Where do you think that quote is from? I’ll give you a minute to come up with something…If you said an argument with a Jewish kid, then you’re right! Yup. You heard it. He’d value what you said a lot more if he wasn’t right. But he is, so, too bad. It started as him telling us his conversation with a rabbi about kosher living that he’d mentioned on facebook (I asked him) and he proceeded to explain. It was pretty long. Oh, and my brother was there to. It was a back and forth thing after a while. You know, we say something, he say something. My bro and I had really different approaches. That’s what I think is sometimes bad about more than one nonbeliever in the same argument – there’s so many things wrong with each religious statement, there are so many ways to disagree with it. And we covered a lot of topics too. All the classics. You know, determinism, purpose, creation, the Old Testament, all that good stuff. I have a harder time staying calm during these things than my brother. He’s awfully good. I think a way me and my brother are different is that, my brother doesn’t need to do all my research and study and findings. Because he can just look at the basics. “What was the purpose of religion, originally? Why do people believe the things that they do?” And so forth. Tis fun times. Near the end of our talk, James said, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘You know what, you guys are right. And I totally agree with what you are saying. It would work for every religon, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, whatever. It just doesn’t work with Judaism, because we’re right.

So remember that, if you are ever in doubt. Atheism is the right choice, unless you’re talking about being Jewish. Because they’re right. They are the chosen ones! He says that sometimes too. Reminds me more than a little of Anakin from Star Wars. “I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!”

1. About a week or so ago, I woke up and came into the kitchen, where my mom was doing her crossword. We talked for a bit, you know, small talk and all that, when she told me that she had forgotten to wake up my brother. He was to do some work for one of my uncles (I’ve called him Tom before), who lives somewhat far away. Mom was going that way anyway, for a farmer’s market thing, so she said she could wake him up and give him a ride. Well, the time came, and she didn’t. Went to the farmer’s market, got back, and remembered. Oops. So she wakes him up and he has to go all the way there on his bike, through pouring rain. She couldn’t take him, had to go to work.

Anyway, she asked me to text him that she was sorry. I laughed, and sent it, while at the same time sarcastically commenting “Oh, yeah, I bet that’ll make him feel so much better.” Light chuckling from my mom.
“Okay, I’ll do a few “Hail Mary’s and Hail Father’s”.
Sorry about the long setup, but it’s all been leading up to this.

“That’s something that always bothered me. Do something bad? It’s okay, show us that you believe what we believe enough and it’ll all be better.” And then, in a little funny voice I did a little acting skit. Short, barbed, and somewhat mean.

My mom, who as I said grew up a catholic, was uncomfortable with this. She asks me what she’s asked numerous times before (all have been answered with good sense and reason that she can’t help but agree with), “Why do you have to make fun of it? Just because you don’t believe what they believe doesn’t mean you shouldn’t respect them.” I explain that I make fun of things, not just because they’re ridiculous, not just because I think they’re wrong, but because they’re immoral.

“Immoral?” She asks. Yes, immoral. It’s punishing people who have done nothing. Saying “You will go to hell. You will be burned and tortured for eternity. You are a BAD person.” All you have to do to fix that is say, “I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.” That, by itself, is not a moral statement at all. It has a neutral moral value. Nada. None. It isn’t good, it isn’t bad. And yet it is made out to be the ultimate “Good” thing. That’s what is wrong. It is wrong to assign moral value to something that is totally neutral in that area.

2. The 99: The Ultimate Near Death Experience. If you’re under 10, you can’t go see it. If you’re under 11, you can’t go on the website. Not recommended for pregnant women or people with heart conditions. They use a whole bunch of strobe lights. Sounds like a pretty scary haunted house-type deal, eh? Well, it is. There’s even a theme to it! From the website:

On average, 99 young people between the ages of 10 and 25 die every day in the United States.

THE 99 is a walkthrough theater that graphically reenacts the five leading causes of death in teenagers and young adults. Many of these deaths are influenced by drugs or alcohol and a vast majority of them can be avoided.

THE 99 is a state-of-the-art production designed to portray the very real consequences of poor decisions that claim almost 37,000 young lives every year. The production is not based on fear or scare tactics, but rather is based solely on reality with each room designed from real life situations.

The catch? It IS based on fear and scare tactics. At the end, you are basked in a holy light, and JESUS SAVES YOU! WOOOOOOOOOOOOH! That’s right. Run by a church. My guess is the Catholic Church, but I could be wrong. Anyway, before I knew this, I had two tickets, and my cousins like being scared, so I asked them if they wanted them. It was only afterwards my brother told me about it, and I did some more research.

He dropped off a book today, filled with Christian apologetics. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, “The Case for Christ”, by Lee Strobel? I’ve read it before. It’s complete and utter drivel. Strobel has written several books in this same vein, with “The Case for Faith”, “The Case for a Creator”, and whatnots. They’re all very similar. I haven’t talked to him yet, but I was thinking about what I might say to him. This is what I’ve come up with: Strobel was a Christian when he wrote this, for more than 20 years. He’s a pastor who’s authored a bunch of pro-Christian books, and he has a son who’s a biblical studies graduate. When you go on a search for the truth, you shouldn’t be convinced you already have the truth. Then, I plan to point him to what Strobel says in part of his conclusion, after insisting the Jesus is our Lord and Savior for a few pages.

“maybe questions still linger for you. Perhaps I didn’t address the objection that’s uppermost in your mind. Fair enough. However, I trust that the amount of information reported in these pages will at least have convinced you that it’s reasonable — in fact, imperative — to continue your investigation.”

I will then ask him, “How about you? Have you investigated? Or just accepted what you’ve been told? Ask questions. Maybe the answers will surprise you.”

I’m positive that he has not actually read this book. He doesn’t need to. He already agrees with the premise. My uncle’s never been a reader.

Oh, and Happy July 4th! I’m going to a party sometime this evening, firecrackers and all that.