What Denomination Are You?
This feature was written in 2014. The link to the quiz no longer works. There have been changes in the laws, and attitudes, of our society. … The fbf put up a link to an internet quiz, What Christian Denomination Should You Actually Be a Part Of? As the reader(s) of this blog might discern, I am an acknowledged non christian. My favorite denomination is the twenty.
The first question is “What is the source of your beliefs?” The choices include scripture, uncertainty, conscience, and people who talk about scripture. This question presupposes the omnipotence of the belief paradigm. In other words, not everyone feels that what you believe is a big deal.
I have three “fundamental” beliefs regarding xtianity. God does not write books. Jesus has nothing to do with life after death. It is none of your business. Are these concepts an allergic reaction to years of christian noise, both joyful and joyless? Is it a weary soul talking common sense? Who came first, the chicken, or the egg? Do you really need to know?
The second question is “how is one “saved?”” This is a big deal to Jesus worshipers. The xtian obsession with life after death makes me want to run screaming. The seldom heard option offered here is “I don’t know/no opinion.”
One concept is that what happens to the dead is none of the living’s business. Maybe, if you have faith in God, things will turn out ok. When you devote every sunday morning to screaming about so called salvation, you advertise a lack of faith in God.
Third is “what are your opinions on war?” This is one of those contradictions. You just have to understand. An abortion is bloody murder. When Israel shells a school housing refugees, it is justifiable self defense. The reconciliation of beliefs and practices is a source of brain damage. This is not a spiritually uplifting practice.
In many questions, you must choose the least bad answer. This is typical. For what type of worship suits you, being home churched is not an option. For what definition of the trinity best describes your belief, there are no good answers. I feel that the concept of a triune God is a grotesque violation of the First commandment.
The first commandment says to have no other God before you. In Jesus worship, this one God expands to at least six: God, Jesus, Holy Ghost, The Bible, Satan, and Salvation.
There are a few more questions. There is a Catholic slant to this quiz, with emphasis on the Virgin Mary. There is the concept that authority in today’s church was passed down from the disciples. Hopefully, Judas was not included. Finally, there is a question about Gay marriage. Maybe this quiz was designed by a Catholic divorce lawyer.
The answer was probably as good as could be expected. “You should really be Non-Denominational! You’ve never understood why people get so caught up with labels, creeds, and institutions. For you, faith is what matters. You have a personal relationship with God and you’re not so worried about being a member of any specific group or sect. You enjoy Bible study, casual gatherings, and a church where everyone is welcome regardless of theological labels.”
Whatever. Why study a book that teaches people to hate you? Maybe the advertisers at this quiz are getting a spiritual return on their investment. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The God Of Word
The facebook comment started with “Christ had so little regard for … ” I gave into the temptation to comment. “Are you talking about Jesus? Not everyone agrees that he was the Christ.” The internet showed mercy, and only one stranger replied. “I think the bigger picture is being overlooked for semantics here… ” Talking, in or out of vain, is a big deal here. This is a repost.
People like to express opinions about the teaching of Jesus. The source of 99% of these thoughts is the bible. It is a fundamental belief that “the bible is the word of God.” I have disagreed with this notion for a long time. This is not the same as not believing in the existence of God.
I started to type a facebook reply, and then thought better of it. Sunday afternoons are a gift, even if they are uncomfortably hot. It is too fine a day to argue religion on the internet. Before he stopped, one thought did occur to him. If the bible is the word of God, then maybe Jehovah is the God of word. If you saw a mushroom cloud rising over Brookhaven …
Christianism is a religion of beliefs, rather than practices. The idea of getting people to agree with your beliefs is key to the Jesus experience. Many of these beliefs are noted in the bible. It is as if people make a God out of a book. When these high powered thoughts are expressed, then the semantics can get overwhelming.
As for the teaching of Jesus, all we know is what the Council of Nicea chose to tell us. We don’t have very much. What we do have is conveniently selected to fit the agenda of the speaker. What someone says about Jesus tells us more about that person than it does about Jesus. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
UPDATE This post starts with by quoting a facebook post. The link no longer works. The former facebook friend … a person who I helped move twice … blocked me.
