Here’s an interesting article I happened upon while researching Celtic cross meanings last night:

Atheist Satanists Want Your Soul

It’s about YouTubers videotaping their blasphemist statements against the holy spirit. I don’t know that I would take my non-faith to this publicly-disrespectful of a level, but it is interesting to see the Christian reaction to such stunts these days.

I side toward comedian George Carlin’s more gentle blasphemy in one of his routines:

“There is no God. In fact, I can prove it to you. If there is a God, may he strike this audience dead…*pause, nervous laughter*…Okay, I’ll raise the stakes…If there is a God, may he strike ME dead.” [fyi, George Carlin is still NOT dead]

It all points to the fact that atheists have been coming out in force lately, which is the reason for this blog post. You may recall the recent honor paid to the most distinguished atheist in Government. He is a Californian, of course, who has served many terms in public service. It is amazing to me that it’s still news on television when someone is “outed” for being a non-believer in God. It gives me hope that when I come of age to contribute in the public sector, that people might understand that it is possible to have good, Christ-like values AND be an atheist. It’s possible to follow the fundamental precepts of Christ without the bogus literal interpretations of devils, brimstone, flying angels and a translucent, glowing Trinity.

Faith, Hope, and Love…and the greatest is??? Nope, not Faith.

It’s scary to think that we live in a time when some people would rather put their trust in anyone who professes a faith in God than in someone who doubts or declares himself an atheist but shows decency and Love.

I must also note that it seems there are so few Christians in the national spotlight who are living noble, transparent lives. I can’t think of one. If they don’t have a tumbling & embarassing fall from grace, it seems that most public figures who speak of God always seem to have something troubling lurking beneath the surface. Most of the time it smells like guilt, fear, power-mongering, or ignorance, and that troubles me! It is hard to trust someone when their declaration of faith feels like a cover for something else.

I’m not saying there aren’t any sincere Christians out there, but I’m still waiting to hear from one who hasn’t put Faith in God because of Guilt (want for redemption), Fear (don’t want to go to hell, fear of the unknown), Ignorance (grew up with a faith of their parents/society, they like the community/traditions, etc. & never seriously considered not-believing), or for Power/Manipulative reasons (think Inquisition, David Koresh, Pat Robertson, Kool-Aid, etc.).

That may sound very cynical, I suppose, and this may be a narcissistic post in a way, because I feel I’ve escaped my own trappings of fear & ignorance to leave the fanatic cult of Christianity. But all we have is OUR experience, right? You can take Christina out of Christianity, but you can’t take the Christian out of Christina, or there will be nothing left….whoa. Huh?

Anyway, just some thoughts for the night. Though it is a devisive topic, even between myself & people I love, I think the rise of atheism is a sign in these times and deserves some cyber-space in my blog.

"As a rule , man is fool. When it's hot he wants it cool. When it's cool he wants it hot. Always wanting what is not."

So many people for as long as we have record, have sought gods, goddesses, and spirituality in higher purpose. To each, his own, but I have to wonder, what is it about our mundane existance in these bodies that compells so many people to want to leave? I'm leaning heavily toward Tantric philosophy, in which one looks within rather than around and out. I believe there is so much mystery & magic in our own bodies and existence, so why live somewhere else? Why dwell on fairies and devils, lives of gods and angels, when you haven't learned all there is to know about yourself?

The only explanation I can offer is the above nursery rhyme from my childhood. We are seekers, hanging on to anything which might further or enhance our existence. Girls with curls want straight hair; brunettes want to be blond. We look to the skies, but we must also remember to look and appreciate what is within.

Reading my Maslow on Management book again, I came across another good quote: 'one of my professors told me, 'you can't find happiness searching for happiness. You can only find happiness in service to somebody else.''

I like that way of looking at it. I heard on NPR tonight the statistic that American happiness index peaked in 1956 and has declined steadily ever since. Meanwhile, standard of living has doubled. So clearly there is a negative relation or no relation of material comforts to 'happiness.'

So should the Declaration have read that we all have a right to life, liberty, and service to others?

People worry that our material wealth has made us less dependent on our friends and neighbors. One stat said that we have half as many close friends as they did in the 50's. I wouldn't mind that changing, personally. It does make you happy to help others, particularly if you are down, depressed, or otherwise self-absorbed.

I noticed a dirty plate in my room as I settled down at my computer for the evening. I had eaten hashbrown patties with ketchup earlier today, and lo-and-behold if I didn’t see an eyeball staring back at me from the plate tonight. I’m thinking it might be a tired version of the Virgin Mary (dark eye circles), and that maybe I should try to sell it on eBay.

Something else I’ve been pondering is what we humans consider normal in a person. I read a Scientific American editorial about autistic children, and the fact that they process information so much differently than we do. For example, they would show one a ball or something with a rounded shape, and ask them to associate a nonsense word with it…either call it a bouba or a kiki. They would routinely call it a kiki, when to most “normal” (non-autistic) people, “bouba” was the most frequently chosen sound.

But who’s to say we are right or better for thinking a certain way? I’m running into some strange people in this city…People you would not easily refer to as “normal.” Some go on and on about angels and growing wings out your back, feeling your energy fields, eating vegetarian or vegan diets to put humans on a path to a higher plane of existence, etc. I try to keep an open mind, but I can only stray so far from “normal,” accepted thinking. I know there is truth (& magic) that lie just ahead of what society has accepted as normal, so I keep my radar open for something that may become truth & normalcy in the future. For now, it’s just mystery & magic, and that keeps things fun and interesting around here.

While driving from work this afternoon, I was reminded of the queerness of some people. This car ahead of me had a yellow bumpersticker that read “My cat is the only one who understands me.”

Now, I can understand the sentiment, and I’d giggle if I saw it in a store, but why choose that statement to brand you and your car with? Do these people not realize that they are telling other people how to judge them?

I finally gave in and put my Montana State Alumni license plate frame on the Prius. I hesitated, for 2 reasons. One, if I were to make a bad traffic decision, the driver behind me would have an additional reason to curse me. I could have just been a bad woman driver, but now they know I’m a Montanan, so that gives Montanans a bad name. Also, car labeling makes you more identifiable, which could be a bad thing under the wrong circumstances. Now, instead of the woman driving the Prius, It’s the Prius with the Montana plates.

I guess there is just something to be said for a little anonymity. There are a lot of angry people in traffic, why give them ammunition or a clue of where to track you down later?

Just my paranoid thoughts of the night.

A 'social commentator' on TV the other night made the comment that truth and religion are incompatible, since religion is faith-based and cannot be proven using standard measures of truth.

I gained some wisdom from my trusty airport magazine this weekend, Cosmo. That and Scientific American.

The first is on the subject of comedy. My roommate and I have an ongoing discussion about whether jokes reinforce negative stereotypes. Cosmo said that we laugh at what we fear, or what may cause us pain. Our laughter is a sort of sigh, like, ooo, glad that didn't happen to me.

Secondly, Cosmo had more than one article that spoke on the need to keep relationships passionate by maintaining some mystery. They proposed that your romantic partner shouldn't necessarily be your best friend…best friends know you so well they can read your mind. Comforting? Yes. Exciting? No.

Just a couple interesting things from my weekend. More later.