Inundated With Churches

Reading our local paper led me to the church directory or what I call it... the Simply Divine Page. Obviously not, for those who know me, but I try to add humor in every situation.

The directory, along with the twenty-five local company ads, listed a total of sixty-four different churches in the surrounding towns. Understandably, the town closest to us with the largest population also had the highest number of churches. With a bigger population, it is understandable there would be a larger diversity in the population and seeing how there are roughly three hundred ten+ different religions, we can expect that we would have a greater diversity in churches as well, but I still would never have expected thirty seven different churches in this still relatively small town. The population is only approximately sixteen thousand inhabitants. Thirty seven - Really? So for every four hundred thirty-two people, there's a church for you.

Churches will claim 44% of the population, on average, will attend church once or more times per week. That would mean the thirty seven churches would enjoy around one hundred ninety people attending each week. But in reality, only 17.7%  are checking their butts into the pews on a weekly basis. So what we are really looking at is these thirty seven churches, on average, will have about seventy-seven people attend their services on Sundays and that's really only the popular ones. The heads of those companies placing those ads are more than likely many of those attendees. They'll see the inside of the church more than the average guy would, right alongside those families needing to prove they're something in that town. But I digress, the shallowness of some people is another blog waiting to be written.

It hardly seems worth opening the doors for seventy-seven people. That was my first thought knowing church attendance has been declining and will continue to do so as our nation becomes more secular. Why would we have so many churches when less and less people are showing up? Maybe they should consolidate like schools. Saves costs, boosts numbers... why not? Seems practical enough to me.

The obvious reason they won't though is because each church is different. For each denomination or faction there is a different vibe about it or what is to be believed about their god is a titch different than the next church. The traditions or rituals in each church are different, too. Hmmmm... why would that be? Because the ONE TRUE WORD of god really isn't... obviously! I often ask myself why those selecting a religion don't ever think about just that one sticking point. One book is supposedly the only guide, but why then so many fucking editions AND interpretations?!? When will believers realize that humans wrote that book and humans are explaining that book? That alone should have sent them in the direction of understanding the history of the bible. And then maybe, hopefully, even more research as to the actual validity of that book.

I'm guessing most won't dare question what they have been brought up with. Especially those that have dug even deeper into their religion due to community pressures to assimilate; they will never venture out and do the research. I feel sad that they won't think for themselves and remain locked up in a system that will only do its best to retain rather than educate.

As long as questioning is deemed sinful behavior or problematic for the elders to deal with, this is the reason the doors will remain open. Even if they only have a handful of people showing up. When that handful can't support the salary of the clergy or make the rent, only then will those doors finally close.

It will be interesting to see how soon that will happen. All the indications look promising. The younger generation is leading the charge to change things up. And hopefully shut things down... like churches. We've simply got too many of them. Really...



 *For those who like facts and figures, click here for more great information. I'm an information whore so I spent a considerable amount of time there absorbing the numbers. Fascinating.

I Don't Understand... So God.

Can’t recall the exact wording, but the gist of a recent meme was that thinking was preferable to believing. Yeah, I’d whole-heartedly agree with that. Using your brain to understand seems like a much more viable option than just accepting a belief about something you don’t understand. Taking something on faith without further investigation seems lazy to me… and foolish.

https://www.facebook.com/Pass28thAmendment

Some would scream “But how can you not believe after the majesty you see before you?”  That is so easy to answer… I don’t get all ga-ga for bullshit. Fully researching and questioning, not just listening to your gut or your 'this feels good' moments, that is what I do before I can form an opinion. And believe what exactly? That just because there is a vast, incredible, still not fully understood universe unfolding with all its mysteries then it automatically translates into god being the only reason for it? Yeah… right… it could only be because of a god. There couldn’t possibly be any other explanation. *insert sarcasm here

It seems incredible to me that anyone would just automatically consider a god as an option when there isn’t any evidence for one. Yes, I know, they think that the existence of life, the consciousness we all experience and the shock and awesomeness of this universe defaults to a position that only a god could have summoned it into existence. But the Big Bang Theory is an impossibility when this god could be the explanation for doing the exact same thing. SMH

Either they don’t understand or can’t/don’t want to understand the more difficult concepts of our existence. Hell, even I don’t understand it all, but I don’t just put my hands up to the sky and say “Oh great one!” In the end, it only just means that I don’t understand everything, some other people know a little more and in reality, there’s still a shit ton more that we don’t or will ever know. And that’s OK.

