You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why
Or not me, really, the crazy internet saavy evangelicals who believe that foreign policy should be dictated by how much unrest it can cause worldwide and who track the "rapture index" online as a way to measure when God will rain holy fire upon us all. Now, despite what you may believe, this index doesn't simply rise and rise until the glorious day when the righteous amongst us will be lifted from their earthly confines into the rapturous and loving arms of our/their God. Rather, it dips and falls, with apparently no real rhyme or reason. So it may seems like we are further away from the rapture this year, then say, last.
My favorite part is the wild conjectures in the category explanations.
The best part is that they explain very litte. Anti-Christ is at 2. Are there two? Are there not very many, so we're running low? And if you know who the anti-christ is, why aren't you publicizing it? Shouldn't there be like, a press release about that?
I am not intimidated by religion or the religious. I think that the swelling in evangelical fervor nationwide began in the early 90s -- as twenty somethings many of us witnessed the way that pop-culture infused religion converted so many of our friends who a decade or two earlier may have been seduced by Led Zeppelin or punk rock. I don't think it's too far fetched to attribute some of the evangelical fervor of our generational compatriots to our economic situation. As salaries have stagnated over the last twenty-five years (oh what year was that? oh yes, the year the closest thing I've ever known to the anti-Christ took office), house prices have risen astronomically, and our economy has faltered. We are the first generation who will not exceed to the prosperity of our parents, but who have the potential to lead less prosperous lives then even our grandparents. Easy analogy (swiped from a Susie Orzman public tv appearance -- forgive me, sunday afternoons are long and I am weak) I payed more for my college education than my grandparents did for all of their homes combined.
Since so much of reaganomics depends on the grand illusion of self sufficiency, the majority of people don't believe our national economic policies are to blame. Besides, Republicans (and new Democrats, I do not excuse Clinton here) have offered so many other herrings of various colors (usually light brown) that it's hard to blame the nice man who starred in so many of those moving pictures. Or the cowboy in office now, who likes to take August off to walk aimlessly around a ranch he's never worked a day in his life. It's much easier to patrol the border for those treacherous, below-minimum-wage working enemies. It's much easier to go out to the garage, frustrated with the lack of living-wage jobs, your inability to afford a mortgage, school for your children, or healthcare for yourself and tip one back for Jesus.
All this is not to say that religion is some big hoax or simply for the weak minded. I do maintain that the current version of Christianity is not the religion that emerged during the 50s and 60s -- one imbued with social responsibility and the desire to contribute. It is marked by a distinctly conservative ethos -- which is to each his own, prosperity on the backs of others, and scapegoats for all. To distract from high unemployment, the erasure of pension programs, temporary employment, loss of benefits, and untenable salaries today's mega-churches offer targets for frustration. Job problems: blame immigrants. Marriage trouble: blame gays. I do think that the current brand of populist religion is fueled by a fear and sadness that results from not being informed enough about one's world. Without information about what causes root problems one's options pretty much are to pray to God. An angry vengeful God that plays three-chord songs at summer festivals. Yeah, that God rocks.
My favorite part is the wild conjectures in the category explanations.
12. Drug AbuseOr it could mean wizards! Maybe you should look into your ancient languages a little more before you start playing "etymology for guessers".
(Rev. 9:21) Everyone knows what drugs are today. The Bible also may make mention of drugs. In the book of Revelation the word sorcery has the Greek word pharmakeia as its root. This is where we get the word pharmacy. When it says, "they repented not of their sorceries," it could mean they repented not of their drug use.
The best part is that they explain very litte. Anti-Christ is at 2. Are there two? Are there not very many, so we're running low? And if you know who the anti-christ is, why aren't you publicizing it? Shouldn't there be like, a press release about that?
I am not intimidated by religion or the religious. I think that the swelling in evangelical fervor nationwide began in the early 90s -- as twenty somethings many of us witnessed the way that pop-culture infused religion converted so many of our friends who a decade or two earlier may have been seduced by Led Zeppelin or punk rock. I don't think it's too far fetched to attribute some of the evangelical fervor of our generational compatriots to our economic situation. As salaries have stagnated over the last twenty-five years (oh what year was that? oh yes, the year the closest thing I've ever known to the anti-Christ took office), house prices have risen astronomically, and our economy has faltered. We are the first generation who will not exceed to the prosperity of our parents, but who have the potential to lead less prosperous lives then even our grandparents. Easy analogy (swiped from a Susie Orzman public tv appearance -- forgive me, sunday afternoons are long and I am weak) I payed more for my college education than my grandparents did for all of their homes combined.
Since so much of reaganomics depends on the grand illusion of self sufficiency, the majority of people don't believe our national economic policies are to blame. Besides, Republicans (and new Democrats, I do not excuse Clinton here) have offered so many other herrings of various colors (usually light brown) that it's hard to blame the nice man who starred in so many of those moving pictures. Or the cowboy in office now, who likes to take August off to walk aimlessly around a ranch he's never worked a day in his life. It's much easier to patrol the border for those treacherous, below-minimum-wage working enemies. It's much easier to go out to the garage, frustrated with the lack of living-wage jobs, your inability to afford a mortgage, school for your children, or healthcare for yourself and tip one back for Jesus.
All this is not to say that religion is some big hoax or simply for the weak minded. I do maintain that the current version of Christianity is not the religion that emerged during the 50s and 60s -- one imbued with social responsibility and the desire to contribute. It is marked by a distinctly conservative ethos -- which is to each his own, prosperity on the backs of others, and scapegoats for all. To distract from high unemployment, the erasure of pension programs, temporary employment, loss of benefits, and untenable salaries today's mega-churches offer targets for frustration. Job problems: blame immigrants. Marriage trouble: blame gays. I do think that the current brand of populist religion is fueled by a fear and sadness that results from not being informed enough about one's world. Without information about what causes root problems one's options pretty much are to pray to God. An angry vengeful God that plays three-chord songs at summer festivals. Yeah, that God rocks.
posted by good golly at 10:31 AM
4 Comments:
that photo is amazing. How did you encounter the rapture index? I can't believe there's a rapture index. *sigh* -nu
someone must have emailed me the rapture index earlier this week. probably my favorite colleague at work.
i think i've garnered a bit of a reputation as a strange internet geek. the other gem forwarded to me this week was www.feralchildren.com. I tried to turn away, but I was fascinated. Not just by the horror aspect of kids raised in captivity or isolation, but by the enormous weight these people should be given in nature vs. nurture arguments.
Kids raised outside of human contact don't display identifiable emotion, have to be taught to smile, to empathize, to be gendered. It's fascinating.
You know, of course, that I am promptly going to head to the feral child site-- I feel strangely disturbed by the fact that this exists. So that means, of course, I should look at it promptly.
can I link to your blog?
totally. i'll do the same.
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