“We have found we can actually know the God who makes the snow we ski on in a personal way.”
“Extreme to me is knowing that the God who created the mountains and the trees and the animals wants to have a personal relationship with me.”
Oh, the cliches and superstition! It hurts.
I’d be interested in how they can “know” such things. Let me guess — it’s in the bible, so it must be true. But they emphasize it’s a personal relationship, and it’s hard to see how an ancient book could be personal.
(via)
If only talk like that would lead to rampant environmental awareness among Christians.
arkon, I don’t really see those statements as any kind of promotion of environmental stewardship. They’ve always said God created the mountains and the trees and all, and then decided it meant that humans had the right to trash everything at will since God made it for them to use. Most Christians will acknowledge the beauty in nature, but they still view it as a consumable, designed for their convenience and use.
And Daniel, as we are witnessing in another thread here, they “know” this through their “intuition”. (smirk)
I wish someone would do a medical study on what happens in the brain when someone starts feeling self-righteous and sanctimonious, why it seems to feed on itself.
DD: way to bring me down ;) There is, apparently, a small evangelical Christian environmental movement. Perhaps they feel that if God does come back, he’ll be pissed we wrecked his house.
Also, there was a study that people with religious/spiritual beliefs are happier than those without. I think that shows that self-delusion works; if you think everything is okey-dokey, you can ignore the badness.
It’s bad enough listening to the egregious amounts of STUPID falling from their lips, but when it comes from some ski duuude and it’s set to a bunch of dumbass crap rock music? Oy, vey.
All hail the First Church of Douchebaggery.
Perfectly illustrates the infantile narcissism underlying the religious impulse.
“Dude, I’m so cool that the freakin’ Creator of the Universe™ calls me his bro! That’s right—the guy who holds atoms together thinks *I’m* rad!”
Only a truly tiny person would desire such cosmic importance.
Wormwood-
On the other hand, it really would be pretty….cool if it were true wouldnt it? I mean think about it. If it were really…true then it really would be…really…cool. No?
But what fool could possibly believe that that “Creator”, if IT even exists could possiblely give a damn about little ol’ me or even know my name, let alone the number of hair’s on my head…today…as opposed to…yesterday, huh?
Those idiots, they are just like….children. I mean they will believe anything they “hear”.
Oh the (fairy) tales…
John, you have no credibility. You came here and lied and got caught. Its gone, man. Gone. Accept it, and learn from your mistakes. The next time you find yourself on an atheist website, don’t use deception and evasions.
Those guys live for their faith in God. They don’t worship the Bible. They worship God. They really have a relationship.
Y’all are awesome at ridiculing Christians. But what do you live for? What is your purpose?
Just questions, *dudes*.
The part that disturbs me the most is that they seem to accept almost nonchalantly the statement “Without faith it is impossible to please god” Is that supposed to be how an omnibelevolent being of absolute morality feels? Is absolute morality that petty? Did forgiveness get left by the wayside somewhere? I wish people would focus more on the “love thy neighbor” and less on the “Faith! Faith! Faith!”
Brandonseed, our purposes can be whatever they need to be. Each can choose his or her own. Assuming we need a purpose to live for at all, which is an entirely different matter. If you are actually curious, instead of just attempting to change the subject, then you can look up this kind of information on any number of secular websites.
We aren’t actually that awesome at ridiculing christians. We’re average at best. But these christians in particular are easy to ridicule, so maybe that explains it.
If you actually want to defend what these people believe, please do so.
“Just questions”…yeah, right. Soon enough, you’ll get “fed up,” and claim that all us mean old atheists are just beating up on you poor misunderstood Christians and will claim that we are deluded people who have no love in our lives. I’d pretty much set my watch by how long it’s going to take for you to go from being “willing to converse” to either tacitly or outright condemning “us.”
At any rate, you earlier mentioned how nutty you think some fundies are…and for Daniel (and some of us who comment), the Extreme Mountain Dew Jeebusbots featured above are a prime example of nutbars. They spout platitudes that, when you examine them, are about as meaningful as screaming “Klaatu Barada Niktu” in the middle of bar mitzvah.
@ Aor: I genuinely chuckled at your quote – “We aren’t actually that awesome at ridiculing Christians. We’re average at best.” Funny stuff. And you’re right. Christians like these are easy to ridicule.
@ Roger: Nah, man. Turn off the watch timer. Seriously, click it off. Although wow, I think I just got a picture of how non-Christians feel when Christians talk about them like they know them.
