Journal KshGoddess's Journal: Ramblings & Christmas Wrap-Up 5
First, I'd like to announce that I made a 'B' in my game programming class, despite doing horribly on the last lab. Only because I made 100 on the final exam. I'll probably work on the game in my spare time (ha!) when I actually feel like devoting energy to it.
This semester, Art. And a stained glass class. No programming involved. [But of course, I mentioned this before.] Time for the right brain to get full.
Anyway, Christmas was good; we got together with my otherperson's family at his parents' place. Again, a few people in his family used giving stuff to me as an excuse to give more stuff to my otherperson, but it all worked out pretty well in the end, I think. He got "Project A-ko", which I've been wanting. I got "Plastic Little", which he's been wanting.
His sister is very churchy of late, and got some awful Christian Rock. Perhaps I'm just biased because I'm not Christian --I'm agnostic, technically-- but it's some of the worst music I've heard. And cheesy, too. Full of cheesy goodness, I guess.
It was that experience that led me to realize that all of the 'big ideas' in religion (esp. Christian religions) are (a) obvious and (b) meaningless until applied to one's own life. "God is love." "God is everywhere." "God creates Miracles every day."
"God is love" can be seen in the starkest of instances as a cop-out for one's own self-esteem. "I'm a screw-up, but at least God loves me." You have to love yourself before you're capable of accepting love from others.
"God is everywhere." Well, yeah, an omnipotent, omnicient being would know everything and if not actually exist everywhere, at least be able to see everything going on everywhere. What does that mean to you personally? Does it make you act more Christian? Does it mean that you can't pick your nose any more? Taken to the extreme, this thought could easily cause paranoia.
And "God creates miracles every day." Well, yeah. Life itself is a miracle. What are you doing with the miracles around you? Do you appreciate the flowers growing in your back yard? Do you find time to think how blessed your life is every day, instead of just once a week when the pastor/minister/priest says to? Do you find joy in the little things?
I don't doubt when people tell me that they hear God. Or that microwaving food changes its chi. It's a belief system that someone chooses to make their own. If you believe that God helps you make decisions, fine. If you believe that you make decisions on your own, fine. If you believe invisible little fuzzy orange monkies guide your hand, great. It's something that helps you get through the day.
Maybe my ramblings above were triggered by syrupy sweet praise songs, but they're no less true. Of course, if I were the supreme omnicient/omnipotent being (and wielded supreme executive power because some tart threw a sword at me), I'd be encouraging my creations to think for themselves, to develop past the 'praising' -- because (1) even as the supreme being, if I didn't love myself, I couldn't fully accept the love of anyone else, and (2) I'd be tired of hearing it over and over from several million beings. I can't stand to hear the same song more than three times in a day, much less millions of times simultaneously!
Mmmm..... (Score:1)
Pizza, mmmm.....
"I'm a screw-up, but at least God loves me."
G-d's boy is better than momma's boy.
You have to love yourself before you're capable of accepting love from others.
That is untrue. Anyone can accept love, regardless of their self-esteem. Now, if you had said, "You have to love yourself before you're capable of loving others." you'd have a good point. Hmm... I'll have to think about that.
What does that mean to you personally?
In it's most basic sense, it means that one should always act appropriately, because He is everywhere. There is also the corrollary, that everything could be used for Him, since everything is Him, and thus is Holy.
Does it make you act more Christian?
No. But that's because I have a different religion.
Does it mean that you can't pick your nose any more?
Yes, in a sense. Since that is a disgusting habit, it is best done not in front of people. And since G-d is omnipresent, He'll see that you are doing it in front of other people no matter where you are. But, since there is sometimes a need to pick *somewhere*, by hiding when doing it, you are showing G-d that you care about other people.
Taken to the extreme, this thought could easily cause paranoia.
Yes, very much so. But, it's better to realize that acting appropriately all the time is a life-long process. The main idea is to move forward, even if only little by little.
And "God creates miracles every day." Well, yeah. Life itself is a miracle. What are you doing with the miracles around you?
Everything is a miracle, in a sense. But what actually qualifies as a miracle matters more on the person, than the miracle itself.
