smoke and mirrors

my irreverent nature seldom ventures into the serious cultural issues of politics and religion because my personal views diverge so much from the norms (I think Rasputin's farts make more sense, actually) that there's galaxies in between, so I offer a respectful silence most of the time... now my astute readers will notice I said most of the time... as it was back when I found the Flying Spaghetti Monster, this is not one of those times...

I doubt this will offend anyone, but then, I've been known to misjudge how my perspective on religion is judged many times before, so consider yourself warned if you feel you need a warning... I really think I was quite polite and proper in stating my thoughts and playing with words... feel free to tell me otherwise if you choose to continue...

ready?...

so someone started a new church called Temple 420 and yes, one ritual they practice is burning a bud of marijuana... it is used like the original peoples of this land we call North America used herbs, it is burned and each worshipper is blessed by the smoke... apparently they do not smoke pot as part of the religious services, rather it is burned as incense...

as you might expect (if you are cynical like me), there are those who are incensed by this use of the 20th century's most controversial herb as incense and in their usual arrogance, ignore the legal issues to attack the temple and it's practices...

apparently some guy with a talk show who was interviewing the founder of the new religion and when given serious answers to his questions about the use of marijuana in the ceremony (as those we call American Indians and other cultures believe, the smoke carries their prayers to heaven) decided he was not a serious interviewer and said "you'd have to be high if you actually believe that"...

one more bit of evidence that religion really does shrink minds...

anyway, I found the story in a blog at myspace and after reading the blog, left this comment:

Some believe you have to be delusional to believe there is an invisible old man in the sky who can do anything.

How about a communion wafer, what's that supposed to be again?

Or the wine?

One person can mock or condemn the symbolism of another person's spiritual beliefs and practices, however that person is not one I will take seriously. Unless the intent is comedy.

Seems to me that anything that brings more people into someone's religion should be encouraged by that someone, especially these days when churches are as relatively empty compared to how many actively worships in the past 2000 years.

The hypocrisy of one poison being legal and socially approved and another posion being illegal and socially condemned is typical of our culture. Wine is sacred, alcohol is served everywhere, cigarettes are sold everywhere, even though these two products kill more people than any other drug, probably more than all the other drugs combined.

Seems to me it's all about control. Controlling how people live. Controlling what people think. Controlling reality, delusions, life, death, everything. Maybe what people really want to be is an old man in the sky who can do anything.

are you still there? :)