Maybe it's just me, but I find her remarks about the China earthquake being the result of 'bad karma' funny. (The earthquake itself was a terrible tragedy, mind you. I'm not trying to diminish the impact it created in millions of lives.)

While I personally don't claim* to be a follower of any religion, I do enjoy learning about them. (And there are quite a few.) One of my all time favorite classes in college was "The Philosophy of Religion." And The World's Religions by Huston Smith is one of the books we were required to read. And a book I still have and use.

With the Da Vinci Code movie out in theaters, it's time for me to give my thoughts concerning this whole 'controversy.' (For the record, I've not read the book nor seen the movie; my thoughts are more about the controversy itself.)

In the story, Dan Brown says that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalen in direct opposition to Church teaching. Catholic leaders, then, began to denounce Brown and the book. Blasphemy, you see. Groups like Opus Dei, which is part of the stories conspiracy, and even Albinos (the antagonist is one) along with the Catholic Church (or certain members, I don't think the Vatican denounced it officially) wanted either boycotts of the movie or a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie saying that the story was fiction.

To Opus Dei: if you weren't such a secret society, then your group wouldn't have made sense in the book. To Albinos: one bad albino in a story doesn't make all albinos bad. To the Catholic Church: what are you afraid of?

So what is the Catholic Church afraid of? Simple. Questions.

Questions like: What if there's more to the gospel then we've been told?

Dr. Doron Nof, Professor of Physical Oceanography at Florida State University, has a theory that in the Biblical account of Jesus walking on water he didn't actually walk on liquid water, but rather frozen water. Yes, ice. He has a pdf about it.

While it's nice having someone give a scientific perspective on it, maybe, just maybe, we'll realize what the story really is. A story. A tale. Something made up to try to convince us of something that isn't real.

Whilst surfing the web today looking up Toaism and Buddhism, I came across the site, ExposingSatanism.org.

What I thougth was funny was the copyright disclaimer which prohibits non-christians from using their work unless approved by the webmaster/writer.

My Statement of (Non)Belief
(or, Why I Don’t Believe What I Don’t Believe)
I was recently asked by Zhoen to explain why I went from a Fundamentalist, Bible-thumpin’ Christian to a “non-believer.” The answer is simple, yet complex. I could simply say that one day “I started thinking,” but using that phrase would just annoy a lot of people. But basically, that’s what it comes down to. I started thinking about the Bible and religions and came to the conclusion that it was all wrong.

God would like to thank you for your belief and patronage. In order to better serve your needs, He asks that you take a few moments to answer the following questions.

Please keep in mind that your responses will be kept completely confidential, and that you need not disclose your name or address unless you prefer a direct response to comments or suggestions.

1. How did you find out about God?

___ Newspaper
___ New Testament
___ Torah
___ Book of Mormon
___ Koran
___ Other Book
___ Television
___ Divine Inspiration
___ Word of mouth
___ Dead Sea Scrolls
___ My mama done tol' me
___ Near-Death Experience
___ Near-Life Experience
___ National Public Radio
___ Tabloid
___ Burning Shrubbery
___ Who?
___ Other (specify): _____________

2. Which model God did you acquire?

___ God of Israel
___ Jehovah
___ Allah
___ Just plain God
___ Krishna
___ Father, Son & Holy Ghost (Trinity Pack)
___ Zeus and entourage (Olympus Pack)
___ Odin and entourage (Valhalla Pack)
___ Gaia/Mother Earth/Mother Nature
___ None of the above; I was taken in by a false god

3. Did your God come to you undamaged, with all parts in good working order
and with no obvious breakage or missing attributes?

__ Yes __ No

If No, please describe the problems you initially encountered here. Please
indicate all that apply:

___ Not eternal
___ Not omniscient
___ Not omnipotent
___ Finite in space/Does not occupy or inhabit the entire universe
___ Permits sex outside of marriage
___ Prohibits sex outside of marriage
___ Makes mistakes (Geraldo Rivera, Jesse Helms)
___ When beseeched, doesn't stay beseeched
___ Requires burnt offerings
___ Requires virgin sacrifices
___ Plays dice with the universe

4. What factors were relevant in your decision to acquire a God?
Please check all that apply.

___ Indoctrinated by parents
___ Needed a reason to live
___ Indoctrinated by society
___ Needed target for rage
___ Imaginary friend grew up
___ Hate to think for self
___ Wanted to meet girls/boys
___ Fear of death
___ To p1ss off parents
___ Needed a day away from work
___ Enjoy organ music
___ Needed focus on whom to despise
___ Needed to feel morally superior
___ Graduated from the tooth fairy
___ My shrubbery caught fire and told me to do it

It is sanctimonious bullshit like “The Pope is in Hell” that really pisses me off. Specifically, when one group of Christians determines that a person is hell-bound because they don’t follow the Bible the same way they do.

Now, I’m not lumping all Christians in the same pot. There are many, many who try to live their faith (and do an admirable job doing so) and not condemning others. But there are some within the Protestant Church that go beyond common sense and categorize anyone with a slightly different belief structure as being sacrilegious in regards to the Bible.

I should know. I used to be one.

I used to be an active member in the Churches of Christ. These folks are ardent New Testament followers. They believe that God’s will for the church was made known through the writings of the New Testament. Anything beyond what was written there was not “of Christ” and thus not Biblical. They also strive to emulate (as best they can in the current century) the First Century Church.

They’re known for water baptism before you can be saved. It’s a requirement. And not sprinkling, either; Full body emersion. (After all, that’s how the New Testament shows people being saved. Look it up.) Women can’t be preachers. Or have an active, speaking role during church services. No instrumental music, either. The Early Church didn’t do that.

There are a few things that they’ve argued about that are extremely silly, such as kitchens in the church building. Yes, some churches of Christ believe that you should not have kitchens in the building because the First Century Church didn’t. Or, using one cup at communion. Some Churches of Christ only use one cup to pass the communion grape juice. (And they take communion every day.)

But they agreed on one thing: If you weren’t water baptized or didn’t follow the First Century’s Church example, you were going to hell. (Babies excepted.)

Needless to say, I got tired of their brand of sanctimonious bullshit.

And now I read a website saying that the Pope is going to hell. And they have Bible verses to support their claim. And it pisses me off.

Everyone seems to know the Will of God. Everyone. And everyone says that they’re right. Ask them. And they can give you book, chapter and verse. So if everyone is right, does that make everyone wrong?

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