One more forward will kill me

I’m so irritated with getting nonsensical forwards that I’ve started to write angry emails in return, in a hope to wake people up from their zombie-obedience. An email ends with: “Send this to everyone”, and people just blindly obey.

The worst kinds of forwards are those where the forwarder actually thinks he or she is doing the forwardee a service. For instance the recent forward I received warning me: BIG VIRUS COMING!!! PLEASE READ & FORWARD!!

The email claims that there’s a devilish virus on the way with the ability to burn your hard drive, and it was said by CNN to be the worst virus ever. The virus-warning even claims that Snopes.Com vouches its authenticity.

Well, Snopes.Com did say that it is a real virus, but it is not a BIG VIRUS COMING. It’s been around for a long time. Which means that any half-decent anti-virus program will render it harmless.

Why not double check with CNN, before forwarding your benevolent email. It’s easy. Go to CNN.Com and type in “worst virus ever” in the search field. And lo and behold – there is no listing of CNN making any such claim. Instead you find other people, like myself, voicing their irritation.

It’s always good to check on Snopes.Com – but don’t do as millions of others have done and actually believe someone else because they had supposedly checked on Snopes.Com. Stop being lazy and do it yourself.

Probably what irritates me the most is that people do not take a moment to think about the claims of these emails. They just believe it without a moments thought. For instance, the virus will burn your hard drive… How can a piece of program code, a series of 0s and 1s, make fire to your hardware? Program code is not magic. It’s like thinking that the words on this blog has the ability to steal your car. It doesn’t make sense. Are people really that gullible? It doesn't take an Einstein... And people think I’m paranoid?!

So please, I beg of you, stop killing me with your forwards. (As if that made sense, but I’m sure you get the idea.)

Dear American Citizen. Your phone is tapped and there's nothing you can do about it.

A friend send me the link to an article reporting on the new “Spy Bill” that has been passed by the US Senate. Basically the bill gives immunity to all telephone companies from past, present and future spying for government. In other words, telephone companies cannot be sued for tapping possible terrorists. This is all nice, if only potential “terrorists” weren’t such an elusive concept. With a little spin-doctoring anybody can be made out to be a potential terrorist. Have you criticised the president lately? You’re a potential terrorist. Do you know any Muslims? You’re probably a terrorist. Are you questioning America’s involvement in Iraq? Most likely you’re a terrorist. Do you adhere to the idea that God’s laws are above a country’s laws? Yip, you’re definitely a fanatical zealot terrorist.

The president said that the bill will “protect Americans’ civil liberties”. What about the Bill of Rights that guarantees an individual’s right to privacy?! Does the Bill of Rights stand for anything anymore?

Death matters

It is hard to have patience with people who say "There is no death" or "Death doesn't matter." There is death. And whatever is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth doesn't matter. -- C. S. Lewis

I think I can understand why people would want to believe in the innate immortality of the soul. It is a comforting thought to think that I'll never die. The truth is, I will die. People die all the time. But what is more comforting to me is that the "souls" of the dead are not now being tortured somewhere by some arbitrary deity that says: You better love me, or burn!

What distresses me is how many people actually want such a deity... How many people finds pleasure in the idea of people being tortured throughout eternity. Some years back I helped my brother, whom is a theologian, with a series of Bible seminars. During this series he clearly showed how the Bible does not teach the orthodox idea of God torturing people throughout eternity. I was shocked at how many people were angry at hearing this. There must be so much anger and hatred and self-righteousness that people would find pleasure in the idea of others suffering (and of course, themselves escaping such a penalty).

Ashamed of "Christians"

I see this photo* and I shudder. It is an anti-gay sign saying that Jesus’ plan for the lives of gays is hell. I see this and I’m disgusted with how we have perverted Christianity and how we misrepresent Christ. Hell is not the plan Jesus has for anyone – and don’t go add “love” as sarcasm.

These Christians are doing unthinkable damage to the Christian-faith. Their distorted representation of Jesus and God makes me cringe. May God forgive us for such atrocities we do in His name. I look at this and I feel ashamed to be a Christian.

Please do not judge Christianity by such distortions of the gospel. The example for Christianity is always Christ, and not “Christians” that hi-jack the faith for their own agendas.

* The photo is by Tami Barnes and relates to the whole polemic in California regarding gay marriages on which I posted before.

The Comfort of Sleeping the Sleep of Death

“I hope he’s alright,” said a friend (let’s call him Sam), regarding another mutual friend (Conrad) that died a couple of days ago after a caving accident.

The statement just didn’t make sense to me. “‘I hope he’s alright?!’ What do you mean? His dead,” I thought. “‘Alright’ and ‘not-alright’ are irrelevant to a deceased.”

And then, of course, it hit me. We have two completely different paradigms. Sam is Catholic. And in Sam’s paradigm our friend Conrad is most likely now in purgatory burning off his sins.

In my paradigm Conrad is dead. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. There is no consciousness – no bliss in heaven, nor torture in purgatory or hell. “For the living know that they shall die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have any more a reward…” (Ecclesiastics 9:5).

For many people the idea of life after death (i.e. innate immortality of the soul) brings comfort. It is heartening to think that ones departed mom or child or friend is in Heaven. But I guess for many the idea of life after death can also be disheartening, because they might not be in Heaven, but instead experience serious anguish in purgatory or Hell.