I’m not the judgmental type. Used to be. But got sick of it. I’m not here to convert anyone or anything, just participate in the discussion. Just to learn, about others, about myself, about the way people view things.
But calling you mean old atheists?
Nah, man.
I just skipped through it. I have a limited tolerance for cliches. Does it strike anybody else as incredibly self-centered? “Dear Jesus, thanks for dying on the cross so my sorry ass could be saved. Now I’m gonna go blast down the slopes, wearing expensive ski gear and clothing that could have fed a family of eight in Bangladesh for a week. Later, dude!”
So many of these attempts to reach out to the younger audience turn Christianity into Christianity(tm). Not a systematic body of belief, practice or tradition but a loose collection of buzzwords and market tested slogans. I’m not suggesting that all Christians should live as monks – though many in the early Christian movement said just that. But I do have to wonder about people who have supposedly have a major life-changing conversion, but only change their vocabulary.
Aor-
You presume much my friend, and therefore you are at times…presumptious. Only the heart can hear the things of the heart…or spirit realm so the YOU (which denies the spirit realm altogether) does not really know what the heart, in others…in fact “hears”.
Words are not just words in the same way that seeds are not “just” seeds…do you “see’d” that my friend?
Thx Aor
ARKonbey-
You said, regarding the earth…and “christians” new found sense of environmental stewardship.”Perhaps they feel that if God does come back, he’ll be pissed we wrecked his house.”
So, just where is this…house of God…Ark? Is it the…earth as you implied…jokingly?
Where is His preferred residence? Or does He or IT reside…at all…anywhere? Where can He be found? Or can He?
In a church? Maybe a building, a temple…a…. what??
Its obvious that He doesnt dwell in temples made by (human) hands for we have “looked” there for centuries… haven’t…we?
What is the mystery? The mystery of the ages Ark? Do you know? What did the former “religious” leader who so hated the “christians” and their Christ THAT HE KILLED THEM…until one…very BRIGHT DAY he was enLIGHTen’d…say about God’s…house? As to just where it…is to be FOUND…IN YOU?
Here’s/there’s a clue…the answer is hidden in your screename…how Ironic or ARKish that is…huh?
Talk about a house-WARMING…gift.
Regarding the video, ugh.
I do have a question about this whole “relationship” buzzword I’ve been hearing over the last couple of years. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t brought up in a very religious household and didn’t go to church … but almost all of my close friends did … and I don’t recall the “relationship” meme back then.
I hear it quite often now. It’s most blatantly smarmy and dishonest incarnation being the insistence I have repeatedly heard from Christians that Christianity “isn’t a religion … it’s a relationship”. All those other religions are religions, you see, and they believe some extremely silly and unsupported bullshit … but Christianity is special and totally different from them … because it’s a “relationship”.
When did this meme get started and has anyone else noticed an increase in its popularity recently?
@John,
Your Yoda impression needs work, dude.
@Brandonsneed,
I genuinely hope you are true to your stated goals of open-mindedness. I hope you understand our skepticism, given that we all have histories full of folks who sound just like you do but change their tune relatively quickly. Time will tell.
@brandonsneed,
You asked a question above about purpose and Aor gave a good response. Who said there ever needed to be a single purpose for everyone, or that a person couldn’t have multiple purposes, or that they might have different purposes at different times in their life? That’s the exciting part. I don’t have one purpose … I have nearly boundless (relatively speaking) potential for experiencing and learning about the universe around me. My purpose right now is to make certain that I don’t waste this one life I have chasing after all the ways the universe is NOT … but, it’s also to go down stairs and make a peanut butter sandwich because I’m hungry … and to catch up on Battlestar Galactica before the new season starts … and to make certain that my fiance and parents and friends know just how terribly much I love them … and … well I think you see my point.
@Baka-
What did YOU hear in what WAS SPOKEin?
Plainly…please…thank YOU
John
John, stop babbling. Nobody can understand you.
John:
I’m beginning to wonder if you’ve suffered some kind of head injury. Are you actually capable for forming coherent sentences?
@Baka: Yeah, I noticed this notion of a “relationship” and would posit that it began sometime around the 70s, when some Christians became dissatisfied with the “legalism” of Christianity and sought to reach out to disaffected younger folk. So, to draw people in, you focus less on the legalisms of Christianity (the “thou shalt nots”) and more on how Imaginary Sky Friend loves you and wants to save you from Hell (which he presumably created…urm??)
