"'CAUSE I GOTTA HAVE FAITH........... "

I made a comment on Richard's blog earlier and said, in answer to his surmising that Robert might be right and there is a god:

" Robert isn't right. There is no god and I think if there was one he'd make a lot more effort to explain himself than the diatribe that the Christian bozos put out"

It was a throwaway line but I think that by chance this is the most enlightened comment I've made in opposition to Catholicism, Christianity and religion in general.

 The official texts that all religions have published over the last (many) years and the debates, discussions, arguments, proselytising and preaching all lack something, - mainly logic.
They depend on something called 'faith' which is a way of saying "I don't know what I'm talking about but I'm right because I have this inexplicable thing called 'faith'.

Now if there was a 'supreme' being of any religion one would think that he/she/it would be a bit smarter than the average Joe and, even smarter than the smartest human being, ever. This is a given as I doubt that any religious person of any faith or denomination would accept that his or her god wasn't a cut above everyone else. QED. So, why do we have endless arguments between religious faiths, denominations, factions and religious people and agnostics and atheists if there was a real god lurking around somewhere? If there was one (or more) surely it would think up a sensible and reasoned argument for all the inferior humans to buy into.


"Am I right or am I wrong?" (Phillip Marlowe from The Singing Detective).

JESUS CHRIST!

I've noticed from reading ROBERT THE SINNER and previous blogs run by Robert that he is a bit right wing in his thinking and this, tied up with his catholic and christian beliefs would make him a perfect fit as a Republican in the 'good ol' USA.  Over there, demented analogies and ridiculous hyperbole is de rigueur in the political arena especially from the Right.

I'm sure that Robert would find President Trump to his liking and many Republican senators who share his views like this joker when likening the impeachment of Trump to Pontius Pilate's handling of Jesus.

LOUDMOUTH LOUDERMILK

These guys dig deep into the bible, catechism and other religious writings and teachings to try to validate their reactionary views on abortion, same sex marriage, contraception, euthanasia, women's rights, the Me Too movement and many other issues of conscience, morality and ethical values.

Shame on them.

INSIDE MARY - THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT HER

Robert The Sinner has been telling us of Mary's upbringing and the 'fact' that she was predestined to be the 'New Tabernacle'.

Now if you can understand what that's about then maybe you can explain the origins of The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny and where my socks go when I put them through the wash.

I did some exhaustive research (Googled "Mary and the new tabernacle") and discovered a world of insanity. I picked the third in the list and found some guy named Steve Ray in CATHOLIC ANSWERS who was at pains trying to explain all this. His article was called 'Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant'.
This was a confused mish-mash of bible quotes and catechism mumbo jumbo. I persevered though as I saw that there was some sort of table at the bottom. I like tables.
This one in a very tenuous way tries to draw parallels between some Old Testament activity and  Mary, purportedly mother of Jesus. This reminds me of all of that  crap that came out after JFK was assassinated trying to look for parallels between his assassination and that of Abe Lincoln.

Hold on to your hat - here goes!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church echoes the words from the earliest centuries: “Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the Ark of the Covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells. She is ‘the dwelling of God . . . with men’” (CCC 2676).
The early Christians taught the same thing that the Catholic Church teaches today about Mary, including her being the Ark of the New Covenant.

Mary, the Ark As Revealed in Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth

Golden Box: Ark of the Old Covenant	Mary: Ark of the New Covenant
The ark traveled to the house of Obed-edom in the hill country of Judea (2 Sam. 6:1-11).	Mary traveled to the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah in the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39).
Dressed as a priest, David danced and leapt in front of the ark (2 Sam. 6:14).	John the Baptist – of priestly lineage – leapt in his mother’s womb at the approach of Mary (Luke 1:41).
David asks, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Sam. 6:9).	Elizabeth asks, “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43).
David shouts in the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:15).	Elizabeth “exclaimed with a loud cry” in the presence of the Mary (Luke 1:42).
The ark remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months (2 Sam. 6:11).	Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1:56).
The house of Obed-edom was blessed by the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:11).	The word blessed is used three times; surely the house was blessed by God (Luke 1:39-45).
The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sam. 6:12; 1 Kgs. 8:9-11).	Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Luke 1:56; 2:21-22).

