tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post2534873209528521106..comments2023-05-09T04:57:48.290-05:00Comments on From A Submariner's Perspective: ...on Heathens, Idiots, Pearls, and BikinisSmagBoy1http://www.blogger.com/profile/06579694369460538262noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-51901824488339394802011-05-24T17:15:37.746-05:002011-05-24T17:15:37.746-05:00Hey Smaggy! I just peeked in here and saw you wer...Hey Smaggy! I just peeked in here and saw you were back! WOW did you ever give it to the first two letter writers! I did not really "get" your anger re: the first one. Did the guy really come off like such a dick to you? I mean, yes, sort of a dick, but more of a chinese dick, IMHO. Not that I've ever actually SEEN a chinese dick before, mind you.<br /><br />I truly did super appreciate your slamming of the dumbass mother on the cul-de-sac. Screw her, is what I say, and I hope the neighbors do call DCF. The sad thing is, there really ARE follks who leave their kids out unprotected. And they suck And their poor kids. My SIL even has a neighbor who just drops her kids off to play in her yard in the mornings because she leaves for work before the bus comes!!! It is so frustrating for me because I want to tell them off but my SIL is a pushover who allows it. "It's only 15 minutes so I suppose its okay...". But then she complains about it because some days, you know, she actually has other plans and leaves earlier or brings her kids and then she worries about those other two playing in her yard.....<br /><br />Augh. So your response was sort of cathartic for me!!!<br /><br />Anyway, I hope you end up reading this as I know it is two or three weeks after the fact! I'll keep checking now I know you are around!<br /><br />take care, BellaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-17011750936641946712011-05-16T12:20:52.577-05:002011-05-16T12:20:52.577-05:00Smaggy, Leviticus comes to mind because I once lis...Smaggy, Leviticus comes to mind because I once listened to one of those popular TV evangelical preacher and made a mark on a piece of paper each time he mentioned something from the Old Testament and each time he mentioned the words of the New Testament. Leviticus won by a mile! I keep hearing so called Christians refer to Leviticus all the time, not by name but when they call gays "an abomination" --actually it's a translation that has been interpreted and reinterpreted --so perhaps the original was: "a man should not lie with another man in a tent with a moldy spot because mold is an abomination", or a nuissance, or something unpleasant...Katihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05645682203535768013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-17718847009424188142011-05-15T22:43:19.529-05:002011-05-15T22:43:19.529-05:00Hi Mr. Smags,
I hasten to mention that these are...Hi Mr. Smags, <br /><br />I hasten to mention that these are my personal takes on these matters, but with significant local experience behind them; <br />I wouldn't like to sound like Episcopalians are any great bugs for orthopraxy, any more than we are for orthodoxy: 'justification by works' is not our line. <br /><br />As for shunning by other Christians, we get it aplenty from both sides!! Evangelicals find us theologically thin, I think, and of course too liberal about women and gays; also suspiciously Romish with our candles, robes, and liturgical calendar. Catholics have been heard to call us AngloHeritics, which I rather like...<br /><br />What I claim with pride, if comparison be not too odious, is that we tend to shun Magical Thinking. I consider it a scandalous heresy to think that, for instance, there's anything inherently efficacious about holy water, or fasting before receiving Communion; and I think Biblical literalism is somewhere between ludicrously and pathetically barking up the wrong tree, though I try to be careful who I say it to.<br /><br />So I have sympathy for many of the pans of religion, as both honest and justified; but as in the Woody Allen joke about the man who thinks he's a chicken, I need the eggs.<br /><br />Good cheer to you!Cantahamsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03776333924946242971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-26473628707477768572011-05-15T15:11:43.019-05:002011-05-15T15:11:43.019-05:00Ahoy, Kati! I'm sorry to hear that the doctor...Ahoy, Kati! I'm sorry to hear that the doctor didn't follow your guidelines for surgery. I hope that you recover wonderfully, however, even sans wings.<br /><br />I've been told that Leviticus was superseded by Jesus' grace, Kati. So, apparently, only scripturally-encouraged discrimination written *after* Jesus's ascension can be used in attempting to point out hypocrisy. Pretty tricky, if you ask me! :-)<br /><br />Have a wonderful day, Kati. And much good cheer to you and yours! :-)SmagBoy1https://www.blogger.com/profile/06579694369460538262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-61261500209561407682011-05-15T15:06:50.781-05:002011-05-15T15:06:50.781-05:00Yay, Cantahamster! I'm so glad that you re-po...Yay, Cantahamster! I'm so glad that you re-posted. I was mulling over what you'd said in your original post (before blogspot erased everyone's posts) and I really wanted to respond. :-( I appreciate you representing a more accepting, less judgmental take than my own--the LW deserves that and I felt kind of bad that I didn't provide it.<br /><br />I have to say that I'm especially interested in your description of the Episcopalian dogma of not caring what someone believes, but rather what their actions are, here on Earth. I'm sorry, but, I've never heard of such a wonderful, sane and reasonable interpretation! Be careful, though, if word gets out, you guys may be shunned from other Christians! :-) No, I'm kidding about the shunning--see, I really am a bastard about this.<br /><br />But, I really do appreciate your take here, and genuinely do appreciate you offering an alternative to me nastiness on the subject. I recognize that I'm not very nice about it and your ballast of nicenessa and patience is sincerely appreciated. :-)SmagBoy1https://www.blogger.com/profile/06579694369460538262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-82785182333002967982011-05-15T12:47:04.724-05:002011-05-15T12:47:04.724-05:00Greetings Captain! My comment wasn't swallowe...Greetings Captain! My comment wasn't swallowed up, I'm just way way behind though I have dabbled in various frays on Slate and come up with even more nonsense than usual as I am recovering from back surgery.<br /><br />That damned surgeon refused to fit me with a pair of wings -- damn and triple damn! It would have solved all my problems but I guess there's some sort of law against it. <br /><br />Probably in Leviticus --and it seems that Evangelical preachers quote more from Leviticus than from the New Testament... Ex: "thou shall sacrifice a turtle dove to god every Saturday" "A man shall not lay with another man" [not enough room in the sleeping bag but somehow two women can share] "If you find a moldy spot in your tent thou shall burn the tent down" and of course "thou shall not flit about with your wings as if you were a bird because you might get the ax (for real) next Saturday anfd become a burnt offering, and/or believe yourself to be an angel or gasp actually become one!<br /><br />I suspect it is this last prohibition that caused our ex-Christian to become and ex.... <br /><br />By the way I really liked your replies, particularly to the ex-Christian dude. Perhaps if he were to share his newfound lack of faith, he might find out his whole family feels the same but didn't dare tell him?Katihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05645682203535768013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-81925782437837307882011-05-14T13:30:09.173-05:002011-05-14T13:30:09.173-05:00I know, right? Mine was awesome!
