Ablogalypse Now

Religion & Politics = Oil & Water

Good fucking God - this is the kind of ridiculous crap that makes me happy and proud to be a recovering Catholic.

At Least Kerry's Not A Jesus Freak!!!

He may not be as far to the Left as many of us would prefer.

He may be a bit more stiff and wooden and uncompelling than many of us would prefer.

He may be a bit more beholden to special interest money than most of us would prefer.

He may not be as passionately opposed to the war in Iraq as many of us would prefer.

And if elected, he may raise taxes more than many of us would prefer.

BUT GODDAMMIT PEOPLE!!!!! NADER & KUCINICH VOTERS AND SO-CALLED "UNDECIDEDS" ESPECIALLY!!!!

Unlike George W. Bush, at least John Kerry is not a Jesus Freak punch drunk on the notion that he has been touched by the Hand of the One True God to lead the whole world into biblical armageddon.

And on that note, I invite you to peruse this collection of classic bumper stickers from America's Best Christian, Betty Bowers!

**********************************ADDENDUM****************************

At the time I wrote this, and in the days since, it has struck me that some may find this post offensive.

I don't mean to disparage Christians in general, only those on the Right who, in true "you're either with us or against us" fashion, have hijacked the Christian faith for their own vile ends.

I truly believe that Christ was a Socialist and quite possibly the first real hippie. Through the ages however, the Christian faith has been perverted by sick-hearted people who wish to control others by promoting hatred and fear.

Western Religious Arrogance

Here's yet another example of the "My God is better than your god" mentality that some seem to believe only exists in the Islamic world.

SALT LAKE CITY - Researchers say that Mormons have continued to posthumously baptize Jewish Holocaust victims into their faith despite a promise to discontinue the practice.

Those Crazy Christians

As I sit and type this, it's 9 o'clock here and my neighbor across the street is on his roof busily hammering and pounding away at what I can only surmise is some sort of Easter-themed tribute to everybody's favorite Jewish carpenter.

The guy pulled a similar stunt this past Christmas when he turned his whole house into one big nativity-themed Christmas ornament.

Far be it from me to judge what a man should do with his free time, but when my fucking free time, my peace and quiet and my only solace from a 9 to 5 dog-eat-dog world that often drives me to insanity is disturbed by some some latter-day hammer-wielding zealot, then I get fucking pissed off.

That's one of the main problems I have with the Christian faith. It's not enough for them to just believe what they want to believe and leave the rest of us the fuck alone. Oh no, they have to put their bullshit on billboards, in their front yards, on pristine mountaintops and anywhere else they feel will get them the most attention.

It's like one big theological cry for attention, like they're saying, "Look at me God, look at this huge fucking eyesore I erected in your name! Aren't I special? Am I not a true believer! My monument to Christianity is the biggest one on the block! That has to count for something!"

Enough Already....

Jesus lived.

Jesus did some good things.

Jesus was tortured.

Jesus died.

Aftr his death, an elaborate myth based on guilt and fear was then created to enslave the Western world.

2,000 years later, a semi-washed-up former action star offers his take on what happened and the whole fricking world throws a fit.

Is the movie real? Who really killed Jesus?

I don't know, let's ask someone who was there. Oh yeah, there's nobody left alive to tell the tale so we're going to have to make a few things up and leave a few things out.

It's only a stupid effing movie people, get over it.

When First Haircuts Go Bad

Shiite Muslim Mohammed Jomahaa cuts the head of his son with a sword during the annual ritual to mark Ashoura Day in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh, Tuesday March 2, 2004. Ashoura day marks the Shiite Muslim's commemoration of the 7th century killing of their most revered Saint Imam Hussein. Al Hussein was a grandson of Islam's prophet Mohammed and is a symbol of martyrdom for Shiites. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

And I thought the Catholics had it bad with all that Ash Wednesday stuff.

On Violence & Religion....

I've always felt that the violent-aggressive tendencies historically exemplified by American society are, among other things, inextricably linked to a vengeance-oriented interpretation of Christian theology.

To paraphrase George Carlin, it's really not a good sign when your main religious symbol is a guy nailed to two sticks of wood.

More or less in the same vein but expressed with a great deal more heart and eloquence, is this very highly recommended post at Degrees of Divinity.

ADDENDUM:

The bloody trackback link to the post I mentioned above isn't working for some stupid reason. It was posted today under the title, "Religious Violence".

Spamming for Jesus

These days, hardly a day goes by where I don't wind up receiving and deleting some 40-odd unsolicited emails trying to sell me everything from how to get rich quick on E-bay to pills that are guaranteed to enlarge various bits of my anatomy.

Now there appears to be a new entry into the online snake oil trade.

Dont put your soul at risk. Accept God into your life while you have time. Contact a local church or prayerline today. He is real do not be in Hell when you realize it!

You know, we have a big "NO SOLICITING" sign next to our front door and on many occasions I've had to explain to a Jehovah's Witness, a Baptist or some other peddler of retail religious beliefs exactly what is meant by "NO SOLICITING."

"But sir, we're not trying to sell you something," they usually say. My reply is usually something along the lines of, "Not all sales transactions involve money."

I don't know what point I'm trying to make other than to say I am sick to death of these low-rent, piece of shit sham artists pushing their bullshit products in a manner that prevents people from confronting them.

In every story I've ever read, these scumbags try to claim that they are legitimate business people using the Internet for perfectly valid transactions, but that's a load of crap.

I can't wait for the day when a Satanist or perhaps a devotee of Alistair Crowley or Marilyn Manson will start firing back with something like:

Your soul is doomed. Accept Lucifer into your life while you still have time. Contact a local coven today. He is real, and you will be in Hell before you realize it!