Simple Question #015a: Should We Love Gay People Unconditionally?

I have an answer to the Simple Question this time around. That answer is an unqualified YES.

JWSTSOOY #004a: Ted Haggard is Back!

If you'll remember, this is the guy who was caught doing meth and having sex with a gay prostitute while preaching intolerance against gays and imploring others to live a righteous life like him. How do people like this get away with this kind of (seemingly inevitable) crap?

Ted Haggard is back and wants your cash.

Simple Question #014a: What Does it Mean to "Behave"?

Especially when the coffee is flowing, I'm late for work, everyone wants something from me, and I can't hear God's loving voice in my ear telling me life is good, I don't feel like behaving. I know what I think it means to behave, but it seems so nebulous. I see a definition on thefreeditionary.com that states, "To conduct oneself in a specified way," but I'm not sure that's the whole story.

What does "behave" mean to you?

Learn Something New: Toki Pona - The Happy Language

Feeling blue? So was the creator of Toki Pona, Sonja Elen Kisa, who came up with the idea while feeling depressed one day. I'm not too much of a polyglot, but it seems like with less than 120 words, I might even be able to master this one. There are so many hateful words in all of today's most popular languages, this is a breath of fresh air... or, rather, a breath of sin kon.

The Unicorn Museum & Intolerance - Learning to Breathe

So I recently visited a site mentioned on BoingBoing.net that was created in response to the Creationist Museum. It's the Unicorn Museum and it's worth a look. I found it kinda boring in its one-note sarcasm, but I'm probably not the intended audience.

Then I looked at the comments and (not surprisingly) found quite a bit of "back and forth" between people with differing views on religion. Of particular interest to me was a post by someone clarifying the nature of the passage in the Bible mentioning unicorns and a response by someone dismissing the clarification as merely a crutch to help someone grapple with the inconsistencies of their source of faith. I wanted to respond, but instead I decided to post my initial response here to allow it to mellow like I do when I have an emotional reaction to such things. So here, for your edification, is my initial response:

Especially when viewed from a scientific standpoint, understanding the history of the words in any particular translation of any book is important regardless of whether it is religious in nature. Of the dozen or so most popular Biblical translations currently available in English, the word "Unicorn" is only used in the one most poetic of all - the King James Version.

It's honestly not a matter of sleeping well at all (I have Sonata to help me with that). I welcome open discourse on religion and faith, but if we do so assuming we are undeniably correct and everyone else is hopelessly wrong, the only result can be to thoughtlessly gainsay ideas you didn't bring to the table. This helps nobody.

The bottom line for me is that this site is funny, but it's also pretty juvenile. Literalism in any discipline deserves a healthy dose of humor, but belligerent ignorance can be ugly when professed in public regardless of spiritual inclination. I get it - you think people with religious faith are stoopid. Unfortunately, this site responds to someone else's ridiculousness (i.e. the Creationist Museum) with their own wrapped in the convenient, flame-resistant robe of satire. Like so much humor in that vein, this ends up just sounding shrill and smug rather than truly funny.

Now I will take a few deep breaths and see if I want to post this to their comments section later today.

Simple Question #013a: Should Churches Have a Sense of Humor?

According to Wikipedia, Heresy is defined as, "theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Roman Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox." Simplifying this down to its essence, it means openly disagreeing with any religion. Given the historical trend of Churches falling away from the teachings of Christ, isn't it our responsibility to be active heretics when the circumstances are appropriate?

So much heresy is tied up with humor. Many Churches over the years seem humorless to me. Why is that? What is the nature of humor that is so threatening to leaders of any stripe... especially so many in charge of the world's religions?

Just in case you're completely un familiar with the idea of heresy as humor, here's one of my favorite examples:

Cool Quote #001a: Thomas Jefferson

"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility toward every form of tyranny over the minds of men."

To Serve or Not to Serve?

During normal business hours, I am surrounded with people who don't care about what isn't profitable for them. It's a small company, so I can see why keeping an eye on profitability is important. In some ways I've tried to deal with it and find a way to continue to be who I am without playing into that mentality or be changed by it. Things seem different today. Maybe it's just me...

If service lags for people who don't bring in a lot of revenue, nobody seems to care. As a result, I can't provide the service I would like to because the people who don't care are blocking the resources I need to do so. Their negative "stuff" is starting to rub off on me.

So how do you stay positive when everything around you seems negative? How do you reconcile faith in such a negative, competitive business world? I don't know, but I'll keep going forward and let you know. Maybe I just need to let go.

Maybe I'm Not Wrestling Enough?

I'm scared.

It seems as if my life is going pretty well these days, but I know there's the clear and present possibility that trouble's just around the corner. I know it's important to enjoy this time, but I can't help but think that maybe there's something to my concern (which makes that difficult).

I hope everyone in my life lives longer than I do. I know that's not technically likely (or maybe even desirable) , but I can't help feeling some dread in going through the loss of a parent or friend or mate... hell, even the loss of a pet is tough.

I'm generally a happy person, but I know trials probably loom ahead. I know they will help me grow, but I like it where I am. Just as I'm getting comfortable here, I can sense change coming. Writing all this down makes it seem more inevitable too.

Maybe I just won't publish this and everything will stay the same...

Simple Question #012a: Should Politics and Religion Mix?

We're getting closer to an election for President (among other things). You know politics will come into discussions of religion as time flows on, so let's get this one out of the way early:

Should Politics and Religion mix?

What you do matters.

In every way you can imagine, the things you do matter.



Thanks to Spulch for linking me to this video.