Ireland's Blasphemy Law

Well it seems that Ireland has taken three steps back and passed a blasphemy bill that ends free speech: http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2009/07/11/ireland-passes-blasphemy-law-the-end-of-free-speech/

Making a law that forbids free speech in my opinion is a violation of the Irish Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

Think about it, this law would have convicted Christ for calling the religious leaders of the time liars, hypocrites and extortionists: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:13-39&version=KJV

Jesus didn’t tap

A few weeks ago my daughter pointed out a bumper sticker on a car parked out front of the UFC combat clothing store in Surrey. It said, "Jesus didn’t tap." We both had a chuckle over that.

People have different images of Christ. Personally, I don’t see him as a femmie pacifist. I see him as a strong activist. Although Gandhi was physically frail, he was clearly a strong activist even though he was passionately nonviolent.

The Jesus never tapped out saying came as a bit of a surprise but it did make sense. History records that he was whipped and nailed to a cross. Josephus records that. Then there was the doctrine of the atonement how he bled from every pour in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is no doubt Christ had to be incredibly mentally and physically strong to endure all that.

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A Muslim friend once recommend I watch the movie the Passion of Christ. I was surprised to hear the recommendation come from a Muslim. He said to me, I wonder why God allowed all that to happen to one of his prophets. Some believe that bad things don’t happen to good people and if you are disabled or are experiencing trials, God is punishing you. I don’t subscribe to that belief at all.

According to the religious tradition Christ came for a purpose. I do shun religious extremism. Many in the born again movement shout slogans and live the life of intolerance. Yesterday driving back from the lake we saw a billboard that read "Jesus Saves." I had a twisted thought pop through my mind and before I could vocalize it my daughter reads the sign out load and says, "Jesus Saves at Zellers."

Yeah he must be pretty good with his money I respond. I guess it’s the sappy side of religion I have beef with. Christ spoke pretty boldly against the religious leaders in his day. Not to say that all religious leaders are bad. It’s the blind obedience to hypocrisy I have beef with. God gave us a brain for a reason. For many, over analyzing or intellectualizing everything can be our own personal downfall yet for many others not using our brain is their downfall.

I had a friend who had a T-shirt that said "Jesus loves you but everyone else thinks you’re an idiot." Slightly sacrilegious perhaps yet I did find humor in it. Personally I believe in good and evil. Call it what you will. Evil can infiltrate and corrupt people and organizations both from within and from without. I believe we should shun evil and strive to do good. To me that means opposing exploitation, supporting the less fortunate and living productive lives of service. Of that Mother Teresa was the perfect example.

Pure Religion

I’ve seen a lot of crazy things done in the name of religion and I’ve seen a lot of crazy things done in opposition to religion. I am an advocate for the freedom of religion. Despite the corruption that often exists in religion I do not believe outlawing religion is the answer. Nor do I believe forced religion is the answer either. The freedom of association means the right to affiliate and the right not to affiliate with any religion or political doctrine. Having said that I do not believe that religious freedom includes the right to oppress others.

I believe in what Paul describes as Pure Religion, which consists of visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked. I do not believe those are solely socialist values nor are they a Communist plot to overthrow the free world.

Paul said "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not charity I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge: and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."

When asked who is my neighbour, Christ gave the parable of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans were hated at the time. They were half-breed nonbelievers. Yet Christ chose someone the people hated to be an example of how that hated nonbeliever was more religious than those who sat in the high places of the churches at the time.

Today I submit the parable of the Good Communist. Someone who doesn’t believe in God or religion but believes in the values of pure religion more than those who profess to do so. Our obsessed paranoia should not be with Godless Communism although at one time Stalin was a real threat. Our fear should be of hypocrisy and apathy.

I remember as a youth studying various religions in my own personal quest for my own religious identity. My conclusion then is the same as my conclusion now. Don Francisco’s Steeple song:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=aZJFEeOS3TQ

I remember playing that song for a born again Christian I was staying with. Right after hearing the song he angrily said "Yeah well my wife is a bitch" and walked away. He had been through a messy divorce. I shook my head and said to myself, I think you missed the whole point of the song. I do not believe God wants people to be abused. I believe families are important and although betrayal and abuse are common, they shouldn’t be. I believe Don Francisco’s steeple song clearly defines what pure religion should be. Cheers.

