Friday
So I spent most of the day with my dad and stepmom. We chatted, hiked a little, and had a nice steak dinner. Good all around, though a little strange being over there with no dog.
The more I think about the possibility of taking a train for the potential trip next month, the more I like it. Definite points for uniqueness, and a certain level of comparative luxury and low stress. Of course, having the luxury of a private room makes it really the most expensive of the options, so it's not all roses.
On my drive over, I was flipping through radio stations and stopped for a bit on one where someone was giving some sort of sermon. He said something that made me stop. And fume a bit.
"There is no good without God."
Y'know, the meaning of a statement like that could depend greatly on context, so I listened more. As I did, however, I only really became more annoyed. This sounded a lot like some AA pitch, where the speaker (reverend? priest? whatever...) went on about how those who try to "expel demons" or overcome sinful behavior on their own are doomed to failure. Only by accepting Jesus Christ as their savior, and allowing God to strengthen them, can success be had. Everyone else? Devil-bait.
That attitude is one of the things that infuriates me about some religions. It's "our way or damnation" with no consideration for anything else. That narrow-minded zealotry is a fair bit of what has cast a pall over organized religion in general in my book. It may be hypocritical to some degree, but I find it very difficult to deal with, or even listen to, people who can't look beyond their own perspective to even consider that they might be wrong, or there might be another way.
The more I think about the possibility of taking a train for the potential trip next month, the more I like it. Definite points for uniqueness, and a certain level of comparative luxury and low stress. Of course, having the luxury of a private room makes it really the most expensive of the options, so it's not all roses.
On my drive over, I was flipping through radio stations and stopped for a bit on one where someone was giving some sort of sermon. He said something that made me stop. And fume a bit.
"There is no good without God."
Y'know, the meaning of a statement like that could depend greatly on context, so I listened more. As I did, however, I only really became more annoyed. This sounded a lot like some AA pitch, where the speaker (reverend? priest? whatever...) went on about how those who try to "expel demons" or overcome sinful behavior on their own are doomed to failure. Only by accepting Jesus Christ as their savior, and allowing God to strengthen them, can success be had. Everyone else? Devil-bait.
That attitude is one of the things that infuriates me about some religions. It's "our way or damnation" with no consideration for anything else. That narrow-minded zealotry is a fair bit of what has cast a pall over organized religion in general in my book. It may be hypocritical to some degree, but I find it very difficult to deal with, or even listen to, people who can't look beyond their own perspective to even consider that they might be wrong, or there might be another way.
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