Episode 77: Apocalypse without Borders

3 comments on Episode 77: Apocalypse without Borders

  1. Daniel McLaughlin says:

    ???

    How could you?
    This show just isn’t the same without the Skeptic’s Creed…

    Nothing makes sense anymore without it!

  2. Mike.K. says:

    Ok, the Mormon thing has me rankled pretty bad, and I have to jettison some bilge here.

    The TLDR short version: The Mormons, though I genuinely respect their value on family and education, will have to do a lot of fucking groveling to amend for the damage they have done to the GLBT children of their own and their neighbors, and if they think for one fleeting moment of their steampunk-era-Scientology lives that this in any way makes up for the abuse in mandatory conversion therapy, up to and including chemical castration and the increased risk of cancer that carries, and the rash of teen suicides they were so Goddamn pissy with the press for covering that spiked during all the coverage of the anti-gay legislation pushed in 2004 to get the fundies to the polls (and which the LDS supported and funded), they are Sadly. Fucking. Mistaken.

    [Tom and Cecil, I must gush apologies most profusely for my coarse and boorish behavior, using such tawdry vulgarities as an unwashed churl in the eminence of such luminant minds. It’s so fucking shitty of me.]

    This article highlights an important difference in the progressive with the conservative Christians. (I’m including Mormons here.) Progressives believe in “righteous anger”, but they believe anger and hate are wrong. The purpose of righteous anger is to push you to fix a problem. It is a motivator. However, since anger and hate are wrong, that is not a place you are supposed to stay. Since anger and hate are wrong, righteous anger means you are supposed to fix something so you can move past it. It is neither a healthy nor Christian place to dwell. To a progressive Christian, “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” is bullshit, because a heart that clings to hate is not what a Christian should be.

    The conservatives, or “Leviticans”, luvs them some wrath of God. Rules are meant to be used as a cudgel against others. This is also the Christian pulpit from which was defended slavery, white man’s burden, racism, sexism, homophobia, and resentment of education, intellectuals, and literacy. So, to them, anger and hatred are part of Christianity. Anger is Godly, and hate makes you a good Christian. Because of that, righteous anger is a Christian state of mind. It’s a perfectly good place to stop and dwell, or even lay foundations or plant roots. This is also easy to manipulated by the church leaders. If you’re not very intelligent or educated, turning your fears and bigotry into “righteous anger” makes you feel like your religion is meaningful and even transformative in your life. (As the phrase goes, “Deep and passionate hatred gives meaning and purpose to an otherwise empty life.”) To a conservative Christian, “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” is just a way of saying, “People will be rude to me if I call you a f@g / Democrat / uppity woman / n*r lover / Zionist / innumerable slurs to your face, but I can still hate you because God is sending you to Hell anyway.”

    Mike.K.

  3. Having won a 150-mile ultramarathon before, I can assure you that the risk of Mexicans overrunning the homes of those on the border is greatly overrated.

    Unless, of course, you’ve been stockpiling Gatorade, ibuprofen and anti-chafe cream. In that case you’re screwed, and even your guns won’t stop them.

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