I can not believe people fight about this.
Version #1: We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father
Version #2: We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son
Good grief. I probably wouldn't think much of this strange stand-off between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, except that I have heard some persons belonging to the Eastern Orthodox Church speak almost venomously about the Catholic Church because of these three words.
Do you think Jesus (assuming he actually existed) would have cared so much about this?
27 January, 2008
21 January, 2008
18 January, 2008
Oh, the Subtleties of the American Media
I think this comment can rest on this blog.
"A commercial for Splenda just came on, with Mom, Dad, teenage daughter, and little Jimmy eating a Splendafied breakfast. Little Jimmy puts it on his cereal, Mom and Dad put it in their coffee, and teenage daughter puts it on half a grapefruit. She's just oh-so-happy about it, too! Half a fucking grapefruit. Are you kidding me? No teenage girl should be eating just half a grapefruit for breakfast. Seriously. I have nothing against grapefruit, but no way in hell does half of one provide enough nourishment to last a teenage girl (or anyone, really) until lunch.
I just hate bullshit like this. The body-hating starts so early for girls in America, and it's because of the little things like this, where something insane is presented as normal. I just... oy."
"A commercial for Splenda just came on, with Mom, Dad, teenage daughter, and little Jimmy eating a Splendafied breakfast. Little Jimmy puts it on his cereal, Mom and Dad put it in their coffee, and teenage daughter puts it on half a grapefruit. She's just oh-so-happy about it, too! Half a fucking grapefruit. Are you kidding me? No teenage girl should be eating just half a grapefruit for breakfast. Seriously. I have nothing against grapefruit, but no way in hell does half of one provide enough nourishment to last a teenage girl (or anyone, really) until lunch.
I just hate bullshit like this. The body-hating starts so early for girls in America, and it's because of the little things like this, where something insane is presented as normal. I just... oy."
17 January, 2008
Is Religion Necessary?
I met with my mentor today and asked him what he thought of Letter to a Christian Nation. He said he didn't care for it because it seemed to him that the point was to eradicate religion from the world. He didn't agree with this because religion has been around for thousands of years and has made humanity what is today.
I guess I'm curious if religion is really necessary for humanity. I don't deny that it was important and even necessary in the past, but it doesn't seem to be needed any longer. So I'm open to the idea that it would be a tragedy or disaster to completely abolish religion (voluntarily of course), but right now I can't see that it would be tragic or disastrous.
I guess I'm curious if religion is really necessary for humanity. I don't deny that it was important and even necessary in the past, but it doesn't seem to be needed any longer. So I'm open to the idea that it would be a tragedy or disaster to completely abolish religion (voluntarily of course), but right now I can't see that it would be tragic or disastrous.
12 January, 2008
Well, it finally happened...
I've been thinking about what my reaction would be. I'd convinced myself that I would smile politely, say, "Thank you, but I'm not interested," and shut the door quietly. The perfect Anna response: firm, yet avoiding conflict at all costs.
But see, they woke me up. Well, not exactly. I actually woke up about 3 minutes before they knocked on the door, but my voice still sounded sleepy, my eyes weren't all the way open yet, and my hair was all over the place. The man apologized for coming at a bad time. I'm sure in his mind, 10:36 on a Saturday morning isn't exactly early, but in College Student Land, that's when you make up for all the late study nights and early morning classes.
He introduced himself, the small boy to his right, and the unseen person on his left. I didn't bother opening the door any wider to look at the unseen person. He said they were Bible students, but he really meant Jehovah's Witnesses. After saying he saw they'd caught me at a bad time, he extended the tract. I didn't even pause.
"Thank you," I said. That was it. I took the thing from him, smiled politely, and quietly shut the door. He had a kid with him, and I think we can all agree that's cheating. I can't be the mean atheist lady when there's a little boy involved. Right? At the same time, though, it pisses me off a little. The last time I dealt with the JWs, it was at our parents' house, and that lady had a little girl with her. I'm certain they do it so people will be polite. It's a tactic. Your average, nice person won't say, "Piss off," (or any politer equivalent) in front of a child. It just isn't done.
I didn't read his little pamphlet. I tore it in half and dropped it in the kitchen trash on my way back to bed. I wish I had said, "Thank you, but I'm not interested," if only because maybe that small example would have shown that boy about thinking for oneself. That's ambitious of me, I know, but we atheists have to do that sort of thing. We have to set positive examples with our lives and about our godlessness, else people buy into the myth that all atheists are cruel, or callous, or shrill. I like to be the nice atheist lady, the one who can explain what I believe about life and why, but I'm constantly dealing with my fears of being prejudged. That's what stopped me this morning, I think. Something in my subconscious thought that if I refused and shut the door, the only message that little boy would take away is that (in his mind) I am going to hell.
They're just so tricky.
But see, they woke me up. Well, not exactly. I actually woke up about 3 minutes before they knocked on the door, but my voice still sounded sleepy, my eyes weren't all the way open yet, and my hair was all over the place. The man apologized for coming at a bad time. I'm sure in his mind, 10:36 on a Saturday morning isn't exactly early, but in College Student Land, that's when you make up for all the late study nights and early morning classes.
