Thursday, May 27, 2004
The Blasphemous Dialogues
Dear Caius Marcius,
Your atheism may be explained away by the deep, yet-unrecognized, anger you harbor in your heart towards God. Only you can possibly diagnose the root of that anger. You may find it efficacious and salutary to your soul to answer the ff. freethinking question:
Why are you so angry at God, the God who created you and to whom you shall come home and make an accounting sooner or later?
I am not a Bible scholar but I will try my best to answer your atheistic denial of God's goodness. May you find my answers worthy enough to chew your cud over.
God loves you still (even if you don't like Him),
EXPECTORANTS
You have sent me this poem:
SCREAM
By James A. Haught
Did you ever hear a rabbit scream?
Bunnies make a heart-rending shriek
when pierced by fangs of a fox
or talons of a hawk.
Did you ever see a child dying of leukemia
trying to understand
trying to be brave
but doomed?
Did you ever see families killed by a twister
or an earthquake
or a monsoon flood
or a volcano?
Did you ever watch a fawn in the jaws of a lion
or a piglet coiled by a python
or a seal ripped by a shark?
Did you ever see the eyes of a woman when she's told
she has breast cancer?
All these horrors are nature at work
And nature, you say, was designed by an all-loving
all-merciful
all-benevolent
all-compassionate
all-kind
God.
EXPECTORANTS: The nature we know is largely fallen nature, the consequence of Adam's fall from grace. Thank God, Jesus makes and shall "make all things new." You are barking up the wrong tree, Caius. Why don't you ask the question to Satan and his host of rebels? Why don't you look into man and his follies and foibles?
______________________________
You quote the Rubaiyat:
“ Oh, threats of hell and hopes of paradise!
One thing at least is certain -- this life flies;
One thing is certain, and the rest is lies;
The flower that once has blown forever dies. ”
-- Omar Khayyam, born May 18, 1048, from the Rubaiyat
EXPECTORANTS: Beautiful! Just beautiful! Such a direct assault on the Christian hope of life eternal!
___________________________
You quote Jonathan Edwards' The Eternity of Hell's Torments:
"Reprobate infants are vipers of vengeance, which Jehovah will hold over hell in the tongs of his wrath until they turn and spit venom in his face."
Your reaction: Praise da Lawd! He loves all infants!
EXPECTORANTS: God never said He loves all infants. What He loves is innocence, sanctity and such. ___________________________
You said, "Please forward this to that Idiot Bernas (Jesuit priest and constitutionalist) and his cohorts of the Recladean disorder."
EXPECTORANTS: You have unduly honored me by including my name in this company of decent men:
To: caloys2k@..., offtherecord@abs.pinoycentral.com, "Rene Saguisag"
______________
Your cohort J. L. also sends me this from your "Christian Hell Series":
"...little children who have begun to live in their mothers' womb and have there died, or who, having just been born, have passed away from the world without the sacrament of holy baptism ...must be punished by the eternal torture of undying fire."
St. Fulgentius - quoted in Hell, A Christian Doctrine
"PRAISE DA LAWD!"
EXPECTORANTS: I'm not sure about the innocent and the unevangelized (e.g. tribespeople who haven't heard of Christian salvation), but I think the point here, dear Casius, must be: we are nothing if we are not saved by God.
__________________________
Lately you (or one of you) gave me this:
"Why do so many people, even smart people, believe so many weird things? The problem is usually blamed on education, especially science education. That is only part of the problem. People believe weird things because they are taught what to think, not how to think."
EXPECTORANTS: Thank you for insulting me, for telling me that I don't have a mind of my own, that I don't have the capacity to think.
Your reply: You're very welcome!
EXPECTORANTS: FYI, I came from a thoroughly secular background. And my parents are long-time non-active Roman Catholics. Maybe I am capable of thinking for myself after all? Maybe you can give me that much at least?
_______________________________
And this:
Eating Dung And Drinking Piss
"But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?" (II Kings 18:27)
Your Comment
Whatever moral lesson an adult might gain from such questionable verses, one can only wonder. How many parents realize that their children, who might come across such filthy passages, could get the wrong message?
Any mention of eating feces and drinking urine in any secular writing would get considered obscene and sick by any righteous minded Christian. Then why should it not receive the same consideration if found in a bible? Might we ask what artistic or social value this verse presents?
