Find God’s Match for You
“Find God’s Match for You.” Every time I hear Christian Mingle’s slogan on the radio, red flags go up in my head. Someone is making a claim that they have a system where God coordinates “matches” or pairings of Christian singles. Here is a little excerpt from The Daily Irritant to get you thinking about this: So God has someone in mind for you. But what, he doesn’t do retail? He needs a middle-man? Man. I’d really like to see Jim and Judy get together, those kids would be perfect for each other, but if I set them up, then I”m going to have to fix up everybody, and who has the time? Plus, last time didn’t work out so great, and I’m never gonna hear the end of that! How is it not offensive to claim...
Master Delusionist
The pastor or priest is the master delusionist. His job is to present a delusion to you, reinforce it constantly, and ask you to pay for his effort. A liar is a delusionist too, but a master delusionist would be one who is very nice to you, speaks in a soft tone, shows restraint and diplomacy when challenged, and may actually believe the delusion he is promoting. Here is an entertaining little exercise: Go to church and, on the bulletin, keep score with little tally marks every time you hear something that is false, unsubstantiable, or a baseless declaration of fact. Try to be as objective as you possibly can be. When you hear something, ask yourself, “Is this true?” If the answer is “no,” put a hash mark. I have done this and it is...
Your Local Church
Your local church is not interested in walking away from religion. Its parent organization, its pastor, and its people all have vested interests in maintaining the delusion of the existence of God. For the parent organization, whether that might be a conference, a synod, a diocese or whatever, it is truly all about the money. Any church that fails reduces the income of the parent organization. For the pastor, it is huge: his life-work and life-purpose are on the line, not to mention his salary and his retirement benefits. Unpaid church leaders have their own personal identities wrapped up in church. Some get their need to be important fulfilled through their position in the church. Church provides an opportunity to teach and lead, care for others, and have a...
House of Cards
With a house of cards, every card props up the others around it. The house is fragile because the cards are merely leaned against one another. There is no bedrock and no concrete foundation. A house of cards collapses when a card or two is pulled from the bottom. The church is like a house of cards. It has no bedrock beneath it; no concrete foundation. Oh the buildings do, but I’m talking about the very basis for belief. In order for the church to stand, a few foundational premises must stand. 1. Man is inherently sinful and needs salvation. 2. Blood sacrifice is a good way to bring about salvation. 3. There is an afterlife. Let’s look at each one of these: 1. Man is inherently sinful and needs salvation. The creation story of Genesis is a myth....
His Most Reverend Excellency
I don’t rub shoulders with too many “high-ups” in the Catholic church, but if I did I might be tempted to suggest that they tone down the self-aggrandizing titles. We had a function recently where the person giving the opening prayer was the “Very Reverend _____, Vicar of ____.” I wondered what made him very reverend, and, “wouldn’t any reverend want to be very reverend?” I looked up the Wiki on this and to my irreverent delight I found that one might also aspire to be: “His Most Reverend Excellency“–when he enters, you should stand and remove your hat and you may kiss the sacred ring at the greeting and again at closing . If he is your bishop, you may kneel when kissing the ring (bowing at the...
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