tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post2397229183871842666..comments2023-09-24T07:53:50.826-05:00Comments on The Atheist Experience™: Jesus keeps suckin' itUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-86606380640367714992007-09-26T06:10:00.000-05:002007-09-26T06:10:00.000-05:00I was about to start to make a list including more...I was about to start to make a list including more than the two headliners you included, but realized that the list of even the biggies was way too long, especially when I got to India and China. The human imagination is a fertile thing. <BR/><BR/>I remember once, while living in Taiwan, getting on the wrong bus and ending up somewhere outside Taipei before I could get off. I wasn't sure where I was, but the bus let us off at the base of a big hill and we saw steps going up the hill. The handrail was concrete shaped and colored to look like bamboo. That usually indicates something touristy is up the steps so we took off uphill. <BR/><BR/>We ended up at a small temple at the top of the hill. It was a fairly modern temple with a variety of gods inside and outside that was rather ecumenical even for a Chinese temple. <BR/><BR/>We spoke to a young woman there who told us that her uncle had built the temple. She herself was Catholic, having been converted while attending a convent school, but had no problems working in the temple. She then proceeded to show us the various gods who were represented around the place. <BR/><BR/>Inside, where I guess it was more prestigious since they were at least out of the rain and sun, were the traditional Chinese guys and gals: Guan Yin, the Yellow Emperor, etc...<BR/><BR/>As you got closer to the outside, you started moving towards the more dicey figures who were there just so that if you felt like it, you could cover all of your bases. These statues included Confucius, Lao Tzu (nothing surprising there), Shiva, Ganesh and finally, a statue of TBV Mary! I guess she was there instead of Jesus because the girl (who said she included her) had not quite understood her Catholic lessons, or had decided she liked Mary better. (Suck THAT Jesus!) There were many others (probably close to 50 different figures) but these are the ones I remember best.<BR/><BR/>It was an extreme example of the traditional Chinese approach to religion. It's better to pray and appease all of them just in case one of them might be in a position to help you. It was hilarious. <BR/><BR/>Now I'd love to have pictures and an explanation of all of the figures that were there. On one level it would be an interesting sociological study of the synchretic synthesis that's happening in modern Chinese society as it is exposed to foreign beliefs. <BR/><BR/>It would also be a great example of the religious equivalent of Mystery Hill. A bogus site built by someone's uncle to rake in the bucks. <BR/><BR/>LOL<BR/><BR/>ANFaithUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13831627554873170870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-13802880387903669712007-09-24T15:35:00.000-05:002007-09-24T15:35:00.000-05:00I remember seeing a news segment about the tornado...I remember seeing a news segment about the tornado that hit Enterprise High School (fill in any natural disaster). A young women thanked Jesus for saving her life. What an ego, to think that Jesus reached down and prevented any harm from befalling her. And how does this make the parents, of the six who perished, feel? Jesus did not save their children. It was as if the young woman flaunted her survival.NALhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12244370945682162312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-61471177105270541052007-09-23T20:17:00.000-05:002007-09-23T20:17:00.000-05:00Yep, suck is good....Yep, suck is good....tina FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10037896362034609151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-86413920558551151462007-09-23T12:34:00.000-05:002007-09-23T12:34:00.000-05:00Suck it Jesus! Matt Dillahunty is my god now!Suck it Jesus! Matt Dillahunty is my god now!Friar Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11764244727591925973noreply@blogger.com