What is fascinating to watch unfold before us is that the more we know, the more the whole concept of giving it all up to god makes even less sense. Bit by bit we answer life's mysteries and questions and god doesn't even remotely begin to figure into it. Believers don’t seem to grasp that fact, even as they watch their congregations thin out.

The idea of a god made sense in the beginning when there was little understanding of the natural world, but not anymore. Every little bit of information that leads us to more definite conclusions about things, takes god one step further away from being the answer to the original question(s). Why can they not grasp that?

Life is fascinating, amazing, wondrous and teaches us something every day…. Why fill it with something unbelievable and limiting?

Cruel Love? Guess Not

snagged from https://www.facebook.com/raisinggodlychildren

I guess Love Story really did get it right -

 "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

"Why Do You Hate God?"

I don't hate god. I deal in reality and if I don't think something exists, I can't obviously hate it. My up-bringing certainly wasn't filled with a deity at every turn, and there was no mandatory church attendance or meals prayed over every sit down. Actually, I didn't start out thinking there wasn't a god. I did acknowledge or look for a presence that was considered god during my formative years because it was kind of my mom's thing.

What took me off track and created doubt was internal questions that arose. They kept rising up when things didn't make sense. And it happened frequently. I think I stayed with the whole 'belief in god' thing for the length of time that I did because it was the thing I was initially taught. It was a viable option, friends around me believed and I hadn't gathered enough ammunition yet to destroy the foundation previously laid for me.

So no hate, but no love either for something that has no proof. Why would believers insist it would translate to hating their god just because I have determined for myself that there is no evidence for a god's existence? Well, naturally, if your 'agin him' whatever the reason, it must be hate. It couldn't possibly be something as rational as "Hmmm, it seems I must now disregard what I've previously believed because there is not enough evidence to uphold that previously held belief." Cut and dry, let it go... no emotion, just an understanding not previously held, but now clarified. It moves one to go in a different direction with their thought process, that's it.

Again rationally speaking, believers ask yourself this question - "Why do you hate unicorns?" Obviously, you don't because you have no proof that they exist! See where I'm coming from? But the other thing is I try not to hate anything to begin with. Should there be something worth hating, believe me they'll have earned that emotion from me because of some inappropriate or horrific intentional act against me or others. In other words, it will be because they are real and their actions are real.

It seems to me, if there is any hate then it comes from the person slinging the statement or asking the question. Are they just angry that you've let go of the great one and feel the need to publicly be that person who calls you out in show of support of their god? Or maybe they are just pissed at themselves that you've left the club and are just projecting? Could they subconsciously feel jealous that you took the first step and are open about it, whereas they can't and so, dig deeper? Who knows and really, who cares?

I've made so many adjustments in my life along the way of personal discoveries and education about life, religion, people, whatever... that I'm old enough now to say, really, who cares what you think about my decisions or thought process. Especially if what I think has no bearing on any individual's life but my own, my community or the world, for that matter. My life is pretty peaceful for the most part specifically because of the thought process I employ. Life gives me a few hiccups here and there, and what some people think or feel how I should live my life is unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Actually, I think I love your god. :P Tell them that the next time they ask, maybe it will shut them right down. At the very least it will give them a real confused look on their face. That would be fun.

For Those Moments We've All Felt This...

A somewhat crude rendition of the sentiment. I'm not a designer, can ya tell? :) The inspiration was from my friend Leanna. Thanks, dear!

I would encourage anyone who has a need to share a particular WTF moment - please do! I love to hear people's stories.

Dear Life, You Can Stop Sucking Now

How do you make the decisions necessary to keep moving forward after you've gotten to a precarious emotional state, a place of indifference or a feeling of nothing but contempt? That internal space where you could have never imagined yourself feeling like that ever, before? A completely shocking, incomprehensible event that sets you over the edge, yeah... that seems about right. It shakes you, makes you question reality, turns your world upside down. Trust is shattered, nerves are frayed, your insides feel like they are bleeding out and you're sure that everyone knows. But they don't, if you don't tell them. 

