So maybe being rational is irrational. There are other layers above irrational thought that are heretical. Just the right amount of mystical belief is acceptable. Stretch it out a bit farther and your bonafide crazy.
The right amount of mystical belief depends on what you believe, or don’t believe, and how ferociously you defend it. Or think you need to. Beyond that, who determines which is okay and which is over the top crazy? and define ‘rational”. =)
He mentions “…to live in fear of all sorts of things that don’t exist”. In the navy a motto was “Fear God and Honour The King”.
Why fear God?
Why fear some two-faced bastard who claims to be the ultimate in love and sweetness and light?
(Or has these claims made on His behalf).
But without fear of The Divine the priest loses his stranglehold, and with it his income … can you imagine, a priest having to come out and actually get an honest income?
And don’t forget he prefers if one is ”broken”.
Or at least this is what I have read somewhere.
Broken, scared, browbeaten, often physically beaten, diminished, credulous, do not question authority. And the list goes on.
Even a dog won’t put up with that level of shit before it turns and bites you!
Actually, that 2006 documentary ‘Jesus Camp’ gave a pretty harrowing look at how young kids of evangelicals were systematically broken down — told they were “sinners”; unworthy of God; etc — and then, having acquiesced, built back up with reassurance that they could still be forgiven and “saved.”
In his book, letters from the earth, Mark Twain writes that the things human beings allow their God to get away with, they send their fellow men to gaol for less. It is, as you say, pathological
The Lady of the Lake — her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite — held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king!
Serendipity is learning that the word “enthusiasm” is derived from the Greek word enthousiasmos (“divine inspiration”) in an interview discussing irrational beliefs. (3:07)
Humans invented God, and the stories they wrote of him showed a dysfunctional, narcissistic, bombastic, being, who could change ideas and ideologies on a dime. Not to mention selfish. They chose these characteristics, possibly because they were familiar with the behaviors, being human, and all.
And then they plank their butts down in front of this dysfunctional being and worship him and tell themselves that he is kind and loving and pure and he loves them.
I first read “Letters from the Earth” when it was published, back in the mid-sixties, and I suspect that was when I started the slide into non-belief. One pebble at a time.
A Tale Unfolds 
So maybe being rational is irrational. There are other layers above irrational thought that are heretical. Just the right amount of mystical belief is acceptable. Stretch it out a bit farther and your bonafide crazy.
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The right amount of mystical belief depends on what you believe, or don’t believe, and how ferociously you defend it. Or think you need to. Beyond that, who determines which is okay and which is over the top crazy? and define ‘rational”. =)
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“Rational” = makes sense, to me.
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He mentions “…to live in fear of all sorts of things that don’t exist”. In the navy a motto was “Fear God and Honour The King”.
Why fear God?
Why fear some two-faced bastard who claims to be the ultimate in love and sweetness and light?
(Or has these claims made on His behalf).
But without fear of The Divine the priest loses his stranglehold, and with it his income … can you imagine, a priest having to come out and actually get an honest income?
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Fearing someone and being asked to love them at the same time: now that’s a definition of irrational.
Nowadays, we call that an abusive relationship, don’t we? Seems when it comes to the Abrahamic god, He gets a free pass on such weird pathology.
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And don’t forget he prefers if one is ”broken”.
Or at least this is what I have read somewhere.
Broken, scared, browbeaten, often physically beaten, diminished, credulous, do not question authority. And the list goes on.
Even a dog won’t put up with that level of shit before it turns and bites you!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Actually, that 2006 documentary ‘Jesus Camp’ gave a pretty harrowing look at how young kids of evangelicals were systematically broken down — told they were “sinners”; unworthy of God; etc — and then, having acquiesced, built back up with reassurance that they could still be forgiven and “saved.”
Sick god. Sick people.
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It suggests one hell of an inferiority complex … a pathological Divine?
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In his book, letters from the earth, Mark Twain writes that the things human beings allow their God to get away with, they send their fellow men to gaol for less. It is, as you say, pathological
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And why honour the king either?
Most kings through history considered they ruled by divine right!
Wunch of Bankers!
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Control. It’s all about control; especially of the victim’s wallet.
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There’s a bible verse to support honouring the king
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The Lady of the Lake — her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite — held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king!
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Without fear of god and hell, the priest would be jobless & they think all is permitted
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Serendipity is learning that the word “enthusiasm” is derived from the Greek word enthousiasmos (“divine inspiration”) in an interview discussing irrational beliefs. (3:07)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Humans invented God, and the stories they wrote of him showed a dysfunctional, narcissistic, bombastic, being, who could change ideas and ideologies on a dime. Not to mention selfish. They chose these characteristics, possibly because they were familiar with the behaviors, being human, and all.
And then they plank their butts down in front of this dysfunctional being and worship him and tell themselves that he is kind and loving and pure and he loves them.
I first read “Letters from the Earth” when it was published, back in the mid-sixties, and I suspect that was when I started the slide into non-belief. One pebble at a time.
LikeLiked by 2 people