After George HW Bush died, the ffbf was trashing the former President, using the phrase “I am not going to whitewash history.” I commented that it would be better for his karma to be a bit kinder towards the former President. The ffbf did not like that, and blocked me.
Is Prayer That Great?
Prayer is not always a good idea. Somebody has to say it.
Many of my objections are in the phrase, Prayer is talking to God, and Meditation is Listening. We love to talk, and don’t have time to listen. Talking is yang, active, power. Listening is ying, receptive, passive, and indicates respect for the person you are paying attention to.
No one ever says I am going to meditate for you. Although maybe you should.
Prayer is used as an aggressive weapon. “I am going to pray for you” is the condescending conclusion of many religious arguments. I have had it shouted at me like a curse.
There is also the matter of prayer as entertainment. While this may be cool to those who are on the program, it can be repulsive to others. Once I volunteered to lead the prayer before a dinner. The story is repeated below.
Now, prayer is not a completely bad thing. One of the cherished memories of my father is the brief, commonsense blessings he would give before meals. In the context of a church service, prayer plays a useful function. Some famous prayers are beautiful poetry. In Islam, the daily prayers are an important part of the observance. Who am I to say it is wrong? (A note to the Muslim haters, and other opportunists …We are all God’s children.)
When someone is in a bad way, people want to think they can help. While it does not hurt to pray for someone, but it is nothing to boast about.
The problem is when people are proud of their prayers. There are few as prideful as a “humble servant.” While it may mean something to you, not everyone is impressed. And in a religion devoted to converting others, you should care what people think.
So much for world affairs. It is time to tell a story, with no moral and no redeeming social value. In 1980, I was staying at a place called the Sea Haven Hostel, affectionately known as Sleaze Haven. This was in Seattle WA, as far as you can get from Atlanta, and still be in the lower 48. I was working through Manpower, and staying in a semi-private room for $68 a month.
There was a Christian group that met in the basement on Sunday Night. Now, as some of you may know, I am a recovering baptist, who hasn’t been to church since 1971. However, the lure of a free meal was hard to resist, so I went to a few meetings.
One night, after sampling the neighborhood beer supply, I cheerfully joined in the discussion. This was the night when I realized that the Bible is not “the Word of God.” This concept has been very handy in dealing with the ravings of our Jesus-mad culture.
They seemed to like me, though, and welcomed me back. Maybe it was the southern accent.
One Sunday, after the dinner was finished , it was time to have a prayer to begin the meeting. I raised my hand. Now, believers enjoy prayer as entertainment. When they bow their heads, you see them stretching, in anticipation of a good, long, message for God.
My prayer was a bit of a disappointment. Instead of a long winded lecture about Jesus and the magic book, I said what was on my mind. “Lord, thank you for letting us be here today.” What else do you need to say? This double repost has pictures from The Library of Congress.
Nine Word Prayer
In 1980, I was staying at a place called the Sea Haven Hostel, affectionately known as Sleaze Haven. This was in Seattle WA, which is about as far as you can get from Atlanta, and still be in the lower 48. I was working through Manpower, and staying in a semi private room for $68 a month.
There was a Christian group that met in the basement on Sunday Night. Now, as some of you may know, I am a recovering baptist. However, the lure of a free meal was hard to resist, so I went to a few meetings. One night, after doing quality control work on the local beer supply, I joined the after dinner discussion. This was the night when I realized that the Bible is not the Word of God. This concept that has been very handy in dealing with efforts at conversion.
They seemed to like me, though, and welcomed me back. Maybe it was the southern accent. One Sunday, it was time to have a prayer to begin the meeting. I raised my hand.
Jesus Worshipers enjoy prayer as entertainment . When they bow their heads, you see them stretching and deep breathing, in anticipation of a lengthy message to God. My message was a bit of a disappointment. Instead of a long winded lecture about Jesus and the magic book, I said what was on my mind. Lord, thank you for letting us be here today. What else do you need to say?
This is a repost, with pictures from The Library of Congress.