The negative feelings can be camouflaged, very easily. People can't see not caring anymore, they can't fathom the distance you've created or understand the hole of emptiness you are trying to rise above from. We can be adept at hiding for many reasons, PDE is just not appropriate or so we were taught. But people around us, many times even those closest, don't or can't tune into that frequency of despair. They're busy with their own lives, their own problems and sometimes, they just don't give a shit anyway.

Hiding is sometimes just what we need to do until we're ready to take the next step. It gives us time to think and time to grieve for what no longer exists. And an opportunity to gather strength when the decisions needing to be made meet the opportunity to put them in play. It's not indecision or hesitation, sometimes it's just that timing is crucial. Involving those closest to us can actually hinder what needs to happen next.

Being a public emotional mess is especially something you don't need in order to move forward. I've experienced it many times with past crises' where the friends really do no better than just keeping you stuck in the scenario that is creating the drama. Often times they don't even know how to just be there for you; they would rather play a prime role in the destruction continuing. No thanks, I'll do it my way.

Once decisions are made and realities refocus to a new stability, friends will feign astonishment at your lack of involving them. And probably act all butt-hurt, too. How dare you not include them in your misery! Sometimes, I vacillate between wishing I could share more than I do, but then I realize there really aren't all too many people I would let in on my innermost feelings. I don't trust a whole lot of people, for one, but dealing with gobs of drama is something I usually tend to shy away from to begin with.

Rationally, taking a step back, observing my fellow humans and just getting older has taught me so much. But even more valuable lessons were learned when I let the shit drag me down so emotionally that I think to myself "How will I ever get back up again?" Feeling it surround me as if the thick ooze of mess is my new home, letting me succumb so to speak. I'm not advocating that we always give in to our deep, dark  emotions. Depending on your stability, it can have disastrous outcomes. In my case, it was precisely because of those situations and mucking down, the decisions that came out of the process brought me into a much sweeter place.

I've come to appreciate my mind and my abilities in the realm of handling emotional situations. During the dark moments where it felt like emotions were all I had, my mind still wouldn't let me go to that place where you don't recover from. These situations forced me to face things that I might not have. Decisions came about because I had no other choice, but to make them. I find I have a much keener sense of how to deal with emotional situations because of those times. As they will continue to present themselves, the emotional dis-ease will still affect me, the agonies will still occur. Life/Nature will do it's best to contribute those potential situations of unexpected upheavals.

Feelings for which you have no control over can just wash over you unexpectedly, but at least I can say that my ability to look at those feelings rationally as well as the situation that created them, guides me into a much better place than say when I was in my early 20s. Yes, getting older helps, but you can't mature unless you go through some shit, right? But enough already, I'm good.

***The day after I published this piece, a FB friend had this on her page. Thanks Amy! Summed it up nicely... Enjoy!

Resurgence                                                                       

Never underestimate a woman who is suffering
who seems to be making risky choices.
She is deep in lesson.
She is visiting the underground,
she is making sense of life in some invisible way
the fragmentation in her life could be a precursor
to a new resurgence.
She could well stun you with some home truths.

~ Sukhvinder Sircar

photo artist unknown
found on tumblr HANDCRAFTEDINVIRGINIA

My Other Babies

Writing pieces for publication is like having children.

Each one I give birth to (write) will be nurtured (reviewed & edited) until it is grown-up (complete). Then I reluctantly let it go out into the world (publish it). My hope is that it is written well enough to have an impact on the world in a positive way.

My descendants (inspired audience) will continue the good that was started with just an idea or brief thought to hopefully make this world a better place. 

May my legacy (my other babies) be remembered well.

Life Is Hard

They say being a mother is the hardest job in the world. Being a mother I can attest that it is hard, but I would still disagree with the sentiment. Rather, it's just another layer of hard while you are just doing life.

Being a mother, father, friend, co-worker or whatever else you add to that life - they can make it easier at times or harder than it already is - it just depends. Life itself will smack you upside the head with so many different situations making IT, living through it and surviving it, the hardest thing to do. Add to that all the different things we contribute to it rather poorly making our predicaments even worse.

www.facebook.com/TheIDEAlistRevolution

Yeah... congratulations. You deserve that.

