I love him and he loves me.

It was quite telling that 3 year olds were capable of giving as intellectual an argument as most creation scientists.

If I were them, I would sue the subcontractor that made them fat, snotty and smelling like sour milk.

It's also a stark reminder how brainwashed these people are from birth.

[Cole Parker]

That was in Mississippi, right? You have to make allowances.

C

[DesDownunder]

The depth of infant indoctrination, (some might say infantile indoctrination) leaves the poor child in a state of religious delusion from which they may never fully recover.

The psychological reasons for the acceptance of ignorance could only be explained by a study akin to Darwin's work, perhaps entitled, The origin of Speciousness.

The answers are not in the choice of religion, or any study thereof, but in the psychoanalysis of consciousness itself; of understanding the nature of self-awareness, without its evolution being restricted by dogma or superstition.

[Cole Parker]

Talk about religious absurdity. Read this: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/kentucky-cross-country-runner-pulls-regional-championships-rather-111318529.html

I'm no biblical scholar. Is the number 666 listed in the bible as being bad? Or is this an urban myth sort of nonsense?

C.

[EleCivil]

I'm no biblical scholar. Is the number 666 listed in the bible as being bad? Or is this an urban myth sort of nonsense?

C.

Free Bible lesson incoming:

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six."

-Revelation 13:18

Some sects of Christianity believe that prior to the Second Coming of Christ (which presents a final judgment, after which God and Jesus will remake the Earth into paradise and rule for a millennium [what happens after that millennium is another question]), there will be a period called the Tribulation, in which the Beast, who may or may not also be the Antichrist, is given reign over the entire Earth. According to premillennialists, during this time, the Antichrist will control the entire world's government and economy. People will be forced to take "The Mark of the Beast" in order to be permitted to buy or sell goods, and to show loyalty to the Antichrist. Refusal to take the mark is a sign of Christianity, which will lead to Christians being executed and, according to some interpretations, achieving sainthood through their martyrdom ("Tribulation Saints").

Literalists take "The Mark of the Beast" to mean a physical mark, like a tattoo (or more recently, a subdural microchip) on the right hand (symbolizing loyalty) or the forehead (symbolizing worship). Since Rev. 13:18 spells out that the number of the beast is 666 (in some translations it's rendered as 616), you have the popular interpretation that people alive during the Tribulation will literally be forced to be tattooed with the number 666. Accepting that mark is taken as a sign that one has rejected God in favor of worshiping the Antichrist, and is a one-way ticket to hell.

So, yes, asking a premillennial literalist to wear the number 666 is the equivalent of saying "Hey, would you like to wear this 'Hail Satan' t-shirt and denounce God for all eternity?"

The less literal interpretation is that "666" translates to one of the titles of Caesar, whom Christians at the time were not big fans of, what with the whole crucifixions, lions, and attempted world domination thing.

[Cole Parker]

Revelations, huh? Is that the one where the authors were on an acid trip when they wrote it?

Well, that's what I heard!

C

[Merkin]

Now that I understand the basis for her refusal to wear '666', weird as it is, can anyone tell me why sports officials are such obnoxious pricks? Who or what would have been harmed by changing her number?

[Cole Parker]

Some people, when they have even a modicum of power, take delight in abusing it.

C

[The Pecman]

The kids were running around like hellions and singing at the top of their lungs:

God made me, God made me,

I didn't come from monkeys or slime under the sea.

God made me, God made me,

I love him and he loves me.

I don't have a problem rationalizing religious beliefs and scientific beliefs about evolution. What if god created the monkeys and the slime under the sea? (NBC created the Monkees, which is a totally different thing.)

My problem is with the dogmatic belief that the world was made in 6 days, which is bloody F'in' insane. But I have no problem with anybody who said there was a spiritual power behind the creation of the world, the universe, and man. And I tend to lean towards that direction, though I'm not sure... which I guess puts me in the position of being a wishy-washy believer or a semi-agnostic.

[colinian]

So, yes, asking a premillennial literalist to wear the number 666 is the equivalent of saying "Hey, would you like to wear this 'Hail Satan' t-shirt and denounce God for all eternity?"

I wonder what she'd do if she went to Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, California? BTW, their mascot is the Red Devils and that's on their uniforms. Probably ask for a transfer to Concord High, or go to Berean Christian High in Walnut Creek for $9,050.00 tuition and fees per school year.

Colin

[Guest Dabeagle]

666 Park Avenue was very entertaining. Some gaps, but enjoyable. Shame it only went a season.

[Cole Parker]

Colin: I guess what you're saying is you have to be rich to be an operating Christian in the San Francisco area.

And Pec? I think your uncertainty actually puts you with the majority. My opinion, of course.

C

[EleCivil]

Colin: I guess what you're saying is you have to be rich to be an operating Christian in the San Francisco area.

C

I thought you had to be rich to be an operating HUMAN in the San Francisco area.

[JamesSavik]

I read somewhere ages ago something the Catholics say; "Give us a child until he's 7 and we'll have him for the rest of his life". I think that covers the infantile indoctrination pretty well.

I think faith schools should be severely monitored.

Some of the things that are common and expected in Madrassas of the Wahabbi sect of Islam would make the Catholic's scandals look like a Sunday afternoon picnic.

[The Pecman]

I wonder what she'd do if she went to Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, California? BTW, their mascot is the Red Devils and that's on their uniforms. Probably ask for a transfer to Concord High, or go to Berean Christian High in Walnut Creek for $9,050.00 tuition and fees per school year.

Oh, that's nothin'. There's several private schools in LA that are $40,000 a year. Here's a list of several dozen private middle- and high-schools in the country that are in that ballpark:

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-expensive-private-high-schools-us-2013-8?op=1

[colinian]

Colin: I guess what you're saying is you have to be rich to be an operating Christian in the San Francisco area.

Not really. Most Christians go to public school because their families can't afford to pay that kind of tuition. Same for Catholics.

Colin

[Cole Parker]

Even the names are posh and exclusive-sounding!

C

[Merkin]

Coming up with an exclusive name for a prep school designed to draw the elite may be the most important decision its Board of Governors ever make.

[Guest Dabeagle]

The title of this article should really refer to religious conservatives, but I still found it fun.

Read it here.