A Pawn of God vs. A God of Pawns

The latter part of the title refers mostly to my fictional characters: I create them, right? And they cannot fathom me unless I will it? - In which case, I'd better have a damn good reason.

I think I've personally broken the record for images in one post. But believe it or not, I was not thinking of "graven images" until after. Of course I'm not taking them down. And now, the reason for this post: a semi-imaginary conversation between myself and a religious nut. I am not attempting to portray any generalization of one group; I merely mean to point out the flaws in certain areas of religious reasoning and logic.

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NUT. Do you believe in God?

ME. Not sure. I don't think there is sufficient evidence.

NUT. He does not live on evidence, but on faith! Who do you think created you??

ME. My...parents?

NUT. Well, who created them?

ME. Their parents? It's a chicken-and-egg question.

NUT. So you just admitted that you don't know!

ME. I did not! There was no need to admit something I wasn't hiding. I don't know if He, or She, or Whatever, exists. At least I don't pretend to.

NUT (taken aback). How dare you! I know He exists, because He visited me in a dream! *1

ME. I suppose, by that line of reasoning, that a three-headed green cow exists?

NUT. Of course not.

ME. But I saw Her in a dream! I could swear up and down until the cows come home, no pun intended, yet still there's no reason for me to believe you.

NUT. Gahh, you will burn in Hell!

ME. If there is such a place, do open the door for me when I join you.

My personal theory is that, while there may be some sort of higher being, perhaps of time or a separate spatial dimension, or even a writer (I couldn't know if I was fictional) - but some of these claims are utter bogus. For example, according to the Law of Conservation of Mass, nothing can simply vanish from all of existence, or be newly created for that matter. There are so many quarks, atoms, etc. in our universe, particles, which at one point - (billions?) of years ago - formed amino acids and eventually led to simple life. I just combined memories from my past two science classes. Hooray for memory! Also, I think that either to explain or comfort, people create myths and such. Explanation includes Zeus of lightning and comfort implies scenes such as a loved one's deathbed. "You'll go to Heaven and see [another loved one]!" - which is a bit more socially acceptable than "You'll be turned to ashes and spread" or "You'll rot in the earth until your cold, unfeeling bones wither away through the centuries." Personally I wouldn't mind that, although I'll probably be cremated. People create deities in terror, pray "just in case" in an emergency but never otherwise, etc.

Again, I have many friends of many religions, so I'm not knocking any beliefs; rather, I am questioning the foundations of faith and knocking those who attempt to push their doctrines down others' throats.

I do believe in doing good things for others, and I don't have to worship anyone/-thing to do so.

*1 - I never had any such dream, but it served its purpose, I hope.

09/11/11

"Today, we are all Americans." - A lady in France ten years ago (translated)

"United we stand, divided we fall." - Abraham Lincoln, I think?

"Nobody wins a war." - My friend in elementary school

"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." - Yoda

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein

"Love is the flower you've got to let grow." - John Lennon

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Sorry about all the quotes; I was in a bit of a quoting mood. So ten years ago I was in first grade and the World Trade Center was bombed. I remember coming home and seeing the news, but I don't think I fully grasped what had happened at the time. Today I mentally weep for humanity, for as much as it is expanding, it is also eating itself up. While we might be the most intelligent race in terms of technological advancement, we seem to have the worst judgment. While there are certain types of fauna which take the lives of their own kind, we ought to know better. We knowingly torture, kill, lie, steal, rape, cheat, and so on. If there is a God, [He] must have lost control of us, or perhaps it is [His] plan to have us end the world. Perhaps the Big Crunch will be our mortician or janitor, to sweep away a barren world.

Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the bombings, was recently assassinated by our troops. I do not agree with what the man did. I don't miss him. And yet, does killing a killer reduce the number of corpses? Very unpatriotic. George Washington must be spitting from heaven. It's like if a child gets into trouble for fighting and the parent hits him to teach him violence is wrong. Or saying "Do not swear, dammit!" [see "Bad Words" - a recent post of mine]. This makes us no better than anyone else. If a police officer shoots a criminal who draws a gun first, that's one thing. But putting the criminal away and executing him or her? Murder is murder, no matter what clothes it wears.

This is one of many reasons I won't join the military. I am willing to defend who I love, but I don't go looking for trouble. It finds me. (And yes, I just quoted Harry Potter.) And to quote Ringo Starr:

Peace and love!!!!

- Lewis

Of Pirates and Ninjas

Today, my school had us dress as either pirates or ninjas. Unfortunately, I was able to do neither: I had a tricorner hat (Jack Sparrow's, to be exact), but left it at my mother's house. I saw several of each, however, and felt envy for much. I could tell the ninjas I saw were really only costumes. Figure it out.
They are both interesting subjects, yet neither have I written of. Why? I really do not know. Perhaps I have not submerged myself properly. I dearly love the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, and await the prequel. I don't know much about ninjas. I ought to read up on both and then create tales; I think they would do well.
I told a friend that I might try to make up by being a pirate some other time, to which he replied: "You'd get beaten up." I questioned this, and he said: "This is high school." True, this is high school. But that's the thing! We should be over our childish squabbles by now. People seem to be very ignorant that different does not equal bad--not necessarily. Sure, I acted up in elementary and middle: the former because I was a kid and the latter because I did not agree to school rules (they were baloney). But now, I'm making a mark--one that shall last into my adulthood. These years matter. All years do, but these are crucial to success from what I hear. Yet, I see kids acting like toddlers left and right. Am I just more mature than most people my age? I do like to have fun, but psychologically I like to analyze things from various angles. That is why I do not think we should have God for a Judge; He would be inclined to His own perceptions of good and evil, and those are just points of view.
The whole religion thing fascinates (and infuriates) me, but I'll save it for another post.