In yesterday's entry, I asked why christians call for returning holidays to their "real" meaning. Later, I approached a more plausible answer, or at least an observation. When christians say this, they're pushing for a refocus on the christian stories behind the holidays. In actuality, they're calling for a rejection of anything secular like Santa Claus and Pagan like lambs, eggs, and yes, the Easter Bunny. I'm not clear on the origins of Santa Claus, but most things that are considered secular have Pagan roots; most christians just don't know it. I never had any clue where the Easter Bunny came from until I read the book on Ostara. There's something heart-warming about finding Pagan traditions in your protestant childhood. My parents, especially my mom, would set up an egg and gift hunt every easter. Playing in the rain is an encouraged Pagan way of connecting with water and the nurturing of the earth. My brother and I used to play in the rain all the time. Actually, the time period during which I stopped playing in the rain was when my ribcage malformation was under way. I withdrew from the rain, from the sun, from people. The only comforts I found for myself were writing and music. The only comfort my mom could offer me was the suggestion that I pray to god. Unlike a lot of people who don't get prayers answered but remain loyal to their religion, I consider this the straw that broke the camel's back. Come to think of it, around the time I left the rain to depend on an unresponsive father figure, my massive depressive started and didn't leave for over 10 years.
My thought this morning was that there is such a wealth of information that most people don't find or know exists. And why should christians go looking for more? The bible pretty much proclaims that it holds everything they need to know, that it contains the entire history of humans and the earth. In case this isn't enough, way before the mind can mature to accept scientific fact, churches make sure they impress upon us the importance of belief in what can't be proven and the importance of not believing what we see. Of course appearances can be deceiving, but why believe a set of conditions that defy reality and common sense? Christians are pretty much agreeing to be stupid their entire lives, to argue with anyone who refuses to comply, for a reward after death that has never been explained. Hell has been graphically described over and over again, but apparently the best description offered of heaven is that you get to spend eternity singing praises to god. Again, a god who does nothing without violence but demands complete, grandiose loyalty. No wonder the male human ego is out of control. Look who christian men think made them in his own image! Here's a god who has smited, tricked, and made puppets of his own creations ever since the garden of eden.
Sometimes christians will say, "Jesus came, so the old testament doesn't matter any more." If it doesn't matter, why are christians so hung up on an eye for an eye? That's old testament. If it doesn't matter, why don't they separate the two testaments so they can focus on this supposedly more loving god? The bible wasn't always like this; the books that are in it got there by vote, so the bible can't be above being taking apart. It's already in pieces. If they don't want to take out the old testament because it's the word of god, then they're still placing god's vindictive words above Jesus's message of peace, which they argued neutralized god's warring ways in the first place. In the end, none of their beliefs are consistent. They have so many different thoughts swarming around, they just toss out the "appropriate" response without thinking it through.
I have one major comfort. Organized religion has never and will never be able to stamp out human instinct. Even a lot of people who are christians don't abide by the rules. It's impossible. So while people convert in and out of christianity, I rely on basic human needs to at least keep part of the population sane.
