My Post Rapture Sermon

I’ve always been fascinated by the odd, and sometimes violently controversial, distinctions we humans make amongst ourselves. Especially when those distinctions are so subtle that outsiders might have a hard time discerning them. Kinda like these guys from my Black On The Right Side post:

Star Trek's Bele and Lokai

This can be particularly true when it comes to religious distinctions. And judging by the coverage of yesterday’s failed “Rapture” event, it’s pretty clear that even the most skeptical amongst us are as fascinated as I am by just how wide the religious spectrum is. But what are the roots of these distinctions? Personally, I’ve found this clip from Monty Python’s Life of Brian to be quite helpful:

Now I know that all this fascination with the supernatural is rooted in the desire to escape the apparent hopelessness of human existence, but the fact is that most of our troubles are of our own making – and it’s not like we aren’t equipped to fix them. And though I’m about as skeptical as they come, I’ve still spent a LOT of time absorbed into these fantasies myself. In fact, one of the inspirations behind the name of this blog comes from a line by the “Nadine Cross” character in Stephen King’s The Stand, after she’s finally hooked up with the “bad boy” of her dreams:

So where does all this leave us? Well I’m pretty sure that those who can think of nothing beyond escaping the Hell we’ve made of this wonderful world will continue sowing the seeds of discord, hoping that those seeds will grow into the apocalyptic ending they think we all deserve. What I’m not so sure of is whether those who want to inspire a more “reasoned” approach to solving our problems will keep finding the motivation they need to continue their struggle as well. I only know that it’s getting more and more difficult for me.

Let’s sing our way out, shall we?

I want ice water.