Yes, it is a good morning. No panic this morning on the way to work, I didn't have to rush and freak out and all those things.

I've been reading other people's diaries and talk of religion and things and the Rapture was mentioned, since the end of the world was talked about in Time magazine last week.

Got me thinking about how "unchristian" the Ratpure is, in a way. I suppose I am always looking for reasons to debunk Christianity, and I guess I don't really have a good reason why, other than I hate to see people being led blindly. I guess if I tried to crusade (haha) against people being led blindly, it would never ever ever ever ever end, because people, by nature, are sheep and are dying to be led. I watched a show on charismatic figures, like Jimmy Jones (Jonestown), and the fellow who ran Heaven's Gate (Doe?) and how so many people can believe so strongly something so ridiculous (by my standards, I guess) so strongly that they die. The Heaven's Gate bunch believed that there was a space ship traveling in the wake of a comet and as it passed, it would pick up the souls of the true believers. But in order to hitch the ride, you had to leave your body behind. To achieve this, you have to die. That doesn't make any sense to me, and I of the speeches that are publicized, I can't see how people could believe him without seeing how lunatic he was. His eyes bugged out of his head when he talked, he sounded drugged sometimes. I know there are ways of making a human MORE susceptible to suggestion (if you can believe that), such as protein deprivation, sleep deprivation, starvation (fasting). People are ready to accept anything if you subtly starve them, then reward them with food when they finally give in and believe. And it wouldn't be too hard, when most of these people are searching for something to believe.

Anyway, back to my point about Rapture. As I understand it, when the end of the world comes, Jesus will come down and rescue all the people who were true believers. Everyone else has to stay and fight the antichrist, or suffer in hell or whatever the horrible alternative to being saved is. That, in itself his in my opinion, highly "unchristian". Let's say you're a teacher. You have two students. One student is brilliant, and a good boy, and does everything you tell him to do. He is neat and tidy, he's nice to the other boy. He tries to get the other boy to see things your way. He never questions your authority and looks up to you in every way shape and form, hoping to model his life as best he can after you.

The other boy is everything the first boy is not. He never does as he is told and takes every opportunity to test your patience. He argues with your teachings, says that what you teach is bullshit and that you don't make any sense. He does his best to live his life without your help and guidance. He doesn't want you, he doesn't listen to you.

One day, the three of you are walking by the side of the river. Suddenly, you hear a loud whoooshing sound and you turn to see a flash flood coming up fast. You leap to safety, and turn to find that the two boys are not able to follow you and are hanging by their arms crying in fear. You are absolutely able to save both of them, you just need to pull them up one at a time. The "christian" thing to do would be to save both of them. He's a rotten kid, but after all, he's still a person. It seems to me though, that by Rapture's terms, you should only save the first boy because he believed the things you told him and spent his life worshipping you, and let the second boy die in the flood.

How selfish and self-serving does that sound? Although I suppose you could argue that the second boy, when he realized he was in danger, suddenly discovered that he needed you and needed to ask for your help, in which case he would be saved. But even the idiots who refuse to ask for help still need to be rescued. There are people out there who rely entirely on themselves for everything, and don't know how to ask for help. I don't know, I am going on a tangent here, but the principal of it is what I mean to argue. Shouldn't everyone be saved? Why should you only favour people who worship you? That's pretty narcissistic if you ask me, petty. Like you won't say I'm great? Then you can just die and rot and choke. PThthththt. Dunno.

I still think that the bible is something a HUMAN wrote, and humans make mistakes, and interpret things according to their whims and personal projections. I can't trust that something that old and unproveable is the truth. That's all.

I still think people should be nice to each other and try to focus on the world around them rather than themselves, and that spirituality is as individual as we are ourselves. If you need structure and certain beliefs to live your life well, then you are certainly entitled. I think one things sums up how much we really have no fucking clue what we are doing. Rowan Atkinson's line from when he played the Devil welcoming everyone (including Christians and Mormons) into Hell, (and I don't necessarily mean that this is true literally, it's just funny and illustrates that we're all just farting in the dark down here..)

"And to the Christians, sorry, but the Jews were right".