@Brandonseed: I apologize for my rant at you; I think you’re beginning to question Christianity–and it’s a process. For years, I regarded myself as a Christian in that I thought that Jesus was a moral exemplar (I could sidestep the question of God with an adroitness that might make a ballet dancer look like a schlub) alongside Buddha and the Prophet Muhammad. Blah, blah, blah, I realized I was making a BUNCH of mental gymnastics to appease people; in the final analysis, “god” simply didn’t make any kind of logical sense. It’s all a journey, dude–maybe we should start extreeeeeme windsurfing for…atheism?
@Caleb and Sol: Yay, you know a biblical verse. Would you like a cookie?
@Roger:
“Extreme Mountain Dew Jeebusbots “? Love it!
@Everyone:
Also, I think we’re above attacking John C’s person here. I’d personally appreciate it if we can keep our comments civil and respectful.
Though I don’t agree with hardly anything John C says, I give him alot of credit for sticking around!
Does it matter? Until it looks less like his keyboard threw up and more like somebody wrote it, it’s not worth reading. If he’s actually had a head injury, well, I’m sure nobody else will notice.
Bad timing, I replied to a 3 hour old page, I was expecting my comment to pop up under wintermute’s. Perfectly happy to have that comment disappear if I’m being too rude, but honestly, it was hard enough to understand when it made sense.
@Daniel:
I ain’t dissing John C.–He’s clearly a person of deep faith. And on some level I can admire that, though I freely admit there’s a smirk alongside that admiration.
But he can’t seem to express it in words that I understand to mean anything but “Just stop thinking and let the love wash over you.” Which cuts zero ice with me.
It’s the old problem: We’re willing to convert in a heartbeat if anyone can prove the existence of their particular deity. But we can’t be satisfied with the thin gruel of “just feeling”.
@Daniel-
Thanks Daniel…I appreciate this entire forum and recognize it (the fruit of your vision) as a significant “hub” of humanity in our collective “journey’s”. It has a definite role in the grand-scheme.
The site, in and of itself is no small under-taking on your part. While the only thing we “share” may, at present be our differences…even that will suffice for the time being if need be.
Sincerely,
John C
Aor-
Thanks, that short little verse of rebuke is, however the most civil way in which you have spoken to me in…EVER.
I appreciate you, even if you don’t…me.
John
@Daniel
Hey man, it’s your blog, so if you say so, cool. However, John asked me a question, and I feel it’s only polite to provide him an answer.
@John C asked me,
“What did YOU hear in what WAS SPOKEin?
Plainly…please…thank YOU”
I could be pedantic and point out that I didn’t hear anything because nothing was spoken, because this is a text-based forum. But, I understand what you’re asking. My answer is this:
Nothing.
That’s the point, John. You seem to carefully craft hard-to-parse comments that, once one has taken the time to actually try to disentangle your wanton abuse of the caps lock, quotation marks, and ellipses, impart no real information.
If you wish for us to “hear” YOU … please … SPEAk mOar … clear”LY”.
@Baka: I’m not saying not to reply to John, I just want us to refrain from inappropriate personal attacks.
@Daniel
Gotcha. Let me know when I cross that line. It’s hard to see sometimes when the point of the discussion is the manner in which a person expresses themselves or the content of their cherished beliefs.
@John
I’m not attacking you. I’m attacking the way you’re attempting to communicate and I’m using mockery and ridicule as tools to achieve this goal and, in all honesty, also because it’s fun. I encourage you to come have fun with me and let’s talk openly and clearly about where we might disagree. I was serious about still not having heard anything from you that amounts to a cogent point or argument, except perhaps what @Metro pointed out above. If all you’re really saying is set aside reason and logic and just “go with the flow, dude”, then that’s not much information added to the discussion. If it’s different, make the distinction and let’s go from there.
I hope that’s clear.
@Baka-
No worries, I take no offense my friend. To the contrary, I appreciate you and your thoughts.
Regarding Metro’s point…while you may hear it in that manner, I have never actually said “just stop thinking and let the love wash over you”…cuz its really, really, much, much…easier than that… lol
Im kidding,
All my best to you, wherever YOU may BE….B.
John
I’m rarely civil for long with people like you John. Those who support willful ignorance are the lowest of the low in my books. Willful ignorance is the greatest support structure that racism and bigotry has. As such, it is completely unworthy of respect and should be attacked with a vengeance. Rather than come back with more babbling as your response you could put your time into learning something about sentence structure.
Aor-
Ok…thanks, good to talk with you again tonight as well, how was your day today, lol.
