MY GOD!

Religion, what is it?

I favour the last of these definitions, the ' pursuit of interest followed with great devotion.'

I'm not religious if 'religion' is defined as belief in and worship of a supernatural being but I have tried to live my life within guidelines that maybe are not spiritual but certainly are ethical. I like to think, even though I've failed many times, that I've been fair and caring in my interactions with family, friends, associates, employees, service providers, authorities and society in general. If there were such things as sins and blessings then I hope that my 'blessings' have outweighed the 'sins'.

This came to me this evening, as it sometimes does when enjoying a nice glass of wine (Te Terra Martinborough Pinot Noir) and I recalled a comment that Robert wrote following my comment on his latest blog post and my follow-up comment.

Here's the thread:

My dad was brought up in a mixed faith household - his father was a Methodist and his mother a Catholic. When he sought to marry my mother, who was a Catholic, the silly Catholic Church, as a condition of them marrying in one of their silly churches demanded that my father sign up to Catholicism exclusively. I guess that dad said "whatever' and just went along with it to get the job done. Apart from his own wedding, family weddings, baptisms and funerals I don't think dad attended any other Catholic Church ceremonies - certainly never Sunday Mass.

Dad, with mum, brought us up as Catholics though and, when we were very young and mum was dragging us off to Sunday Mass, when we remonstrated that dad wasn't coming with us mum would just tell us that he was a heathen and was going to hell. That was the norm and accepted. I guess that this was influential on me when at age 12 in Standard Six I stopped going to Mass and thought the whole thing was a waste of time.

Dad was a tradesman and worked long hours but he was still involved in community works helping out institutions like the RSA, Wellington Council and the Catholic Church with its many commitments like The Home of Compassion, local churches and schools and the Wellington Catholic Diocese.  Maybe he saw this as his 'worship', who knows? I never (unfortunately) discussed this with him. I do know though that he was liked and respected by those he helped particularly the nuns at The Home of Compassion. I also know or, am sure, that he was never looking to 'get into heaven' through his good works. That wouldn't have been on his radar. He just did the right thing and, I'm sure, my own ethical standards come as much or more from his guidance than from all the instruction I had from nuns, brothers and priests.

Is there a god or gods? I don't believe there is but, if there is one or many, I hope that they are more like my old man was and not the despots that Robert believes in.

This song from Jethro Tull comes to mind. Here are the lyrics and, Youtube allowing, the video clip to follow:

"When I was young and they packed me off to school and taught me how not to play the game, I didn't mind if they groomed me for success, or if they said that I was just a fool So I left there in the morning with their God tucked underneath my arm their half-assed smiles and the book of rules So I asked this God a question and by way of firm reply, He said I'm not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays So to my old headmaster (and to anyone who cares): before I'm through I'd like to say my prayers I don't believe you: you had the whole damn thing all wrong He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays Well you can excomunicate me on my way to Sunday school and have all the bishops harmonise these lines how do you dare tell me that I'm my Father's son when that was just an accident of Birth I'd rather look around me compose a better song `cos that's the honest measure of my worth In your pomp and all your glory you're a poorer man than me, as you lick the boots of death born out of fear. When I was young and they packed me off to school and taught me how not to play the game, I didn't mind if they groomed me for success, or if they said that I was just a fool So I left there in the morning with their God tucked underneath my arm their half-assed smiles and the book of rules Well you can excomunicate me on my way to Sunday school and have all the bishops harmonize these lines When I was young and they packed me off to school and taught me how not to play the game, I didn't mind if they groomed me for success, or if they said that I was just a fool So to my old headmaster (and to anyone who cares): before I'm through I'd like to say my prayers Well you can excomunicate me on my way to Sunday school and have all the bishops harmonize these lines I don't believe you: you had the whole damn thing all wrong He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays."

 

EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS

 

Well, close but no cigar.

Robert, on his blog and in his latest post now published under the name Robert the sinner (we won't ask what he's been up to) seems to be lamenting the decline of his favourite Church - the Catholic Church and has come up with some statistics that the Vatican probably don't want anyone to see. Maybe that's Robert's sin?

Robert wrote:

11-year decline in worldwide priestly vocations continues
The number of major seminarians worldwide fell from 109,895 at the end of 2021 to 108,481 at the end of 2022, according to statistics published by the Fides news agency (CWN coverage). Between the end of 2020 and the end of 2021, the number of seminarians worldwide had declined from 111,855 to...


Worldwide baptisms fall over 15% in 6 years
The number of baptisms administered in the Church worldwide plunged from over 16 million in 2016 to 13,327,037 in 2022—a decline of 17% over six years, according to the appendix to statistics published by the Fides news agency (CWN coverage). There were 18.1 million baptisms in 1991,...

If he'd asked me anytime over the last 60 years I'd have said - "I told you so" but he didn't.

