Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

"My own mind is my own church...

...All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit." --Thomas Paine, "Age of Reason"

Quote of the Day -- On Government, Religion and Capital

"'Capital' ... in the political field is analogous to 'government'. ... The economic idea of capitalism, the politics of government or of authority, and the theological idea of the Church are three identical ideas, linked in various ways. To attack one of them is equivalent to attacking all of them. ... What capital does to labour, and the State to liberty, the Church does to the spirit. This trinity of absolutism is as baneful in practice as it is in philosophy. The most effective means for oppressing the people would be simultaneously to enslave its body, its will and its reason."

--Pierre-Joseph Proudhon on mutualism

To which I would add:  

“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.”   --Napoleon Bonaparte.

Sunday Reflections

God love 'em.

Or something.

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

On Sunday

And the New York Times.

Yeah.

Happy Sunday, everyone.

And So, the Holidays Begin

Link: Church Sign Revival

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

“It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force. 

Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties.”

~Founding Father James Monroe, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1817

On religion

So I'm a day late. (click on picture for easier reading)

Quote of the day -- for a Sunday

“This life is for loving, sharing, learning, smiling, caring, forgiving, laughing, hugging, helping, dancing, wondering, healing, and even more loving. I choose to live life this way. I want to live my life in such a way that when I get out of bed in the morning, the devil says, 'aw shit, he's up!” 

― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

Quote of the day--for a Sunday

 

Oops.

 

 

 

"Wait. Guys. That's NOT what I had in mind."

 

 

Your Sunday humor

Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

Enjoy your Sunday. Somehow.

 

Bloody hypocrites.

 

The Pharisees got nothing on these people today.

Plea for help from the Westport Center for the Arts

We need your help. A fire severely damaged Westport Presbyterian Church on Dec. 29. In addition to being a historic and beautiful Midtown landmark, the church housed Westport Center for the Arts’ offices. All of our materials for our “Kids Team Up for Art” program were lost. To make our workshops in January, February and March a success, we need donations of the following materials: Glue, magazines, contact paper, old calendars, green (non-holiday specific) wrapping paper, small paper cartons or bins with lids, white posterboard, paper or other materials with a floral design, GLUE, wooden dowels, chicken wire or similar small-mesh wire, ribbon (especially 4-inch wide), Styrofoam balls, chicken wire, clothes line, kids scissors, staplers, acrylic paint, plastic (recyclable) bottles and glue. If you have any of the above, contact info@westportcenterforthearts.org. The program emphasizes the use of recycled and "found" materials, so "used" donations are appreciated and encouraged. You can support a great program AND clean out your closets at the same time. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Observations on a holiday

1) It's always great when Christmas is over (at least for me); 2) The sunshine this holiday was fantastic. Just one more gift; 3) There surely were some odd things about people yesterday; 4) It's always nice to be able to visit with people--family and friends--if even briefly; 5) I have no idea how my daughter knew to come up with the perfect gift for me; 6) The best part of the entire holiday is always--always--the Christmas Eve I get to spend with my daughter. If I can have that, I need no material gift. It's all I want; 7) I always cry at the end of the Christmas Eve church service when, at the end, everyone sings "Silent Night", acapella, each with our own lit candle. It's so beautiful; 8) If the minister knew this year, I think there were plenty in the audience who didn't, how right he was about "people hurting out there." At least he knew.

Quote of the day--on good and evil

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it for religious conviction."  --Pascal


Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

God, guts and guns

In the news today , it seems "three young men walked into the New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ and opened fire, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday."

It used to be we were safe in America, without getting too hyperbolic about this.

Then you used to be safe--mostly--in your neighborhoods.

Then you were safe in your home.

Now you aren't even safe in your church.

Maybe these shooters learned this from the nutcase who went on shooting spree 5 years ago in suburban Milwaukee when the church member left the service, only to return with his 9mm handgun and unload 22 shots, killing the pastor, the pastor's son and five other members and then himself. "Neighbors said he was quiet and devout...", the story said.

Maybe they learned this tactic from this shooting from last year in March when "An Illinois pastor was shot and killed, and two parishioners injured after an unknown gunman opened fire during Sunday services at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill."

Or maybe they learned the technique from "pro-lifer" Scott Roeder who assassinated Dr. George Tiller, gun to his temple, in Dr. Tiller's own church in downtown Wichita, Kansas last May 31 on what was otherwise, no doubt, a beautiful Sunday morning when Dr. Tiller was volunteering, as he repeatedly did, at his own church.

Could be.

And besides the insanity of shooting someone in their own church, there is the additional craziness of the 2 victims in this most recent shooting, yesterday, of not assisting the police in their search for the shooters.

So much for law and order.

Bring on the anarchy.

So let's have it, folks, bring it on. It really has become "God, guts and guns!" in America, hasn't it?

And in our own churches.

But that's what we need--more and more guns.

Can I get an "Amen!"?

The next line of thinking?

"That's why we need to make it okay to bring our guns to church ..."

"Thank you, Ms. Davis. Now, sit down and shut up."

Day of rest

Okay, it's the first Sunday of "the blog" and a couple things come to mind.

First, why don't people remember this part of the Bible:

Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

And if they did, why would they need so many bloody federal and state laws, declaring their need to pray in public? Some knucklehead here in Missouri just wasted the time of the legislators and so, the tax paying public, passing a law for just such nonsense.

Just wait, in a few years there will be Muslims and other religions, demanding the right to this prayer in public and people will be climbing off this little pedestal really quickly.

Then, two, this next one:

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

This one always makes me think the Catholics took this right out of their book. There's NO WAY this could be in their bible. Holy cow, week after week those people say the same things. They show up, do their sitting, kneeling and standing, say the same prayers and punch out. All that matters is that they show up and go through the motions. (I should know, I was raised in this group).

I've come to think that Catholics, of all the religions, did heaven, hell, fund-raising and church attendance best, from a business standpoint. It's perfect. If you have rules, threatening members of the church with hell, for pity's sake, if they don't attend--right there, you've got great attendance. Those people HAVE to show, every week. That, in turn, is good for the collection plate. It's church-sanctioned extortion, plain and simple. And it's blessed by what's supposed to be the most sacred institutions in the world: your very own religion and government.

I tell you, it's the perfect business. You almost have no product at all and you've got people giving you money. How else do you build a place as big and beautiful as the Vatican?

Want a good read on religion? Get Robert N. Minor, Ph.D.'s book: "When Religion is an Addiction". Search for it at Target's website. Amazon.com has it, too, of course.

On a last, more immediate, completely different topic: Note that today it was 88 degrees in San Antonio, Texas, ladies and gentlemen and they call for the same tomorrow. This on February 24. That is extremely early for this warm a temperature, I can tell you. And they've had very little rain for the last 5 months. Global warming or no, that's not a good harbinger for the coming Spring and Summer. Food for thought.

Let's have a good week, campers.