You dont want to even go there with me on this racism and bigotry front Aor…you have no idea (still) who it is that you are corresponding with my friend, nor are you aware of my personal history.
I have never supported any such doctine as you have described in your text. Racism & bigotry are very ugly things and I, like you want nothing to do with them.
You are presuming and so being presumptious…again.
But my day was great…thx for asking! lol
John
I made simple points John. If you want to attack my points rather than distract and avoid again, please do. I couldn’t care less about your personal history. Any attempt to imply that based on your race I should not be able to make generalized statements would be… well, discriminatory is the word that comes to mind. If you want to claim that being of your race allows you to chose to be offended by my words more than any other race would be asking for special treatment for your race, which is called racism.
Anything that divides people into classes such as saved/unsaved, christian/unchristian, us/them et cetera, can lead to bigotry. Those who are unsaved are in need, unable to truly feel love (as you implied several times), or whatever other nonexistent difference that your religion (which you deny having) declares will lead to discrimination based on that belief. Discrimination based on religious beliefs is called bigotry. Since you discriminate against atheists (you imply we cannot feel emotions the way christians can), you are a bigot.
So if you want to deal rationally with any of the points I have raised I will discuss it with you. If you are just going to go off again in your nonsense language, I’ll continue to assume that you are unable to argue and thus not worthy of being in an argument with.
@Roger,
I failed to thank you for responding to my question about the “relationship” meme. What you said makes some sense. Thanks. :)
@Daniel,
I’d like to hear your thoughts on the “relationship” meme at some point. Or, if you have written about it in the past before I started coming here, let me know where I can find that post. Since you were neck-deep in that culture as an adult, I’d be interested to get your thoughts.
@John C,
Just because we’ve agreed that I’m not attacking you personally and, that therefore, you aren’t going to be offended does not imply that I’m not going to hold your feet to the fire.
I have just finished re-reading all of your comments in this thread and here’s what I get out of each one, starting at the top, in order:
1) Some sort of strange attempt at reverse psychology with Wormwood, seasoned with a dash of “dude, where’s my car”.
2) A dodge of Aor’s charges of dishonesty on your part by an invocation of a special, metaphysical place you call “the heart … or spirit realm.” This place is (conveniently) unable to be perceived by us atheists, presumably because we haven’t clicked our heels together three times and repeated “I do believe in fairies! I do I do I do I do I DO believe in fairies!”
3) A big long pun about the ark. I love puns, but part of their awesomeness is usually their brevity and subtlety. Also, what does the ark have to do with this discussion about snow-boarding, X-treme godbots?
4) Your question to me, which was in-part answered above and is answered in more detail in this comment right now.
5) Nice words about Daniel.
6) Nice words about Aor. I’ll note still very little about x-treme dudes who dig Jesus or expansion of any previous points, such as they are.
7) Nice words about me. And the beginning of some sort of response to Metro’s point, but it is aborted with a claim that you are just kidding.
8) You finally seem to actually take umbrage and dig your heels in a little about Aor’s comment. This is good. Digging your heels in leads to you making a definite point about something, a point that I (or others) can then evaluate, accept, reject, or ask for more explanation of. I happen to agree with Aor that willful ignorance is the source of power and acceptance of most of the evil in the world. I have no idea if you are willfully ignorant or not … yet. I haven’t gone back to find what discussions you and Aor have interacted with in the past to see if his allegations hold water. I suspect that your future posts here will reveal whether Aor’s comments are justified or not. I do note that you gave a snarky little how-are-you-I’m-fine-thanks wrapper to your offense, which I enjoyed. Snark is good and I think more highly of people who can give as good as it gets.
But, now we come to the point once more, John. What, exactly, is your point? I’ve just answered in detail your question, “What did YOU hear in what WAS SPOKEin?” Care to show me what I’ve missed and convince me there are some real points you’ve made?
Thank YOU. ;)
Aor-
You said…”I’ll continue to assume that you are unable to argue and thus not worthy of being in an argument with”?
Good, cuz I dont want to argue either.
And that you are “rarely civil with people like me”.
Just so you know…I’m very much the middle-aged, “white-boy” as they say down south.
But that’s just the skin of the apple, we know they come in all kinds of colors…green, yellow, red and they’re all yummy! Just be careful that you dont eat the one from the tree of SELF, or more commonly called the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. The apples from the other tree, the tree of life…now them’s some good eaten’ buddy! (trying our my southern text twang).
No racism, no bigotry.
Btw…I have never said anything about the saved and the unsaved, you must be confusing me with some of the “religious” do-gooders!
