This is why I'm spiritual, NOT religious

I can't seem to sleep so I thought I'd write a short note. Lately I've been doing some Bible study (I'm not Christian) simply because I want to be a well-rounded intellect. I'm studying a lot of religions actually, but that's for another discussion. I've found two Bible verses, each extremely annoying, one of which is quoted a lot; the other, not quite so much. So without further ado here they are translated in to the lazy man's New Living Translation version for your reading pleasure:

Matthew 19:24 "I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

I've touched on this before. So in other words, if you use the "gifts God gave you" to gain success in life than you are going to hell? Wow, doesn't really seem fair does it?

Leviticus 18:22 “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin."

Ahhh, do as I say or I'll punish you, that's the Christian way. Not to get too off topic here but John, my roommate Carol's new boyfriend had no problem blatantly admitting to me the other day that being gay is a lifestyle choice, not something that's out of your control. I was so tempted to ask him, "so if you wanted to you could sleep with another man, since it's a choice and all?"

'Nuff said

Ignorance of 9/11

So some of you know that I tutor on the side. One of the kids I tutor is an eleven year old sixth grader named Kenny. I forget how it came up but I related something that we were working on to the 9/11 attacks. He had a puzzled look on his face. To my disbelief, he had absolutely no idea how what I was talking about. I tried explaining it further to see if I could jog his memory. No luck. In my mind, I was like "what the f**k?" I realize he's only eleven but how could he not know about this? This being probably the single greatest, most historic event in US history, someone really dropped the ball. I mean, the attack on Pearl Harbor happened some 42 years before I was born, but I knew about it when I was eleven. This kid was born three years before the attacks.

One would think he would have at least overheard people talking about it or heard something on the news, school, parents, etc. I sure didn't want to be the one to tell him about it. I think a sixth grader is plenty old enough to understand and comprehend this sort of thing. Way to go OSPI and/or the US Department of Education. How about adapting your curriculum to include recent historic events such as this? Nope, sixth grade social science lessons still include stuff like irrigation, geography, and Hiawatha, who died like 500 years ago.

The system is messed up!

Click to see Washington state sixth grade standards for Social Studies.

Contact Kelly Martin, Social Studies program supervisor at OSPI to complain
360-725-6351
Or Email

Idiots in my religion class

Some of the viewpoints in my class are utterly ridiculous:

Matthew 19:24 "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Someone actually quoted this in my class and used it as their discussion question answer.

Sometimes I can't believe how idiotic people are believing this garbage. Isn't the love of money the root to all evil, not money in and of itself? I realize the premise of God coming first but if God gives you the skills to obtain great wealth than why is it worthy of punishment when one actually does so? That would be like being parents grounding their child for getting straight A's.

My belief is that religion is a man made entity to help relieve the anxiety around dying. All of us are uncertain about what happens at the end no matter how we try to cover it up. This is why man created religion promote the idea of eternity. No one wants to admit the possibility that we are born, we live, we die, and that's it.