But that's not truly what this post is about: It's about the fact that when I received this week's issue of Time, the "Inbox," or the "letters to the editor" section, it stated that 13 percent of the mail Time received in response to this article went along these lines:
That's right--a staggering 13 percent of Time letters to the editor about the obesity article blamed not having "Jesus" as the reason for the growing obesity in America...
"If the emptiness of the heart is not filled with the right substance, it will fixate on poorer substitutes. When God is missing, our appetites can be infinite and create troubled relationships with substances meant to fulfill biological, not spiritual, needs. In other words, we will all have addictions.
--Otilia E. Husu, Peoria, Arizona
And, you rightfully ask, this correlates how?
How indeed: it seems that some people are under the delusion that everyone is searching for a "meaning" in life, a reason for existing, a purpose for getting up in the morning, and, further, that Americans are looking to cheeseburgers and french fries as a substitute for god... (as if the casseroles in the fellowship hall have nothing to do with it; God removes the fat from food in church, after all...). In fact, many a religious person will "appeal" and "implore" to that supposed void as a proof of the need for sky god and company. Not only will a simple Internet search for "meaning in life" produce an obnoxious amount of "Jesus loves" sights in an attempt to "win your soul," all of them repeat the mistake of assuming that, just because they've filled whatever perceived "void" they thought they had, this same snake oil will work for you as well! (Of course, this is very counter-intuitive to the fact that America is becoming increasingly secular--proof that religion doesn't provide all the answers, or no one would ever leave...)
Maybe it's just me. Although I love to read and increase my knowledge of the world around me, I don't have a "hole" I feel that is unfilled, or even the need to search for an overarching "purpose" or "meaning" to the fact that I exist; I simply happy to be alive! This could mean one of two things. Either:
- I've reached the peak of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, or
- one doesn't need a deity to be content with the life one has.
Recently, someone named "billy" left a link to take part in a quiz, the "good person test," in which the test tells you how rotten you are, what a failure you are as a human being according to the 2000+ year old Hebrew text called the "bible," and ultimately leaves you no choice but to click on a link that says, "You're right, I guess I would deserve hell." (Of course, the other option is just to stop taking the silly quiz, which I opted for; of course, this falls under the fundie category of "you can't handle the truth," I'm sure...) All of this to say at the end, you need Jesus...
Because, according to billy, I assume, you can't be a good person without him... Of course, we then have to ask, what makes a good person? If you subscribe to the conventional wisdom of the Christian ideology, your ultimate purpose and meaning of life, and a way to become a "good person," is to worship sky god.
Let that sink in: your sole purpose and apparently the entire reason we've been "created" is to praise and satisfy the ego of the supposedly great being that couldn't even keep a snake (a walking, talking snake) from ruining the veritable "paradise" the garden of Eden was supposed to be...
I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little non-plussed.
And even better, this perfect little get-away-from-hell vacation package lasts...
Guess...
Yep, forever. An eternity of saying "I love you" and "thanks for making me" to a supposedly all-powerful being...
Think that's a let-down? Wait, there's more!
If you decide to not take the "Ultimate Meaning of Life" package, supposedly your only other option is a permanent tan... in a "hell" that this "supreme being" created... to punish you for not liking your purportedly "god-given" purpose in life... that isn't meant for you as long as you acknowledge the supreme beings "I'm better than you and you need to admit it" mentality...
Which leaves us where? Oh, yes, the meaning of life according to the gospel of fundie Christians...
Forgive me for not leaping for joy. Bad knees, you know.THE MEANING OF LIFE...
(for those who need one...)
ACCORDING TO SKY GOD AND HIS FOLLOWERS...
(appropriately called "sheep"...)
...is to love this blood-thirsty god, recognize that he murdered his own son in order to save us from a hell he created, and, as a reward for this sacrifice, enjoy his vengeful company for all of eternity.
This is supposed to be the meaning of life? The purpose that will somehow keep us from overeating? Something tells me the southern Baptists didn't get that memo either...
Of course, being saved from hell is really just a side-benefit, so they say. The false option of "one or the other" is more false logic than actual choice, leaving one to wonder if this really is the great meaning, the wondrous purpose, the end-all be-all of our existence... Why the need to threaten with hell? Wouldn't it be so frickin' fantastic there would be no need for eternally punishing those that find rewards outside of the binary world sky god's followers say we all reside in?
Of course, with a sky god like that, why bother with a Satan figure at all? Of course, we'd have to ask them, the creators of this alternate reality of the insane... He's just a nice plot twist to make the whole "meaning" seem more sincere, I suppose...
Regardless, praying to Jesus isn't going to cure your coronary heart disease, your high cholesterol, or your size 48 and growing waistline... Only you can do that. But if it takes a little extra-special fanciful story to give you a reason to lose that extra poundage, then I say have at it: It only prolongs the amount of time between you and eternal ego-stroking...
Which, ultimately, seems more counter-intuitive than the original premise itself...
I would say "How do you like them apples," but then I'd be accused of tempting you with the forbidden fruit...
Hey, maybe god does want you to be fat! Hmm....
No comments:
Post a Comment