So here I am watching Larry King tonight, and he has one full hour with a “psychic”. Despite it being Larry Kings show, it quickly degenerates into callers asking “What does my dead grandmother have to say” and the “psychic” saying that the callers dead grandmother loves her and all that crap.
And throughout the hour, not only was larry almost buying this steaming pile of shit, but there wasn’t one single call that was skeptical about the "psychic"s abilities. Every one was “is my dead dog in heaven?” bullshit.
OK, theres that and…
Last night on Politically Incorrect, Deepak Chopra (sp?), who has sold a truly frightening amount of books about warm-fuzzy mix and match spirituality, said that everyone has spirituality hardwired into their brains. So because I’m agnostic, this asshole is calling me either brain damaged or a hypocrite.
OK, end of rant.
Whats the deal with this new age spiritualism? Its like religion without any of the doctrine, hard work, or guilt. And all the psychic stuff is just weird. I’m sure this all ties in with the healing power of magnets or something somehow.
It’s all a bunch of tired religion and hokey mythology. I think it can be summed up neatly:
The need of the masses for something, no mater how insipid and inane, is inversely proportionate to the number of people who can think for themselves.
That’s why.
There are so few of us who can look at the world and not see a need to fuck it up more than it already is by injecting a lot of conjecture into it.
“Winners never quit and quitters never win, but those who never win and never quit are idiots.”
I read that thread, and don’t get me wrong, I like UUs, in fact, I was a UU briefly.
But I think even a UU needs some structure behind their belief, even if the church doesn’t empahsize that structure.
Seems like everywhere I look, people are picking and choosing bits of religion and buying into it. Some angels here, a bit of reincarnation there, maybe throw aliens into the mix for good measure.
I just wish sometime I could get a call through when one of those “physics” are appearing on TV. I’d ask 'em, “What was my father’s middle name and what town was he born in?”
Personally, I find it much harder to wrestle with the ideas of morality and ethics in a forum of open debate and questioning than it is to just accept the list of do’s and don’t’s that’s handed to me.
Yeah, that can be annoying. I also love it when Jeezers (my own derogatory name for over-zealous Christian-types) say, “This part of the Bible is absolute… but ignore these chapters over here.” Well, is it divinely inspired or isn’t it? Make up your damned mind!
It drives me batty when people say, “I’m not religious, but I’m deeply spiritual.” I like to ask them what “spiritual” means. It usually has something to do with having a dreamcatcher hanging in the window.
My take on “being spiritual” is that person wants to have some kind of security net in the form of a “higher power,” but don’t want any rules or discipline.
Of course, I’m a Dionysian, mostly because I can make up any rules I want. In fact, I’m going to proclaim myself the Pope of Dionysus right now!
Oops, got a little overentheusiastic with the mouse clicker.
Jeezers? That’s good. Where were you when I had my “Are fundamentalists doing the devil’s work” thread going and was looking for a word to describe these overly-zealous types that wouldn’t offend Evangelical Christians who don’t feel the need to cram their religion down your throat, and damn you to hell if you don’t swallow?
The “I’m not religious, but I’m deeply spiritual” line is bulldada. (Bulldada- I can’t remember who I stole that word from. Is it Subgenius terminology?) Basically, it means, “I don’t believe in much of anything, really, and don’t want to have to follow any moral code that might prevent me from getting laid, but if I admit that I don’t believe in God, you might look at me funny. Wanna see my crystal?”
The trouble with Sir Launcelot is by the time he comes riding up, you’ve already married King Arthur.