Would Jesus really give a fig?

I continue to wonder if half the things disapproving Christians are fighting against, would be things Jesus really would disapprove of, as advertised. Would he care if gay people marry each other? Would he launch a campaign to keep every fetus from being aborted? (Maybe in his day, when medicine hadn't advanced as far and the world offered far more resources than the population at the time would ever use up, and farming was a primary profession - and all possilbe labor was needed - it meant something different to keep every viable pregnancy going. Practical and social circumstances have changed, the biggest of which socially may be that women are no longer required to be tied to a man and do as he pleases - i.e., give birth even if she doesn't want to - to survive. Families are no longer required to have 7-14 children to work the land - and you can romanticize babies all you like, but the fact is that old-time big families often existed because of a combination of a need for free labor and vastly imperfect birth control, not because of any greater love of children than exists among humans today. Practically, of course, we have enough people that a 1- or 2-child replacement rate for anyone would be fine to keep the population steady.)

I digress. Gay marriage being put on hold in California isn't necessarily bad news for now. There was no question this was going to be appealed by Prop 8 supporters, and at least in this case, the appeal will come sooner rather than later. But it did make me think of the above-referenced question about Jesus. I didn't know the man personally, you understand - then again, neither does anyone quoting him with a great deal of authority on this or any other topic right now. The fact is, there's just nothing in the New Testament that expressly forbids homosexual unions. (And I'm one of those who feels if you're a Christian going by the Old Testament only, you probably need to just convert to Judaism and get it over with.)

There are two things I keep in mind about this topic:

1. Not everybody in this country is Christian. A large number of people are not. Nor are they necessarily Jewish or Muslim. Why should we be required to live by the rules of someone else's mythology, under the rule of law?* Would you enjoy being forced to abide by our personal beliefs, or be punished for it?

2. A lot of Christians don't like it when you call their religion a mythology - but the fact is, there are many old mythologies that we now call such, that we study in school as such, that at one time were a lot of people's daily religion. Those people took those characters and edicts as seriously as Christians take their Bible or Muslims take the Koran now. Why are we more important in our beliefs than they were? When I say "mythology," I'm not being deliberately disrespectful - I'm labeling current religion as we treat old, defunct or little-used religions. People can gather to discuss or worship whatever they like, as far as I'm concerned - just don't expect me to do the same, or to enjoy getting to follow your rules when I don't believe in them.

*Note: I'm not talking about laws against murder, theft, rape, property damage, etc. - those are not based on any Biblical principles. Those are far older precepts based on a common-sense system of forcing people to behave decently in order to keep peace within any society. If anything, the Ten Commandments are based on an older rule of law, perhaps notably Hammurabi's code. They are similar.

Open letter to National Geo./Discovery UK/Etc.

Dear People Who Give Chris Barrie Awesome TV Hosting Schticks:

I know what you're thinking - how DO you follow up Massive Machines, Engines, and Speed? Have I got an idea for you:

MASSIVE STRUCTURES


golden_helikaon posted a photo of this - it's Aldar HQ (go ahead, Google it; I'll wait). It looks like God's monocle, and while I know Mr. Barrie is terrified of heights (not to mention an expensive insurance risk), I firmly believe he would NOT drive by this without stopping and tinkering or fiddling somehow. So why not capture it on camera? Just imagine - Dubai, Singapore, all the great skyscrapers and other HUGE buildings of the world in one tidy series.

I offer my services as producer for this series. Hey, it was my idea.

Sincerely,
-V

the gratitude project

For yesterday: I am grateful that monthly menstrual periods are a thing of the past for me. I've had to hear so many women I know bitching (and rightly so!) about theirs that I still can't believe my good fortune to have had mine removed earlier this year. Even if I am still paying the hospital and the anesthesiologist and the surgeon for the privilege.

For today: Two words - dental floss. When I had my wisdom teeth out 2 years ago, my other teeth started shifting slightly to "fill in" some of the extra space in my mouth. This has created gaps between teeth in the upper left part of my mouth, and every time I eat, I have to take the floss in to go spelunking afterwards. But if it didn't exist ... damn, the pain and annoyance it would really be.