Abraham’s Sacrifice

Not to offend every Christian, Muslim and Jew out there, but I do have a problem with the story of Abraham. Abraham is the great patriarch of the Holy Land. He is the great grandfather of the Jews and the Palestinians. Both hold him up as a model of righteousness and obedience.

To the Muslims, the Dome of the Rock is very sacred. It looks fantastic. It is supposed to be the place where Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice. To the Jews, that spot is also sacred. Muslims own the land and they believe that is where they are supposed to rebuild their temple. Thus the wailing wall at the foot of the site.

I find the whole story of Abraham’s sacrifice very problematic. The story goes that Abraham was a righteous man and God wanted to test Abraham so he could reward him. Abraham really wanted to have children but his wife was barren. God promised to bless Abraham with children, which He did and was a miracle.

God wanted to bless Abraham further. He wanted to make Abraham a father of many nations and make his descendants a holy people. Abraham’s worthiness was tested. God commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a human sacrifice to God. Abraham was obedient to God’s command. He took his son to a mountain, brought wood for an alter and was about to kill his son with a knife and offer him up to God as a human sacrifice. Right before he killed his son, God sent an Angel to stop him and reward him for his faithfulness and I’m like WTF?

Now I realize the story is supposed to be symbolic of God’s sacrifice of His son. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son… Some accounts claim Isaac was an adult at the time and a willing participant asking to have his hands bound. My point is that I see this very fundamental story as completely problematic.

I do not see it was symbolic of God offering His son for the sins of the world. The atonement and the crucifixion was different. It served a purpose. Murder is wrong and human sacrifice is wrong. Saying that it’s OK as long as God commands it is very problematic. That’s what mass murders do when they hear voices.

There is another account on an old Egyptian papyrus claiming that Abraham’s earthly father was evil. The story claims that when Abraham was in Egypt his father tried to offer him as a sacrifice to a false god. Right before Abraham’s father was about to kill him, an Angel of the Lord came down and stopped him, saving Abraham’s life.

The story is given to demonstrate how evil Abraham’s father was and how hard a test it was for God to command Abraham to do exactly what his father tried to do to him and I’m like WTF? Here we have two identical stories. One is good the other is bad. The only difference between the two stories is that one sacrifice was to a false God and the other sacrifice was to a true God. Yet in my opinion, there is no difference between the two. Both are bad. No offense to father Abraham or all the Jews, Christians and Muslims out there.

In my opinion, blind obedience to a true god is no better than blind obedience to a false god. It all becomes problematic when we view this life as a test. We are sent here to do whatever God asks us to do because obedience is good and the rebellious will be cast out. Using that founding premise of this life being a test, is what the polygamists use to convince people God wants them to take more than one wife. God wants me to marry that young girl. God wants me to marry that other man’s wife.

Polyandry is the logical extreme and I do not see any difference between that and the doctrine of spiritual wifery many early Mormons were excommunicated for teaching.

Now back to the story of Abraham. Since some claim we all must be tried even as Abraham as God will at some point ask us to give up whatever is most important to us to test our obedience to Him, we have to be careful and practice a little common sense to develop some discernment so we can tell the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet as well as the difference between a true god and a false god.

I contend that the purpose of this life is to come to know God. If God is good and if God is love and if God is the perfection of every good attribute then in so developing those qualities we will find peace in this life and a fullness of joy in the next.

After all the golden rule is the simple but pinnacle doctrine. Treat others the way you want to be treated because how we treat others is how we will be treated after this life. This leads us to my fundamental problem with polygamy. If you don’t want your wife to commit adultery, don’t do it yourself. To me polygamy is like committing adultery and then bringing the woman you had an affair with home to live in your house.

How would you feel if your wife had an affair or married more than one man? Can you not see the sorrow polygamy causes your wife? The golden rule states that you will one day feel her sorrow. Such is life.

