Thursday, June 5, 2008

Regarding Jesus and I-phones

Last night on the bus, a woman sat down next to me, and opened a small leatherbound Bible and began to read the Psalms in a voice that made it pretty much impossible for me to read the Hillary and Obama stories I had pulled up on my I-phone.  She had some verses highlighted so she could find them quickly. These were read with particular vengeance.

I have no idea what kind of Christian she is, but I found myself thinking....
For the most part, what Christians these days really should be praying for is that they are dead, dead wrong in their belief that Jesus will return to earth some day.  For if he does, he's likely to be really, really pissed at the behavior of many folks using his name without a proper licensing agreement.

There was a time when I believed that some of the common, narrow-minded behavior you hear about reflected the isolated acts of a handful of fanatical wackos.  But I've come to think that this isn't the case.  The Westboro Baptist church, which harassed some families of fallen soldiers by protesting with signs reading, "God Hates Fags," and "God Hates America," is unfortunately more representative of today's Christian than we like to admit.
The mainstream Christian Church is today represented by guys like Jerry Falwell, the very same fellow who flat-out said that 9/11 was God's retribution for America's evil ways. Specifically, tolerance of gay people appears to really piss of God and his only begotten son.

This kind of attitude—that my group and my group alone has the key to truth, and the rest of you are damned—is the principle by which most Christians now live. Sorry, but it's true.  Christians aren't even united among themselves. Baptists are convinced that Catholics and Lutherans will roast in hell; Pentacostals think Lutherans are the spawn of Satan...on and on it goes.

It is exceptionally rare to hear any Christian church preach actual tolerance anymore.  The possible exception is the modern Mennonites—who, by the way, are considered outcasts by a large ratio of other Christian denominations.

I'm not that kind of believer, but I really do hope that Jesus does return to earth.  I want a front row seat when he casts all the "believers" out of the temple. 

I'm a bad man sometimes.  When the lady's holier-than-thou recitation got really intense, I gave up reading about politics on my I-phone and looked for some porn to show her.  (Not really, but I thought about it.)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I gave up reading about politics on my I-phone and looked for some porn to show her. (Not really, but I thought about it.)

I was going to say, "You should have done it." But then I thought, "Yeah, right - and she would have had him arrested and his ass would be in jail now."

Anonymous said...

You're growing, Grasshopper. Time was a little thing like repercussions wouldn't have stopped the porn.

People like that scare me and that last photo you posted will haunt my dreams. I'll think of you tonight when I'm not sleeping.

j

Glamourpuss said...

Religion is man-made dogma - all of it. Spirit, and God, is divine. The former has little connection with the latter in my experience.

Puss

G said...

You showed admiral restraint, Mercurious!

Of course, it isn't just Christians that can be dogmatic & dismissive of others' beliefs. I've come across plenty of Buddhists hooked on one kind of doctrine or another, not only slating non-Buddhists but also other Buddhists of a different sect than their own - sound familiar?! (And yet this doesn't remotely effect my own Buddhist convictions as they are born out of experience as much as faith.)

Such behavior is possibly the result of having considerable doubts & insecurities regarding one's chosen beliefs, thereby using attack as the best form of defense. This is a short term solution to a problem that lies at the heart of one's life, however, and it will resurface again & again until one faces it head on.

Not only did you do well not to react to the suffering creature on the bus, but you've shown wisdom in reflecting on the incident afterwards. And make no mistake about it - this woman is suffering. She is suffering from greed, hatred & delusion as are all unenlightened beings. You would have only added to her suffering by showing her porn. And you would have behaved like a uncaring, ignorant teenager.

Well done!
G at 'Buddha Space'.
http://buddhaspace.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

For the most part, what Christians these days really should be praying for is that they are dead, dead wrong in their belief that Jesus will return to earth some day. For if he does, he's likely to be really, really pissed at the behavior of many folks using his name without a proper licensing agreement.

You made me laugh. Thanks.