Friday, February 1, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Like Jesus Would Ever Own A Gun Or Vote Republican
I got this saying from a magnet that we have on our fridge.
This brings up a topic that has always bothered me.
Why do members of the LDS church vote republican?
Mormon's like to talk about how in the pre-existence Satan and Jesus argued over how we would all return to God. Satan wanted to make it so that everyone would have to do the right thing and therefore "everyone" would return to God. While Jesus wanted to make is so that everyone would have the choice to exercise faith?
This is where the dilemma comes in for me because republicans would like to make everything that is sinful illegal. This list includes gay rights, abortions, illegal drugs, etc.
If republicans want to take away peoples ability to make choices for themselves and so did Satan, then wouldn't republicanism be the idealism of Satan. I thought we were all supposed to have free agency. How are we supposed to exercise that free agency if we are not allowed to make decisions for ourselves.
This to me is why the ideals of republicanism and Mormonism are like oil and water but somehow church members have found a way to make them mix
This brings up a topic that has always bothered me.
Why do members of the LDS church vote republican?
Mormon's like to talk about how in the pre-existence Satan and Jesus argued over how we would all return to God. Satan wanted to make it so that everyone would have to do the right thing and therefore "everyone" would return to God. While Jesus wanted to make is so that everyone would have the choice to exercise faith?
This is where the dilemma comes in for me because republicans would like to make everything that is sinful illegal. This list includes gay rights, abortions, illegal drugs, etc.
If republicans want to take away peoples ability to make choices for themselves and so did Satan, then wouldn't republicanism be the idealism of Satan. I thought we were all supposed to have free agency. How are we supposed to exercise that free agency if we are not allowed to make decisions for ourselves.
This to me is why the ideals of republicanism and Mormonism are like oil and water but somehow church members have found a way to make them mix
Monday, January 14, 2008
Why I Think There Is A Creator Out There
I have always tried to use science to justify my religious beliefs. And the biggest of those questions being, "Is there a God?" I believe so. I am not sure what role he/she/it plays in our lives, and here is why I believe.
Imagine all of the matter in the universe (pre-big-bang) sitting in a giant cloud. Matter of all forms wants to sit in a state of equilibrium. If this is the case with that giant cloud of matter, then it would just sit there for all of eternity. There has to be some outside force that gave the "matter cloud" a push so that it a chain reaction occurs.
There had to be some external energy applied to the system in order for it to leave a state of equilibrium.
This is the reason that I believe that something out there helped to create our universe.
Here is something boggling. My brain goes into shock just trying to wrap my brain around it. "If our universe is expanding into space-time then what does space-time expand into?" What is beyond the farthest reaches of our universe.
I wonder if we will ever know.
Imagine all of the matter in the universe (pre-big-bang) sitting in a giant cloud. Matter of all forms wants to sit in a state of equilibrium. If this is the case with that giant cloud of matter, then it would just sit there for all of eternity. There has to be some outside force that gave the "matter cloud" a push so that it a chain reaction occurs.
There had to be some external energy applied to the system in order for it to leave a state of equilibrium.
This is the reason that I believe that something out there helped to create our universe.
Here is something boggling. My brain goes into shock just trying to wrap my brain around it. "If our universe is expanding into space-time then what does space-time expand into?" What is beyond the farthest reaches of our universe.
I wonder if we will ever know.
Non-Religous Upbringing
I grew up all over the place in the western United States and my parents never instilled any sort of religious bearing in me. The only reason I even considered myself a Christian was thanks to my grandmother, who at an early age taught me how to pray.
I always viewed organized religion as evil and corrupt and something that I really wanted no part of. I always found it disturbing that those who claimed to be doing God's work were being paid to do it. I believe that a church should not be involved in matters of money except for those things they strictly need, buildings, books, etc. Imagine how pissed off I was when I found out about the multi-billion dollar church owned shopping mall.
So when I was in college I met my wife and she eventually worked up the courage on her part to introduce me to the church. I wasn't too interested at first but everybody was so nice and it all made perfect sense to me at the time. And to seal the deal they told me that church leaders are not paid to run the church. So after taking the discussions and reading the Book of Mormon in less than a month I decided to hop on board.
Nothing really changed after that. I had always been "good" before that. I didn't drink, smoke, or any of those "sinful" actions. The powers from above had also seen it necessary to start grooming me for the big time. I was in the bishopric in less than 5 years. Then I let my guard down and let "Satan" in my heart (rolling my eyes).