What I don't get though is that if the Catholic Church has falling numbers of dupes subscibers and then one assumes, less money to throw around,  then how come I received this letter today from a Catholic priest offering to give me money?

What's up peeps?

 

THE LITTLE SHOP ON THE PRAYERIE

In his second to last post Robert mentioned the church shop again that he occasionally mans (seeing as very few other people want to).

"He was on Church shop at 9am.

"I can do you a deal on some overpriced rosary beads, some crappy medals made in China or some right-wing, mysogynistic, fact-devoid Christian pamphlets. Two for the price of one."

He wondered if the chap from Wainui would come asking for hot cross buns. Rob always referred him across the road to Woolworths. The chap would rave about obscure chords before suddenly looking at his watch. "Have to go ,have to go ...oh my!" and hurry off. Because he was busy with the shop and collections Rob liked to go to the Mass the previous evening too. He could sit at the front and concentrate free of distractions. He was anxious to receive Holy Communion with a clean 'slate'. It always felt better that way. A sinful soul was like a dark dungeon for Jesus. Jesus had suffered enough on the cross for his sins, he didn't want to add to His pain. As he had entered the church a husband and wife team was handing out brochures. He politely declined the weekly newsletter from the gentleman, having received his by email. The lady asked him if he wanted the Catholic monthly newspaper. He declined again, not wishing to have to take it into the church. She seemed put out. He thought of a comical situation in the film Airplane where Robert Stack deals with people trying to give him pamphlets. The Gospel is about divorce. Jesus says Moses had allowed it but He was now putting his foot down. It had to stop! The sermon carries on that theme. Robert finds the native African priest dryly humorous. He has a Ph D evidently and his wit seems to go over the heads of most of the congregation."

In a comment on one of Richard's posts he said:

Is this a sign that cracks are showing in his belief in Catholicism? After all, he has, in his latest post admitted that the 'Ten Commandments' is a crock of shit:

"Let's take a closer look at commandments in Exodus. I do not want to say THE TEN COMMANDMENTS! Because these are not advice for living well or Tennant's for everyone to get along okee-dory with everyone else. Really there are not necessarily only ten. They may not even be mutually exclusive as TC pointed out in his blog. They build on each other. "Don't steal" then later " look to be perfectly honest don't even think of stealing"!"

        - Robert Monday 7 October 

 ... or that's what I gleaned in that convoluted and grammatically incorrect paragraph. I blame the Scottish beer.

Maybe Robert needs to jazz up the church shop offerings. Hey! What a great idea that I actually suggested in a comment on Richard's post:

Admittedly Robert's church shop has a pretty crappy offering that he has admitted to. I looked on-line to see if that was the norm and, sadly it seems to be the case around the country. Even the Cathedral Shop has defaulted to Trade Me which is really 'letting the moneylenders into the Temple' Jesus would no doubt disapprove.

Other shops, as Robert informed us, carry expensive (and overpriced) tatty junk:

Look at the price of that!

I bet that they bought it from TEMU for about $3 and applied a generous and 'sacred' mark-up.

I suggest going to the source for tatty religious junk. Here a a few of the many offerings on the TEMU website:

Wow! classy.

100 of these for $13.94!

Admittedly I'd have liked to have one of these when back at school

Who wouldn't want one of these over the door?

Robert - that's who. He'd no doubt want a pair of them.

Robert was right to criticise his church's shop's offerings. As the virtual sole proprietor though he should become a bit more involved in purchasing, price-setting, display, merchandising, marketing and advertising.

Earlier I briefly suggested some new stock items and services like a condom machine, a magazine rack with some trendy lifestyle publications, a vape section that can be expanded when this current government allows vaping tobacco, a wine section with bottles with labels preferably featuring Jesus, a novelty section where funny’s things like false beards, fart cushions, itching powder, stink bombs and plastic dog turds can be sold to amuse the kids and altar boys who would otherwise be bored, and a communion host section.  These can be expanded with a music section featuring some old favourites likeThe Faith Tones:

 

... and The Ministers Quartet:

Some cross-marketing could be had in providing foodstuff items, home furnishings and clothing as these are always in demand:

Obviously these are just preliminary ideas and suggestions. A more detailed marketing plan and sales strategy can be written - I'll do it for a reasonable fee.

Please share your observations and ideas.

' TEN COMMANDMENTS'...

... has to go.

Robert the Cacographic Christian has 'The Ten Commandments' as a feature on his blog's home page.

Richard of Richard's Bass Bag, rightly so, takes umbrage at this and in his most recent post writes:

"I went to reread Robert's post about being vulnerable, but it seems to have gone. Maybe his latest thinking is, "Be a bit of a bastard."
All I could find, on his blog, that looked new, was the ten commandments.

