tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post1372279361314989695..comments2023-12-27T09:10:12.642-05:00Comments on SOCIAL ZYMURGY: THE CULTURE OF BEER: The Way I See It...Jenny Jenny Flanneryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07621715431584059448noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-19865396793557252007-12-08T13:50:00.000-05:002007-12-08T13:50:00.000-05:00Until now, I'd never have guessed that I would hav...Until now, I'd never have guessed that I would have wished to be a Southern Baptist Doc! Great post about the way you see things and a very moving one too. <BR/><BR/>I tend to look for the logic in things and can vouch that having religion drilled into you from a young age does very little good. <BR/><BR/>I still look for and find wonder around me, I just don't attribute it to what's his name.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10769930056412752986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-71080074662813663332007-12-05T14:42:00.000-05:002007-12-05T14:42:00.000-05:00Doc, I think that's one of the best-written explor...Doc, I think that's one of the best-written explorations of personal faith I've seen in a long time. Good on you for writing it.<BR/><BR/>If you don't mind my asking, what denomination Baptist was your family? We attended an American Baptist church for years, and I have had really good experiences with some of thethe non-creedal Protestant churches like American Baptists and UCC.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09747874295331152779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-54634488875203799152007-12-05T06:20:00.000-05:002007-12-05T06:20:00.000-05:00Mr. Green, I've got to praise you like I shooooooo...Mr. Green, I've got to praise you like I shooooooouuuuulllld...<BR/><BR/><I>The Bible is a collection of millennia-old legends in my estimation: poorly remembered, inaccurately related and, most galling, made up of ancient Eastern stories retold by Western writers to a Western audience that can scarcely relate to ancient Eastern values in the first place.</I><BR/><BR/>Well sprach, man! R'amen!!Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollockshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843124493633147728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-79176254078315382912007-12-05T00:55:00.000-05:002007-12-05T00:55:00.000-05:00But seriously. Doc, you wear your religion the wa...But seriously. <BR/><BR/>Doc, you wear your religion the way it's supposed to be worn: as a support to your life, and as a guide to mankind's (and more specifically your) behaviour. Religion doesn't work when it excludes other beliefs, as that poor British teacher in the Sudan can tell you.<BR/><BR/>I choose not to believe in anything that can't be explained in a logical way, and that tends to put God (not just the Christian one; all of them) on shaky ground for me. The Bible is a collection of millennia-old legends in my estimation: poorly remembered, inaccurately related and, most galling, made up of ancient Eastern stories retold by Western writers to a Western audience that can scarcely relate to ancient Eastern values in the first place. Many of the Bible's teachings have no relevance today, but <I><B>all</B></I> of the Bible's best teachings are simple common sense that don't require any doctrine in order to acquire validity. I think it's a shame that so many Christians allow the the Bible to give them bad advice. The Catholic Church is guilty of this, beyond words. Recitation of the Scriptures is a parlour trick. It has nothing to do with belief.<BR/><BR/>Feeling better now, Doc, I hope I haven't upset you or any of your readers. Please forgive me for hijacking your blog to post my own opinions.Cooper Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11055998569685767058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-74217242704216647102007-12-05T00:33:00.000-05:002007-12-05T00:33:00.000-05:00"I am reminded of my faith every morning as I pull...<I>"I am reminded of my faith every morning as I pull on my underwear, and not because I am thankful for some magnificent attribute that he has seen fit to gift me with."</I><BR/><BR/>Dammit, Doc, you're making me show great tolerance here.Cooper Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11055998569685767058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-42766039103194732552007-12-05T00:29:00.000-05:002007-12-05T00:29:00.000-05:00"... I can't bring myself to delete it."Not to wor...<I>"... I can't bring myself to delete it."