Needless to say after leaving the church I feel so much better. I feel closer to my wife, I don't feel the constant guilt of having to do everything "by the Book", and I don't have to send my tithing money to a church corporation who wants to do their part to oil the capitalist machine.
I've never felt better!
I always viewed organized religion as evil and corrupt and something that I really wanted no part of. I always found it disturbing that those who claimed to be doing God's work were being paid to do it. I believe that a church should not be involved in matters of money except for those things they strictly need, buildings, books, etc. Imagine how pissed off I was when I found out about the multi-billion dollar church owned shopping mall.
So when I was in college I met my wife and she eventually worked up the courage on her part to introduce me to the church. I wasn't too interested at first but everybody was so nice and it all made perfect sense to me at the time. And to seal the deal they told me that church leaders are not paid to run the church. So after taking the discussions and reading the Book of Mormon in less than a month I decided to hop on board.
Nothing really changed after that. I had always been "good" before that. I didn't drink, smoke, or any of those "sinful" actions. The powers from above had also seen it necessary to start grooming me for the big time. I was in the bishopric in less than 5 years. Then I let my guard down and let "Satan" in my heart (rolling my eyes).
Needless to say after leaving the church I feel so much better. I feel closer to my wife, I don't feel the constant guilt of having to do everything "by the Book", and I don't have to send my tithing money to a church corporation who wants to do their part to oil the capitalist machine.
I've never felt better!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Lies, lies, all lies
I recently stopped attending the Mormon (LDS) church due to several factors. It all started with this:
Believing in Christ from a very young age most people are wrought with the question, "Which sect is the right one?" While this is a fine question it is not the question that many of us should be asking. This question being, "Was/Is Jesus Christ real?" While this question may make some feel squeamish, uneasy, or even insulted, we are so ingrained with the idea of just accepting it as fact.
This question for me was brought on by a movie called "Zeitgeist" which shows the parallels between Jesus and the Egyptian god Horus. It also brings up another point that I found extremely fascinating. There is only ONE historical reference of Jesus outside of the New Testament. And this single reference has been declared false and doctored due the the way it is integrated into the text.
Anyway. After doing a little questioning about Jesus, the wife and I did some research of our own about the church. We found so many things that are in the church records but are never told to their members or in my case, being a convert, to those who are joining the church.
It is getting late so I will add more specifics later.
Believing in Christ from a very young age most people are wrought with the question, "Which sect is the right one?" While this is a fine question it is not the question that many of us should be asking. This question being, "Was/Is Jesus Christ real?" While this question may make some feel squeamish, uneasy, or even insulted, we are so ingrained with the idea of just accepting it as fact.
This question for me was brought on by a movie called "Zeitgeist" which shows the parallels between Jesus and the Egyptian god Horus. It also brings up another point that I found extremely fascinating. There is only ONE historical reference of Jesus outside of the New Testament. And this single reference has been declared false and doctored due the the way it is integrated into the text.
Anyway. After doing a little questioning about Jesus, the wife and I did some research of our own about the church. We found so many things that are in the church records but are never told to their members or in my case, being a convert, to those who are joining the church.
It is getting late so I will add more specifics later.
A Little About Me
I am what most people would call young even though I feel old. One of the consequences of a messed up childhood. We can save screwed up childhoods for later blogs though.
I currently work full time for the military and go to school full time to earn my bachelors in Electrical Engineering. So close to being done and all I have to say is it's about f#*&ing time.
As for things I like to do. I like to read, play games on the 360, and "philosophize" with my wife and friends. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I am married to a wonderful woman for 5+ years now.
I am also a big fan of conspiracy theories. I don't necessarily buy them all but they are fun to hear and they make people think outside the box. The less time you spend outside the box the more interesting life is. You can count on some conspiracy theories in my blog.
I currently work full time for the military and go to school full time to earn my bachelors in Electrical Engineering. So close to being done and all I have to say is it's about f#*&ing time.
As for things I like to do. I like to read, play games on the 360, and "philosophize" with my wife and friends. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I am married to a wonderful woman for 5+ years now.
I am also a big fan of conspiracy theories. I don't necessarily buy them all but they are fun to hear and they make people think outside the box. The less time you spend outside the box the more interesting life is. You can count on some conspiracy theories in my blog.
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