The only rationalization for polygamy I can find is if there is a shortage of women. Yet we are told from census records that was not why it was practiced.

My understanding of why polygamy was practiced was to give woman who would not have the chance of becoming mothers, the chance to have children. That is my understanding of the escape clause in the warning given against the unauthorized practice of plural marriage in the book of Mormon yet John A. Widtsoe disagrees:

http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/Why.htm

The Passion of Christ

A Muslim friend from Canada Post recommended that I see the movie the Passion of Christ. I kinda raised my eyebrow as I heard him talk about the movie. It was just kind of surprising to hear coming from a Muslim. He said it was very well done and made you wonder why God would let those horrible things happen to one of his prophets. Many Muslims see Jesus as a prophet not the messiah.

I was equally puzzled with his concern because that was the root of the Christian tradition. He came to suffer and die. That was a pivotal part of his mission. The Terminator skit on youtube said it well. No sacrilegious intended: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pUrsUORF4Y

Some people used to think that if you were disabled or if bad things happened to you, you were bad or being punished by God. To me that logic is very flawed. My concept of God is that he would have nothing but compassion on those who suffer.

Some Protestants were in an uproar over the movie because it was in Latin. Who cares? When I saw it, I thought they were speaking Hebrew, which would make more sense. It had English sub titles, which was a little bit more realistic than thinking Christ was speaking English. Turns out that Mel Gibson is Catholic and to the Catholics, Latin is a holy language so he decided to do it in Latin. Good for him. Who cares? To get bent out of shape over what language it was in is to miss the whole point of the movie.

Christ taught about service and said in as much as ye have done it not unto one of the least of these, ye have done it not unto me. He was referring to the judgement when many who professed to know him would be turned away because they turned away those who suffered here on earth.

I shudder when I see all the religious extremism that goes on in the name of Christianity. I see Christ as a revolutionary. After all he marched up to the religious leaders of the time and said they were liars, hypocrites and extortionists. Indeed if Christ was to come in our day, many so called Christians would crucify him all over again.

Personally, I think religion is a good thing. When I drive by the Sikh temple in Vancouver on the way to the mountains, I like to see that part of our community. I see it as a group of people aspiring to something higher. Sure there are extremists in every religion but there are extremists in every political party too.

Martin Luther King was a Christian who preached tolerance not hatred. Mother Teresa quoted Gandhi and said "He who serves the poor serves God." Sounds a lot like another guy I read about once. It’s easy for people to take religion out of context to promote their own agenda. I get kinda frustrated when I see so many people get so bent out of shape over so many very insignificant things. Mind you I’m the last one to talk. My daughter hates my road rage. I just can’t handle traffic.

Nevertheless, I aspire to something higher. I aspire to something better. I aspire to something good. That is the root of my dream.

I remember seeing a father and daughter administer communion in the United Church once. The little girl held the cup with such admiration it reminded me of a child holding what they believed to be the glass of milk that Santa’s drank out of. To me, someone devoting their life to telling everyone there is no Santa is a somewhat less than fulfilling life.

Karl Marx said religion is the opiate of the people. Implying that religion is false but if it makes them feel good, there’s no harm in it. Much. Now I’m not comparing the divinity of Christ to the existence of Santa Clause much but to me fighting religion is not the quest that leads to enlightenment or peace of mind. To each their own I suppose.

Gay Bashers

I am not an advocate for gay pride per say because I don’t support heterosexuals or homosexuals handing out free condoms and parading around half naked wearing lingerie or S&M attire in public. What consenting adults do behind closed doors is their business. Parading that kind of stuff around in public leads me to say "Find a room."

Nevertheless, the wacked out religious extremists that preach hate at the most absurd places in the most inappropriate times claiming they have anything whatsoever to do with God are absolute freaks. Nothing more nothing less.

I’m referring to Fred Phelps author of godhatesfags.com. This guy is a freak. There is a facebook group entitled keep Fred Phelps out of Canada at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34102103084 Indeed we should.

This is the nutcase who tried to come to Canada from the States to picket Tim McLean‘s funeral:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/08/08/westboro-protest.html

The protest was tasteless and deranged. Tim McLean was the guy murdered on a greyhound in a random act of violence by someone with a mental illness. Tim wasn’t even gay. The family was in shock and requested privacy. It was not the venue for extremism.

