So, I’m supposed to be going to church tonight, but I think I’m going to go to the movies instead. I’ve had a day and I want salad and margaritas at El Torritos, before seeing Hellboy II. Oh yeah, for those who know me well and are still gasping at the church mention, yeah, I wrote church.
I’ve been going to Mosaic at the Mayan Theater. Which is this touchy-feely, new-agey “gathering.” Yes, dear friends, they call it a “gathering,” instead of church. Although, I get dissappointed each week when no heads roll, cut off by Katanas or Claymoors. (If you get that… Ha, ha, you’re as big a geek as me!) Sometimes, I like it… sometimes. I like it when the reverend discusses DesCartes. I like it when the reverend discusses pragmatism. I like it when the reverend discusses Hindi proverbs. Only drawback, WHAT’S WITH ALL THE JESUS FREAKS?
Yeah, I could REALLY do without the weekly bible reading and the constant mentioning of Jesus… And the love of Jesus… And the light of Jesus… And making your life one with Jesus. Seriously, folks, since when does the wisdom of DesCartes, Hinduism, or plain old pragmatism ALWAYS have to link back to Jesus? Ok, I’ll give you DesCartes; he was a hardcore Catholic freakazoid. But, can’t philosophy be discussed simply because it makes sense? Isn’t that the very definition of pragmatism? Following the simplest answer that makes the most sense. (By the by, pragmatism or “Practical Wisdom” is the current 6 week theme at Mosaic right now.) Can’t people follow and think about doing good without it being because God told you to or because Jesus loves you?
Which is another reason I’m not going tonight. I’m sick of all the Jesus talk. I’m an agnostic and even if there is a god, I’m not convinced it’s perfect, omnipotent, or omniscient. The Hindu idea that all the gods are really aspects of one being/creature, including all the “evil” or more accurately destructive gods, and that all the gods are just different sides or peices of that one being really makes way more sense to me than the Judeo-Christian ethic. So, if Shiva and Vishnu are really all just sides of one being (Brahmin) and god can have the ability to destroy or even be “evil,” then god’s not perfect. If it’s not perfect, it can even make mistakes.
The nature of any supreme being is most likely dual like that, just like human nature. Which harks back to the old testament and the whole “created in his image” thing. If god did create people in “his” image, that image is most likely a metaphorical one. That god created people to have the same dual nature it does and the ability to do good or evil. Just like it/him/whatever you wanna call it.
It’s hardly a new idea or one that’s in the minority. Hinduism is not a far cry from Buddhism or most of the ancient polytheistic religions. If that many people agree upon it, it’s most likely true. Whoever that socioligist and economist is who wrote Blink, and other sociologists, have pretty much proven that get a large group of humans to agree, and their answer is more often than not the correct one. Not mob mentality or groupthink; that’s a rather different sociological phenomenon, where the majority of the group stops thinking independently. But, get a group of people together and thinking independently and 9 times out of ten they’ll come up with the right answer.
The guy who wrote Blink used this example in a radio interview: If you want to guess the number of jelly beans or candies in the jar in one of those contests at a fair or a party or something, poll everyone around you for their answers. Even if the majority of the group doesn’t know the Calculus to mathematically figure out the correct number, which given a group of Americans is probably a safe bet that they don’t, the number most often guessed by the group will be the most accurate answer. Even more accurate than if you simply averaged everyone’s guess. Supposedly, he actually used this game as a way to test the hypothesis, etc.
So, bearing in mind that the larger the number of independent thinkers, whom all agree on one idea, are therefore the most accurate… Hey, Jesus Freaks, are you REALLY gonna argue with centuries of thought from ALL of ASIA?!? That just doesn’t seem practical or wise. And, if all those Buddhists and Hindus are correct, then one should do good, not because God says so or because Jesus loves you or from fear of going to hell, but because it simply makes the most sense to.