Satan REALLY Has A Hold On Me

Satan/Lucifer/Beelzebub/Anti-Christ... all monikers for the evil one. The one who opposes all that is good about God. The opposite of love, the opposite of kindness; always creating chaos and destruction in all that he touches or involves himself with. According to many who believe in Christ, Satan is the one who contributes to all what's wrong with this world. I'm going to assume that's why God never gets the credit when bad shit happens, not when a child is raped or when natural catastrophes leave people homeless or worse, dead. Satan did it, the innocents are only in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or who knows, maybe it was a lesson they had to learn and WERE in the right place at the right time; God's plan is mysterious, after all.

The big meanie is mentioned in Chronicles, 1 Timothy, Revelation, Zechariah, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, John, Mathew, Luke, Mark and mostly in Job. Guess that means he's real. Yeah, real like every thing in the bible claims to be. It's the word of God, so indisputably real. *Insert sarcasm here, just in case you didn't pick up what I was putting down.

I've never been personally told to my face that I must be Satan-like or a Satanic worshiper because I do not believe in God, but I've had many friends who have shared experiences with me where people (you know, the good Christians) have taunted them with slurs like that. It always amazes me that it would occur because if you think about it (and I know they have a hard time with that), if one doesn't believe in a god, why would that same someone believe or worship another imaginary entity, one just as incredulous as the first one they rebuke for lack of evidence? Do facts about Satan's existence exist where none for God do? Silly Christian, get your thinking cap on and make that light bulb go off... PLEASE!

A friend of mine who is teetering on the fence of what he believes was in shock when he found out that I identified as an Atheist. His exact words were "But you are so nice!" Well, of course I'm nice. Just because I don't believe in a god for whom there is no evidence doesn't automatically make me evil! But because I don't...

• Take Jesus to be my Lord and Savior (because I don't think he's real)
• Adhere to all of the Ten Commandments (some are just silly)

and because I do...

• Speak out against the irrational, the illogical, and some downright non-sensical things

... I'm considered not only wrong in my thinking, but yes, also an evil person by some. Oh, I hate when that happens! Not really. Actually, I find it comical. When I think of evil, I think of someone who has no conscience, driven only by a desire to fulfill any and every hateful desire. That person only wanting an outcome that produces a detrimental effect for someone else. There is no contemplation of right or wrong, only an internal need that wants acting on and a total and utter lack of empathy for the outcome; however disastrous it is for the person it is being inflicted upon. THAT is not me! Don't get me wrong, I've had hateful desires and have wished some very unsavory things would happen to some people, but I have never acted on them. This means I'm human, but a thoughtful one and certainly not evil.

Let's look at the guidelines that good people follow. We'll see how I rate.

 The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 NKJV)

1.  "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me."

I don't... before or after. Good there, so far.

2.  "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments."

One commandment, so many directives! Okay, haven't made a carved image or likeness... cause I'm just not that artistic. I don't bow down or worship anything or anyone. If I don't have any proof for existence, how can I love it? Damn, one for two.

3. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."

Oh, I'm obviously fucked here.

4.  "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

Whew! Safe there... I always make sure to have at least one day of downtime. 

(This is really a fucking commandment?)

5.   "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you."

I think he should have made sure that he gave me parents worth

 honoring. This one is not my fault.

6.   “You shall not murder."

I'm cool there.

7.  "You shall not commit adultery."

Guilty.

8.  "You shall not steal."

Guilty here, too. However, in my defense, had I not stolen as a child and then been disciplined in a very unique way, I would never have learned my lesson never to do it again. The commandment didn't stop me, my own actions did.

9.  "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

I've lied, but I've really made it my goal in my life to be direct and honest at all times. I find that I'm more honest than most people, especially those who are supposedly cut of better cloth than me.

10.  "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

Good, I don't covet!!

Well, that's only four out of ten commandments that I can say I'm down with, but since I also dis the Jesus fella by not accepting him as my Lord and Savior... yep, still evil in some people's eyes.