Well they’re back at it. Now, Mr. Phelps is trying to come back to Canada, this time to protest the Laramie Project, a play based on the brutal killing of Matthew Shepard who was gay. These wackos are tasteless freaks. There is nothing Godly about them. http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=c5ce725f-7b55-4686-8f97-33877ba08e9e
Their website pulls one scripture from the Old Testament out of context, which forms their foundation of sand. Yes, the bible teaches that homosexuality is "wrong." However, it teaches that many things are wrong and that all hath committed sin and that if anyone claims they have not committed sin, then they are a liar and the truth is not in them. The bible does say that God hates liars BTW and since God is not a respecter of persons, I submit that God hates bigots.

Anyways the scripture they cite is from Leviticus – the old school old law that was fulfilled when Christ came. There is a whole list in that scripture including adultery and bestiality but the quote makes reference to the former inhabitants of Israel and states that God abhorred them. No he was not referring to the Palestinians. He was referring to the people who inhabited Palestine before the Palestinians. The bible claims that those people were really really bad.

These wackos are what I define to be the great and abominable church. They set themselves up as a light to the word when they are really scam artists. When you take a survey and look at the number of paid ministers out there wanting to outlaw homosexuality, then find out how many of them are adulterers sleeping with prostitutes, those numbers are revealing. One could justifiably hold a sign that says God hates Jimmy Baker: http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/sexevangelist.html

God hates all sin. Does that mean God hates everyone? Of course not.

Homosexuality was not the fall of Rome promiscuity was. Remember that Elaine show that the extremists were in such an uproar about when she came out of the closet? Did any of them watch the episode? She was struggling with her sexuality, then finally came to the realization that she was gay only to discover that the person she wanted to have a relationship with was already in a relationship so it ended there. You missed the whole point about being faithful to your partner.

How can we condemn gay marriage but condone desperate housewives? A homosexual who is faithful to one partner is better than a heterosexual who is not.

God hates Fred Phelps: http://fredphelps.com/

An American Carol

Two new movies I will cite are Religulous and An American Carol: http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view/2008_10_01_Two_new_movies_have_same_goal_at_opposite_ends_of_the_spectrum:_laughs/srvc=home&position=recent

Both movies present two logical extremes and fail to present the logical conclusion. Bill Maher’s movie Religulous is a satirical attack on all organized religion by a person who is agnostic. He doesn’t know which way is up and has nothing substantial to offer other then helping us laugh and look outside the box of orthodox conformity.

The other movie, An American Carol is a twisted spin on the Christmas Carol story where an apathetic American hating Michael Moore trying to ban the 4th of July is visited by the ghosts of America's past George Washington, Patton and one from the future a country singer? OK I guess we can see where this satire is going.

The bottom line of the second movie is to promote the Invasion of Iraq, which was based on a lie. They failed to mention that part. Painting Michael Moore as someone who hates America is somewhat bizarre and shallow. America is in a crisis of abandoning the ideals of the founding fathers they profit from exploiting. He is the one trying to save America not destroy it.

Finian on Religion

I’m going to break tradition and speak on religion for three reasons. I can, two new movies out both expressing two different religious extreme views and a growing cynicism with religion that would ultimately love to see religion banned. In my opinion, not withstanding the corruption that exists within organized religion, banning religion is as flawed as outlawing government, unions or police because of corrupt politicians and corrupt officers.

I’m going to finally come out of the closet and admit I have a religious affiliation or rather religious conviction but before I cite my own personally distorted view of pure religion, I will cite a few examples from some of the other world faiths.

Catholicism:

There is nothing wrong with a good Catholic. Nothing wrong with a good atheist or anything else for that matter. It’s the bad ones that cause the problems. Of all the religions, Catholics tend to be good. Some Protestants who get bent out of shape over doctrinal differences despise Catholics.