Be nice for once, would ya?
Oh…nevermind…take care AOR
Again you refuse to justify your position. I asked for refutations of the points I made, and you give me.. nothing but more babble.
Each time you do that you lose more credibility. This is something you should realize by now. Each time you disagree with a point I raised, you should be attacking that point or accepting it or withholding judgement. If you criticise me for making that point and then decline the opportunity to justify your position, you make yourself look deliberately deceptive.
You are either unable to refute the points I made or unwilling. Whichever it is, I’ll take that as accepting that my words were 100% correct.
Baka-
Wow..I’m honored. You only gave Roger & Daniel one paragraph’s worth of attention, and me? I get like double-digits worth! lol
As for Daniel…he probably knows more scripture than me! lol
You have come into the picture a little late for me. My time here is winding down. I have many so many, too many posts that you are welcome to peruse if you like from the past week or so.
As for mine & Aor’s posts…yes…please do go back and look at that if you want to see who has consistently taken the high road there…but nonetheless…he (Aor) is my fellow-man and I care about him whether he gives a rats #@% about me or not! lol
You know that each thread eventually takes its own course and just withers away. So, holding to one point is difficult because people have different points to make.
The Ark? I wasn’t referring to the one that floated on the water…but another that is very central to his comment and my reply as to “where God lives”. If you want to know, you can.
Most of my “babbling” is in other threads like the “make your best case for God” thread and the one where the supposed “christians are fighting, u know the pic where they are dragging some guy away from the “holy” place? Btw…where is the holy place Baka? Hint: you dont have to look very far my friend.
Fairies? I never said anything about believing in…fairies. I do not believe in “fairies”. But fairy-tales? The ones that have the familiar paradaisical, edenic
tones to them like “once upon a time” and happily ever after”…yea…those are pretty cool I think. And maybe, just maybe they are trying to tell us something? But we dont care to hear.
As for Snarky..ness? I dont care for it really. Rather, my thought was more along the lines of him being a bit pre-sumptious. He knows what I meant…Btw…why do you “respect” Snarky…ness anyway?
As for my point Baka? Its a mystery…one for the ages. CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory, yea…your glory too! Its that simple.
God in…Man?? Ba…humbug! lol
John
Yet again you decline the chance to refute the points I raised.
Why bother posting here at all when you refuse to engage in honest discussion?
@John C.
Dude–you’re treading perilously close to even my troll line, and I’ve already pushed it back a yard for you.
Let’s try this one more time. We’re looking for a short answer in plain English that responds to the actual question asked. And here it is:
Am I correct in saying that you have asserted here and elsewhere that atheists can come to faith through
ceasing to use reason and simply accepting the existence of a god?
Let’s make this even easier: Multiple choice.
A) Yes
B) No
Pick one option, and then go into the explanation, huh? For the sake of reasonable discussion. We’ll pick the holes in your assertions later.
You’ve asserted that faith “is easier than that”. Then it should be easier to explain than you’re making it.
@John C,
For the record, and in defense of my geek cred, I know the difference between Noah’s Ark and the Ark of the Covenant, and I grokked to which you were referring.
You asked, “Where is the holy place Baka?” That depends on what you mean by “holy”. If you refer to a place that is considered holy by others, then there are literally millions on the planet. If you’re trying to get me to have some sort of epiphany that the power was really in me all the time and that holiness comes from the heart, I get it. Metaphors are fun and useful, but only if people understand they’re being used metaphorically. If they don’t, then confusion ensues. I the metaphor-user is using them with the intent of muddying the waters for his/her audience, then they’re being naughty.
You suggest we don’t “care to hear” whatever it is the cool fairy tales are trying to teach us. I bet (A) many if not most of the readers of this blog are more well-read in fantasy, sci-fi, mythology, and folklore than your average bear because we really like these topics; and (B) we like happy endings as much as the next guy. But, I for one know the difference between the sorts of stories meant to be for entertainment, or meant to provide a scaffold within which important topics might be explored, and something that is factual in its assertions about the nature of the physical universe.
Why do I respect Snark, you ask? I dunno, I’ve just always preferred listening to people that are willing to put some passion and oomph behind their opinions. Needlessly rude is one thing, but purposefully rude is quite another. I don’t like it when someone talks to me in polite tones but I can tell they really want to let me have it. I consider it slightly insulting that they aren’t willing to engage in an honest fashion for fear of rocking some sort of social boat. That, and I love language and take a lot of enjoyment out of reading well-crafted wit and trying to craft the occasional barb myself.