The word in Hebrew used for "miracle" is "Nayse". However, the word itself does not mean miracle. It actually means "sign". People tend to get used to things, so when something is out of the ordinary, it acts as a sign, as if G-d were saying, "I'm here". Each person chooses what is a miracle simply by deciding what it is that will help them recognize that G-d is everything. And someone who wants to see, will see it everywhere. However, at first, it is only the outright miracles that act as signs.
I'd be encouraging my creations to think for themselves,
That's silly. That's like a person telling their arm to get their own life. G-d is everything, nothing besides our free choice is ours. Everything, from thoughts to strengths, from possesions to ideas are ours.
to develop past the 'praising'
Never, ever develop "past" that. To do that would be to contradict the very purpose of the world.
(1) even as the supreme being, if I didn't love myself, I couldn't fully accept the love of anyone else,
That is not true. And besides, G-d doesn't need our love, it is we that need to love Him.
(2) I'd be tired of hearing it over and over from several million beings.
Silly human.
I can't stand to hear the same song more than three times in a day, much less millions of times simultaneously!
When people do the "Right Thing" it is the greatest pleasure to G-d. Thus, the more we sing His praises, and the more often we do it, the better, and the "happier" He will be.
Christian rock (Score:2)
Jens Johansson summed up my attitude pretty well by claiming to be agnostic and atheist on alternate days.
but it's some of the worst music I've heard. And cheesy, too.
Yes, Christianity is to blame for some of the worst atrocities ever comitted in the name of music (in fact, in life in general, but I'm not opening that can of worms right now). But that said, there is still some Christian rock that's not only Christian, but also stands its own in musical terms as well. Apart from the "well known" (and OK, somewhat cheesy) bands like Stryper and Barren Cross, there are others such as Deliverance [deliverancelives.com] that are worth checking out. I also like Narnia [narniaworld.com] musically, but find the lyrics just a bit too preachy for my tastes. Still, there are definitely worthwhile offerings out there if you're prepared to look for them.
Re: (Score:1)
Re:I finaly got time to respond (Score:1)
In a similar vein, I got an interesting lecture from my otherperson's mother after all the presents were unwrapped. "When I married [otherperson's father] I thought that I could overlook the things that I didn't like, and that he would change. Well, they don't change!"... she continued to spiel on the things that happen when two people don't understand each other, and one tries very hard to both please and change the other.
She was trying to teach me things that took her many many years to figure out -- things I already knew. She also tried to "warn" me about my otherperson's down periods -- which I well know since I've lived with him for ~1.5 yrs (I know that when he's 'grumpy' you just let him be, because he has to work it out for himself)-- and that you have to do something toward your goal for wishes to come true. They don't come true on their own, especially when you don't tell anyone about them.
It's taken me less than my 27 years to figure these things out, and it's interesting to hear someone going through the questions and answers that seem so obvious.
That's the way I feel about most religions; they exist to teach morality, and to organize people for a common goal. But what happens when you've learned the basic lessons and there's no one around to teach you more? You either stay at that basic level, or you do your own thinking and rise above that level. What if their goal is not yours? You have to either find a group that has your goal, or study in solitude.
Things that we [my otherperson and I, as well as some of the /. crowd] take for granted as truth are very hard lessons to learn for some people, and it's fascinating to watch people go through the struggle to reach their own ephiphany, you know, the point you've been trying to make to them for years.
Re:I finaly got time to respond (Score:1)
I hesitate to dive into the whole theological pot of stew you've touched on just now, partly because I'm at work and don't feel right taking too much time away from what I'm being paid to do and partly because it's your journal and you're certainly entitled to your own musings. Not to mention the fact that you don't even know me and thus may not put much stock into what I have to say, which is fair.
And I certainly don't want to sit here and preach at you. God knows (literally) that's not my job. All I want to mention is that in your view of what "Christian religion" has to offer ("God is love", "God is everywhere", and "God creates miracles every day"), you're missing so much of what it means to truly believe in the Living God and to follow him. I'd love to share more with you if you like, but in the meantime there's a good book you can check out, "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. It's a fairly short book (you could probably go through it in a day or two), and it's simply a logical, straightforward presentation of the basics of what Christianity is and what Christians believe. No syrup, I promise. :)
And good luck w/ the right brain stuff :). I can dig poetry and music, but the visual aspect of things was never my forte. The way Matt Damon describes a piano in "Good Will Hunting": "A bunch of keys, three pedals and a box of wood." That's me and visual art. :P