I've gotten a few hurt emails over my Kissing Hank's Ass post. I put it out there without any comment to see if it would stimulate discussion but found instead that I offended people.
So, let me explain why I posted it.
Have you seen that Tom Cruise video? His defending Scientology video has made the rounds of the Internet over the past week, as well as a few funny parodies (here and here). And the blogosphere has overwhelmingly responded with comments about how crazy he is and attacks on Scientology.
Now, I'm no saint. But I find some of these attacks a little below the belt. If you are going to go after Scientology, go after it because of its desire to cut people off from friends and family that are not Scientologists or because it charges you to join. I'm with most folks that it is little more than a cult. But is it really fair to condemn because these folks believe that an alien lives inside them? This is their faith. Why is it any more unbelievable than a guy who can turn water into wine? Or that morality is an instinct? Or that if you kiss Hank's ass, you can win a million dollars?
I think that it is something to think about. All of these belief systems, when taken out of context, have an element of the unbelievable. And that's where faith comes in. Whether it be in God, man's capacity for suffering, science, Thetans or the rules written on Karl's letterhead.
That's why I posted it.
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1 comment:
I posted a link to this funny satire since I've met people with Kissing Hank's Ass Syndrome and would have loved some discussion on that attitude. Instead, a few friends were highly offended. Bad enough I almost lost those friendships. O.o
I actually think if you can't joke about your religion, find the lighter side of what is typically a very heavy subject, then you need a vacation. Maybe from church, even, or wherever you go (or don't) to worship (or not). After all, if we believe in a deity, we're putting our very human, very fallible filters on our understanding of that being, and that's kinda funny right there. IMHO, of course.
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