He introduced himself, the small boy to his right, and the unseen person on his left. I didn't bother opening the door any wider to look at the unseen person. He said they were Bible students, but he really meant Jehovah's Witnesses. After saying he saw they'd caught me at a bad time, he extended the tract. I didn't even pause.
"Thank you," I said. That was it. I took the thing from him, smiled politely, and quietly shut the door. He had a kid with him, and I think we can all agree that's cheating. I can't be the mean atheist lady when there's a little boy involved. Right? At the same time, though, it pisses me off a little. The last time I dealt with the JWs, it was at our parents' house, and that lady had a little girl with her. I'm certain they do it so people will be polite. It's a tactic. Your average, nice person won't say, "Piss off," (or any politer equivalent) in front of a child. It just isn't done.
I didn't read his little pamphlet. I tore it in half and dropped it in the kitchen trash on my way back to bed. I wish I had said, "Thank you, but I'm not interested," if only because maybe that small example would have shown that boy about thinking for oneself. That's ambitious of me, I know, but we atheists have to do that sort of thing. We have to set positive examples with our lives and about our godlessness, else people buy into the myth that all atheists are cruel, or callous, or shrill. I like to be the nice atheist lady, the one who can explain what I believe about life and why, but I'm constantly dealing with my fears of being prejudged. That's what stopped me this morning, I think. Something in my subconscious thought that if I refused and shut the door, the only message that little boy would take away is that (in his mind) I am going to hell.
They're just so tricky.
03 January, 2008
Thoughts on Islam
I’ve been rethinking some of my thoughts on Islam, and I thought it was worth writing about on here. So. My position has long been that we need to be sure and distinguish between Islam and Islamic extremism, that to cast all of Islam as evil based on the actions and teachings of a select few is wrong. I think this was largely a reaction, on my part, to the fairly obscene amount of anti-Muslim bigotry that seemed to become acceptable and commonplace following 9/11. I had (and still have) a major problem with tagging all sorts of innocent people as “evildoers” because they happen to share a religion or color of skin with a relatively small group of terrorists.
Lately, though, I’ve become a little uncomfortable with some of the more misogynistic aspects of Islam. Hearing stories about honor killings, etc––it bothers me. I’m not buying into the “all of Islam is evil” mentality by any means, understand. At the same time, though, I can’t deny that the people committing these atrocities are justifying their actions with the Qur’an. This reminds me of certain people in America––cough––Pat Robertson-JerryFallwell-James Dobson-George Bush––cough cough––who justify their bullshit with the Bible. So, you’ve got definite parallels between Christian and Islamic extremism. The thing is, though, that I personally have problems with Christian ‘moderates’ as well. For me, just because you’re not out bombing abortion clinics or accusing children’s television of promoting ‘the homosexual agenda’ doesn’t mean you get a free pass. It’s the Sam Harris thing, right? If I call bullshit on ‘moderate’ Christians (really, Christianity as a whole), I should call bullshit on ‘moderate’ Muslims/Islam, shouldn’t I?
It’s tricky. I think maybe I should read the Qur’an to see if there’s some of the more outlandish stuff like there is in the Bible, so that I can have a legitimate basis from which to call bullshit (or not) on Islam. The defense I hear often is that “Islam is a religion of peace.” I’ve supported this assertion, but then I started to think of people who say the same thing about Christianity, and when it comes to Christianity, I damn well know better. Anyway. I have no real thesis or summing up for this post, hence the “Thoughts” title.
Lately, though, I’ve become a little uncomfortable with some of the more misogynistic aspects of Islam. Hearing stories about honor killings, etc––it bothers me. I’m not buying into the “all of Islam is evil” mentality by any means, understand. At the same time, though, I can’t deny that the people committing these atrocities are justifying their actions with the Qur’an. This reminds me of certain people in America––cough––Pat Robertson-JerryFallwell-James Dobson-George Bush––cough cough––who justify their bullshit with the Bible. So, you’ve got definite parallels between Christian and Islamic extremism. The thing is, though, that I personally have problems with Christian ‘moderates’ as well. For me, just because you’re not out bombing abortion clinics or accusing children’s television of promoting ‘the homosexual agenda’ doesn’t mean you get a free pass. It’s the Sam Harris thing, right? If I call bullshit on ‘moderate’ Christians (really, Christianity as a whole), I should call bullshit on ‘moderate’ Muslims/Islam, shouldn’t I?
It’s tricky. I think maybe I should read the Qur’an to see if there’s some of the more outlandish stuff like there is in the Bible, so that I can have a legitimate basis from which to call bullshit (or not) on Islam. The defense I hear often is that “Islam is a religion of peace.” I’ve supported this assertion, but then I started to think of people who say the same thing about Christianity, and when it comes to Christianity, I damn well know better. Anyway. I have no real thesis or summing up for this post, hence the “Thoughts” title.
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