Melodious Inkwell: The Church

Me: Hey, did you know that condoms don't stop AIDS? It must be true! The Vatican says so!

Otter: I read that.

Me: grooosssssssssssssssss. stupidfuckingchcurch.

Otter: Ayep. and it IS the stupid fucking church, too. Population control? What's that?!

Me: yeah. argh. why control the population? it's obviously god's will that we eat and shit ourselves to death in a sardine can.

Otter: Yep.

Otter: And blessed are the meek, for they shall inheirit the Earth. Do you know what that MEANS? It means the meek shall be given to an early grave by the strong. And they'll be buried beneath the feet of those who overpopulate the earth. Bah!

Me: I never thought of it that way before! Wow.

Otter: Blessed are the poor for they shall... what was it?

Me: *shakes head* I don't know.

Otter: I'll have to look it up later.

Me: I'll look it up now!

Otter: But I really have thought of that "blessed are the meek... buried by the strong..." ever since I first heard it.

Me:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Me: Ok, that is totally a creepy prayer. It's definitely all "...after they die."

Otter: Poor in spirit? People who have no spirit to fill them? Hm. Mourn... okay. Meek, we've talked about.... righteousness... okay... Merciful... Well, I'm merficul... haven't seen that yet.... I like to consider myself pure of heart, haven't seen God yet... maybe later? Peacemakers? I got beat up from being a peacemaker... Hm. Persecuted? Um...

I'm still confused about "Poor in spirit".

Me: poor in spirit means they do not know/love god. God is the spirit.

Otter: And if that is the case, how is theirs the kingdom of heaven?

Me: because EVERYONE gets into heaven. because god is love. oh wait, that can't be right....

Otter: *waits for it...*

Me: there was nothing else. I was trailing off. can't be right because otherwise, why would there be missionaries and people who are sure we're all going to hell? Oh right, because they don't know what the fuck they're talking about.

Otter: Pre-cisely.

Me: I found it on worldprayers.org .. and I like this:

Step into the Sunlight Feel the pain wash away Enter in the Soul-light Just BE in today.
Forget all emotion
Put your trust in the day
Let the past rush on by you
Put your Self in THE WAY.

Me: they're not all catholic/christian/whatever. kinda neat. random buttons.

Otter: hm

Me: Ooh.

Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, and Politics without principle.
the seven deadly sins - mahatma gandhi

Otter: Heee.

Me: christianity is a very repressed, missing-the-point religion. just comparing it to others.. it's very... dreary. and sad. and scared.

Otter: Which makes sense in a twisted sort of way.

Me: but.. not happy. compare:

Doing the right thing is our best gift That is what brings us bliss and happiness. Happy and blissful is the person who does what is right, because it is the right thing to do.
the ashem vohu prayer - zoroastrian

Me: to:

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!

Me: christians believe we are doomed!! from the very beginning of life, from the moment of birth. They really believe that, and they spend their lives asking forgiveness for living.

Otter: More than that, the bulk of them believe that as long as you accept that Jesus died for your sins, pretty much everything you do is forgiven upon death. As long as you believe in Jesus.

Me: and other religions focus more on being at peace in yourself, in being kind and sweet and happy towards yourself and your family and your neighbours. I've never thought of it this way before. That's really..... sad.

Otter: Christianity is a religion that likes to believe that it is moral, and that it is correct, and yet, it maintains a belief in this naive view of personal responsibility.

Me: sigh.

If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, There must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart.
chinese philospher - lao-tse - 6th century bc

Me: and then...

O Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
bible - psalms 118:1 - king david

Me: gah. stupid religion.

Otter: lao tse was very wise.

Me: Very. I love that one.

Otter: And Christianity is also schizoid. The same god that turns people to salt for disobeying him is possessed of infinite mercy.

Me: I know!!

Otter: The fundamental difference between Christianity and Judaism, as near as I can tell, is that Jews believe that the person is ultimately responsible for their own fate.

Me: Huh.

Otter: Whereas with Xtianity, if you accept Christ, you've got a free pass to heaven.

Me: Of course you do!

Otter: I'll stay off the historical ramifications of the idea that Yahweh and Jehovah are in fact two different gods. Yahweh is even called El Roi and El Shaddai by a slave woman at one point, who recognizes him as a God, rather than as a man, who he is pretending to be. She didn't believe in him, you see, and could see through him.

Me: I can't believe I didn't see how damn morbid the whole thing was.

Otter: Sorry about that.

Me: wasn't your fault! it was going through the prayers.

Otter: Ahhh.

Me: well, I shouldn't say that. I realized it was - i mean, the symbol of christianity is him on the freaking cross, not him rising from the dead - but I guess I didn't realize how much happier so many other religions are. Xianity is completely devoid of the idea that we are reponsible for our own happiness, our own destinies. LIke:

The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Me: or

Lord, I do give thee thanks for the abundance that is mine.

Otter: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down...

Me: exactly. as opposed to:

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.

- buddha

Otter: Precisely.

Me: or

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

mahatma gandhi - early 20th century

Me: sigh.

Otter: The concept of original sin is the epitome of Christianity. It's all Adam and Eve's fault. Not mine. Not yours. Adam and Eve's.

Me: Yup. And we can do nothing about any of it. Nosirree. And if we are unhappy, it is someone else's fault, not our own.

Otter: But if you believe that Pontious Pilate was a good, decent man, rather than the murdering bastard that the roman logs show him to be (three million people in ONE YEAR! THREE! MILLION!), then there was one man who gave the world a chance to save itself, and the world didn't take it. Because the Christians had to make someone else responsible.

Me: Yup.

Me: Oh, I love this one:

Do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not expect any praise or reward. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom. Your struggles with the world will have come to an end.
insight meditation - achaan chah

Me: anyway. I guess I have to go soon. *HUG* thanks for being an open-minded, lovely man.