About how LW1 re...I know, right? Mine was awesome!<br /><br />About how LW1 really needs to be an Episcopalian, because we don't really care what you Believe. (Elizabeth the first, in order to let go of several decades of bloodshed, said something really smart about 'no windows in men's souls.')<br /><br />You can live a Godly, righteous, and sober life on an 'as if' basis, when it comes right down to it. Ritual, study, and fellowship are very sustaining while we wait for 'belief' to come back, or come along in the first place.<br /><br /> <br />A religion that requires you to park your good sense at the door (i.e., the Adam rode a dinosaur sects) should be looked at with suspicion. Any particular tenet How It Really Is, as regards God, is not deserving of our loyalty, because We Just Don't Know; <br />but what a faithful walk looks like, including not blowing up your marriage, --that we have some idea about. You don't have to say everything you think; but if the compulsion to do so is strong, get thee to an Episcopal priest, who may even help you see the humor in the situation, and not take yourself so dam' seriously.<br />Or not. Do what you want.Cantahamsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03776333924946242971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-51857726532504387762011-05-14T11:20:01.266-05:002011-05-14T11:20:01.266-05:00Greetings All! I know that there were a couple of...Greetings All! I know that there were a couple of comments here before blogspot apparently ate them--along with erasing all posts for over a day! :-( I'm really sorry about that. Seems that everyone on blogspot was hit by the glitch and that site-wide there were issues. Please know that I did not delete any comments, nor would I ever! My apologies for the lost work. :-(SmagBoy1https://www.blogger.com/profile/06579694369460538262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-72118727732442226872011-05-12T14:38:39.437-05:002011-05-12T14:38:39.437-05:00Alas, Mr. Morally Confused--what you really need i...Alas, Mr. Morally Confused--what you really need is to be an Episcopalian. We don't give a plugged nickel for what you believe. Queen Elizabeth I, in an effort to end several decades of bloodshed, said something very wise about 'no windows in men's souls.' <br />Just think--a whole denomination of happy Christian people whose Belief, in the terms you're talking about, tends toward quantum indeterminacy at best; and we don't consider it hypocrisy. It's just the way it is--you lead a Godly, righteous, and sober life whether There's Anybody Up There or not; it's pleasant, and its good for you. Or, someday, you may receive the gift of faith. <br /><br />God-for-the-sake-of-argument gave you a very nice brain, almost certainly not intending that you use it to believe stupid things. <br /><br />Do you love your wife? Is 'not crushing her life' as valuable to you as the abstract ideal of honesty? You wouldn't say, "Honey, that dress makes you look like a cow," just because it was true, would you?<br /><br />Try ascribing Faithfulness more to the walk you walk, and less to what's drifting around in your head. If you have to keep a journal in which you write "Man, Pastor Smith said the stupidest thing today!", do so, but keep it to yourself.<br /><br />Or not. It would just be a shame to set fire to your whole life out of some overly rigid ideas about what Real Faith would entail.<br /><br />I might add, the Episcopalian stance endears us to neither the Christians nor the aggressive non-Christians, but we have a lot of fun. <br />And for me, "As If" is a faith position of integrity.Cantahamsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03776333924946242971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243415857143630995.post-63248138235100020772011-05-12T13:20:07.936-05:002011-05-12T13:20:07.936-05:00Am I the only who thinks LW3's real problem is...Am I the only who thinks LW3's real problem is much less how she looks in a bathing suit than a Certain Person who has been instilling in her for her whole life that she's Fat Fat FAT? She could go on the Bathing Suit Version of What Not to Wear and get $5,000 worth of swimwear personally selected by Ms London Herself, and it would do her less good than getting away from, could it be... SATAN - sorry, MOMMY?hrumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07222741183212487472noreply@blogger.com