Man is certainly stark mad. He cannot make a worm, and yet he makes gods by the dozen.
– Montaigne (1553-1592)
Bible
Let’s play God!
There has been a lot of talk in the past about bringing the dinosaurs back to life with the help of DNA manipulation. While most of the religious community cringes at such a scenario, playing at God may have a certain amount of value for future generations. Rather than clone some creature that would probably end up in a theme park, perhaps we could bank the DNA of near-extinct species.
If we can’t save the tigers and pandas, conceivably, we could plan ahead in order to preserve what we may soon push to extinction. At least we would be fixing the damage we have done rather than rebuilding what nature has already seen fit to extinguish.
-GSG (God Seeker Guy)
Teachers and toast
So many blogs, books and religions take it upon themselves to provide answers to questions about happiness, relationships, suffering and many of the more unfortunate afflictions possessed by most of us.
Anyone who claims to have the answers to your problems, and I don’t mean how to fix your toaster, must surely be making huge assumptions about how you go about problem solving. What works for one does not necessarily work for all. Following a guru, pundit or sage of any kind, can lead us down the path of emotional and intellectual addiction.
All humans are made of the same flesh and blood and are fueled by oxygen, sunlight and fast food – in other words, we’re all the same apparatus, and not any one of us or any one of our religions or creeds has all the answers to our problems. We’re smarter, better informed, and have huge amounts of information at our fingertips. The problem, of course, is how to filter out the noise including dogmatism, self-interest, deceit and uninformed opinion.
In addition to the perils of listening to advisors who may not practice what they preach (see blog post: Where is the trust?) the younger generation in particular must deal with the onslaught of social media and all the stress and anxiety it can cause a developing but inexperienced mind.
A recent Time Magazine cover story (Anxiety, depression and the American adolescent – November 7, 2016) observes that young people are “… looking at other people’s lives on Instagram and feeling self-loathing (or worse).” The high-tech version of keeping up with the Jonses is an added burden for adolescents who are seeking answers.
It’s critical to question all sources of opinion and information (that includes these notes from GSG of course). We’re at a critical stage in the fight for self-worth in a society that constantly pounds away at our failings and shortcomings. Once we accept that failure is a healthy and critical step in the process of learning and discovery, we can free ourselves from the shackles of having others think for us, and even from the harsh demands of God Almighty himself.
-GSG (God Seeker Guy)
They said it!
Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day; give him a religion, and he’ll starve to death while praying for a fish.
– Unknown
In the news – Where is the trust?
The BBC reported this week: “Child sex allegations involving one of Iran’s best-known Koran reciters are causing shock and anger in the country, days after several accusers took the unprecedented step of going public with the claims.”
See BBC report
Clearly, the above story demonstrates that the Christian church holds no monopoly on betraying the trust of its flock, particularly when it comes to abusing the more innocent members. Many, but not all, religious leaders have repeatedly shown themselves to be riddled with corrupt spirits and questionable moral fiber.
It’s very dangerous to follow too closely any one teacher or any one creed, for you never know if the guru you are expected to revere is in fact made of far inferior stuff than yourself.
The church, any church, has long preached one thing and practiced another. “It has served us well, this myth of Christ” – a statement often attributed Pope Leo X, illustrates how hazardous it is to live your life according to decrees formulated by tutors who live by a double standard.
It’s particularly hideous when the children of the world fall victim to adults who preach the Holy Books, but follow the path of something even more sinister.
-GSG (God Seeker Guy)
They said it
Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.
– Benjamin Franklin
They Said it
If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex?
– Art Hoppe
Lazy Likes
God Seeker Guy doesn’t want any ‘followers’ and he is not even slightly interested in having anyone ‘like’ him. His relationship with the Almighty is certainly open to discussion and no doubt lots of criticism, so be it.
However, if you have a response to anything he has to say, just pressing a ‘like’ button doesn’t cut it. He doesn’t care if you like him or his work, he cares that you have something to say to him. Pressing a single button to express yourself is lazy and pointless, if he wanted blind followers he would start his own religion. Be angry, be supportive or be undecided, but say what you are thinking so we can all learn from each other.
If the sum total of your contribution to empirical thinking is to hit just one button, you’re in the wrong place. Hitting a ‘Like’ button is not involvement, it’s merely taking on the role of collector.
-GSG (God Seeker Guy)
Update November 04/2106
How far would you go for a million Facebook likes?
This piece by the BBC may be of interest to readers of this post.
They said it.
The good Lord never gives you more than you can handle. Unless you die of something.
– Guindon cartoon caption
Digital Deity?
A writer in a local paper has said she has no real friends, that all of her friends were online and that she was happy with that. She went on to say she was busy with family and that friends required a lot of work to maintain.
What is interesting about this statement is the notion that maybe this woman, or someone with a similar approach to friendship, might be a churchgoer. Assuming that to be the case, why would anyone spend the time and effort to have a relationship with an invisible, elusive and often judgmental entity, yet reject the time and effort needed to spend time with a flesh-and-blood human being who may show genuine care or at least be fun to be with.
A relationship with the Almighty requires a lot of effort in the form of denial, rationalization, and waking up each day hoping you’re not on the road to hell. God is high maintenance.
The Almighty, of course, would never get a high-speed connection. He would have to answer emails and that could be very awkward. So if we want a relationship with the divine, I suppose we’ll have to work at it, but relationships between members of his flock are easier to establish online with little or no effort.
– GSG (God Seeker Guy)
They said it
Why should we take advise on sex from the Pope? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn’t.
-George Bernard Shaw
Same Sex Marriage Oh! Oh!
Given the sexual history of the Christian church, one fails to see how any Christian can possibly have issues with same-sex marriages. The Bible is filled with descriptions of marriages of every kind, including bigamy and Levite marriages. Barren wives were expected to give slaves to their husbands – whole tribes were the fruit of incestuous relationships.
Any church leader who sanctions same sex marriage should be applauded as the ultimate environmentalist. Their position, by definition, will contribute to a population reduction and at the same time provide loving parents for abandoned children.
Why all the fuss? Same-sex marriage may well be part of the solution for the Almighty to clean up the mess the human race has become.
GSG (God Seeker Guy)
They said it
The Vatican is against surrogate mothers. Good thing they didn’t
have that rule when Jesus was born.
-Elayne Boosler
Marriage Mayhem
If polygamy with multiple wives is the surest route to the “highest level of salvation” for men, as some breakaway Mormon sects believe, were does that leave wives in the salvation queue?
When asked what they thought of plural marriages, friends heartily approved, picking a banker, plumber and an ‘athlete’ as their other husbands. Their point is well taken. Polyandry, a form of marriage in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time must also be a route to salvation…
The Supreme Court of Canada has noted that “Christian marriage is no longer relevant and from the perspective of the state is a civil institution.” Common-law, same-sex, and multiple partner unions are all in play. Good old classical marriages are failing at an alarming rate and are in danger of becoming extinct.
GSG (God Seeker Guy)
They said it
If I had been the Virgin Mary, I would have said “No”.
-Margaret “Stevie” Smith (1902-1971)
God Seeker Guy 