[[ 78 ]] ...Please Be Patient With Me (Giving up on God)

You know what religious song I've always liked?   

That song… Please Be Patient With Me (God is not through we me yet). 

It’s a great song. I used to sing it in choir when my dad took my brother and I to church as kids. These days, my dad is a Deist and my own perspectives on religion are reason-based. My current position is that of an Atheist. Even so, I can still appreciate the beauty (and groove!) of a good hymn. And I still remember how that song made me feel.

It’s a shame that this type of appreciation does nothing to redeem me in the eyes of some Christians. Because I disagree with them regarding a subject which is elusive and complicated at best, they prefer to resort to any number of unpleasant assumptions about my entire person. What I’d wanted: reasonable discourse, good humor and conversation over a meal. That's not threatening, nor an invitation to a ‘Den of Iniquity’. In fact, it's not much of a request at all. If a person is willing to hear your viewpoints and even be ministered to, how's that something to avoid?  

As long as they showed me the same regard, that would have been fine.  

But that’s not what I’ve experienced… and it leaves me a little hurt and perplexed.  

Why wouldn’t any Believer default to the idea that God is simply ‘not through with me yet’?

Please Be Patient with me is a relevant term. It very clearly indicates a disposition that all Christians are to champion – patience and tolerance - as espoused in the New Testament.

Patience is neither the condonement of a conduct, nor the willingness to turn a blind eye to that which is wrong.  Instead, it demonstrates an understanding of Faith, as expressed through Time and Consequence. Much like soft and cool waters can erode even the hardest stone over years of contact, a patient and direct approach can change people’s minds, their behavior and inevitably - - their lives.

I was ready to listen.

Yet time and time again, my adventures as a responsible, sentient being bring me into contact with others who are quick to jump to derision and conflict, when understanding and calmness would have not only been the better path – but would have provided a forum by which they might have actually affected the changes they desire.

Or ….maybe not?   

Granted, fair play is in effect: maybe if they saw how I live my life and how there is balance and love in the way I conduct myself, perhaps it is they who would have been changed? Maybe.

Maybe that’s what compels such a vehement and unloving rigidity from a Believer. 
Fear of Change. Fear of Irrelevance. Fear of Being Proven Wrong.

Whatever it is… it isn’t patience. It isn’t any kind of love that an intact adult would want. And the trail of sorrow and lost opportunity left in its wake speaks volumes about what a person *actually* contributes vs. the dogma they talk and talk and talk about.

Maybe God is not through with me, but….. after all this, I think I’m through with him.    

Meanwhile -

… I wonder how much patience he will show for those who interpret his patience and immeasurable love through acts of rejection, anger and immediate separation?

Suffer the little children.

-C.D.

Rika has written an AMAZING and FIERCE article about the parental behavior demonstrated by these Christians. She saw the video above and was furious about it! Rightly so.

Please read her article, which is far superior to my childish, impetuous mewling! 
You can find her article here.

[[ 77 ]] Summer Livin'

Summer Livin'.

Haven't posted lately, or even been online much for that matter --- it's Summer.
This year's season has been mild, with plenty of rain and cool breezes... which suits me just fine!

Granted, life isn't perfect; there will always be outsiders who can't accept your happiness or find tolerance with your choices in life. But those personalities only minimize themselves further when the people you live with are solid, loving, attuned and happy, right?
I am fortunate to have such an arrangement. I hope you do too - and if you do, soldier on.
All living things deserve to experience joy ~~~* 

As for me, I'll get back to all the politics and life lesson stuff in a little bit, but really... I think we all hear enough of that on the daily news? There is certainly a time to speak out and stand up, but not all of life is meant to be some sort of battlefield. Nah... return to that frustration when it's due, sure... but when the sun is bright and the breeze is calling your name - GO!   Embrace Being, people!
Go get some of that joie de vivre!!   

That's where I'm at. That's what I'm doing.
Being nice to everyone I can, and appreciating the gift of Now.
So if the sign on the door says Gone Fishin' or Gone Dancin' - well, the end result is the same: I'm out having fun!  See you out there!

- C.D.

Alright DJ -- - queue the music!    

 

[[ 76 ]] The Proud Whopper

 http://www.bk.com/

Social oppression creates financial opportunity. Any historically oppressed group you might think of - women, immigrants, Africans, the poor - is accompanied by crafty profiteers who benefit from the situation. While these opportunities are generally expressed in negative ways, some examples can be positive, depending upon your stance.

Even so... it still smacks of opportunism. 
Should we be surprised then when modern day corporations stick their hand in the till? Probably not. 

But I can't blame them; commercials reflect what the general population wants to consume. These corporations have sensed the change in the social climate and are responding. That's good business.  
Of course, not everyone will agree. As with the interracial Cheerios commercial from a year ago, this new Burger King ad has raised some controversy. 

Which was the point. 
( *Well, at least - one of the points$$$.)  

The rest of this article is for those who get upset by things like this. 

Hey ... listen  - - 

Don't like the 'Pride Whopper'?  Want to stop marketing campaigns like this?  
It's easy to do!

Stop trying to devalue the choices of people who don't share your same preferences. 

Remember, Burger King just created a burger - but it's you who created the market for it. 

Of course, you could stomp your foot and tell everyone that the traditional hamburger is the only acceptable one - and by eating any other variation, they're asking for food poisoning. You could claim that this great country was created on the notion of one patty, one piece of cheese - and that all other combinations are abominations.

You could lobby your local representatives to see to it that double cheeseburgers and veggie burgers are eliminated from the menu altogether, as they just 'ain't right'.  
Make the Big Mac and the Whopper illegal. 

Why not? 

But ....would you really be changing people's tastes? Would it truly make anyone healthier, or save America? Probably not. 

Choosing what we eat is no different than what we say, how we live or who and what we love. Whether you eat a cheeseburger every day, or have decided to become a Vegan - you made that decision. You chose to Have It Your Way. 

Allowing someone else to do the same isn't a 'special right' - just an equal one. As long as you resist others having access to the same things you enjoy, expect to see marketing which makes your stomach hurt.

- C.D. 

MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 

Is this shirt offensive? 

....what about these hats?

.... then how about this shirt? 

  

*Yes.... it's real.  Purchase it here: http://www.shelflifeclothing.com/shirtpages/caucasians.html

What's the big deal?  

What's the worst that could happen when you devalue whole groups of other humans?

Well...

  
  

  

If you're not an opportunist who advocates the benefits of oppression,

....then STOP CASUALLY SUPPORTING SHIT THAT INEVITABLY  ENDS LIKE THIS.