@nakedpastor Reacts To r/religiousfruitcake
@nakedpastor “I created a react video for Youtube. I’d love to know what you think!” The RVFYT is NP scrolling through r/religiousfruitcake. This is a subreddit, featuring people with too much free time. They like to post clever memes. You are not likely to learn anything useful there.
The first item is an instagram video. We see a young lady is talking about loving God, who sends people to hell. Is there anything more pathetic than Christians, past or present, pearl clutching about life after death? Christianity is not a religion anyway. It is a high pressure sales pitch for “salvation.” If you don’t agree with their ideas, then there is no point is sticking around.
What do I think about Jesus, and life after death? NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS. That is not gratuitous profanity. Merriam-Webster says that damn is the act of God sending your soul to HELL. It is totally appropriate to use GD in discussions about life after death.
I turn the video back on, and have to turn the sound up so I can hear NP. This means that I will have to turn the sound back down later, when I look at something else. This is an important point. The medium is the message. When you deliver your message, you should make it easy on the listener. This is another problem with the Christian church. They think their message is wonderful, and it is your duty to pay attention no matter what. If you don’t turn up the volume, you might go to HELL.
NP does not see the video as being about life after death, but rather the existence of evil. My Bad. Why does an omnipotent God allow evil to exist. I could offer thoughts and prayers, but want to get back to the video. We are only up to 3:31, of a video lasting 14:10.
At 4:30, NP holds up his index finger and says “There’s only one reality.” I immediately flash back to those evenings watching the Billy Graham Crusade, where Billy would hold up his index finger, and shout there is one way, Jesus Christ.
At 6:00, we finally move to the second item. It is a tweet, saying that the job of women is to make babies. The best thing to do here is make a haiku reduction. yo die God create magnificent job eating ew important this This exchange has 42 upvotes at r/religiousfruitcake.
I am reluctant to say this, because it sounds so pretentious, but here goes. God is using me as a conduit, when I create content. Does this mean that she exists? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I will say this is not evidence of the divine tautology … to believe in the God of the bible, and that the bible is the word of God. I could ramble on a while. … The rest of the video is not that inspiring. Finally, NP says “Thats enough for now.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress
Sedevacantism
@LearningthePath “Not enough of you are concerned about the Charismatic Roman Catholic Sedevacantist Dispensationalism of William Tapley, and it shows.” @chamblee54 “too many big words” @LearningthePath “This time, that was intended to help make the joke. Charismatic – Believes in continuing Apostolic Gifts (prophecy, healing, tongues, etc.) Sedevacantist – Believes that the office of the Papacy is Empty.” This is a repost.
Sedevacantism (SV) is weird business, even by Catholic standards. The word literally means the seat is vacant. SV believe that the post-Vatican II has strayed away from the correct faith. The Pope is not Catholic enough to be the Pope. The last legitimate Pope was Pius XII. He died in 1958, after looking the other way during the Holocaust.
This video uses fancier language, to say the same thing. “satyakant ism/said of account ism (you tube transcripts are not inerrant) is the position of those Catholics who refuse to recognize for gay bergoglio (Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis) as a true Pope. The seed of a canister(?) found that the Copt is vacant on account of the apostasy from the faith on the part of the official hierarchy since the promulgation in 1965 of the documents of the Second Vatican Council.”
If you search for SV on google and youtube, you will find lots of material. Dealing with a Sedevacantist Priest is a video of a radio show. The caller is concerned about some of the things a priest is saying to the flock. Bible verses are trotted out, and used to justify opinions. This is true of all the SV videos. The tone is heavy, heavy Catholic. If you come from a Protestant background, you might think you’re watching science fiction.
Sedevacantism Is Modern Luciferianism is a rather lurid discussion. Alas, there is a bait and switch here. “With the crisis in the Church since Vatican II, many comparisons have been drawn with the Arian crisis of the 4th century, when the majority of the Church’s bishops fell into the heresy of Arianism. … There is the remarkable similarity between today’s sedevacantists and a group of schismatics who were spawned during the Arian crisis: the Luciferians. The Luciferians were less nefarious than their name implies. Rather than being devil-worshipers, they were simply followers of the schismatic Bishop Lucifer of Cagliari.”
