kill all my demons and my angels might die too
Yes, I’m still a newbie when it comes to making music, but wanted to have something for comparison purposes down the road. And since I’m on a sharing kick, I decided not to hog the vid and instead show it to the world.
Judges 19:24 Behold, my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
Judges 19:25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine, and put her out to them. They wantonly raped her, and abused her all through the night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.
Such was a catechism lesson I received before age ten. A stern nun was in charge of leading the lessons, in a building who’s window overlooked the cobblestone courtyard, with the beautiful old church on the other side. If there are any positive memories of the these lessons, they mostly have root in my appreciation of architecture of many days passed.
There was one part of catechism I enjoyed, and it came when the nun would attach pictures to a canvas, while telling the story they represented. It was the only time her voice didn’t strike fear in the hearts of those present, myself included.
I cannot recall any other lessons as vividly as this one. Maybe this is a result of having found the direct verse used in catechism, and the scraps of memories I have of other lessons would come to equal clarity with the rediscovery of their own representative verses.
The education was a crude kind at best, where no thought is spared to the victim of rape, humiliation and violence. The verses had been portrayed as a beautiful tale of the lengths we all should go to when protecting god’s messengers. What a wonderful sacrifice the owner of the house was making, by offering his own daughter to the wolves!
Times have moved on, and women in religion have finally reached the status of disobedient children (with benefits). No longer treated like cattle, women now have some begrudged rights. Blame their new found freedom on the feminists and TV. Of course, the penis trumps all and the quickest way to wipe out half your sins is through a sex change.
Having experienced such awful lessons of the bible as a boy, I can only speculate what the day in reference did to the psyche of little girls, my sister included. Anyone viewing the bible as the values of a loving god is definitely confused, and when walking, most likely experiences a swinging sensation between their legs (else, the belief might have something to do with taking on the missionary position, in God’s name).
Why is it so important that we believe in god?
I fail to see the focus on faith. Why are so few preaching belief without evidence, instead of lifestyle? Could a person do everything right in their life, and still go to hell simply because they did not believe?
Is heaven really a paradise?
Popular belief suggests that heaven is a paradise. Can anyone enjoy paradise knowing that any of their friends, siblings, parents, children, their spouse or other loved ones are in hell?
Are you aware that the bible contains two creation stories?
There are two creation stories in Genesis, each claiming a different creation order. With such obvious contradictions, which ‘truth’ in the bible is real, and how can you be sure of anything in it?
Did god personally ensure that your parents met?*
If yes, then than the minutest details are preplanned, and we have no control over any aspects of our lives, thus are not responsible for our actions. If not, then you must realise you coming to existence was one chance, likely in the billions. Calculate the chances of all alive coming to existence the way we did, and the chances are 1 : Infinity. Yet, here we all are. If these odds were met, what is so unrealistic about the outcome of evolution?
The last question has a simple mathematical answer. Odds should not be calculated backwards. A simple demonstration is to take a deck of cards, shuffle it, and lay out all 52 cards before you. The odds of getting the sequence you did are breathtaking, statistically you will not get this sequence ever again in your life time, yet nothing amazing took place.
On the right hand side, I’ve added a new section titled “Reading Corner”. If you enjoy the material here at Hergest Ridge, you might also enjoy some of the books I’m into as they’re often the inspiration for my entries.
In other news, a monkey escaped the local zoo. The mischievous vixen was last seen on Notre Dame Avenue wrestling control of an ice cream cart. Reports of attacks on banana-eating pedestrians are numerous. Children are advised to stay clear of all ice cream vendors in the area until the fugitive is back behind bars.
Swim trunks and towel in hand, Kinsman Lake in Stonewall (if town council has their way, soon to be renamed to Stonewallywood – the dumbest name I’ve heard in a long time) shunned me with a closed gate. Mid June is when the fun starts, supposedly. Original plan back in motion, I went down into the quarry to wander around. Weather wasn’t too hot, and the bugs non-existent. That’s right, I said non-existent. I sat on the hill in the quarry for about half an hour, and didn’t have to chase away a single mosquito, fly, wasp, tick, looper, or bee. That is bloody amazing for this time of year, when many opt to wear sweats despite 25 degree weather as not to leave their skin exposed to our provincial, blood sucking ‘bird’.
