sprayhawk

Below are photos of two cards from two different religions.  First, we have Hinduism.  Second, we have Christianity.

What do you see?  Well that there is A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.  What a mouthful.  He’s the leader of the Hare Krishna movement.  A monk handed me this card on campus, and told me that I can go to a temple in India where I can live and eat for free.  I told him that sounds great.  Then he said have a nice day and walked off.  The card includes the Hare Krishna mantra, which is to be chanted daily and during meditation.  It also says, “Be Happy”.  I keep this card on my dashboard.  It’s nice when a religion tells you to be happy, though it seems uncommon.

Whoa!  This one’s a bit different.  I found this one in a gas station bathroom somewhere in Missouri, right there below the Ruff Ryder condom dispenser.  It shows the two outcomes of life: Heaven or…HELL. Yes, HELL requires a double underline, just so you know how terrifying it is.  Unfortunately, I don’t know how to do this online.  Did you know that there is no such thing as Hell in Hinduism?  It makes me wonder about the kind of people that call themselves “born agains”, or Evangelical Christians.  Might I be so kind as to say that these people are total fucking nut jobs?  Fear! That’s what it’s all about.  Now I ask myself, do I want to live a life of happiness, or do I want to live a life of fear, where I am constantly paranoid that I will end up in HELL?

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It seems as though all sects of Christianity live under a shadow of fear.  Why is it that God must be wrathful?  Why must God be so ANGRY with us?  If he has created us, then why should he be upset that we are imperfect?

I’m sure there are Sunday School answers for these questions.

However, I don’t understand why God wants to be worshipped at all.   If God is infallible, then he should be the last entity who needs people praising his name.  Is it that he needs an ego boost?  Isn’t pride a mortal sin?

Well, to cover my ass and to make sure that God doesn’t feel unappreciated, here goes:

Dear God,

Great job creating Earth and all us neat creatures.  I praise you.  Things are great here.  People are murdering each other everyday.  Also, I really appreciate all the malaria, dengue fever, HIV, sickle cell anemia, mono, cancer, diabetes, gangrene, and rickets you have given us.  Did I mention that rape is still pretty common?  OK, just wanted to say thanks for all that.  Please don’t send me to Hell.

Amen!