There are memes, both SV and anti SV. There is a twitter account: @animesedevacant Anime Sedevacantist ☩ Lover of Pius XII and Anime! SV Singles is another manifestation. Brian-sede is “Seeking Sedevacantist Catholic Woman”. Alas, even here, man just can’t seem to get it right. “Sedevacantist Singles” Employees Not Sure Whether To Recognize Authority. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The spell check suggestion for Sedevacantism is Antisemitism.
Mithras
Mithras is a Persian deity, from the Zoroaster tradition.(That is pronounced Zor uh THRUS ta.) Not much is known about Mithras … did he really exist, or was he a legend? There was a cult of Mithras in the first century Roman empire.
There are supposed to be between Mithras and Jesus. These include the virgin birth, the birth on December 25, and rising from the dead after three days. Some spoilsports say the early Christians grafted Jesus onto the legend of Mithras.
One indication that this might be true is The Catholic Encyclopedia. “Some apparent similarities exist; but … it is quite probable that Mithraism was the borrower from Christianity.” This repost has pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. (more…)
Milo Yiannopoulos Today
This is a repost from 2017. If you ask google what Milo Yiannopoulos is doing today, you see that he is an intern for Marjorie Taylor Greene. In 2021, LifeSiteNews reported “Milo Yiannopoulos, the gay man whose conservative messaging and willingness to speak the truth sparked riots on university campuses may well trigger more outrage now that he describes himself as “Ex-Gay” and “sodomy free,” and is leading a daily consecration to St. Joseph online.” Google does not have a search result for the “daily consecration to St. Joseph online.”
Milo Yiannopoulos is getting attention again. It seems as though the the editor’s notes for his book have been leaked to the press. Many of the comments are unkind. If you have ever wanted to see bad writing dissected and disemboweled, this is the time. PuffHo, which knows a thing or two about recycling free product, has a helpful list of some of the zingers. “Can you really prove a causality between [Black Lives Matter] and crime rate?” “DELETE UGH.” .
Milo did not actually write Dangerous. Miloproduct is produced by a crew of interns. One of these drones got in trouble: Milo Yiannopoulos Speaks Out About ‘Bonkers’ Former Intern Arrested for Murdering Dad. Who gets the copyright credit for Dangerous? It might be a good trivia question.
@DALIAMALEK “… Look at the witty editor that worked to normalize white supremacy” Some people think Milo’s book was cancelled for being politically incorrect. Actually, the deal was trashed after Milo opened his mouth once too often, and became too controversial.
Simon & Schuster is not opposed to selling bad books to make money. In 1981, S&S published HOW TO STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS— AND WIN! This tome was written by Roy Cohn. The NYT review notes “Despite his reputation as a playboy bachelor, Mr. Cohn believes that a marriage should be ”kept intact” if there are children.”
Chamblee54 has written about whatshisname one two three four five six seven times. The pictures are usually better than the text. In one episode, Bill Maher said “Stop looking at the distractions and the clown show and look at what matters.” Then, without a trace of embarrassment, Mr. Maher introduced Milo, who is both distraction, and clown show.
The first time chamblee54 wrote about Milo had a prophetic quote. “This is the first time many have heard of Milo Yiannopoulos. Unfortunately, it probably will not be the last. He authored a piece at Breitbart, where he said “… Only by totally ignoring people’s feelings can we end the left’s culture of grievance, offense, and victimhood. …”
Many of the naysayers are calling Milo, and his product, racist. This is a reflex action to many SJW, who seldom miss an opportunity to scream racism. The ironic thing is that Milo talks loudly, and often, about his fondness for black men. On page 96, Milo says “”I love black people. Indeed, I love black people so much that my Grindr profile once said “No Whites.” I’d considered “Coloreds Only Served in Rear,” but that was a little too edgy, and Grindr once deleted my profile once for writing: “Don’t contact me if you’re under seven inches or you know who your dad is.”
Hopefully, Milo’s fifteen minutes will be over soon. There will always someone else to call racist. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Are My Racial Attitudes Your Business?