It’s been about two months since I played my guitar. Its neck bent to the point where the strings were touching the fretboard, and so it spent a month waiting for me to take it in. It took another month before I received a replacement under the warranty. Sadly, I’ve forgotten much of what I learned so far, but I’m hoping it’s a bit like riding the bike. Guitar Hero doesn’t seem to have been of any help in preserving my limited skills.
If you wondering what the point of this entry is, two things: Why are you looking for a point in a blog entry? Might as well search for a needle in a haystack. Blogs in general don’t have a lot of points, so I suggest switching to another genre of literature. Alas, I won’t leave you hanging, and for my second item will make something that may pass as a point.
Some of the later entries on Hergest Ridge may sound a bit angry, grumpy, or negative in general. I assure you they are not in that spirit and that I am by and large a very positive and happy person. Lately, I’ve delved into the fields of theism, biology and science in general, and philosophy. The subjects have opened my eyes to many wonders of our world, from the human mind to the fabric of our universe. Since challenging theism is still a taboo, any criticism of such will inevitably sound negative to many of faith. I write about these issues with as much zeal and personal conviction as I would in areas of politics, music, or literature. All personal beliefs are up for debate and criticism, why should faith be excluded from such?
On that note, I’d like to say that this is the official 100th entry published here. That’s more than I would have guessed for this blog when I started it. Thanks to all the readers and participants. You rock!
Brief annotation for the reader not familiar with The Secret: Early on in the movie we learn that the secret is the law of attraction. The law is the central piece of the movie, and by proxy my main theme.
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Newton’s law, Boyle’s law, electromagnetic law, the law of gravity, and the law of attraction. Without digging too deep, science is what the average reader may be forgiven for thinking. That being the case I recommend a quick Google search, specifically on the law of attraction. If you feel that I’m a trustworthy source I’ll save you the trouble of a search by pointing out that scientifically no such law exists.
The law of attraction falls into the pseudoscience category. The classification might be misconstrued for a type of science, and I’d like to assure you that it is not. Simply, pseudoscience is any kind of belief, or practice that claims to be scientific but does not follow the scientific method. Pseudosciences may appear scientific, but they do not adhere to the basic requirements of the scientific method (Wikipedia: Pseudoscience).
Analytic statements that are true or false by logic alone are not laws. The evidence offered by The Secret is both anecdotal and highly susceptible to misinterpretations like confirmation bias (Wikipedia: Law of Attraction). To put it mildly, the Law of Attraction is an unscientific claim in a lab coat – a masquerade of sorts.
Through the likening of law of gravity with the law of attraction, The Secret disguises itself as a factual account of our universe. It often achieves its goal by using credible science as a Trojan Horse to get past our built-in censors.
Other pseudoscience and supernatural examples abound. Brain functions can indeed be measured and are a form of energy, but no evidence exists that this energy exists outside of the brain where it was generated. To claim that it impresses and changes the universe is a leap of faith at par with that required of religious faith.
The most preposterous suggestion of all came in the form of a personal anecdote, in that a link was suggested between ‘gratitude rocks’ and the curing of a disease. Clearly, this is a leap into the world of supernatural right along with voodoo dolls.
Overlooking the lack of scientific credibility in the claims, literal belief in “man becomes what he thinks about” is dangerous. I shudder to think of the rape survivor, or parent that lost a child. Does anyone really believe that they alone are responsible for the events in their life, that somehow they brought this onto themselves? Our thoughts have bearing on the final outcome in the form of self fulfilling prophecies, but are not the sole causation of anything.
There is so much wrong with The Secret, further analysis would be a waste of space, not to mention your and my time. The story is dramatized early on with comments like “The Leaders in the past who had the secret wanted to keep the power and not share the power so they kept people ignorant to the secret” – everyone loves a conspiracy theory – and then proceeds to deliver a fairy tale based on placebo and self fulfilling prophecy effects blown way out of proportion. If you value facts and evidence, stay clear of The Secret.
Chasers view on The Secret has been brought to my attention, and I’m passing it your way in the form of a 7 minute video. My original article included references to Scientology, but I opted to omit the comparison due to limited Scientology knowledge on my part. Glad to hear these guys going for it!
