morality's half twists

[arthwollipot]

Basically, a truly awesome person does good because he loves God and always does the things God wants just to be a good person. A not quite as good person does good because God will reward him. The second sort isn't quite as good as the first, but both will end up in Heaven. It works the same on the other side. An act of perfect contrition is regretting sin because you went against God. An act of imperfect contrition is regretting sin because God might kick your flaming ass for all of eternity. However, either one is good enough to keep you out of Hell.

Unless you ruin it all by masturbating again.

So...it's ok to be self serving as long as you are serving others in the process. It would be even better if you were not self serving at all, but God cuts people some slack if they are doing good.

Indeed, but the problem with this is in determining what God wants. The Catholics have the answer to this too, of course, in the extensive hierarchy through which the wants of God are interpreted, but you get into the more Protestant sects and their "personal relationship" with God, and people can just decide that God wants what they're doing.

[sparks]

Good thing the whole mess is a myth.

hey sparks, if you were raised Catholic you might like this comic book...

https://therevealer.org/the-mystic-torm ... nky-brown/

That's a good one! I was raised Cathoholic. It's my basis for asserting religion, all religion, is a mess of mythical shit. Folks want to buy into it, great. Let them. But the Tru Bleevers should never try to convert me. If they want to teach creationism in Sunday school, then there must be equal time for science and if they're taking money from Shit Heads Faith Based Initiative, then the aforementioned religulous organizations should start paying taxes. Just like everybody else.

Just finished the article in full and it's exceptionally telling about religious indoctrination. Once a young person is fucked up by this shit, it's damn hard to get rid of it. Like trying to remove every grain from a sugar sack. Almost impossible to get them all.

[President Bush]

Used to collect underground comics from the mid-70s to mid-80s. Have been selling them all off before our next adventures but keeping Binky Brown, it can fit undamaged with other papers somewhere, too funny to sell for $30 or so.

Recommend getting you one, really great comic.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... y&_sacat=0

[Meadmaker]

Indeed, but the problem with this is in determining what God wants. The Catholics have the answer to this too, of course, in the extensive hierarchy through which the wants of God are interpreted, but you get into the more Protestant sects and their "personal relationship" with God, and people can just decide that God wants what they're doing.

Yeah. The people who claim to know what God wants generally find that God wants them to kill those other guys.

Unless they are actually a prophet, with a direct and personal connection, that they are charged with instructing followers. In that case, God usually instructs the prophet to sleep with teenage girls




I prefer the Buddhist take on God, which is that if He exists, you couldn't understand Him, so don't worry about it.

[President Bush]

at any rate, there's a conundrum of morality being self serving in that (in theory) you'll do better if you follow these rules for engagement, which appear to promote selflessness.

The Catholics have been doing this for 2000 years, and they've worked out most of the details.


Basically, a truly awesome person does good because he loves God and always does the things God wants just to be a good person. A not quite as good person does good because God will reward him. The second sort isn't quite as good as the first, but both will end up in Heaven. It works the same on the other side. An act of perfect contrition is regretting sin because you went against God. An act of imperfect contrition is regretting sin because God might kick your flaming ass for all of eternity. However, either one is good enough to keep you out of Hell.

Unless you ruin it all by masturbating again.

So...it's ok to be self serving as long as you are serving others in the process. It would be even better if you were not self serving at all, but God cuts people some slack if they are doing good.

Except for Job.

Christian doctrine can be reinterpreted... Jesus wasn't incarnated to redeem humanity's sins against God but to redeem God/Yahweh for his sins against Job.

[stanky]

Many sects of Buddhism help to add confusion. The ultimate in the paradoxical nature of morality, imho, is that, via self-inquiry and silent meditation (asking "Who am I?") we make the kind-of icky discovery that all is one and we are God. What i find comical in this revelation (which, btw, i agree with) is that devotional types whom worship God are worshiping themselves. Those humble devotees suddenly look like narcissists of the highest order.

[President Bush]

Many sects of Buddhism help to add confusion. The ultimate in the paradoxical nature of morality, imho, is that, via self-inquiry and silent meditation (asking "Who am I?") we make the kind-of icky discovery that all is one and we are God.

Have you ever seen the movie "The Ruling Class"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJq8zhhiSFE

[stanky]

nope.

prolly should

[Meadmaker]

My workplace cafeteria actually has very good food, and today there was a great salmon dish.

I thought about Friday fish day, and its relation to this thread topic. What I'm referring to is taking an idea from religion and totally distorting it, but still claiming virtue. So, Catholics weren't allowed to eat meat on Fridays, and still aren't in Fridays during Lent. This is like a partial fasting. Somehow God likes it if you don't eat. Not sure why, but whatever. A little sacrifice is good, and God likes it. So, sacrifice a little........and eat some lobster tail. Maybe shrimp cocktail. Roast salmon with crab sauce? Yep. Sacrifice.


Even better were the medieval Irish bishops who decided that geese spent most of their time in water, and had the same coloration as barnacles. Therefore, they were fish.

[stanky]

Fridays were the best. No school for two days and a great meal of seafood. (Yeah, me too, Catholic)
What a joke of a sacrifice. The real sacrifice was enduring mass in Latin while the Jews played stick-ball in the street we lived on.
What passes as Catholic mass these days looks like a cake walk to me. I want some sort of rebate. We had to dress up and kneel for hours at a time. God was a dick. Crucified Jesus. His mom, virgin. All trouble for a boy's mind to wrap around and around. Thank christ for Santa and the Bunny.