I was living my life when I saw something on facebook: “And another thing: if you are going to claim NOT to be racist, I feel like you should familiarize yourself with some contemporary writings and definitions of racism, not just what Mirriam Webster says.” The first reaction was to ignore this. If you reply to a comment about racism on facebook, you are asking for trouble. Life is too short to be wasting time on such unpleasantness.
But the thought engine had been kickstarted, and continued to idle in the background. When I pulled into the Kroger parking lot, the idea hit full force. Maybe it is none of your business.
Some people say that white people are not affected by racism. If this is the case, then why should the racial attitudes of a white person affect another white person? If a person treats you fairly, do you really need to know this person’s attitudes about race?
The fbf ex-fbf does not say what the context of this claim is. Did anyone ask you whether or not you were a racist? If not, are you assuming that they are interested? Maybe someone assumed the listener was interested. Maybe the proper response to look bored, and say TMI.
The comment mentioned “contemporary writings and definitions of racism.” Who are the people who set themselves up as arbiters about what we should think about race? What are the qualifications? Who asked them what they thought? How do we know that these people are dependable?.
Maybe the answer is to show compassion and kindness to your neighbor, and don’t worry about their racial attitudes. If you are proud of your racial attitudes, please refrain from boasting. Not everyone is interested. This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
#OPKKK
This is a repost from 2015. It was a simpler time. The worst problem we had was choosing a President. The options were a geriatric criminal, and an orange haired idiot. (Democrats still had to pick between BS and HRC, who are both geriatric criminals.) Most of the links in this post no longer work. One exception is Occupy Democrats, which has more toxic spam than ever before. … PG was minding his business when he stumbled onto a tweet. @neonflag “This number on Anonymous’ KKK data dump jumped out at me: 770-499-4633. That’s the Cobb County Sheriff. #gapol.”
There had been rumors. Anonymous was going to release the names of KKK members. The people wearing Guy Fawkes masks were going to expose the people wearing bedsheet hoods. Twitter nation was abuzz with excitement…lets expose the racists. PG was concerned about collateral damage, about innocent people being dragged into the mess. And now it was happening.
They’re publishing their data there. In addition to the phone numbers, there were email addresses, many with .ru addresses. There was also a list of politicians. There were lurid articles, like Racists Panic As Anonymous Starts Releasing Details Of KKK Members.
Included on this list was Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson. A conservative Republican that many would not want to defend, Sen. Isakson had been in real estate before he ran for election. This is an image conscious business, that would not lend itself to bedsheet wearing. Nonetheless, facebook was soon crowded with people calling for the resignation of Senator Isakson.
Before long, common sense began to creep in. If You Really Think Four Republican Senators Are in the KKK, You’re a Fool. Relax: #OpKKK Did Not Release Info Linking Elected Officials To The KKK. One division of the hydra headed anonymous tried to back away from another. @Operation_KKK This account has NOT YET released any information. We believe in due diligence and will NOT recklessly involve innocent individuals #OpKKK .
Several questions remain. How will we know who to believe? Was the preliminary *data dump* a false flag operation, designed to damage anonymous credibility? Why are they worried about the KKK? Is genuine evil flourishing while America chases bedsheets?
Despite it’s fierce reputation as a “racist terrorist” organization, the KKK is in bad shape. It has less credibility than the Westboro Baptist Church. The custom of wearing bedsheets makes them the easy target for jokes. The Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center say the membership of the KKK is dwindling.
A good argument could be made that anonymous publicity is helping the KKK. It makes bedsheets look dangerous. While the three digital stooges of anonymous/facebook/twitter are focused on bedsheets, more dangerous white (and other color) hate groups are operating in darkness. With people fascinated with who is under the bedsheets, people that can do damage are buying ammunition, and buying elections. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
The “official” data dump on the KKK has hit the ether. Anonymous promised the material at 10 am CST Thursday. It was five and one half hours late, which led to speculation that @Operation_KKK’s #OpKKK Exposed: ‘Anonymous’ was Geraldo the Whole Time!.
In any event, it is here, and less sensational than the widely discredited politician breakdown earlier this week. There are some who still believe that the earlier data dump was real. Some people are very gullible when it comes to fighting racism. Anonymous does not help by including a famous grand dragon, Calvin Craig, who died in 1998. Louisiana celebrity David Duke is also on the list.
