Kansas Crimson

My mom was/is an attention whore, and used me as her proxy growing up.

That means at my confirmation I had to get up and give some big speech in front of the whole church, even though I was a loner who didn’t wanna.

It was right around the same age I was exposed to heavy metal music. Some of its subject matter weirded me out at first, but I at least liked how hard it rawked. \m/

This little adolescent rebel in me wanted to get up in front of the church and, rather than the prepared confirmation speech, recite that Timothy Leary blurb on that Tool album like, “think for yourself. Question authority...”

In hindsight, I shoulda.

Woulda saved me, my fam, and the Catholic Church all a lotta time!

Mjl wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 10:58 pm

ousdahl wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 6:58 pm Dangit, illy lost the edibles! Classic stoner move.

gutter roundabout points out something interesting...pretty much every religion’s end game is one religion, right?

as if the world would be better off monocultural

No, not right. Jews don't recruit/prosthelytize. (Except for orthodox that recruit only internally)

Not sure about eastern religions either.

I think with the exception of Christianity and Islam I don’t think most religions actively recruit/proselytize. Surely, there are minority sects within each religion who might (Hare Krishna sect of Hinduism is an example) but conversion is not an important tenet.

Differences between recruiting and promoting brings me to Jews for Jesus. They stop me on the street and spew their spiel and try and hand me propaganda pamphlets. So are they recruiting me or just promoting their "religion" - I mean cult?

On another related note, I have a friend who is not Jewish and married a Jewish woman. Neither of them "converted".
They have raised their son to be both Jewish and Catholic. Everyone is seemingly happy but I have a difficult time comprehending how it couldn't have been a total mind fuck for their kid when he was younger.

The Bible? The Quran? Mein Kampf?

Art of the Deal

Any book for which the author got Ken Blackwell to write some fawning horseshit about the importance of his book on the dust jacket

no personalized inscription for Japhy either

zsn wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 7:31 pm

Mjl wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 10:58 pm

ousdahl wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 6:58 pm Dangit, illy lost the edibles! Classic stoner move.

gutter roundabout points out something interesting...pretty much every religion’s end game is one religion, right?

as if the world would be better off monocultural

No, not right. Jews don't recruit/prosthelytize. (Except for orthodox that recruit only internally)

Not sure about eastern religions either.

I think with the exception of Christianity and Islam I don’t think most religions actively recruit/proselytize. Surely, there are minority sects within each religion who might (Hare Krishna sect of Hinduism is an example) but conversion is not an important tenet.

mormons might be the “worst”

but they’ve also got the highest attrition rates, so they’ve gotta do something

zsn wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 7:31 pm

Mjl wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 10:58 pm

ousdahl wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 6:58 pm Dangit, illy lost the edibles! Classic stoner move.

gutter roundabout points out something interesting...pretty much every religion’s end game is one religion, right?

as if the world would be better off monocultural

No, not right. Jews don't recruit/prosthelytize. (Except for orthodox that recruit only internally)

Not sure about eastern religions either.

I think with the exception of Christianity and Islam I don’t think most religions actively recruit/proselytize. Surely, there are minority sects within each religion who might (Hare Krishna sect of Hinduism is an example) but conversion is not an important tenet.

Perhaps Jehovah's Witnesses? I'm not too sure about now but I remember they were pretty strong on recruiting/proselytizing. Maybe they fall under Christianity and are a sect.

ousdahl wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 9:28 am There’s a thought - what would religion numbers look like if the practice was to let believers wait til adulthood and decide for themselves whether to go all in on it.

With Catholicism, at least, you’re expected to receive the sacrament of baptism at birth, reconciliation and communion by the 2nd grade, and be fully confirmed by the 8th grade.

In other words, you gotta pledge your existential allegiance before you can drink or vote or drive a car.

My parents did exactly that, allowing me to make the decision myself and after evaluating what I could, I chose not to participate in organized religion at all. It doesn't matter what good you do for a community if in the background you are actively hiding the illegal and appalling behavior of pedophiles and allowing them to pray on the children of the community.

Mormons and Witnesses would fall in the Christianity umbrella. For better or worse most of the colonization of the world happened predominantly to spread Christianity (Catholicism by Spain and Portugal) - the Sword and Cross approach. As one historian put it, “the only thing the locals hated more than the Sword was the Cross”

Yeah, I guess it’s my own Christian-skewed perception, but go figure many religions don’t bother recruiting new talent. I’m curious, and might have to further research and ponder.

With Christianity, it seems that is and has been quite a feature. The “spreading the gospel” was really just a euphemism for world conquest.

IMHO that’s how Christianity managed to emerge as the big religion out of Ancient Rome. It’s not like there was any shortage of spiritual movements and holy men back then, but this one got the critical mass, in large part cuz it lent itself well to being a political device, to establishing a hierarchy. That’s why all the gospel accounts that preach equality were declared heretical.

Or something.

Dear Museum Community,

At Illinois Holocaust Museum, we are appalled at the recent rise in worldwide antisemitic incidences. We cannot stand by while Jews and synagogues are violently attacked, including in Skokie, New York, Los Angeles, London, and elsewhere in the US and throughout the world. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in the weeks following the start of the Middle East violence, 193 potential antisemitic acts occurred, a 50% increase from the week before. These hateful acts, perpetrated by those looking to harm Jews, diminish and endanger us all.

Social media and its reach has been a corrosive force, allowing prejudices and untruths to spread, with repulsive ideologies finding a receptive audience among those with a predisposition to hate. Between May 7 and May 14, ADL notes 17,000 tweets appeared on Twitter communicating in some form that "Hitler was right". The ability to too easily spread this appalling and horrific rhetoric is scary not only to Holocaust Survivors who lost their families in this genocide, but to all people who recognize the horror of Nazism and recall the murder of 6,000,000 Jews and millions of others. Unchecked, the power of social media can have a devastating impact.

At this time, with antisemitic incidents happening with disappointing frequency, it seems important to remind people of the role we can play. Those looking to make a difference can attend a vigil like the one held in Skokie recently, visit our Museum and learn more about the dangers of silence and unchecked hatred, or explore our online resources, including our Fifth Third Confronting Hate Toolkit. We also invite our elected officials and community and religious leaders to use their voices to condemn antisemitism and all forms of hatred and bigotry.

As the late John Lewis so wisely said, "Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society." And as Illinois Holocaust Museum founders articulated in the Museum’s mission statement, "Remember the Past, Transform the Future."

Better late than never?
I feel he should have probably added in the statement specifically that Muslims/Islams/Arabs/Palestinians are not immune to "attacks" in this country either.
Also, I had no idea it is "Jewish American Heritage Month". My guess is 90% (or more) of Americans didn't either.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo ... NfUpjCuurs

Biden has always been solid on this issue. It's a significant reason I caucused for him in 08 (along with roommate and girlfriend... Probably the only three Jews there)

It's 2021 and this is the current state of the country we live in. Like I've said, as fucked up as ever.

Looks like Netanyahu is out. This will be very interesting. Israeli politics is confusing AF.

"Israeli politics is confusing AF".
That's an understatement.
I really have no idea how anyone comprehends exactly what goes on. Including those in the Israeli government/s.

Bye bye Bi Bi?

good riddance

Is the guy replacing him any better?