For some reason, people think that saying "fuck" in front of a kid will adversely affect his/her development, but simultaneously believe that it's okay to tell that same kid that:
1. There is an God who is so powerful he can do anything;
2. And he's really fucking pissed off at you because someone thousands of years ago ate something he wasn't supposed to eat and God just can't get over it;
3. And since you had the distinct misfortune of being born, you are destined to spend all of eternity burning in hell.
As a society, why are we allowing this? When I was maybe 7 years old I was handed one of the infamous Jack Chick tracts and at that age I pretty much accepted everything. I have distinct memories of the one page of that tract that scared the shit out of me, nightmares and everything. Yeah, I know, at the same age this kid was in college and I was crying over a Jack Chick tract. I'm such a retard.
Anyway, thanks to the wonder of the Internet, I can now share that page with you:
That's some pretty fucked up shit to tell a kid. I mean, granted, it's supposed to make you want to accept Christ into your life or whatever, but for fuck's sake, the Bible is so damn vague and contradictory that you can't possibly be 100% certain that you're not going to get thrown into the flaming ball pit. Needless to say, I lived in fear for much of my life.
People who try to proselytize to me nowadays scoff and almost invariably say something along the lines of "Are you comfortable with the belief that when you die, there's nothing?"
And my honest answer is "Yes." Oh, they never believe me. But it's true.
2 comments:
i'll not pass any judgment on this, but something that i've always thought was interesting and overlooked is the idea that it doesn't really matter whether (or not) you believe in an afterlife.
either there is or there isn't.
similarly, it doesn't matter whether i believe that richmond is east of rochester, or the earth is flat.
it's as if someone BELIEVING "we all just die and there is no afterlife" means somehow that that is a fact regarding that person's post-life scenario. but someone else believing "we all meet our maker and get sent to either heaven or hell" obviously contradicts the other person's belief. they can't both be true.
SOMEONE will be wrong!
but i think the whole cultural/moral relativism that has become pervasive means it's that people aren't allowed to be "wrong," especially when it comes to "their beliefs." of course when you're saying that you "believe" that a certain fact exists, it's not just opinion. it's either right or wrong.
Agreed on all points. It's like Richard Dawkins says: "When two opposite points of view are expressed with equal intensity, the truth does not necessarily lie exactly halfway between them. It is possible for one side to be simply wrong."
Am I wrong? I could be. I think it's a more measured decision that people give me credit for, but I certainly could be wrong. Then I would be screwed.
Also, I read your comment 12 times and I still cannot discern which side of the fence you fall on. Masterfully done!
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