Mary as the Ark Revealed by Items inside the Ark

Inside the Ark of the Old Covenant	Inside Mary, Ark of the New Covenant
The stone tablets of the law – the word of God inscribed on stone	The body of Jesus Christ – the word of God in the flesh
The urn filled with manna from the wilderness – the miraculous bread come down from heaven	The womb containing Jesus, the bread of life come down from heaven (John 6:41)
The rod of Aaron that budded to prove and defend the true high priest	The actual and eternal High Priest

WE'VE GOT TO MOVE

YOU'VE GOTTA MOVE

You gotta move

You gotta move

You gotta move, child

You gotta move

Oh, when the Lord get ready

You gotta move

On my way home this morning from the dentist and a few holes of golf I turned into our street and the postman's van was stopped and he was putting mail in a neighbour's postbox.
I buzzed down the passenger window to say Hi to him. Before I could do so he said:

"Peace be with you"

I wasn't sure that I'd heard him properly and said"

"How're you going?"

Having just been to the dentist though, getting some serious root canal work done, the left side of my jaw was swollen and my face was still a bit numb. It sounded like I said"

"Go with god" or something like that.

It seemed to please the postman and he ended with:

"And with you"

and drove off.

WTF!

Did I hear right? Has the postie gone doolally? Maybe he needs a bigger hat in this hot weather we're having.

I drove off to my place 10 houses along and, before going up the drive collected the mail.

This!

Richard has sent us a card - an awful christmas card that has managed to blend Santa Claus imagery with religious claptrap. I swear that he's getting worse.

The message inside said that blessings were coming from Tod and it was signed off - Richard and Shelley.

I looked at the back and saw that this is one of those Canteen cards raising money for fighting cancer and was designed by a 17 year old who has cancer. OK, it's for a good cause and well done Shelley for supporting this but ....... it's a really horrible and kitschy card. Maybe it'd go well with Robert's camp christmas stuff in his fireplace.

No wonder the postman was using god-botherer speak when he was talking to me.

At least he didn't say :

"He is risen" but maybe he's saving that up for Easter Sunday.

We've gotta move.

"HELL IS REAL!" - SECOND FIDDLE

We've had 'bible bashers' up here today.
I saw a couple creeping up to the back door front door back door front door this morning*.
I went out on to the deck to see what they wanted although I could tell what they were by the way they were dressed and that weird look that they all adopt - a mixture of arrogance and servitude combined - weird anyway.

I told them when they asked if I wanted to hear about the bible that we had some thanks. That kind of confused them and after a bit of silence they wished me a nice day and went away.
I noticed that they were part of a large group who had come to the area in vans and were making their way along our street.

After breakfast and the obligatory silence at 11AM on Armistice Day unbroken by any noisy trumpet players I went to the gym. On returning from the gym I stopped off at my sister's rental house which is empty while she seeks to sell it. This is on the main road around the bay. I checked the house to make sure all was secure and while doing this another couple of 'bible basher's came to the door. These ones really looked like 'Dick Handlers' and I repeated my answer that we had some thanks. This lot looked at me strangely, probably noticing that I was standing in the doorway of a totally empty house that had the drapes closed. In the garden there is a very creepy looking scarecrow that looks like something out of a Stephen King inspired film. They mumbled something and quickly moved off.

I closed up the house and left for home just down the road. I saw the 'bible basher's' getting into another one of the vans no doubt thanking their Jesus that they hadn't been hacked to death this time. Robert of course might see this as an opportunity for martyrdom missed.






* Our villa was installed back to front when it was moved here years ago. The front door entrance is at the back and the kitchen door is at the front so most people come in the kitchen (back) door when visiting.

MENTAL

I like Sean Lock, he's one of my favourite comedians.

In his recent stand-up routine he recounts how although brought up as a Catholic he's been an atheist most of his life but has recently rediscovered god and religion. The 'rediscovery' I'll take with a grain of salt.

See here:     SEAN LOCK - RELIGION

GOD ON YOU

Robert may wish to obtain a copy of THE IDIOT BRAIN by Dean Burnett.

