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January 01, 2006

I hope this shows up on Netflix.

On a religious kick these days, aren't I? Must be the season.

In a nutshell: one of those movies that probably won't tell me anything I didn't already know/suspect, but I'll probably still rent it anyway. All the Illinois screenings seem to be over, so I guess the only way to get ahold of it is as a DVD. I'll see what I can do.

Most people can't articulate their faith. Not all, but most. I have no religious faith to speak of, but I can articulate my lack of belief better than most monotheists I've met can outline their piety, and that's a little scary. Or maybe a lot scary. It means they don't think about it.

A belief system as total as a religion isn't something I feel should be taken so lightly, or regarded with such willful ignorance.

If you're going to identify as a Christian, know what being a Christian means. Know where Christianity comes from. Understand its imperfections, and don't misuse it. Your faith doesn't exist to make you feel superior or to flesh out your fantasies, and it's not a board with a nail in it. It's a system of morals. A, not THE. And they're not universal, and never will be, and in a free, fair, and reasonable society, never should be. You're going to be disagreed with. Always.

Oh, and stop trying to convince me that I'm going to Hell. That's not a very compelling nuclear option when I don't actually believe in one. Kthnx.

Posted by Spike at January 1, 2006 06:18 PM

Comments

If God wasn't there, then where was he?

Posted by michaelpatrick at January 1, 2006 08:55 PM
63.164.145.198

A Phoenix-area Wendy's, ordering off the dollar menu and complaining about the heat, of course. That's where God was.

Posted by Fortunato at January 1, 2006 09:29 PM
69.143.179.62

i've got no faith to speak of either, but of course Kierkegaard says that if you have true faith you really can't explain it or articulate it, because to have true faith is to know a thing to be impossible yet to believe in it anyway (ie: infinite resignation).

reading him made me understand the religious people a lot better, though it certainly didn't compell me to any beliefs.

Posted by meredith at January 1, 2006 10:07 PM
151.205.86.73

I'd just gotten it off Netflix last month and it's pretty good.

His analysis of the New testament to show that no one actually ever met Jesus was a pretty good argument. It made me want to go back and read the New Testament again.

But the New Testament really long...

Posted by Tone at January 1, 2006 11:04 PM
71.136.236.12

I 'am' a Baptist, which makes me a christian. I went to Catholic school for 4 years (high school), and in all that time I just came to realize that I don't know what I believe. All I really believe, is that people should just be awesome to each other, but I suppose you could just call that common decency.

Basically, I don't know what will happen after death, so I'm just trying to do the best I can here. That's all I'd ask of anyone.

Posted by Charles at January 2, 2006 01:58 AM
70.226.97.197

Once, in a bible study group that I attended four times, the priest said "There are scientific refutations for all the miracles in the bible. If you're focusing on whether they actually happened or not, you're missing the point." I was going to say something to that, but I thought about it a minute, and realized that it was a very wise thing to say indeed.

Death, resurrection, ascension? Details. "Pull the branch from your own eye before you pull the speck from another's" or "Do unto others as you would have them do to you"? Now THAT is the important stuff.

Posted by Fortunato at January 2, 2006 09:21 AM
69.143.179.62

"Death, resurrection, ascension? Details. "Pull the branch from your own eye before you pull the speck from another's" or "Do unto others as you would have them do to you"? Now THAT is the important stuff."

But can't we learn all of that stuff without religion? I think the biggest feature of almost every major religion (not just the Judeo-Christian ones, but ALL of them) is the general assumption that everything will be so much better once we're all dead. In that case isn't 'loving thy neighbor' just something to do between funerals?

Posted by michael patrick at January 2, 2006 10:04 AM
151.204.209.59

Yeah, but no loving your neighbor's ass. Especially if they're a homo. *nod* Isn't that like the 11th Commandment?

Posted by chickie pants at January 2, 2006 07:56 PM
71.113.238.8

I think that when they are homos they are exactly the asses one should be loving.

Posted by michaelpatrick at January 2, 2006 09:39 PM
63.164.145.198

LOL! i JUST found that site through stumbleupon.com

weird. i must see this.

Posted by Jenn at January 3, 2006 03:24 AM
69.4.136.179

Haven't seen this one yet, but I reviewed the director's previous movie, "Nothing So Strange," and that was awesome. It's a documentary about the assassination of Bill Gates that has more to do with LAPD corruption than Bill Gates, really. It's cool.

Posted by Damian at January 4, 2006 09:23 AM
130.126.84.215

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