</I><BR/><BR/>Not to worry, Doc, that's probably an issue that will be solved by the Great Blogger In The Sky.Cooper Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11055998569685767058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-90669470489855254702007-12-04T15:44:00.000-05:002007-12-04T15:44:00.000-05:00I can relate to what you're saying about not shovi...I can relate to what you're saying about not shoving religion down anyone's throat. Actually, that's what put me off religion at an early age. Normally, I'd leave a long response, but I've been blogging for so long now that pretty much everything I've ever thought is on my blog somewhere. My POV on religion is <A HREF="http://bsuwg.blogspot.com/2006/03/tales-of-midwest-installment-19.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>. It includes a fair bit about Baptists, I believe. However, the Baptists of the Midwest (at least where I grew up) seem completely different than what you've described. It was very much shouting fire & brimstone back then, and torturing my little mind with rapture stories that sounded like Night of the Living Dead.Boldly Serving Up Wheat Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17804188398018016592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-61769852301936958062007-12-04T15:38:00.000-05:002007-12-04T15:38:00.000-05:00After I posted this, for the rest of the day, I ha...After I posted this, for the rest of the day, I had this nagging feeling I shouldn't have, yet I can't bring myself to delete it.<BR/><BR/>DocDochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16979621370660001312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-56619584367016866292007-12-04T15:26:00.000-05:002007-12-04T15:26:00.000-05:00I'm about to say something unfair-- ignore me.Ther...I'm about to say something unfair-- ignore me.<BR/><BR/>There were little cards @ this funeral, a picture of an angel on the front and a poem on the back written by the child's grandmother. One of the lines she used was "God needed a little angel."<BR/><BR/>No doubt this was intended by the poet to be a way of smoothing the way and attempting to explain in some meaningful way WHY, if God is so ruddy GOOD, why he decided to "take this child to heaven". <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, I've been given an overly analytical mind (shocking, I know-- you never knew this about me) and the first thing I thought of when I read that line was, "there's EIGHT BILLION people on earth. He needed THIS child? BEFORE she was BORN??"<BR/><BR/>Then, on the heels of that, "Hmmm... that's funny, during that whole angels trend during the 90's people were very careful to say that angels were NOT human..."<BR/><BR/>and then, "lessee, He created this lil' girl, and then suddenly He needed her back. In the UN-politically correct language of my childhood in the Midwest, we'd call a person like that an 'Indian Giver', which was highly insulting. Seems to imply that God makes mistakes, yes?"<BR/><BR/>In other words, as well-meaning as these words were (and I DO hope they brought comfort to the parents, for that is why they were written), where *I'm* concerned, it's total crap. <BR/><BR/>The GOOD news is that these words were not written for ME and it doesn't matter a pair of fetid dingo kidneys whether they brought ME comfort or not, and therefore my pointy-headed lil' logical take on these words ain't worth a fart in th' wind.Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollockshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843124493633147728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184989.post-35176382010716531692007-12-04T15:11:00.000-05:002007-12-04T15:11:00.000-05:00Aaaahhh, I see the FSM has touched you with His No...Aaaahhh, I see the FSM has touched you with His Noodly Appendage this holiday season!! Say "yarr, matey!" R'amen.<BR/><BR/>I have come from the funeral of a baby who died in utero. She was 1.88 lbs and 11". Her name was Hannah. The interfaith minister who handled the service said a lot of stuff about God, much of which sounded like well-meaning bullshit. I'm inclined to stick with only the <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=22" REL="nofollow">first two verses of Psalm 22</A> in this instance.<BR/><BR/>Of course, i'm also semi-convinced that NOT being a Bible scholar and getting the flannelboard version of Scripture probably has SAVED YOU from a great deal angst o'er all the troublin' bits that your friend has been tied up with.<BR/><BR/>Frankly, when it comes to religion, I'm thinking that Sturgeon's Law applies: <B><I>"90 percent of everything is crap."</I></B> I think at LEAST 60% of what we're told about God by ANY religious figure-- from the Christian preacher who told folken on the radio that bears have claws to shred veggies in Eden, to the Imam who promises 72 virgins in heaven-- is crap. Rule #1 is probably the most intelligent way to live your life religiously that I can thunk of.Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollockshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843124493633147728noreply@blogger.com