Monday, December 06, 2010

recently.

i saw a debate recently between christopher hitchens and the past prime minister of england, tony blair, in which they debated the pros and cons of christianity.

the discussion was predictable, tiresome and pointless except for the masterful way that each constructed and delivered their point of view.

i guess what struck me most in all of this is that people who deny god outright and those who are merely religious take the same position; that of acting without fact.

and the fact remains so abundantly clear to those without agenda is this; there is something profoundly magical and wonderous going on...and most everyone is missing it.

especially those listening to so-called experts.

11 comments:

Grant said...

The cool thing about xtianity debates is that you can play devil's advocate by literally being the devil's advocate.

Dr.Alistair said...

true that.

christopher might just be that.

sparringK9 said...

theres still time for a deathbed conversion. probably not to Methodism.

lately ive been seeing these chain churches pop up. seriously like God in a box drive through. There a new one in my little town. on your first visit, i hear they ask you to sign a pledge where you commit to given X amount of dollars as a member.

hey. why should it surprise me? there arent any bankers in jail or hanging or no blood in the street.

my favorite image of the week was pissed students in the UK screaming off with their heads and butt ugly charles and camilla. delightful.

Dr.Alistair said...

well, regarding education, most of those griping aren`t smart or dedicated enough top get "a" levels anyway....otherwise they`d be busy getting the increased tuition together.

sparringK9 said...

matters not who the messengers are just that the message was delivered.

sparringK9 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr.Alistair said...

the message delivered was disruption, agression, and so on.

the government doesn`t give a shit who demonstrates unless it promotes civil unrest that leads to more.

the british public has more to worry about that increased student tuitions, education in the uk was free to citizens 30 years ago, and like everything else has become more costly.

what it will reduce is the amount of "soft" degrees that are more political in nature and serve no commercial purpose that would justify the investment cost of high tuition fees.

only the degrees needed to contribute to a society in trouble economically and politically and that result in job placement within a reasonable timeframe will be justified from this point onward.

those thinking about taking a masters in the oppression of church and state against muslim immigrants for instance will have second thoughts now that they have to think in economic terms about the validity of their studies.

sparringK9 said...

what i am saying is that i delight in seeing for a change in the news a massive diss on the monarchy which is a refreshing shift from endless soft lit reels on the royal wedding of will and kate. we need to be saying off with the heads of the entire financial cabal that socialized their bad debts onto our backs.

Dr.Alistair said...

the debt has always been socialised onto our backs.

slaves get shit done.

to blame a modern benign monarchy for the trials of the proletariat misses the point.

Vincent said...

I listened to more than enough of that debate. 20 mins, I think. Tony Blair's Christianity seemed extremely shallow, as if he took it on to quieten his guilt. Christopher Hitchens is just clever and vapid.

I love your penultimate paragraph about something profoundly magical and wondrous going on.

Still I can't end up agreeing with everything you say. That would go against a venerable tradition.

So I find myself questioning your observation that "most everyone is missing it".

I want to argue with that. I want to say that the magical and wondrous is happening in front of our noses but we may not give it enough attention. We may not know how.

And then I see that this is probably what you mean when you say that most everyone is missing it.

So I should shut up and just give applause, this time.

Dr.Alistair said...

and hopefully enjoy paying attention, at least for a few moments at a time.

the noise and confusion of modern culture bangs and crashes against our conscious awareness, demanding that we attend to it like some petulant child, all the while the miracle of our existance emerges.....