So, if I'm only evil because I'm admitting to the world that I don't follow your guidelines tooth and nail or worship your god because I don't have enough evidence to accept there really is a god, then I'm to believe that all those who DO give it up to the god, supposedly following in the steps of their lord by being good... those are the ones who aren't evil? Really? Then please explain what I found here. Seems to me there are some pretty evil people claiming to be good or in other words, good people being evil and doing evil things. In my defense, seems I'm being judged for the wrong reasons.

Frankly, in my opinion, I shouldn't be judged at all. It's nobody's business how I choose to live, but specifically because I'm not causing detriment to anyone by how I choose to live my life. Just because someone is peeved that I have the audacity to function in my life differently than the way they live theirs... just fuck you and fuck off. Go do something productive. Harassing me, judging me, not accepting me for who I am will...

     a) not make me change my mind nor

     b) will I even remotely begin to consider that your way of life adds any value to mine.

Satan is obviously strong with this one. So defiant. he he

civ·i·lized... Living It

I've understood it to mean people are polite, well-bred, refined or that we are striving to have an advanced or humane culture or society. Being civilized is a great concept. There are some that I'd assign that label, but then I'd have to look around our world and see we are far from it... really.

 

Every day there are indecent and inhumane acts perpetrated on fellow human beings and the most heinous are those against our innocent ones. Daily I'm reminded how cruel some in our societies can be towards others; the victims though strong, they are defeated and the weak who can't fight back, they easily succumb. You've seen the unspeakable on Facebook, on the news or through a retelling of a story by a friend. It's all horrendous and it's not civilized.

When the news feed is especially full and laden with these horror stories I easily become depressed and feel heaviness in my physical state. To be empathetic is to risk having these emotions and feelings, and it literally hurts when these awful situations present themselves. You wish you had the power to change the bad outcomes for all those stories that you come in contact with, but you know you can't. That only makes it hurt worse some times. But what can you do? Sometimes nothing. Other times you can make a donation, send supplies, offer calming words and a shoulder or a bear hug to wipe away the sorrow. Being helpful when you are empathetic goes a long way to healing your heart-felt emotions that flood up your being and it benefits someone else to help lift them out of their misery. But sometimes I don't feel like I ever do near enough because the bad just keeps coming.

How civilized can we really be when it just doesn't ever seem to end? I don't think we are really completely civilized if we look at the big picture of humanity on this planet. We seem to be getting a step or two above being the totally barbaric humans we were thousands of years ago when intelligence seemed to be lacking, but we still have some segments of the population who missed the lessons of the enlightenment period.

 

I've witnessed some individual people who are civilized, at least they appear to be. But maybe they are just like me. I used to think I was until I truly contemplated what being civilized meant to me. Remembering instances when I didn't lift a finger, for whatever the reason, challenged that thought. Watching ex-friends implode from sidelines, just shaking my head saying they deserved it. Karma bitch... you're getting what you had coming to you. I didn't feel any hesitation in not doing anything, nor a pang of guilt. My empathy chip is on low or does it really mean I'm full of shit when I say I'm civilized?

There are many people who have wronged me that I've put on my list that I won't or don't lift a finger for. This honest admission causes me to think that I might be less civilized than I thought I was. My inaction or my less than helpful mood shows me to be vengeful. Although I know that if those people on my list were bleeding in front of me I couldn't look away. Much less do nothing to end their sorrow, pain or predicament. My good nature would surface once again; being proactively humane would suggest that I am indeed civilized. It's just that I don't have as much empathy for their plight at the time they hurt me; being human means I'll be human when the time comes.

Writing gets me thinking and thereby doing or at the very least, trying to do the right thing. It has made me more civilized, I think. I know that it is impossible for me to stop every bad thing that happens in the world, but just being a live human being means I have to make a commitment to myself to strive to be better and do better everyday. That is what makes me civilized! I defiantly impact my world in a positive fashion, my actions reflect my humanity showing that I've thoughtfully chosen to teach my family and community what it means to live civilized among them. How my world around me is starts with me from the time I wake up and doesn't end until I go to bed after giving my day everything that I can. If I can't bring something positive to it then I'm adding nothing of value to it and being a part of a civilization is a lie. I don't want to be UN-civilized. 

I need to be sure that my daily efforts are guided by that thought and my input reflects it.