I haven’t decided whether you’re a true believer or not, and I’m not yet ready to declare you a troll. But, I must agree with Metro that you’re skirting dangerously close to that line. I suppose you may not be a true believer, but rather think you’re going to teach us a lesson about being mean to those who are. I don’t really know, and it’s becoming harder and harder to care about finding out. It’s tough to look back at your comments here and see any motive or intent other than to keep us puppets dancing on your strings. Fun though that may be, it’s a merriment that has its limits.
I would love to hear an answer to Metro’s question he raised just above. Honest, straightforward communication is all we’re asking.
I must give credit where credit is due and thank you for making your recent comments much more readable buy reining in some of the capslock and quotation mark action. My eyes appreciate your efforts.
@Metro-
NO….faith is not what your coming to or why your coming at all, please understand.
It’s your construction of the question itself (I still answered) that needs mending, but it reveals your perspective….thank you.
Furthermore…simply believing in the existence of God does not make one whole, renewed, or in-dwelt. The solution is not found in merely “believing in God”.
The answer is found in the “mystery of the ages”…Christ IN you. The question is, how do you get Him to take up residence within you.
Hey…did we just communicate on some minor level? lol
John
John, I asked you to refute some points. You have had days. Are you going to respond, or do the standard song and dance and try to change the subject some more?
Aor-
Who made you forum watch dog…gggrrrr…uffff!
Believe me, you dont want to hear me sing, and I cant dance! lol
I’m just pointing out your deceptiveness John. If you don’t want it pointed out, stop being deceptive. I`ve asked a few times. You claimed I was wrong, but haven`t explained how and why. If you want to convince people you will have to answer those questions and take a firm position. Eventually. By claiming I am wrong and then running away from the chance to defend your position you make yourself look foolish. If I made a claim that countered something you said and refused to back it up you would have the right to ask me to.
It seems like you are demanding the right to lie to us and never be questioned. Not that this surprises me.
And by the way, I notice that yet again you decline the chance to refute the points I made.
Its safe to assume that people who make claims and refuse to back them up are liars. So once again, I am calling you a liar. Have a nice day, liar.
Man, I don’t come to this site in two days and the comments just multiply like bunnies on Red Bull….
Yeah, I often question Christianity. There’s way too much within the religion that just seems screwy.
But, at the risk of sounding cliche, there is something very real about God. I’m just trying to divide the crap so many throw in with his reality from the truth.
@brandon
What methods to you use to sort the crap from the reality?
W/r/t the whole “relationship” thing, my experience has been that the people who tell you that they have a “personal relationship with God” are always unable to really describe it, concretely or effectively. It’s all nebulous (and sometimes weirdly erotic) feelings and broad summations and poetic license. I mean this in as neutral a tone I can mean it as an avowed skeptic and atheist: it always sounds to me like they are talking about the most powerful imaginary friend ever; an imaginary friend who has ‘magical’ abilities, loves them both unconditionally and yet might condemn them to everlasting pain (or, in some cases, there is no “hell” to fear and only love to be had), who always answers prayers or responds to them in some way (even when the response seems incomprehensible*), who loves everyone ever born and unborn, who is everywhere and knows all things (though this can never be tested), and who feels such terrible pain that there are people (like us, my friends) who “deny Him” by saying “He” is not real.
I always feel a bit sorry for people whose lives are so tangled up with protecting their belief in this “relationship” from any perceived threat. All the rhetoric about how people like us, ahem, hurt “God’s” feelings and how we just don’t know that all we have to do is “open ourselves to Him”…. Well, yeah; I feel sorry for them is what it is.
* Why is it that “God” (or “gods”) get this free pass? Why is it that believers never seem to call their deity to account? Why, unless it’s because that is the doorway to skepticism and a cynical appraisal? The moment a person says, “Hey, WTF Lord?”, that person has taken the first step toward questions that “God” never answers. So the true believer instead answers those questions for him or herself in almost the same way a child makes up his or her mind about the inexplicable, occult, bizarre and astonishing behavior of the adults in his or her life. I say “almost” because, of course, children actually have real life adults to deal with. Imaginary friends don’t count.
Yeah, the personal faith in god is very Twilight, very emo, the kind of thing a poorly educated 14 year old goth chick thinks up on an ecstasy trip. Its like a special bond with something that is oh so special that it sparkles and shines and makes me feel all special inside in my special places.
It seems to be just another example of the need to feel loved, but stretched out into some fantastical realm where love is more than love and lust is not going to happen until the sequel.