One religious and political opportunist named Ian Paisley even went so far as to say and protest that the Pope was the anti Christ. Coming from him I found that somewhat ironic. He is the one preaching hate over the pulpit not the Pope. He is the double dipper that got paid to be a minister and paid to be a politician by fostering hate and intolerance.

Paid ministry is something I have a concern with when it becomes big business and ministers get rich off the people. Catholic priests and United church ministers aren’t paid excessively and I don’t have problem with them getting paid.

Praying to statues or the sacred heart, saying set prayers in the rosary, praying to saints are not things that I personally would do but I clearly see no harm in it. On the contrary some of these traditions help Catholics remember deity and strive to do good.

I remember a good Catholic in Ennis County Clare explain to me about one saint who was canonized not because of their wealth but because of their service and vow of poverty. He told me that service and vows of poverty are what impress the Irish. I thought that was very noble indeed. Mother Teresa is without question a saint.

Islam:

I cannot say the word Islam without pausing out of reverence. To me the name even sounds holy. Yes there are extremists in every organization and murdering innocent civilians is abominable. 911 was heinous but so was Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the very thought that Bin Laden might not have done 911 and 911 might well have been a heinous CIA false flag like operation Northwoods makes one rethink their anti Islam sentiments.

I have a Koran and for me it really must lose in the translation. It was originally written in Arabic. Mine is translated into English. As a result for me the book seems to loose some of it’s magic and is harder to follow but many hold that book to be sacred.

Ramadam is a fine tradition and I see no harm in it. There is nothing wrong with women or men covering their hair. Seeing so many woman covered head to toe in black during the summer heat in Egypt was in my opinion a bit extreme but certainly within their rights and didn’t harm anyone else.

Judaism

What can I say? Jews have a right to be Jews. Jews have a right to have a home. Just like everyone else. Jews are subject to civil laws just like everyone else. It’s really that simple. Anti-Semitism is wrong and archaic.

When I think of Judaism I think of the movie the Fiddler on the Roof and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and his Technicolor Dream coat. Tradition is good. People have a right to preserve their traditions.

I worked on a non religious kibbutz in Israel when I was young and was surprised to see them celebrate the Passover where they ate no bread with yeast in it for seven or eight days remembering the Exodus from Egypt. For the nonreliogous kibbutz, the escape from slavery in Egypt was not a religious story in the Bible, it was a part of their historical tradition.

Zen

I like Zen. Zen isn’t really a religion it is a desire to think outside the box so to speak. Zen is usually associated with Buddhism but can also be applied to anything. I recall a Zen parable associated with Christianity.

There was a young boy who asked an old man what the moon was. The teacher was very wise with a lifetime of experience. In his wisdom he thought the best way for the boy to understand what the moon was would be for him to experience it himself.

In response to the young boys question what is the moon, the wise sage simply raised his hand and pointed to the moon so he could see it for himself and not have to rely on someone else’s interpretation.

Unfortunately the young boy’s admiration for the wise sage made him miss the point. When the old man raised his hand to point to the moon, the young boy stopped short and seeing the man raise his hand mistook the mans’ hand for the moon.

Applying this to Christianity a Zen master would say many Christians get so caught up in the bible they fail to see what it is pointing to: God.

Pure Religion

Paul defined pure religion as visiting the sick and performing acts of Christian service. I concur with that definition. Whether the pearly gates swing or slide is of little relevance. What is relevant is living the kind of life that will let you pass through them.

I recall being told about a Chinese painting of heaven and hell. The bottom of the painting was the artist’s rendition of Hell. There was a huge dinner table full of food but the only eating utensils were very long chopsticks tied to their hands. The only way they could eat the food was with the chopsticks and since the chopsticks were longer than their arms, they could not get the food into their mouths.

As a result the people sitting at the table were all in torment. They were starving and had all this great food in front of them but were in torment because they were not able to eat it.

The picture of Heaven was another group sitting around the same table filled with the same food having only the same eating utensils to eat the food. The only difference is that these people were happy and fulfilled. They were feeding each other.

Think about it. If life does not end at death and if we are restored to live with people the same as we are, which would be a more pleasant place to live: a place where people rob, murder and steal or a place where everyone strives to serve each other. It really is that simple.