A pound of flesh
Sep. 5th, 2006 01:21 pmTonight I hope to get through the New Testament and get this stupid reading project done with but for the moment, a brief interlude.
Read The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus during lunch. A german play, written in 1604 by Christopher Marlowe.
Short but a rather fun read especially if one desires to feel smart and quippy with the latin.
It's interesting what Faustus sells himself away for. Me, I'd never chose to be owned by any diety, God or Devil, I'd spit in both their faces. However, if I believed in an afterlife and were given my choice of what work to do, I'd rather be a conscience that helps someone think through the things the do so that they are a benefit to themselves and harmless or beneficial to others. When I started this post, I was inclined to say I'd enjoy punishing the self-righteous and whisking off their souls, but really, I wouldn't. The rotten things people do to one another mostly just makes me sad and punishing them for it after the fact accomplishes nothing. The people they hurt are still hurt.
And therein lies the major flaw with christianity. I'm not enticed by the idea of eternal torment, but neither am I warm to the idea of 'total happiness and knowledge'. I enjoy sometimes feeling bad. I enjoy learning things I don't know. I like thinking for myself, and if my only options are, get on my knees and give blowjobs to God's ego for all eternity and be rewarded with a warm spurt in the face, or stand in defiance of a tyrant and suffer the consequences, I'll take the suffering.
But seriously, this afterlife stuff is as fun to dream aobut as time travel but it's highly improbable. I think I'll not worry about it and just keep living as I do now. Reading, learning, thinking, exploring. I'm quite happy here.
Read The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus during lunch. A german play, written in 1604 by Christopher Marlowe.
Short but a rather fun read especially if one desires to feel smart and quippy with the latin.
It's interesting what Faustus sells himself away for. Me, I'd never chose to be owned by any diety, God or Devil, I'd spit in both their faces. However, if I believed in an afterlife and were given my choice of what work to do, I'd rather be a conscience that helps someone think through the things the do so that they are a benefit to themselves and harmless or beneficial to others. When I started this post, I was inclined to say I'd enjoy punishing the self-righteous and whisking off their souls, but really, I wouldn't. The rotten things people do to one another mostly just makes me sad and punishing them for it after the fact accomplishes nothing. The people they hurt are still hurt.
And therein lies the major flaw with christianity. I'm not enticed by the idea of eternal torment, but neither am I warm to the idea of 'total happiness and knowledge'. I enjoy sometimes feeling bad. I enjoy learning things I don't know. I like thinking for myself, and if my only options are, get on my knees and give blowjobs to God's ego for all eternity and be rewarded with a warm spurt in the face, or stand in defiance of a tyrant and suffer the consequences, I'll take the suffering.
But seriously, this afterlife stuff is as fun to dream aobut as time travel but it's highly improbable. I think I'll not worry about it and just keep living as I do now. Reading, learning, thinking, exploring. I'm quite happy here.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-05 09:32 pm (UTC)I'm sort of in the 'recovering fundamentalist' camp too, but probably not as hardcore. I got out when I was 19 (which has been some years ago now) I had some bad experiences with my family when they came out.
My grandfather's brother Paige is the asshat that got up on national TV several years ago at the Southern Baptist national convention and proclaimed, "A woman shall submit graciously to her husband!"
So. Yeah. Issues. So anyhow, that's why all the angry tinfoil hat ranting. :)
Is that really what a sim looks like? I thought that was a SecondLife avatar. :) (I've never played the Sims)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-05 10:03 pm (UTC)Sims pictures because I'm a geek and stuck them in my memories.
I was raised fundamentalist, stayed in until about age 30, so I'm just getting out in the last 8 years.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-05 11:37 pm (UTC)