I am addicted to this song!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Free Thinker
Not too long ago an acquaintance sent me a passive aggressive email about how great his religion is and daring me to pass it along if I 'didn't care what other people thought'.
Those afraid of being judged or hated or ridiculed he thought would be the 'strong' ones to pass it along. But he never thought, those who do not agree, and who were not afraid of judgment, hatred, or ridicule from him, would choose not to pass it along. Perhaps it was the arrogance of the assumption that what he had to say was so great and trying to 'trick' others into doing what he wanted was such an underhanded tactic.
So I wrote back to him. If you don't care what your friends have to say, why choose to be friends with them? True friends will look out for you and give you advice, wanted and unwanted, because they care. If you did not think they cared, if you did not CARE that they cared, why do you have friends at all?
I chose my friends carefully. They will call me out on my actions if they think I'm wrong. Their perspectives are different, but they do so because they care about me. If I dismissed what they had to say, it means I think little of them as friends. To me, that is wrong. Great friends I hold onto because what they say and do are good and they help me be a better person. And the guy who sent me the email was merely someone I met once in my life and had a rare correspondence with. He never struck me as a genuine person because it seemed like, one day a month, he got some program to generate emails for him in reply to everyone in his inbox. Sure he sort-of answered the emails, but not in a way like he read them. More like a passing glance or misinterpretation.
Well, he definitely cared what I had to think, he just didn't care about the minor details such as what I was saying, just that I disagreed with his tactics and personally, I disagreed with many things in the overall literature in which he chose to pick out a few pretty lines. Those lines didn't define the work as a whole and as a result, it would give the false impression that the work was, in my opinion, good, or that I agreed.
I said, thank you for thinking what you wrote was to help people, but I don't agree with the origins or the beliefs. But in thank you, I give you a quote from another religion that is very wise,
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." -- Buddha
My acquaintance was absolute appalled that I would quote from Buddha. How dare I remember something a scam artist and human turned idol to be worshipped said? Despite what Buddha said making sense and the fact that my acquaintance knew nothing about Buddha, (and no, the guy didn't even read the quote either. Just that I used something said in another religion offended the hell out of him.)
He responded with more passages from the work of his religion and how his god gave me free will but I'm choosing wrong by not following his word, (which pretty much aren't his god's words but rules and regulations cobbled together by a bunch of power hungry old men). In addition, I am foolish to think that I could decide for myself what is right or wrong or that the morals I follow are decent, (since I didn't learn them from his religion, common sense and decency just doesn't exist in people who aren't of his ways). To top it off, he added, if I did believe in his god, I would be living in paradise after death. Wow, doesn't that sound dandy?
So, instead of trying to be a good person through opening my eyes and learning and doing good, and especially trying to be a good person, not for any reward, but just because I think that's the right way to live my life, is wrong?
There has to be a carrot at the end of the stick or threat of eternal torment?
My email in response called him out on his hypocrisy and passive aggressive techniques to force his beliefs on me, and that he really didn't know anything about his religion at all. I kept thinking of this great scene from 'Chicago', the movie, where Lucy Liu finds her lover in bed with another woman. Her now ex-lover says, 'Are you going to believe what you see or believe what I tell you?'
I had the same feeling with this now former acquaintance. Despite everything in history he was telling me to ignore the sins committed and ignored by his religion, and just believe my acquaintance when he says, 'my way is all good, now obey the rules that I preach.'
Well, here's another quote from the infamous Buddha:
"A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker."
Those afraid of being judged or hated or ridiculed he thought would be the 'strong' ones to pass it along. But he never thought, those who do not agree, and who were not afraid of judgment, hatred, or ridicule from him, would choose not to pass it along. Perhaps it was the arrogance of the assumption that what he had to say was so great and trying to 'trick' others into doing what he wanted was such an underhanded tactic.
So I wrote back to him. If you don't care what your friends have to say, why choose to be friends with them? True friends will look out for you and give you advice, wanted and unwanted, because they care. If you did not think they cared, if you did not CARE that they cared, why do you have friends at all?
I chose my friends carefully. They will call me out on my actions if they think I'm wrong. Their perspectives are different, but they do so because they care about me. If I dismissed what they had to say, it means I think little of them as friends. To me, that is wrong. Great friends I hold onto because what they say and do are good and they help me be a better person. And the guy who sent me the email was merely someone I met once in my life and had a rare correspondence with. He never struck me as a genuine person because it seemed like, one day a month, he got some program to generate emails for him in reply to everyone in his inbox. Sure he sort-of answered the emails, but not in a way like he read them. More like a passing glance or misinterpretation.
Well, he definitely cared what I had to think, he just didn't care about the minor details such as what I was saying, just that I disagreed with his tactics and personally, I disagreed with many things in the overall literature in which he chose to pick out a few pretty lines. Those lines didn't define the work as a whole and as a result, it would give the false impression that the work was, in my opinion, good, or that I agreed.
I said, thank you for thinking what you wrote was to help people, but I don't agree with the origins or the beliefs. But in thank you, I give you a quote from another religion that is very wise,
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." -- Buddha
My acquaintance was absolute appalled that I would quote from Buddha. How dare I remember something a scam artist and human turned idol to be worshipped said? Despite what Buddha said making sense and the fact that my acquaintance knew nothing about Buddha, (and no, the guy didn't even read the quote either. Just that I used something said in another religion offended the hell out of him.)
He responded with more passages from the work of his religion and how his god gave me free will but I'm choosing wrong by not following his word, (which pretty much aren't his god's words but rules and regulations cobbled together by a bunch of power hungry old men). In addition, I am foolish to think that I could decide for myself what is right or wrong or that the morals I follow are decent, (since I didn't learn them from his religion, common sense and decency just doesn't exist in people who aren't of his ways). To top it off, he added, if I did believe in his god, I would be living in paradise after death. Wow, doesn't that sound dandy?
So, instead of trying to be a good person through opening my eyes and learning and doing good, and especially trying to be a good person, not for any reward, but just because I think that's the right way to live my life, is wrong?
There has to be a carrot at the end of the stick or threat of eternal torment?
My email in response called him out on his hypocrisy and passive aggressive techniques to force his beliefs on me, and that he really didn't know anything about his religion at all. I kept thinking of this great scene from 'Chicago', the movie, where Lucy Liu finds her lover in bed with another woman. Her now ex-lover says, 'Are you going to believe what you see or believe what I tell you?'
I had the same feeling with this now former acquaintance. Despite everything in history he was telling me to ignore the sins committed and ignored by his religion, and just believe my acquaintance when he says, 'my way is all good, now obey the rules that I preach.'
Well, here's another quote from the infamous Buddha:
"A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker."
I Am A Witch by Sandi Thomas
| I loved this poem! Found on: http://www.iamawitch.com/staticpages/index.php?page=20030903000605295 When I stand up for myself and my beliefs, they call me a "Witch". When I stand up for those I love, they call me a Witch. When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts, or do things my own way, they call me a Witch. Being a witch entails raising my children to be strong people | |
| Who have a solid sense of personal and social responsibility Who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in Who love and respect themselves for the beautiful beings they are. Being a witch means that I am free to be the wonderful creature I am, With all my own intricacies, contradictions, quirks and beauty. Being a witch means I won't compromise what's in my heart. It means I live my life MY way. It means I won't allow anyone to step on me. When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak up against it, I am defined as a witch. The same thing happens when I take time for myself instead of being everyone else's maid or when I act a little selfish. I am proud to be a witch! It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of what they think I "should" be. I am outspoken, opinionated and determined. By Goddess, I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that! So, try to stomp on me, try to douse my inner flame, try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me. You won't succeed. And if that makes me a witch, so be it. I embrace the title and am proud to bear it. I love this, I can call myself a witch now and not feel bad about it! SO MOTE IT BE! | |
Friday, June 25, 2010
Kill The Witch 66 By Lady Guinevere
From http://hubpages.com/hub/Kill-The-Witch
In the Bible it says suffer the Witch and that people should stay away from them..........but what exactly is a Witch by their definition? If it is soothsaying and fortune telling---then that would be many times in the Bible by the Prophets such as Joseph who told the Egyptian rulers of the famines and things of that nature that would be to come. If it is healing with herbs and things from the Earth--then that would be the Pharmacuetical Companies we have today. If it is by curses and spells--then that would also include the Exorcisms that the Catholic Church does. So what exactly is a Witch that others aren't doing in today's world in science and technology and theology? Can anyone distiguish the differences?
Back in the times that the books were written anyone who did anyting that was not understood by a man was evil. That was then and that was in another time period where science was not--at least not to the extent that it is today........that is why when you read the Bible you must also take into account of the times and the society of those people's.
Leprosy was considered a curse and was thought to be demon posession, but today is is now just a disease that can be treated. Many afflictions of the time of Christ were thought to be curses and demon posession and anyone who tried and was successful at treating it was considered a Witch, espeially if the witch was a woman. Those people who delved in healing from the Earth wer Pagans. Still today we find that the lack of understanding on how those things work conjures up all kinds of names and prejudice by those who call themselves Christians. There have been many stifdes in today's world yet the Bible keeps many in the dark about them. They just have no idea of what things are because they are too afraid to learn that things are not always what they seem and that there is a whole other world out there then what is in that Bible. Even Jesus said that there would be and not to judge things and to seek the truth other than from the Bible. The Bible was written in a time were there weren't medical professionals that could treat just about anything and there wasn't the advance technology that we have today--they didn't have a clue then about what might be coming to the world. Yet they still judge things by the rules way back then.
In the Bible it says suffer the Witch and that people should stay away from them..........but what exactly is a Witch by their definition? If it is soothsaying and fortune telling---then that would be many times in the Bible by the Prophets such as Joseph who told the Egyptian rulers of the famines and things of that nature that would be to come. If it is healing with herbs and things from the Earth--then that would be the Pharmacuetical Companies we have today. If it is by curses and spells--then that would also include the Exorcisms that the Catholic Church does. So what exactly is a Witch that others aren't doing in today's world in science and technology and theology? Can anyone distiguish the differences?
Back in the times that the books were written anyone who did anyting that was not understood by a man was evil. That was then and that was in another time period where science was not--at least not to the extent that it is today........that is why when you read the Bible you must also take into account of the times and the society of those people's.
Leprosy was considered a curse and was thought to be demon posession, but today is is now just a disease that can be treated. Many afflictions of the time of Christ were thought to be curses and demon posession and anyone who tried and was successful at treating it was considered a Witch, espeially if the witch was a woman. Those people who delved in healing from the Earth wer Pagans. Still today we find that the lack of understanding on how those things work conjures up all kinds of names and prejudice by those who call themselves Christians. There have been many stifdes in today's world yet the Bible keeps many in the dark about them. They just have no idea of what things are because they are too afraid to learn that things are not always what they seem and that there is a whole other world out there then what is in that Bible. Even Jesus said that there would be and not to judge things and to seek the truth other than from the Bible. The Bible was written in a time were there weren't medical professionals that could treat just about anything and there wasn't the advance technology that we have today--they didn't have a clue then about what might be coming to the world. Yet they still judge things by the rules way back then.
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