I just came back from messaging five or six girls on OkCupid with total randomness and unabashed impunity. I like doing stuff like that. Just throwing it out there without nary a thought about whats in it for "me".
This sort of segues into what I think a good topic to discuss would be. The importance of learning to love yourself. Yep, totally gay material for a blog called "hardcoresnuffporno", but hey, it just adds to the hilarity of it.
Well, actually learning to love yourself is way too effeminate a topic to discuss, so let's see what else my noggin' can come up with.
How about miracles? This was something I've been thinking about last night. The definition of a "miracle" as per the dictionary goes like this:
–noun 1.an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.2.such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of god.
Now, with the placebo effect being such known and accepted phenomena, I'm left to consider the nature of a miracle and whether it should be considered supernatural in origin.
Is it? This was a train of thought I had embarked on while pursuing material for my book. Are miracles truly miracles or are they simply coincidences to events with a resolution presented in a surprisingly and not easily explainable fashion?
Considering that, cancer remission would fall into this category, should it not? It is also an accepted facet of the medical profession and is not as uncommon as one may think (1 in 100,000 cases).
So I am troubled with the thought that perhaps a miracle ceases to be one as soon as a solution or the cause of it is known. This has implications, one being that the ascension of Pope John II (yep, I am this random, suck it up) upon the day that Pope Benedict will inevitably declare him a "saint" by way of suggesting that "miracles" were performed in his presence; I can't help but wonder what the criteria is.
A quick look online has revealed this:
It is a news article discussing how a man was shot "execution style" in the head, only to survive once he had received .. *sighs* a rosary claimed to have been blessed by Pope John II.
An excerpt:
Although doctors told Aebly's family his wound "non-survivable," the 26-year-old did survive. He was released from MetroHealth Medical Center on Tuesday, just two days before the fourth anniversary of John Paul’s death.Hospital chaplain Father Art Snedeker said Aebly's condition began improving steadily after the priest gave him a rosary that had been blessed by John Paul.
Okay, so that would imply a miracle has taken place. Yet, where are the stories of other blessed rosarys, or even this particular one - having healed other people as well? I'm 100% certain that should I lay claim to having blessed an empty toilet paper tube and passed it around to hospital patients; that surely at least one person will experience a succesful recovery to which I can take credit for.
This kind of thinking infuriates me. Because I am partial to wanting to believe in God directly intervening in our lives. I have been raised on stories of the miraculous and as much as I want to uphold my faith in such matters - I remain somewhat skeptical of the idea behind Divine Intervention.
This brings up the theology behind "Divine Providence" in which an intervention by a higher power has taken place but that's a whole 'nother blog entry right there.
What troubles me, is that how .. a person can be "cured" or experience an unexpected recovery upon the premise that "God" had saved him; yet, to suggest that it was a direct intervention would raise so many other questions.
For instance. Why this person? Why not prevent WWII from happening? The holocaust? 9/11? There are surely many other events in history, including the assassination of JFK, Lincoln and Mohandas Gandhi in which God certainly should have intervened upon. Yet, he hadn't.
What about the crucifixion of Christ? Would his existence not be better served by living to a ripe, old age and continually sharing his wisdom with others? Or was his martyrdom a personal choice and not a matter of destiny?
This begs the question as to the nature of God. Is he a wise, compassionate, benevolent being capable of great empathy and will step-in to perform a miracle whenever it is called for?
Or is it all random? Or is it something else altogether that we don't yet know about?
The canonization of John Paul II is a touchy subject. On one hand, you have millions clamoring for him to be elevated towards sainthood; yet, by the church's definition: Sainthood can only be achieved once TWO miracles ascribed to the pope can be offered as proof.
So, Saint John Paul II.. has the shot-in-the-head guy and this girl going for him:
As taken from this link here.
.. I don't think I even need to summarize what the article says because it disturbs me enough to try and refrain from going off on a rant about it.
The bottom line is, the church sucks. It grasps at every possible straw within reach in order to keep itself relevant in an age where logic and reason is making it extremely difficult. More and more people are turning towards alternatives such as paganism, atheism, agnosticism and even Jim Henson-ism, of which the founder is shown here:
So yeah.. I'm annoyed right now at how our spiritual foundations are eroding with the help of the Catholic church which is being led by .. (sighs) a former member of the Nazi's Hitler Youth Party - to which I accept, that membership was not considered voluntarily at the time. Though they did probably score themselves some sweet perks, such as being able to fire grenade launchers and tattling on teachers/family members that resulted in them being executed. But I digress.
The point of all this I suppose, is to show how cynical I have become with "religion". I feel a great sadness whenever I find myself in the presence of someone who loathes any kind of religion and asserts that such doctrines are not necessary requisites in being able to lead a full and rich life.
To which, I completely and regretfully agree with. Yet, at the same time - I feel that there is something missing when religion or more accurately - spirituality - is taken out of the tapestry of an individual's psychological makeup. It is not to say that morality erodes without a strong spiritual foundation, but I think sensitivity certainly does. The ability to become empathic, loving and able to recognize that money is not everything - falters when spirituality is neutered from the psyche.
8% battery life left on my laptop, I better start reeling this in.
In the end, spirituality is always up to you. It's a choice. Do you want to believe in order coming from chaos, or would it make more sense to think that chaos came from order? I don't know.. But I don't like the way the world is right now and I think..
Something is missing...
But what?
