The Day After...a thoughtful look...

Well, we all survived... shocking I know. Either someone had too much special punch or we were all really, really bad. I know which side of the line I fall on and I'm fine with that thank you very much.

It's not that I'm anti-religion or an atheist. Far from it, but the fact is religion doesn't stand for all the things it used to anymore. Now religion is a banner for its own agendas and that sickens me. Personally, I'll stick to carrying my own beliefs close to my heart and the feeling that gives me, rather than listen to someone tell me what I should do or should believe or should vote or should... you get the idea.

All the outcry yesterday, leaning more towards the "OMG this is too funny" side pointed out a critical error in people's thinking and I'd like to correct that. Or try to. I don't blame you if you stop reading right there because I'm about to prove how insightful I can be. This isn't one of my joking around posts. This is serious, with maybe a little comic humor weaved through it. That's just how I roll.

Ready...

Here's the deal, people were making fun of the so called rapture prophecy yesterday - A LOT of people were. I mean, come on, if you stand aside from whatever you may stand for and look at it with a critical eye it was downright hysterical in the extreme sense of the word... more on that later. But, here's the rub. Just because people laughed at it does not mean that all those people are anti-God, anti-Religion, satanic worshipers bound for hell on the fastest train you got...

Far from it. A lot of the people I bumped into on line were very religious, but because they knew and understood their own beliefs they saw it for what it was. If you're going to support something or stand by it, please know what the hell you're talking about. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Maybe it's because I took three courses in philosophy dealing with debate, ethics, etc, maybe the world religion courses, or maybe it's because I'm an egghead who likes research. BTW, I took all those courses as electives, yes I'm a nerd. Either way, do NOT spout off to me without having some ammo in your tank. You might be surprised by the things I know. Sometimes I surprise myself. (you should see me play trivial pursuit, I am a tank of worthless info)

Need an example. Fine. People saying that we were going to hell for joking about the rapture, yet they don't know what it actually is. OH, strike one... Seriously. If you can't even define a thing, how are you going to support it? Think for yourselves people. Research, ask, learn... it's the most fun you'll have in life. It keeps your brain young, keeps you thinking and guessing. I've often stood back, scratching my chin, and surprised myself at the connections my brain can make when I get out of my own damn way.

A few fun facts for you... in general terms...
The rapture was not about the DESTRUCTION of the world. The rapture is the time when God will call home all those worthy to save them from the FUTURE destruction of the world. After all, if you're a good person why suffer that right?

Connection one, if God is willing to pull people away before the suffering starts I can infer that God (or whatever power that runs the place, I'm not biased) is nice. Say what you want or define it how you want... that's your freedom... brain rolling yet?

Now, the rapture would be followed by a downward spiral of death and destruction but you're not screwed yet. Supposedly you'll get one last shot at redemption... Again, not a bad guy (entity)... The chaos would be dished out by the four horsemen of the apocalypse. And when you claim to be super religious, believing in all the apocalypse stories but you don't know who the four horsemen are.. I'm going to spit on you... period. The four horsemen rock in storytelling terms. And oddly enough they appear in a lot of DIFFERENT religions...

Okay, now for a real mind blower... I was on the joking bandwagon. Hell, I probably could have steered it. Why because the kicker is that all the stuff about this rapture states that no one will know when it's coming except God. Hell, he didn't even tell his son Jesus... but some retired guy in California knows??? Do you see the ludicrous yet?

Now as for all the end of the world stuff, yes I believe it will eventually happen. I don't claim to be psychic or anything like that. Everything with a beginning has an end. Every religion out there has a creation story and a destruction prophecy. And, when you strip them down to bare bones, they're all pretty similar. Get where I'm going with this...   Stop dividing yourselves out there. Learn from one another...

I think that's enough of a soap box rant today. I'm still here, you're still here, and so is the guy down the street.... Tell ya something. Today, folks, we're all the same. If nothing else, maybe this false rapture will bring about a change in the way people think about what they choose to follow or believe. That's right, you CHOOSE it.

I choose what I believe and I can tell you who, what, where, how, when, and why about it. Independent thinking brought about the renaissance, science, medicine, and even religion (before it was turned into a mind control agent of those in power). Start using your brain, folks... maybe then we can prolong our lives and live better. And love each other for the differences, we learn from them.

I challenge you with this today, the day we're all still here...

If everyone around you was still crawling, would you still try to rise up and walk??

I hope your answer is yes.

Thoughtfully and burning the soap box now,
Jennifer