No longer traumatizing to children

Finally, someone has managed to soften the image of Christ’s suffering. Could this bring more converts?

(Created by Holly the Terrible of Daubery.)

Some Thoughts

I think Radiohead’s Kid A album was originally titled “Kinda”. Then they realized some would try to apply the title to the contents of the CD, so they tried a little harder to avoid making too obvious their lack of musical effort. I still think “kinda” is a good answer to a question about how worthwhile Radiohead albums are to buy.

Remember: You can’t sing from your heart with your eyes open. Haven’t you ever been to a charismatic christian church service? Remember all the closed eyes, open mouths and wet faces? … Yeah, it made me uncomfortable too. No, I’m not going back either. To church in general.

New Level of Difficulty: Think of the learning game, “Which of these things doesn’t belong”. It’s the game where you present 4 to 8 items to a kid and have them pick the item that doesn’t share some characteristic with the others. They have to figure out which characteristic works best. Start with that game, but use only two items. Then tell them to “choose wisely.” It’s a weak stretch, but it’s supposed to teach kids about real life … the kind where you don’t know what the hell is going on, and all options have something wrong with them. (And yeah, I don’t really think this is a good idea. I’m just running with the idea that nothing is black and white.)

College Lawn Evangelists

They speak too loud to be heard. They failed as drama students. They think they’re in a Holy War.

The above images are from 2005 while attending UCF.

Dissemination

To me the task of propagation is every religion’s greatest annoyance. (Yet, it’s not just an annoyance, but also a deterrent. I prefer the clubs where I can be a member without obligation. But I guess believers must pay their dues in order to get the rewards.) It’s what ultimately drains outsiders of their ability for tolerance. If each group was less concerned with recruiting new believers, saving souls, ridding the world of non-believers, I’d be happier. Yes, I know, propagation is just the nature of religion. It must spread to survive. (Insert common comparison between religion and disease/cancer here) Yet, maybe this trait (propagation in the sense of spreading ideas) is not native to religion itself, but rather to humans. If so, why should a person care to convert others to their viewpoint or even make their viewpoint known? Why does firmly believing something mean that you should have any desire at all to share it?

In the instance of spreading religious belief, it benefits the religion. But what about secular ideas? For instance, take politics. Who does it benefit when someone voices their opinion? What’s the motivation? Perhaps there doesn’t have to be any motivation, and it just boils down to an individual’s personality. Certainly some have a stronger desire thans others to make their opinions known. And some value spreading factual evidence over beliefs. I was about to say that it is possible to voice opinions in such a way that is not abrasive or disturbing, but I don’t even think that’s true. There will always be someone that doesn’t want to hear your message. So it’s best to have a certain level of openness to new ideas and also possess the discernment to know when you’ve become an annoying fuck by saying too much.

Lately I’ve been increasingly annoyed by individuals who take every available opportunity to make their views known. Hence the venting present in this writing. If I react too harshly at some point in the future, blame it on the tactless zealots.