"The ten commandments
1. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve. 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. 4. Honor your father and your mother. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal. 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet your neighbors wife. 10. You shall not covet your neighbors goods."

The first thing I noticed was the American spelling (neighbor, honor) and the lack of possessive apostrophes (neighbors goods, neighbors wife).

Maybe God is American?

As you probably already know, the first three commandments are about sucking up to God. Probably the two most logical commandments are telling you not to steal or kill. Did we really need number 10? Not stealing really covers that one. Again, number 9 is really covered by number 6. Number 8 sounds like an attempt to say, "Be nice to other people." Why doesn't it just say that?"

*****************************

I generally agree with Richard and 'The Ten Commandments' has always been an annoyance to me even when I was a Catholic child being taught in Catholic schools. The whole thing is a crock of shit and could have been done better by Jacinda Ardern who said "Be strong and be kind". Hell, even that waste of space simp Melania Trump nailed it by saying "Be best"...

... but, knowing her it was probably some kind of superego claim.

The so-called ten commandments are extremely light on the important things that are fundamental to ethics, morality and responsible living and, as Richard said, too heavy on "sucking up to god".

It beggars belief that these ten rules for good living that christians seem to believe are sacrosanct make no mention of sexual abuse, slavery, racism, genocide, abuse of power, and not writing endless posts about double bass practice. It's as if those things are not deemed important and and, by default, sanctioned.

It's about time that they were dumped and a new code of ethics created and promulgated - not by any churches but by some respected world body - maybe The United Nations which has already a quite useful and interesting charter: UN Charter

"United Nations Charter -Preamble

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations."

That'd be better than the other nonsense. 

**************************

Here, Cesar Sojo, in 'Injustice' investigates 'The Ten Commandments and comes up with basically the same conclusion as Richard and me - it has to go.

"For the sake of understanding how unexceptional the Ten Commandments are, we need to go through them. I‘ve bunched them into different groups and examined their flaws.
The Jealous God
- I am the LORD thy God
- No other gods before me
- No graven images or likenesses
- Not take the LORD’s name in vain

The first half of the commandments aren’t even practical pointers for a better life. They’re just statements declared by a green-eyed god. A god that can’t handle his creations rooting for other deities, and gets a bobo each time someone would utter his name in vain.
Not Terrible Advice
- Remember the sabbath day
- Honour thy father and thy mother

While it’s a good idea to honor your parents and take time off from work, I think it would be even better if we treated all humans with decency and respect. It encompasses a much larger group.
The Unoriginals

The only commandments that might actually reduce human suffering.
- Thou shalt not kill
- Thou shalt not steal
- Thou shalt not bear false witness

The few Commandments that are actually of value weren't even innovative for their time. People weren’t murdering and looting willy-nilly, having no idea what they were doing was wrong. “Wait, so it’s bad to slaughter other people? I had no idea?” Murder has been viewed as an unethical act in many cultures far before Judeo-Christian tradition.
Control Of Property
- Thou shalt not covet

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor — Exodus 20:17

Until this point, all the commandments have been laws telling people what actions were immoral, but this commandment takes it a step further and tells people that even thoughts can be immoral.

Thoughtcrime is real. Stealing your neighbor’s donkey is not enough of a crime, even thinking about wanting a donkey of your own is already wrong according to this commandment. Because you’re coveting that which belongs to your neighbor.

It’s impossible to follow the Ten Commandments when even thinking can be considered a sin.
- Thou shalt not commit adulteryIn Judaism adultery meant something very specific:Not having sex with “another man’s wife”

Not having sex outside of wedlock

The bulk of the emphasis was placed on a woman’s relationship to men and their“sexual purity”.


The Ten Commandments was and still is used as a tool to manipulate marginalized groups. Forceful men in positions of authority have cashed in on exploiting peasants for centuries.
Undermines the Class Struggles

The Bible and the Ten Commandments have been used as tools to persuade the masses of the status quo. A farmer must not covet the possessions of their rich neighbor, or yearn for a better life. For a farmer disgusted by inequity is sinning against God. Those in power use religion as a tool to keep the public from revolting.

Jesus himself was killed as he clashed with religious authorities. I go into further detail in my post on Jesus.
Did Jesus Really Exist?
How did a poor, illiterate, uneducated, pious, Jewish peasant start a religion?

Patriarchal Structure

In the Bible, women are second-class citizens and viewed as male possessions, on par with donkeys. I would have at least hoped that one of the commandments would have been reserved for protecting the rights of women. But clearly, that did not happen.
Racial Inequality

Throughout European, Latin American, and Northern American history, slavery was framed as morally justifiable based on guidelines set in scripture. In the eyes of the lord slavery, segregation and discrimination are all fine and dandy.

