“Indeed, studying the nature of the soul is the heart of
philosophy.” Hypatia smiled, her gaze turned inward. “But, to know God you must
know yourself and the world around you. Where do we fit in the grand scheme?
Philosophy is a rigorous study and a way of life that only a few can master.
Men of talent used to strive for that perfection, living a life of observation
and rational thought. The Christian Church offers an easy way for many to
succeed. ‘Have faith! Obey!’ It requires no thought, only belief so everyone
may partake. Where the masses go, power follows. Where there is power there is
influence.”
Hypatia in the novel Selene of Alexandria by Faith L
Justice.
OK, it’s a work of fiction and the writer has tried to hit a
middle road in portraying her characters. But, this paragraph perfectly
describes where I’ve found myself for, well, most of my life. Who am I? Where
do I fit in the rest of Creation? What do I have to do to feel like I fit in my
own skin? And I’ve never been able to follow the “just believe and it’ll all
work out.”
Ironically, this is playing out in the media this week. And the blog author is not shy about expressing his opinion. I think mad enough to spit battery acid was mentioned. Dan
Haseltine, member of the group Jars of Clay, admitted publicly that he wasn’t
all that sure about civil same sex marriage and was finding that he had
questions about it. Note he didn’t say he supported gay rights or same sex
marriage. Just admitted he had questions. The right wing fundies have come down
on him like a ton of bricks. Some commenters have supported his right to ask
questions but basically said “he shouldn’t have been so public about it.”
Earth to twits. That’s exactly what the haters want. They
want us silent. Toe the line. Get with the program or we will “virtually”
crucify you. Perhaps that’s why they’ve been able to get away with it for so
long. If they were in the streets with torches and pitchforks we’d know a mob
when we saw it. But, they work in the shadows with keystrokes and Twitter
accounts. It’s still a mob folks. It’s still a mob.
Sarah Palin gets up in front of an NRA gathering and basically
“bragged that if she were in
political power, she would happily waterboard (torture) the state’s enemy
prisoners as a way to ‘baptize them’… “ and the internet has been
singularly silent. This half term governor gets up and public and not only
admits she’d ignore the fourth and fifth amendments to the constitution but
perverts an action that is recognized throughout Christendom as a sacrament.
And the supposed supporters of the constitution and self described Christians
are…silent. Ominously, pathetically silent.
Does she really believe this? That this is right? Or is it a
power play, pure and simple. Either way it’s scary and she’s not alone.
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