The information on the list seems to have been collected through common sense browsing. Many of the facebook peeps shown seem to be proud of being idiots. Others outed themselves in chat rooms and forums. As the report says, “You never know who you are talking to on the internet”.
PG has been clicking on some of the facebook pages. Some of them are amusing. Here are a few highlights. This digest will continue until it gets too long, which probably won’t take too long. (One hour later) This is not that much fun. The names are in alphabetical first name order. After going through the J names, these are the only text items. There are dozens of memes, many of which feature stars and bars, Jesus, Obama, expressions of white pride, and paranoia. It can be discouraging. If you want to look for yourself, there is a link above to the report.
woman Baby I love this picture of you you’re so sexy… man Lmwao woman Not funny!! And before you ask… No baby I have not smoked crack today! Lmmfao *wink emoticon* man Crack head. woman I am not!! man Lmwao
Arianna Wolfe I try to give some ppl the benefit of a doubt when I accept friend requests….. but when I look at what your about I see a lot of men are not true aryan but just womanizing druggies or drunks that act so much like our enemy’s that all that separates you from them is skin color
Chase N Graceland (from report) Buford Forest AKA Don Hall AKA Chase N Graceland East Coast Knights Elvis Impersonator (lulz) Says he does not have enough money to pay his klan dues so he is not a member (In the klan, you pay up or youre not a member) However, he may be a member of Confederate White Knights (out of Maryland) Interesting Fact: 3 or 4 different Elvis impersonators have tried to join the klan. Creepy. … Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
The Golden Calf
When PG was a kid in sunday school, he heard about the the golden calf. It turns out that, splendid allegory aside, he didn’t really know much about the story. With the help of google and Bible Gateway, the text of Exodus 32 showed up. God bless public domain, and copy paste. The Bible is the main source for this tale. It doesn’t really matter if it is the inerrant word of God, it is a pretty good story. And much of the message rings true today.
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
This is a modern story. The church is begging the people for gold. The sons are wearing golden earrings. The church takes these ill gotten gains, and forge a make believe God. This time, it looks like a cow. Billy Graham will come much later.
7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Moving down a few verses, the story gets good. 19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. 20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. 21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? 22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. 23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. 25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies) 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. 28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: there fell that day about three thousand men.
Lets get this story right. Moses comes back from somewhere, and sees a naked party by the golden calf. He has a hissy fit, threw the golden calf into the fire, and tells people to start killing each other. Over three thousand men are killed. This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Schmoozing My Religion
This is a repost from 2009. Pictures are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library Abraham Piper sold twentytwowords to some terrible people, who ruined it.
Abraham at twentytwowords wrote… “When I asked about churches last week, some of you reminded me you’re not Christian.So…Non-Christian readers, what (non)religion are you?” That is 23 words. The original premise of twentytwowords was that all posts would be 22 words or less.
PG answered the original post “home churched”. He decided to answer the follow up question. Unlike most of the others to answer, PG wanted to keep this under 22 words.
There probably is not a religion that PG could fit into without a lot of shoehorning. Atheist is out, because PG suspects that there is a God. What form she takes is a matter of dispute. As for belief, PG questions that belief is the optimal approach to God.
Agnostic sounds like something you would blow out of your nose. Judaism is a party that PG is not invited to. Buddhism makes some good points, but PG is awfully occidental. As for Christianism, PG sees Jesus in the words and deeds of his believers … not a pretty picture.
As for the Christian obsession with life after death, PG feels pity and disgust. This is not a good focus for a religious practice, nor does it excuse verbal abuse. PG has ideas about life after death, but they are waaay over 22 words. Finally, PG decided to sum up his God-thoughts in 22 words.
1. My beliefs are my business. 2. Practice>belief. 3. God probably exists. 4. God does not write books. 5. Jesus has nothing to do with life after death. This is 24 words. Three words need to go. Part 4 states that God does not write books. This implies that God does, indeed, exist. Part 3 can be eliminated, and the answer reduced to 21 words.
Chamblee54 
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