It horrifies me that none of the commandments make sure that all people ought to be treated equally. In fact, slavery is a common element of many biblical stories. God doesn’t seem to worry too much about having people enslaved or segregated.
Other Sources of Wisdom

Many believers will not seek out other sources of wisdom to base their morality upon. Why read Confucius, Plato, or Kant when God holds all the answers in heaven.
A Better World

The world becomes a brighter place without the Ten Commandments. It seems to me that it’s time to revamp our moral code. The following is a list of suggestions I’m making.Treat others with love and respect
Every person has the right over their own body
Do not enslave other people, like… seriously
Do not harm or abuse children
Do not force your religion upon your children or other people

There would be significantly less suffering if people took these principles into consideration. Incidentally, there’s nothing special about this list, anyone could come up with a similar list. It doesn’t take a degree in Philosophy or Theology to understand that it’s wrong to harm children or discriminate against other people. A bit of critical thinking and forethought goes a long way.

This is not a sacred list, and avoid following it dogmatically. Scrutiny and examination are more than welcome. Unlike the Ten Commandments, it’s encouraged to change your convictions when confronted with new information.

The Ten Commandments are underwhelming at best and a destructive device of tyranny at its worst. The commandments are used for social control and keeping people in check. I came up with a new set of recommendations that you can take or leave.

Your life will change when you realize that there’s nothing special about what is said in the bible. You can come up with something even better.

[Sorry about the format there - the cutting and pasting proved to be a bit difficult. Robert is better at that as he's more experienced]

PSST! CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

 I admit that I've been critical of the Catholic Church in my posts on this blog but Father Bliss did encourage me to have a questioning mind. I'm sure that he would approve of my and the other Curmudgeon's take on the inconsistencies, the irregularities and the downright untruths propagated by the Vatican over the years. He visited there and I wish I'd had the opportunity to ask him about it.

"I could have told you some stories Peter."

Robert The - well, Whatever might have a take on this as, after all he's still in active contact with the Church and follows religiously (see what I dId there?) the weekly missives emanating from that 120 acres in the middle of Rome. No doubt he's familiar with these 15 secrets the Vatican doesn't want us to know:

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

WOO-WOO!

Robert's at it again with his crazy Catholic beliefs.

In one of his recent posts for some reason he regurgitated the nonsense about  the Fatima (Portugal) sun miracle of 1917. OUR LADY OF FATIMA

In this catholics (some, not all) would have us believe that the sun zig-zagged in the sky, whooshed towards Earth and 'miraculously' dried up peoples' wet clothes and the ground after a rainstorm. Woo-woo! 

Any sensible person would see this for what it is - hysterical nonsense propagated by under-educated, naive and ignorant people - meaning the peasants in Portugal at the time. This seemingly is still being propagated by under-educated, naive and ignorant people even today  - see the link to Robert's post above (Our Lady of Fatima).

I had a quick read of his nonsense and the link to other catholic nonsense before looking up on the internet to find this:

FOUR DEBUNKED RELIGIOUS MIRACLES

2. The Sun Miracle of Fatima. In May 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, three children claimed to have encountered the Virgin Mary out in the countryside, who told them she would return on the thirteenth day over the next few months. Their tale grew in popularity, culminating with an estimated 70,000 people showing up at the site on October 13th, waiting for a miracle. On that day, the Virgin Mary "appeared", but only to the children – very suspicious. However, the other onlookers witnessed what has been called a "sun miracle". As investigator Joe Nickell recounted:


"Not everyone reported the same thing; some present claimed they saw the sun dance around the heavens; others said the sun zoomed toward Earth in a zigzag motion that caused them to fear that it might collide with our planet (or, more likely, burn it up). Some people reported seeing brilliant colors spin out of the sun in a psychedelic, pinwheel pattern, and thousands of others present didn't see anything unusual at all."

If anything did happen, it was likely an atmospheric event called a "sundog," in which light refracts off ice crystals, creating a wondrous halo of light.

I think I'll go with Joe Nickell's interpretation.

The Holy Seagull approves this post

 

I'VE GOT A TRUCKLOAD OF SINS

 I called Robert a sanctimonious and holier-than-thou boor in The Curmudgeon post today - sorry about that.

In my defence though he was behaving like a born again christian or one of those reformed smokers and drinkers when he said:

"You ask how I managed to write without embibing? I write in the morning. Life without expensive, depressing, mind numbing alcohol is really, really good. I sleep well, no pains in organs that are working overtime trying to remove poisons, I've lost 6 kg... "

I rest my case M'lud. 

Maybe I should confess my sin.

I've been watching the excellent Rake series on TV. The character Cleaver Greene is one of the best characters created on Australian TV and his acerbic wit and curmudgeonliness is a treat. Here's a cscene where Cleaver goes to confession in a Catholic church. I can't help feeling that I'd be tempted to talk to any platitudinous priest the same way.