"Yes, not everyone thanks a deity for their survival and nobody should thank their god for a vicious tornado that wiped out so much of what people owned and even took lives, especially the lives of innocent children.
Brandi Amari Williams"
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The Shackled Life
What I've been walking with for a few days: To be religious is (most of the time) to willingly enter bondage, to surrender freedom. It is to say "I agree to live within this Box that someone else built. It means I cannot extend my arms fully; I cannot stand fully erect; but I will live within these confines." And, often enough, it is a commitment to only associate with others who live in the box. Letting the rest of the world go by.
With Christianity, the isolation is paradoxical; it defies the Golden Rule and the example of Christ's life. Can you only love your neighbor if s/he joins you in the Box? Can you only help the poor and sick and hungry, if they surrender their will to your beliefs and live as you live? This is not what Jesus Christ taught and yet, those who say they follow his example seem not to see the discrepancy.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Edison Sullivan on -
This is a good analogy. A box is a great place to hide when you are afraid. Those who continue to choose religion are often fearful of their own mortality (and therefore find solace in the idea of an afterlife), or the unknown, or themselves, etc. Others use this fear to build their own boxes for these people to hide in, to contain them at their will and hold them indefinitely in their bond. The Golden Rule, by definition, does not apply in this codependent relationship.
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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on
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sk8eycat commented on Ruth Anthony-Gardner's group Hang With Friends"Tony, I love that clip! "Wolf Gets Blitzed"...tee-hee.
Did anyone read the comments below the You Tube version? they were almost all like, "Yeah, thank the lard for sending a ghastly tornado to kill more than 50…"
The Flying Atheist commented on Ruth Anthony-Gardner's group Hang With Friends"Great clip, Tony. People need to realize that not everybody superfluously and automatically thanks god in a time of crisis. Maybe he's learned a lesson and become a smarter man. "
Natalie A Sera commented on Dallas the Phallus's group LINGUAPHILES & SESQUIPEDALIANS"And then, just to confuse things, there's polymath, which is from the Greek poly = much and manthanein = to learn. So, someone who knows a lot. Or at least enough to know that you can get a second crop from that field! Sorry, couldn't…"
Patricia commented on Ruth Anthony-Gardner's group Hang With Friends"Yaaaay Joan!!!
Yaaaay here too.....our exterior renos start Wednesday!!!!"
Tony Carroll commented on Ruth Anthony-Gardner's group Hang With Friends"
Wolf Blitzer. Open mouth, insert foot. LOL!!!"
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