Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Warning! Not Politically Correct!

Allow me to preface this rantzilla with a bit of explanation: My father, raised a devout Catholic and converted later in life to a feel-good version of Christianity, is quite the philosophy/religion scholar and in particular is an expert on Islam. Since my mom, and therefore I, am Jewish, he and I have had many an enlighting discussion on the topic of religion. A massive chunk of what I've learned, I've learned from him.

Dad is a kind and generous man who almost always has a sunny disposition. I say almost, because he gets feral when watching hockey on TV. Everyone at his church adores him, and he's a big favorite at the Bible College, due probably to his bottomless love for his faith and his phenomenal knowledge of the world's religions.

My father told me the Koran is a fictionalized account of the life and times of a dangerously violent lunatic. My (admittedly) half-hearted attempts to read the Koran and root out some meaning from it came to naught. I have Muslim friends, including an especially sweet and rosy-cheeked girl from Oregon who became a Sunii Muslim as an adult. They tell me true Islam is a peaceful, meaningful religion. I don't buy it. I'm inclined to think my father is right about the Koran being a madman's diary, something amended and appended over time according to who was using it to control their populace.

You may be thinking: "Gee, that sounds familiar!" I'm getting to that. When I try to espouse my opinion to Dad that I feel more or less the same way about Christians and the Bible (although I don't suppose Jesus of Nazareth was a madman, rather a well-meaning and probably ideologically ahead-of-his-time street corner prophet)You certainly can draw parallels between Christian terrorism in other centuries to Islamic terrorism today.

Which is why I have no tolerance for criminals of any religion. To my mind, it's equally hard to tell a peaceful Christian or Muslim from a deranged one. In both cases, the deranged ones try to pass themselves off as the peaceful ones in order to carry out their despicable acts. To crazy Muslim credit, they are generally straightforward in expressing their intent, where crazy Christians delight in subterfuge and bald-faced lies.

These extreme versions of religion, both offshoots of Judaism, which is in turn an amalgamation of oral history and ritualistic paganism, are running things in their respective religious communities. They manage this the same way: fear. Why the vast, peaceful majorities of each faiths do not assert themselves is what they should be asking themselves, instead of What Would Jesus Do? or How do I get my 40 virgins?

The other world's religions, those that survived forcible conversions by the Christians and/or Muslims, are by-and-large thriving, peaceful communities. Go figure! Ever hear of Tibetan Buddhists strapping explosives to themselves and blowing up a Chinese nightclub? They probably have more incentive to do so than those Arabs in Israel who like to call themseles "Palestinians", but they don't. Hindus running into Southeast Asia and forcing agrarian natives to accept Hinduism or die? Nope.

Anyway, what I'm getting at, and what makes my wonderful Superfly boyfriend gnash his teeth, is that I don't trust Muslims or Christians. They may look nice and normal, but how do I know they aren't on their way to blow up my subway train, or lobbying Congress to take away my rights that are at odds with their personal belief?

Does that make me a bigot? I don't care if it does. Besides, they're probably looking at me and thinking, "Infidel/Dirty Jew/American scum/Feminist/etc."

:end rant"

8 Comments:

Blogger Leave It To Cleavage said...

Nothing wrong with expressing yourself and how you feel. Truth is that you're not the only one that feels this way. However, unlike you, the person who chooses to voice themselves via a blog, the others who feel this way are out beating up and killing people who are of a different nationality.

I look forward to your next rant!!

6:33 PM  
Blogger LisaBinDaCity said...

Roflamao @ tj!

Trubs, it's becoming increasingly clear how you got your nickname Sweetie Pie :-)

You are entitled to your beliefs and should be able to share them as you see fit. Freedom of speech is one of the best perks we have in the good ole US of A.

Excuse me, I am about to burst into a chorus of America The Beautiful now.

Love ya!

5:21 AM  
Blogger Trouble said...

Thank you for your understanding and support, you luscious bunch of wanton goddesses.

LB, lovie, are you trying to assert that I'm un-American? Couldn't be farther from the truth. And you needn't remind me anymore how lucky I am to have rights such as the First Amendment.

I have nothing but contempt for the current administration, but I'm no liberal. My cranky opinions cross all lines. Just don't ask Superfly boyfriend what I screech everytime I see our clueless leader on TV.

I don't like Texas, either--wanna fight? ;)

FTR, I got this nickname when I was about 5, and while I'd love to imagine being a loudmouth hooligan back then, I think it was more of a "come here you little brat" mischief thing.

11:50 AM  
Blogger LisaBinDaCity said...

Texas rules!

And no offense in any way, shape or form Miss Trubs. It was meant to be humorous, (guess I tanked pretty bad.)

I was also trying to say, (in my tactful Southern way,) that even though I might not agree with you, I admired your courage in stating your mind. And I have to admit, I'm a wee bit worried about you getting spammed by religous zealots.

And your status as a loyal American is not a question in my book.

*slinking away in shame*

12:13 PM  
Blogger Trouble said...

Puts new meaning in "Yellow Rose of Texas," eh? ;)

I'm just trying to draw you out, Southern Lady. I know you're too polite and well-mannered, but I would dearly love to hear you rant!

So, tell me why you disagree? I am genuinely interested and will under no circumstances mock or taunt you. It's entirely possible I overlooked a reasonable point of view.

I think religious zealots are too busy conspiring amongst themselves to bother spamming my blog.

4:38 PM  
Blogger LisaBinDaCity said...

Dear Ms. Trouble,

I GUARANTEE one of these days you shall hear me rant.

And IT'S NOT PRETTY.

Right now though I am in way too good a mood to go there :-)

9:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You can sum it up in two words, "World Domination".

11:42 AM  
Blogger Trouble said...

Oh, how cryptic comments irritate me.

"World Domination?" Why, thank you. I believe I will!

12:18 PM  

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