Personally I find comfort in the idea that the dead are unconscious – that they are “sleeping the sleep of death” (Psalm 13:3), not suffering in some spiritual realm, and oblivious to the sufferings occurring in this sinful world. Until that wonderful moment at the Second Coming when “…the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise… Therefore comfort one another with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:16, 18).

The Rich Man and Lazarus

“But what about the Rich Man and Lazarus?” they ask. They always ask this. Every time I mention in passing to a Christian friend that I do not believe in consciousness after death (i.e. the innate immortality of the soul) they always bring up this story (Luke 16:19-31).

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a parable. It cannot be interpreted as anything else otherwise it is in conflict with too much in the rest of the Bible. It has to be understood as an allegory.

Problems with a literal interpretation

Here are some problems with interpreting it as reality – instead of a parable.

Read literally the parable suggests that Abraham is in heaven. However, according to Genesis 15:13-15 Abraham went to his fathers. Abraham’s ancestors were idolaters (Joshua 24:2). So if Abraham went to his fathers he should be in hell, not heaven. No Abraham is neither in hell nor heaven, but dead – buried with his ancestors. Hebrew 11:8-10, 13 says that Abraham died without receiving the promise (the Promised Land, i.e. Heaven).

According to Scripture one does not get ones reward upon death, but “they that have done good, [receives] the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, [receives] the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28, 29). It is at the Second Coming that the reward is given “to every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12). The reward is given to all the Righteous at the same time (Hebrews 11:39, 40). Both the Dead Righteous and the Living Righteous will go with Jesus to Heaven at the same time (I Thess. 4:16, 17).

Reason for the parable

Jesus used the parable to chastise the Pharisees for their money-loving (Luke 16:14, 19-21).

The parable also warns that miracles from the netherworld (i.e. “Crossing Over with John Edwards”) will not bring people to repentance (Luke 16:30). Truth comes not from the spirits of the deceased, but from the Scriptures – “Moses and the Prophets” (Luke 16:31).

Jesus habitually talked in parables (Matthew 13:34, 35). It was His preferred method of teaching (Mark 4:33, 34) and he often used the common metaphors of his audience. Using the metaphors from the Pharisees own (erroneous) paradigms he showed them on their covetousness.

Life on Mars came from Earth…

I’ve often heard the theory that life on Earth came from outer space and according to some specifically from Mars. But I never really thought of the opposite scenario – that bacteria found on Mars could just as well have come from Earth. It’s more probably anyway.

I got the following from another blog. Unfortunately the article ended up being somewhat of a Creationist propaganda, which is a pity as I would have liked a more unbiased reading. But then again, it’s not as if most of the scientific community is unbiased when it comes to the whole evolution vs creation drama.

Recently, the headlines are filled with statements from NASA that soil on Mars may contain microbial life. What if this is true after all? Would such a discovery confirm evolutionary theory? No.

First, such a discovery would not prove that such life had evolved from non-living matter by chance natural processes. And even if we do find evidence of life on Mars it would have most likely have come from our very own planet - Earth!

In the Earth’s past there was powerful volcanic activity which could have easily spewed dirt containing microbes into outer space which eventually could have reached Mars. A Newsweek article of September 21, 1998, p.12 mentions exactly this possibility.

“We think there’s about 7 million tons of earth soil sitting on Mars”, says (evolutionist) Kenneth Nealson. “You have to consider the possibility that if we find life on Mars, it could have come from the Earth” [Weingarten, T., Newsweek, September 21, 1998, p.12]. Furthermore, MIT scientist Dr. Walt Brown (a creationist) in his book In The Beginning points out that during the great Genesis flood, as recorded in the Bible, the fountains of the deep that were let loose could have easily spewed out meteors and meteorites into space that very well may have contained micro-organisms such as bacteria.

About dictators

I feel I ought to comment on the farce in Zimbabwe, but I just don’t feel like talking about it. What is there to say? It’s been ridiculous from the start – the election was not legal. “Mugabe was the sole candidate in Friday's vote. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew, saying his supporters had become targets of brutal state-sponsored violence,” explains one reporter. (Robert Mugabe’s soldiers actually coerced people into voting, many of them “assisted” at the poll box.) Last night I even saw Archbishop Desmond Tutu doing a public prayer for Mugabe (83) to abdicate. Probably the most outrageous issue is that at today’s summit of the African Union Mugabe’s fraudulent election wasn’t the main topic of contentment – only the problem of violence in the country was discussed. Well that depends on the sources one reads. (Another source says Zim was the central topic.) And it seemed that only Kenya acted seriously concerned about the Zim-issue.

From one dictatorship to another – North Korea recently destroyed the main cooling tower of a main nuclear reactor. This was to act as a symbol of their commitment to dismantle their nuclear program. In return the U.S. promised to take Pyongyang off the “Terrorist list” and also awarded the communist regime’s good behaviour with food. “Korea sit!” says America. Korea sits. “Good doggy…here’s a snack.” Apparently this is not the scenarioy. According to U.S. spokesperson, Tom Casey, the U.S.’s gastric gift coinciding with North Korea’s good behaviour is purely coincidental.

The thing about dictatorships is that there is someone specific to blame for the suffering. Who is to be blamed for the outlandish raise in child murders in South Africa? Child murders went up with 22% from last year!

When I read the news I turn from Kangnamgu the Paranoid Prophet to Jeremiah the Depressed Prophet.

A future without privacy

This tongue-in-cheek YouTube video is prophetic.