Touring the Valley

Choosing My Religion

I often see people who accuse others of being “fake Christians,” typically because the accused person appears to behave in a way inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus. My understanding is that the only requirement to be a “real” Christian is to believe in the divinity of Jesus. It is certainly possible that many of the people accused of being “fake” actually do believe that, even if they don’t believe they have to do anything about it.

In reality, there are very few people whose daily behavior is 100% compliant with the rules and recommendations of their chosen religion, and this applies to all religions, not just Christianity. If everyone who does not comply with all the tenets if their faith is “fake,” we have a world full of fakes.

Further, it can be very difficult to determine which specific faith someone follows, considering the hundreds or thousands of variations that are connected to every major religion.

Research suggests there are at least 46 prominent Christian denominations, with many more branches, sects, breakaway groups, independent churches, etc., adding up to an estimated 50,000 different flavors of Christian.

Although there are three major branches of Islam, there are many sects, groups, and movements. Some sources indicate that there are at least 73 distinct Islamic followings and traditions.

There are at least three widely recognized branches of Judaism, along with a broader array of different movements, sects, and affiliations. Research does not yield a specific number.

There seem to be three major divisions of Buddhism, along with many sects, sub-sects, communities, and traditions. Some sources indicate at least 1,000 different forms of Buddhism.

Hinduism is commonly understood to have four major denominations, with many different branches, practices, and traditions, often overlapping or including each other.

Those are the five largest religions worldwide, but there are many others. Estimates indicate between 4,000 and 10,000 distinctly identifiable religions worldwide. Most of these are relatively small, regional traditions.

There is a general trend for people to disconnect from religion altogether. No need to fake anything then.

This is how they do it

Photo by Michael Hamments on Unsplash

If you want to think about how "flooding the zone" works, imagine this scenario. Over breakfast, I tell my husband, "This week I'm going to have lunch in Budapest, slap your mother, eat all the donuts I want, slash the tires on your car, fix the leaky toilet, make the neighbor stop stealing our mail, and replace all the doorknobs. By the way, did you know that our roof is too slippery for Santa Claus? It's really dangerous to have a roof like that, and flat roofs are much better. Anyway, there's more coffee if you want it and I'm a lot prettier than your sister."

Hubby isn't sure how to respond, but he knows that lunch in Budapest is unrealistic and our mail hasn't been stolen. The comments about the roof sound crazy, but in the meantime, hearing that I might fix the leak makes him feel hopeful. "Don't you dare slap my mother," he says. I just laugh and tell him that's not what I meant, I'm just going to tell her to stop giving our kids so many cookies and I might have to yell a little. By now, he can barely remember anything I said, except that I mentioned his sister. "What's my sister got to do with it?" he asks. "She bakes the cookies," I explain.

At this point, he's thoroughly confused and doesn't even remember to get a second cup of coffee. Later in the week, when he finds all his tires slashed, he storms into the house, only to find that I've removed all the doorknobs. It turns out that I sold them for scrap metal, and Hubby eventually has to hire a guy to replace them (with plastic ones so I won't take them again). He doesn't even ask me about the tires, which get replaced by insurance. The toilet is still leaking.

More Random Thoughts

Photo by Prchi Palwe on Unsplash

I understand pumpkin spice cookies, candy, drinks, even candles. But dish soap?

When I got my first job, it was my understanding that my employer had control over what I did at work. They could implement a dress code, require employees to speak courteously to each other and customers, insist that we be on time, etc. As soon as I left work at the end of the day, my life was my own. I could go where I chose, say whatever I wanted, dress as I liked, etc. When did that change? When did we, as a society, decide that an employer owns a worker's entire life?

I'm old enough to remember when Republicans said that communists were horrible because they controlled what people could say, and encouraged citizens to snitch on their friends and neighbors, and expelled people from their jobs if they expressed even mild disagreement with the regime.

I must be really old, because I can remember when presidents, vice-presidents, and members of congress tried to behave and speak with dignity.

For decades, we've been told, "There are two sides to every story," with the implication that both versions are equally valid (often with comparisons to two side of the same coin). This is utter nonsense. Sometimes there are three, four, or ten sides. Sometimes, there are no sides, just a big blob. Often one of the "sides" is the truth and the others are something else. If you're indoors and a person tells you it's raining outside, while another says it's dry and sunny, you don't think these are two sides of equal validity. You stick your head out to see for yourself.

Lies, Stupid Lies

I love these weasely experts who ponder the scribble and say, "We can't be absolutely sure that's actually donald's signature." Apply a little logic, people. In 2003, donald was still a Democrat. He wasn't in politics. No one expected him to end up in the White House. No one knew there would be a big Epstein scandal. Are we really supposed to believe that some psychic forger saw the future and sneakily slipped a page into a bound book, knowing it would be revealed 22 years later? Come on.

There are actually better defenses for this, ones that don't require completely letting go of reality. If nothing else, he could use some variation of the "locker room talk" excuse. It wouldn't be hard to say, "This was over 20 years ago, in a different context, and we were all just joking around, and yes, some people probably got carried away and wrote things in poor taste, but it seemed funny at the time." That, at least, could be seen as plausible.

"Privatize It"

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The purpose of a government agency is to provide a service. The purpose of a business is to make a profit. When public services are privatized, the quantity and quality of the service is reduced in order to maximize profit.

In a free market, you can leave a business that provides bad products and services. When a business has a government contract, you don't have that choice, and you are paying (through taxes) for that bad service.