killing time

it's Friday a.m. we're off from school today, mostly b/c of the size of the St. James Art Fair, which is located in the "Old Louisville" portion of town, and an area quite close to work (is that a terrible sentence?). the good wife has headed off to view some arts-n-crafts, so i'm home with the boys doing NOTHING of any positive note. in fact, i'm sitting here wasting time on the pinche computer. so far, the themes of the day include fixies (basic stupidity's very nice "Orange"), wool armwarmers (Ibex and Kucharik), and wacked-out religious leaders (Scientology and Mormonism). Slate has posted a briefbutinformative review of L. Ron Hubbard. and not long ago, i saw the "Mormon" episode of South Park, which I fear is closer to the truth than the casual viewer must think.

i think it's really quite fascinating to consider how people buy in to these systems. religion's importance throughout history and culture tells me that:

A) it exists on a macro-level and has become or just IS, integral to the human experience, one that is the ultimate Meme. i may be able to accept this position, one that is somewhat Deist, lest i be mistaken. this is the one that attracts me to Buddhism's rational perspective. further study of cultural Buddhism reveals strong means of superstition found throughout Asian traditions, but W.B. seems to avoid that

B) it perhaps exists on a micro-level, and that one faith group- Christian salvation, Muslim salvation, Hindu positive karmic reincarnation, etc.- will, in fact, persevere over the others, how much bullshit does that position emanate?. it's nothing more than an extension of the notion of the Jews' "chosen people" syndrome- though that may be the wrong or impolite word to use. the Jews are "chosen". the various Christian sects are "chosen". Evangelical Christians are really "chosen". Fundamentalist Muslims are "chosen". you get the picture. and God has "chosen" one group over another, even if the component of Faith is stronger in an individual found in another faith group? i had a good friend at another job, a devout Christian. i challenged her to explain this irrational notion, that an ultra-faithful Hindhu could burn in the fiery depths whilts a johnny-come-lately Christian could have eternal salvation, perhaps due to a deathbed conversion. she tendered no response b/c there really isn't one other than, "i believe. therefore i'm right and you're not".

C) Humanity has always been really jodido and needs something, no matter what it is, to fill the gulf, but that God and Religion are just artifices. Beginning and End Times are a function of our lack of ability to grasp what scientific Space/Time presents us. Linear Time is merely a construct of our lack of understanding of the fundamental physics involved, just as our lack of ability to understand bacteria killed lots and lots of people pre-19th century. Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism et. al. are just millenia-old versions of Scientology. they have the advantage of being old, but no more correct or valid. it still brings me to the question of how can a person in the 20th century really believe that pile of shit Hubbard was serving up. for that matter, how have they belived Reverend Jim Jones, Sun Myung Moon, or David Koresh? How? i understand a belief in one of the old religions only because tradition and consistency (sort of) must account for something. and then i think to the more recent systems. sometimes my manic-depressive states leaves me feeling a little wonky, but i've not ever once felt the need to be taken in by some wackedout, fromouterspace "religion", yet millions still do. why?

as much as modern, Western philosophy and science has tried to present the physical world, and later the psychological world, as rational and scientific, i have a hard time believing that based on human behaviors. byinlarge, our behaviors are insane with intermitten periods of peace. often times, religion makes us even more insane- medieval Crusades, modern Crusades, Jihad, Pakistan/India, on and on and on.

1.02p.m.- in the continuance of doing nothing productive today, i lighted upon this site of one of the most fucked-up people i've ever encountered. he has a commentary on Mormonism, which where i first found it. he (canNOT be a she the way this chingon is carrying one) reveals himself as a just-as-wack pentacostal. man, people are really screwed up! entertaining if i knew he and his ilk, which is the overwhelming number of mutants out there, would get anywhere near my children.

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