Note the word "piss" stands as one of the censored vulgar words of the public television industry. If Christians wish to censor such language from secular sources, then it behooves them to give themselves as an example and thus censor the obscene verses from their own Bible.
(See also Isaiah 36:12)
EXPECTORANTS: Context, Casius, context. It is the enemy who is uttering those words. Check your Holy Bible, hehe.
_________________________
And this:
"Husbands shall see their wives, parents their children, tormented before their eyes; the bodies of the damned shall be crowded together in hell, like grapes in a wine press, which press one another till they burst; every distinct sense and organ shall be assailed with its appropriate and most exquisite sufferings."
- Bishop Jeremy Taylor
Praise da Lawd! He loves you very much.
EXPECTORANTS: The point must be: God's goodness is such that no amount of sin can ever endure His holiness even for one nanosecond.
_____________________________
This, too:
"...little children who have begun to live in their mothers' womb and have there died, or who, having just been born, have passed away from the world without the sacrament of holy baptism ...must be punished by the eternal torture of undying fire."
St. Fulgentius - quoted in Hell, A Christian Doctrine
EXPECTORANTS: As far as I know, or believe in, there is such a thing called purgatory where souls are given a chance to purify themselves. And just like in Dante Alighieri's vision, hell is said to comprise of parts or stages, depending on one's magnitude of iniquity. You ought not to believe that, of course, but anyone can be sure of God's fairness and justice for He's the only one who sees through every heart.
________________________
And this:
Boil and Eat Your Son
"And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son...." (II Kings 6:28-29)
Your Comment
According to the Bible, a horrible famine took place in Samaria where in desperation, the people ate whatever they could. The cannibalistic eating of a son may provide sufficient nutrition for a mother but disregards the puissant nature of humans to protect their young. Although the Bible does not explain if the son had already died or if the parent deliberately killed him for food, this dreadful example goes against human nature.
Long before bibles or written language, humans evolved as social animals that required the protection of their offspring. Only the dogmatic insistence of a belief-system could supersede the natural instincts of humans. Hopefully readers of the Bible who might one day experience a famine will not subvert their natural instinct for this kind of horrific example in Scripture. May I suggest that if you cannot control your belief to eat your children, sacrifice your priest and eat him instead; that way you gain far more protein for you and your children, and when you say grace, you'll have someone to really thank for your food.
EXPECTORANTS: That line is certainly not a statement in support of a dogma. It is just a part of a story on extreme famine.
___________________________
And this:
Nothing should be denied to the blessed which belong to the perfection of their beatitude. Now all things are for the better known for being compared with their contrary. Consequently, in order that the happiness of the saints may be more delightful and that they may give to God more copious thanks for it, they are permitted perfectly to behold the suffering of the damned and the saints will rejoice in the punishment of the damned."
St. Thomas Aquinas
Praise da Lawd!
EXPECTORANTS: I guess that's how it is, Mr. Marcius. Harsh, straightforward truth. Nothing sugar-coated. Christianity, Roman Catholicism in particular, is never an easy religion. And yet you wonder why it endures through time and in every culture and clime.
________________________
And this:
The Presidential Prayer Team of President Bush is currently urging us to:
"Pray for the President as he seeks wisdom on how to legally codify the
definition
of marriage. Pray that it will be according to Biblical principles. With
many forces insisting on variant definitions of marriage, pray that God's
Word and His standards will be honored by our government."
Any good religious person believes prayer should be balanced by
action. So here, in support of the Prayer Team's admirable goals, is a
proposed
Constitutional Amendment codifying marriage entirely on biblical
principles:
A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one
man and one or more women.(Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5.)
B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in
addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin.
If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed (Deut 22:13-21)
D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen
24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the
constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be
construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9)
F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the
widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does
not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise
punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen. 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)
G. In lieu of marriage, a female (and her sisters, if any) may get her
father drunk and have sex with him. (?)
EXPECTORANTS: The above are from the Old Testament. You read the OT in the context of the whole Bible, i.e., taking into account the New Testament. Context. Always read the text in context.
____________________________________
From your Sex, Obscenities, & Filth in the Bible series:
Expose Her Breasts!
"Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as gazingstock." (Nahum 3:5-6)
"Look, I am against you!- declares Yahweh Saboath- I shall lift your skirts as high as your face and show your nakedness to the nations, your shame to the kingdoms. I shall pelt you with filth." (Nahum 3:6, The New Jerusalem Bible)
Your Comment
Some think these verses describe a genius of a poet. If judged as such, it can only come from its sharpness and vividness. But it also describes vulgarity and hatred, even if it aims against the harlotry of the city of Nineveh.
Few scholars today believe that these verses come as a direct quote from God. But a fundamentalist who believes every word of the Bible, must also accept these words as Godly. If so, then how can one not see God in a cruel vulgar light?
"Filth" here refers to dung. (See also Malachi 2:2-3 where God says "I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces...")
EXPECTORANTS: It is the fundamentalist's problem if he takes every word of the Bible literally. Kindly send him this: Biblical interpretation: Context.
________________________________
Then you quote me this:
"Hell was made by God for the inquisitive!" St. Augustine - Confessions
EXPECTORANTS: Are you saying that there is no hell? Well, don't worry, you have Padre Pio's (the stigmatist) assurance: "You will believe in hell when you get there."
_______________________________
This:
"The Church says that the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen its shadow on the moon. I have more faith in a shadow than in all the dogmas and pronouncements of the Church."
Ferdinand Magellan (before he set off to attempt to circumnavigate the earth.)
EXPECTORANTS: Please locate Magellan's soul on the map. I wouldn't be surprised if you find him eating his words.
__________________________________
In J. L.'s series, 'Sex, Obscenities, & Filth in the Bible', he quotes:
God's Bowel Diseases
"Behold with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day." (II Chronicles 21:14-15)
"And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers." (II Chronicles 12:18-19)
L.'s Comment
"Another among many instances in the Bible where the Lord smites, not only men, but all the people including women and children."
"Why God would concern himself with giving an incurable cruel bowel disease where the person's guts spill out of the abdomen, goes beyond human decency and comprehension."
EXPECTORANTS: God is good and gentle, but He is also powerful and just. He is capable of profound wrath. Who are we to tell him not to get angry? not to exact vengeance, punish, destroy, kill, etc.?
__________________________
L. sends this day's inspirational:
God's Fecal Fetish
"If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it." (Malachi 2:2-3)
L.'s Comment
"Amazingly God appears to have a fecal fetish."
"This commandment to the priests told by the Lord gives example of the Satanic threats or curses He seems to enjoy. What should one think of a God that would smear feces upon the faces of his creations? Such vulgarity can hardly give good example to high morality."
EXPECTORANTS: This must be a colorful way of cursing, but what's wrong with God cursing? Doesn't God, the creator and owner of the universe and everything in it, have the right to free speech?
_________________________
Certainly I see the scientific view of the world as incompatible with religion, but that is not what is interesting about it. It is also incompatible with magic, but that also is not worth stressing. What is interesting about the scientific world view is that it is true, inspiring, remarkable and that it unites a whole lot of phenomena under a single heading.
Richard Dawkins
EXPECTORANTS: We turn to religion precisely because science has failed us. It cannot even answer the fundamental questions we have about life. And even on a purely scientific level, science still has a lot of things to answer. (P.S. I have B.S. Bio diploma which I have yet to get hold of; I hope it isn't being eaten by moths and mildew at the UP Diliman Registrar.)
___________________________
"An ever-burning Gehenna will burn up the condemned, and a punishment devouring with living flames ... Souls with their bodies will be reserved in infinite tortures of suffering."
St. Cyprian
EXPECTORANTS: Hell is the poetry of divine justice. There is hell because there is heaven, and vice-versa. Hell is the price of Lucifer's rebellion and the negative price of man's freedom of choice. Hell, hell, hell. You can deny its existence all you want, but as in Pascal's wager, what if indeed there is hell? Oh, that would be too high a price to pay for our choice of denial!
____________________________
I respect your belief and decision, Mr. Marcius. But let it not be said no one told you that God shall be pained to lose you or anyone else. After all, you, too, are His beloved child. I've read somewhere that you don't go to hell because of God's wrath, you go to hell because you choose it. Repent while there is still time.
Since you are fond of quotes, let EXPECTORANTS leave you this food for thought.
"A dog is free to be a dog; a sinner is free to be a sinner." Andrew Anderson
