Jack Pelham

What would it be like
If all the sin were suddenly to stop?

The one says, “Please shut up so I can think this through for myself.”

And the other, “Please keep talking so that I don’t have to think this through for myself.”

The world was divided—
And still is today—
By the announcement
That God expects something
Of the humans here.

You can tell a people’s true religious convictions about justice and righteousness by whether they will see to it that their society is administered justly and righteously.

He who sitting in the dark house
Peering from its windows
Into the daylight without
And reveling in the glory of the day
Also chooses, to our surprise,
Not to notice that he does not
Live in the daylight himself,
But in the dark house,
Where he has made for himself
A twisted religion from pretending
With the aid of its shades,
Which he may raise and lower at will.

I have so much to say about this, and I have attempted to be brief, but I have failed. So here are my hard-hitting thoughts on the subject:

I don’t know the context in which Her Schopenhauer said or wrote this, but I’ll tackle it as a stand-along meme—which is how it came to me on Facebook.

The problem with church that focuses mostly on exterior activities without focusing on the maturation of the mind—that is, on conforming one’s mind to be like Jesus’ mind—is that such religion leaves the Bible interpretation to immature minds who have not learned the honesty, rationality, and responsibility of Christ.

The one churcher looks down on the unchurched who stays home and studies the Bible like crazy (and also works hard follow its teachings). She says she’s all for studying the Bible, but “God instructed us to fellowship” (Hebrews 10:25 being implied here)—by which she means that if the stay-at-home guy were really committed to Jesus, he’d be going to a church.)

This meme presents a good opportunity to talk about a certain stubborn disposition I find in a good number of Christians. Yes, Jesus said these words: