George Aar

Simon gets pulled over for reckless driving and spends two years in jail... Oh hell, posted too late!

Steely Dan, does it get any better?

Yeah, I dunno. I find it a little self-serving to attribute any human goodness to a specific religion. "Gosh, that guy's just wonderful. Therefore, he must be the embodiment of my belief system." I think people's innate nature is usually independant of whatever religion they choose. I've known wonderfully loving, giving Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and even a Wiccan or two. I've also known people of those faiths who were something less than that...

To anybody who may have missed it, PBS "The American Experience" (IMHO the best program to ever appear on T.V.) did a program recently titled "Jonestown, The Life and Death of The People's Temple". Though describing an altogether different cult and incidents specific to that one, the parallels to WayWorld thought and actions were staggering. And in that organization as well, conspiracy theories and paranoia ran rampant. I think it should be required viewing for any Wayfer, former - or especially - current ones. "Nobody joins a cult"

I found this news item to be moderately encouraging (but then, I would): http://ncseweb.org/news/2009/07/dinosaur-adventure-land-to-be-seized-004963 Kent Hovind, who some would say makes the Scopes Trial prosecutors look enlightened by comparison, gets his due. Isn't this the natural outcome of taking the Bible as LITERAL instead of LITERATURE? I think so...

Priscilla, It was "very interesting"? Don't you mean it was "like really farout"? Yeah, Altamont. That sorta put a kink in the "Love Generation" rather quickly, didn't it? All things considered, growing up has really been a drag...

I dunno, I think this is something cults just DO. Even the RC Church has old dogma they don't like to talk about anymore. Just ask "Mr". Claus or your local cafeteria menu planner (with all that fish stored up for Fridays). And The JWs are trying pretty hard to distance themselves from the teachings of their founder - Charles Taze Russell. I think maybe he had one too many "prophecies" that didn't pan out so well. And the Mormons don't spend a whole lotta time talking about the early daze of their church either. Like the habit Mr. Smith had of prophecying by looking at a black rock placed in a white hat. Or Mr. Smith's rather dubious translation of Egyptian heiroglyphs (this was pre-Rosetta Stone) that became another "foundational" book for the early Mormons. I think it was called "The Book of Abraham" - and turned out to be basically made up out of whole cloth, the "translation" being entirely erroneous.

(BTW, a few years after recording this, Ms. McCorkle jumped out the window of her 18th floor apartment. So much for the "Joy in her heart"...)

This will always be the definitive version for me: http://www.imeem.com/porkypiglet80/music/vYxXHNW6/susannah-mccorkle-the-waters-of-march/

He talks a little quickly and uses adult language, but how refreshing is this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIaV8swc-fo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Erandi%2Eorg%2Fsite%2F&feature=player_embedded

Well, obviously, those prayers were thrown in the same cylindrical file as those of the Catholics, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Penticostals, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, and all the other various and sundry Christian brands. You see, you have to get it JUST right or God won't pay attention. Misunderstand HIS Wurd, pray "improperly", or believe "wrongly" - NO SOUP FOR YOU! There now, doesn't that explain how loving and faithful The Almighty is? It's all YOUR fault. The truth is so simple...

I "believed" to have my carpal tunnel syndrome healed, and - lo and behold - it WAS! Unfortunately the "symptoms" returned quite quickly and I spent the next 15 years "believing" for them to disappear. Finally, after my hands and arms simply wouldn't work anymore, I went in for surgery. The doctor said I was tied for being the worst case he'd ever seen in his career (and he was a c.t. specialist). I'd done a lot of damage that never will heal. Funny how when people had undeniable, OBVIOUS issues in their lives (i.e. blindness, paralysis, a missing limb, or - in extreme circumstances - a dead relative) that miraculous healing or raising from the dead NEVER happened. Those type of healings only occured in the "vanishing hitchhiker" sorta narrative. Lesser, more ambiguous healing issues WERE abundant though. Everybody had one of those in their repetoire. Always sorta made me wonder...

I'm sorta ashamed to admit it, but I have no idea. I was always interested in Science and space exploration and all that, but I just have no memory of the moon landing whatever. Well, it was the '60s...

I guess I don't have anything profound to add to any of the running threads, so how about this? Here's my nominee, it still cracks me up,

Here ya go: http://otherpower.com/otherpower_hydro.html

Religions DO seem to have a lot of similarities - when it comes to excesses - no matter the brand, though. Animosity towards the Catholic Church is a popular trait, as well as a strong aversion to modern medicine, income tax, police, or anything that could threaten their power or cashflow. And, naturally, the lead dog gets his pick of the women...

I think it's only deep if we want it to be. For those of us with a more skeptical bent, there's just not much mystery or intrigue. When viewed from a dispassionate, unconnected place, The Bible is really a pretty unremarkable book. And hardly unique in the claims made for it. I think probably every culture that ever existed had some sort of holy writ to laud for it's wisdom and guidance. Isn't the more likely scenario that religions are just something that people do? People need something to soften the harsh reality of existence. Who really wants to grow old and die? Or - worse yet - watch all your loved ones do it. So we invent something to take the rough edges off of our lot. And once we get comfortable with that something, woe unto anyone who dares question it. But still, getting comfortable with it doesn't make dogma anymore credible. And real, unbiased investigation of beliefs is never really welcomed. You just have to believe it 'cause you want to. The intellect is best bypassed in the pursuit of spiritual nirvana...

Domo arigato gozaimasu!

And then, of course, there's always that distinct possibility that all religions, no matter the brand, are Bullchit (a VERY distinct possibility if you ask me). And all your pious, belligerent pontificating is for nought anyway. Just why is it that The Bible MUST be the fount of all Truth anyway? What evidence do we have that shows Judeo-Christianity to have any more credibility than any other garden-variety superstition? One thing the Bible IS good for, I'd admit, is promoting blind bigotry and prejudice - as evidenced by your posts. Even that gets boring after a short while though...

Bingo! (I really suck at this game, no?)

O.K., and he and his accomplice were wearing Chicken suits at the time...

O.K., I guess that was a little too obscure. Would it help if I said that this line was in response to a lead character hearing the sentence given to him for a crime he did not commit?

Hell, an afternoon spent sniffing glue would beat any intellectual stimulus I ever got from WayWorld...

Well, I think this'll be an easy one: "WHA, WHA, WHA! No,no,no,no,no,no,no..."

Well, Dirty Harry said "A MAN'S got to know his limitations" in "Magnum Force". Is that it?