Yesterday, while I was listening to the extreme winds and more episodes of Under Arrest, I noticed an email I received from the “Word of God” mailing list. I sat there and pondered it for a moment, then wondered how in the hell I wound up on such a list. I posted the status on Facebook, which got a bunch of laughing reactions from my friends, many of whom know me personally. My friends know I’m not exactly a God fearing person. Maybe that will be to my detriment. Who knows?

I have mentioned previously that I am not quite an atheist. I do believe in some form of higher power. I’m not quite sure what it is. Maybe it’s just a form of higher consciousness. It could be more of a psychological thing than a religious thing. But I don’t go to church, and haven’t in many years. I don’t read the Bible. I never did read much of it, even when I did go to church. I see the value in church, but mainly as a social outlet. I’d go for the music and companionship… and maybe, if the minister is intelligent and a good speaker, I’d go for the message. But I’m really not religious.

So how in the hell did I end up on the Word of God mailing list? They were sending me Bible verses with a link to a Web site. I noticed at the bottom of the email, there was a disclaimer calling it an “advertisement”. That made me hit the unsubscribe button. If I were religious, I’d say that religion has no place as a business entity. In fact, the monetary aspect of religion is probably what turns me off of it. If there is a God, and God is this great, magnificent, omnipotent being, then there should be no need for money to have a relationship with God.

I almost wonder if someone subscribed me to that mailing list like someone might send porn to another person as a prank. But then, usually with an email address, one must actively click a link to make the subscription stick. That requirement, no doubt, cuts down on the pranksters. It’s harder to stop someone from doing that with snail mail. If I were a really nasty person, I might sign up my enemies to some kind of exotic porn magazine that comes to their house. That wouldn’t go over well, particularly if they were religious… or maybe it would? Josh Duggar is supposedly a “Christian”, but he was busted for cheating on his wife with exotic dancers and molesting five girls, four of whom were his own sisters. The Christ I was introduced to would never condone such actions, but then, I have noticed that a lot of Christians are the type to live by the “do as I say, not as I do” mantra.

Speaking of the Duggars… I remember when their show first came on the air. Michelle Duggar gushed about their “JOY” philosophy. Jesus first. Others second. Yourself last. But I’ve watched them since, oh, 2004 or so, and they’ve gone from being relatively “humble” (or as humble as Boob can be) to becoming downright wealthy. They’ve made their money using a medium that they used to swear was evil… the television set. Nowadays, TV has been usurped by the Internet, and the Duggars are all over that, too. Many of the adult Duggars are partnering with companies to help them sell their stuff, rather than getting trained in legitimate professions. Oh, okay, so Derick Dillard is in law school now, so he can give a “voice to the voiceless”. I’m assuming he’s going to be fighting for “pro life” initiatives and taking away rights for people who aren’t like him. Again… that doesn’t jibe with the Jesus Christ I learned about when I was a churchgoer many years ago.

The older I get, the more I think people should just plain be more accepting and peace loving. It’s easy to think that, but hard to live it. I admit, I get angry about things and I want justice. When I see something that doesn’t ring true or make sense, I question it… probably much to the annoyance of other people. It used to annoy my dad when I’d argue with him about things, although I come by that tendency honestly. My family, particularly among the males within it, is chock full of opinionated people who will argue to the death. I no longer have a desire to argue to the death, but I also don’t want to waste my time on bullshit. And sorry, but I think a lot of religion is about 99% bullshit. Much of what you can find in a religion, you can find in other places. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect other people’s rights to worship, but I don’t have much respect for nonsense or simply believing in something because it’s been written in an old book somewhere… particularly when the old book is full of contradictions.

Anyway… the sun is out now, and I’m thinking I need to walk my dogs before I end up in a wheelchair. For some reason, I’ve been waking up with excruciating hip and lower back pain lately. I probably need to exercise. So I’ll end here with a song… I’ve shared it before on my old blog, but I like to recycle.

I’ve shared this one, too… but it works today.