Green Oasis

[Believing there is no God] informs every moment of my life. I’m not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it’s everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I’m raising now is enough that I don’t need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day. (This I Believe by Penn Jillette)

I heard this essay on NPR months ago and enjoyed Penn’s clear, straightforward explanation of humanism (even though he never uses that word). It’s a good Sunday sermon to remind me why it’s good to be godless.

Call me dense, but I just now realized that we let the fox slip into the hen house. I feel so stupid for somehow not making the connection before. I knew that the war was bad for so many reasons, but I somehow never saw why it’s happening. All the information was in my head, but it never clicked. Have I been asleep for four years?

We elected a representative of the military-industrial complex and the oil industry (i.e. Dick Cheney) into the White House. He has managed to create long term conflict in Iraq so that the war pigs can gorge themselves at the expense of complacent American tax payers but more importantly at the cost of American blood and far, far too many of our brothers and sisters in Iraq.

If things turn out well, the corporate puppet masters will be in control of the oil supply in Iraq. If not, oh well. Just a few lives wasted. At least they got to line their pockets along the way. Am I just being paranoid?

If I see things correctly, Dick et al. are working right about now to start war with Iran so that the war mongers can look forward to years of juicy conflict in the Middle East that we can’t extricate ourselves from long after we finally give the Bush the boot, no matter who we elect. How did we let things get so far?

Fuck!

You can take issue with Ed Decker, the producer of this video, and the presentation is a bit sensationalist, but to my knowledge, there is only one factual error in this cartoon (I make no claims about the stuff after the cartoon). As far as I’m aware, Joseph Smith never claimed to have done more for mankind than any other man including Jesus. It was John Taylor who claimed that Joseph did more for mankind than all other men except Jesus.

All other doctrines in this video were taught at one time or another by leaders in the Mormon church and believed by the members thereof. Current Mormons don’t believe all of this stuff and might not even be aware that it was ever taught. If forced to do so, I’ll find references. I dare anyone to call me Anti-Mormon for presenting the truth.

Before any religious reader from another religion gets too smug, I think your beliefs are just as outlandish… if you believe them literally. Admit it, talking snakes, the universe created in seven days, zombie gods rising from the grave, etc. would all sound pretty strange the first time you hear about them. At least Mormons get Endless Celestial Sex.

Mormon Missionary: Brother Blake, I testify to you that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, that he translated the Book of Mormon from the records of the ancient Americans—

Me: Wait, wait. How do you know that?

Missionary: I studied the Book of Mormon, and I asked God in prayer whether it was true. Heavenly Father answered my prayers through the Holy Ghost. I felt a great peace that assured me that the Book of Mormon was true.

Me: How do you know that your feelings of peace were God telling you about the Book of Mormon?

Missionary: In D&C 9:8 and Alma 32:28, God tells us that he will enlighten our understanding and cause our hearts to burn when we learn the truth. I have felt that peace.

Me: How do you know that those verses are telling you the truth, that feelings of peace and elevation are the Holy Spirit communicating with you?

Missionary: Well, I prayed about it and—

Me: You’re going in circles.

Missionary: I just know that what I’m teaching you is true. If you pray as I did, you can know, too.

Me: You’re avoiding my question. How do you know? If it’s just a matter of feeling that something is true, then how do you know that your feelings are more reliable than another person’s feelings? If I too feel that I know the truth, how do you know that I’m wrong?

Missionary: The Holy Spirit may testify of the portion of the truth that you have. If someone honestly listens to the Gospel’s message and the Spirit testifies to them, they will know that Mormonism contains the full truth, not just a portion of the truth. When the Holy Spirit testified to me, it removed all of my doubts. I am certain that the Gospel as restored by Joseph Smith is true.

Me: You’re still just saying that you know something because you feel like it’s true, and you’re still avoiding the question. How do you know that others’ religious experiences which lead them to follow Islam or Buddhism are less valid than yours?

Missionary: The Gospel is a matter of faith. You have to place your trust in God and he will tell you the truth.

Me: So you don’t really know then. You have faith. You have a belief, a belief that isn’t fully justified by objective evidence. Your belief is based on a wholly private, subjective experience. Why don’t you just say that you believe then? Wouldn’t that be more honest? Stop saying that you know something when you don’t.

Missionary: If you take the leap of faith, then you can later come to have knowledge of the Gospel’s truth. It wouldn’t be faith anymore.

Me: How would I know? Feelings?

The lazy, white puff of tree seeds floating across the window; the butterfly flying against the wind in the opposite direction; the flavor of the nameless, spicy dish recommended by the waiter at the Indian bistro where I stopped on a whim; the soft, exotic music playing in my ears; and the sun playing on the windows of the tall downtown buildings were all a perfect accompaniment to the words of Jorge Borges tickling my thoughts from the book I had been reading as I waited for my food.