"A neuroscientist’s irreverent guide to the brain.
In this witty and informative debut, popular Guardian science blogger and sometime stand-up comedian Burnett (Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences/Cardiff University) describes “the weird and peculiar processes” of the brain and the bizarre behaviours that often result."

          - Kirkus review (see: THE IDIOT BRAIN


In his recent post (soon to be deleted) Robert aka Second said :

"If I said I believed in fairies or aliens people would either chuckle or say GOOD ON YOU.
But to say I believe that Jesus died for my and everyone's sin brings a tirade of condemnation and abuse."

This made me think of The Idiot Brain where Burnett discusses religious belief and suggests that it isn't a delusion - at least not in psychological terms.
Burnett opines that religious beliefs are incompatible with scientific evidence and observable reality, but aren’t considered to be delusions.

"If someone told you, in all seriousness, that they talk to invisible beings who control the universe, you’d probably back away slowly, nodding and smiling, while desperately looking for the nearest exit or escape route. If this person then said they wanted to be in charge of your life, you’d probably do the same, but more urgently, and with a view to finding the nearest police officer. And yet, this happens all the time. Jacob Rees-Mogg recently blamed his extreme and unpleasant views on his Catholicisim, which was seen as a valid excuse by many.  Ex UK prime minister Theresa May has made a big deal about how her Christian upbringing makes her suitable for the role. And despite the lawful separation of church and state, every official and wannabe US president has had to emphasise their religious inclinations. Even Trump, whose enthusiasm for maintaining the noble traditions of the presidency can be described as limited at best."

              - The Guardian (article adapted from The Idiot Brain).

Psychosis is defined as a loss of contact with reality manifested by seeing things that aren't there. Delusions can be defined as believing something that is demonstrably not true but, because delusions are about what someone believes, not sees, it's harder to easily disprove them even though they are inconsistent with reality.

We do look askance at people who have delusional beliefs about aliens sending messages to their brains and that the Inland Revenue Department is spying on them but when we criticise delusional belief by religious people in some mythical creator who rules their lives the immediate response is that we don't have faith because were atheists.

Here's The Guardians's interpretation of Dean Burnett's take on this:

But then, that begs the question, why do religious beliefs get a free pass? People are very resistant to those being challenged too. And believing that there’s a kindly-but-all-powerful father figure in the sky who watches and judges everything you do and his son who died but came back to life two millennia ago is going to return any minute, surely that’s no less likely than someone being targeted by a shadowy government conspiracy? It’s substantially less likely, in actual fact. What gives?

Well, delusions are believed to stem from anomalous activity in the brain’s system for interpreting what does happen and what should happen. The brain essentially maintains a mental model of how the world is meant to work, and what things are meant to happen and when. Beliefs, experiences, expectations, assumptions, calculations; all are combined into a constantly-updated general understanding of how things happen, so we know what to expect and how to react without having to figure everything out from scratch each time. Luckily, the brain is usually quite good at filtering out irrelevant information and occurrences that would otherwise challenge this model of how the world works.
Delusions are what happens when, due to illness or other disruption, this delicate system fails, and things we perceive that would usually be dismissed as innocuous or irrelevant end up being processed as far more significant, and our belief system alters to accommodate it, however wrongly.
But the thing is, our brains don’t come with an understanding of the complex science of how the world works already preinstalled, like Windows 10 on a new laptop. This mental model of the world is built up over time, from life experiences and other learning. So, if you’ve been raised in an environment where you’re told by everyone and everything that there’s a kindly deity in the sky, or that the world is 6,000 years old, or that there are thousands of multi-armed gods controlling the world, or whatever, then why wouldn’t you believe it? There’s nothing that you experience on a day-to-day level that contradicts this, so your mental model of the world is fine with it.
That’s why delusions are only diagnosed if they’re not consistent with the person’s existing belief system and views. A devout creationist talks to God while in church, that’s fine. An avowedly atheist lawyer starts doing it in the middle of a meeting, they’re probably delusional. If both of them suddenly started saying the world is going to end in 30 minutes because of angry frogs living in the sun, they’d both be considered delusional.

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