A Reasonable Religion

[elysium]

hi mr. sklansky

sklanskyanity works well on paper, however, GOD is not so easily understandable as all that. the incredible vicissitude (yes i have my little webster's) and seemingly utter chaos with which the true GOD orchestrates events, with a dash or so of freewill in the mix, causes mankind to grasp for the advice of the prophet GOD will often throw out to man much as a lifesaver might be thrown to a drowning swimmer. the more turbulent the sea, the more clenchingly man grasps the floatation device throw to him. GOD likes HIS words really held onto like that, and HE achieves that through seemingly random and utter chaos. here is where we run into a problem though.

when beholding the advice of the prophet GOD so chooses to guide man through the turbulence of creation, man does not at first realize the connection between what the prophet is saying and its relation to the true GOD. furthermore, the prophet is almost always the very last person that man wants to have as a lifesaver. in fact, the prophet will appear unto mankind as being in a race with man, and it will seem as if the prophet is hurriedly attempting to get GOD to create a more and more turbulent world, and not a less and less one. and GOD of all things listens to the prophet and not the great majority of the people, and great turbulence erupts that gives the people the mistaken belief that the prophet is somehow forecasting the future. and the people cling faster and faster to the prophetic utterances of the prophet as he leads mankind into cataclysmic ecstasy. however, the prophet is not forecasting the future.

what is happening is that somehow, GOD has enabled the prophet to help mankind to see the interaction of GOD on the planet. the prophet is not seeing the future, mankind is witnessing GOD's interaction between HIMSELF and man. however, mankind finds it easier and more comporting with traditional interpretations about GOD to believe that they are not witnessing GOD but rather witnessing one of GOD's people forecast something or other about the future. worse, the people believe that they are witnessing a prophet foretell the future more than they believe in GOD. this is how much GOD's interaction on the planet appears to be something happening that HIS prophet predicted would happen.

now the prophet, he isn't so foolish. he knows that he can't predict the future. the prophet thinks it to be a great miracle that his words appear to be some sort of prediction. and since he knows that he couldn't have accomplished such a feat, the prophet, due to his own prophetic utterances, draws closer to GOD to whom he gives all the credit. this closer relationship with GOD enables the prophet to hear GOD much more clearly.

it's not too hard to figure out what happens next as the people demand that the prophet forecast good things about the future, and the prophet forecasts the worst since he knows that mankind is angering GOD by recognizing the prophesy but not recognizing GOD. the prophet says, 'you would know that i cannot tell of the future if you could see GOD interacting here in your midst.', and the people scream, 'no! GOD is too chaotic for our taste. but your words, they predict the future....no, no wait. they do more than that. they make the future. please tell us good things then perhaps good things will happen. wouldn't GOD want that?'.

of course the prophet then begins a self deprecating process to end all self deprecating processes, and lowers the boom.

anyway, if the people could distinguish the future from GOD's interaction on the planet, GOD wouldn't have need to send in the prophet. most people stand a better chance of improving their relationship with GOD by studying the recalcitrance of the prophets, and the public's utter distain for them. note too what happens to them those times GOD allows it. petitioning one of those guys for a more orderly GOD is the first step taken before becoming thoroughly convinced that the entire planet is on the verge of a great unstoppable cataclysm. in that way and in that way only do we as humans begin to see the true GOD.

[Barracuda]

David you should take a look at the Movie called What the bleep do we know. You will like it I think. Might give you some more things to think about.

[WaimanaloSlim]

David always seemed to have bit of an ego, but I never expected that he'd ever lay down tenets to a religion named after himself. Too funny.

If Sklankyanity is to have any legitimacy however, it has to have some trappings of organized religion: symbols, idolatry, rituals, texts, brochures, meeting places, a sabbath day, holidays, a mecca, an armed and fortified compound, church bureaucracy and hierarchy, political lobbies, myths of the afterlife, and of course, scandal.

There seems to be a few things going for it: you do have a creation myth and you also have fundraising mechanisms.

[reubenf]

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For many years I have suspected but have not proved that this surprising fact may be what is behind certin intractable number theory problems. Goldbach's Conjecture for example. Each time you check out a bigger even number, pure probability reduces the chances that you will find it to be not the sum of two primes. And the sum of those probabilities, if I am not mistaken, converge.

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I am curious what exactly you mean by "the probability that you will find the number n to not be the sum of two primes". I want to know what the word "probability" means in this sentence. It seems very strange.

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I'm really hoping for an answer here, David, because the post I replied to seems nonsensical to me. There isn't a "possible worlds" interpretation of number theory.

[revots33]

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It seems like a lot of the fervent believers I know fit one of these two categories which I don't think is a coincidence. They get to say that we are ALL horrible sinners because of Adam and Eve and that in spite of this, believing in Jesus gets us into heaven. How convenient if you spent half your life as a thief, whore or scoundrel, or if you know you have no will power.)

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Amen to that. Just look at our "born-again" president, as well as all the other right-wing nutjobs in this country. They talk a good game, but their actions give them away for the hypocrites they are.

[LuvDemNutz]

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What about the Kuran. Is that God's word? How am I supposed to find the real God's word when there are multiple versions of "God's word" out there? Man telling me what God says simply is not enough for me. Look at all the false gods before us. I am not asking for man to tell me what God says to believe. I am asking for God to tell me what to believe. There is a difference.

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Building on this -

How would you refute the argument that since I DO NOT believe, that God has not spoken to me? If GOD himself has spoken to me, don't you think I would believe?

What if I'm just too stupid to know the difference? Should I be punished for being stupid?

[dancraw]

If you haven't already, you should look into the "Church of the Subgenius" books by Ivan Stang. I think you would get a kick out of them....of course being just a plain old "genius", you may need a year or two of heavy drug use in order to get your brain down to, or up to, depending on your perspective, the "subgenius" level. You have nothing to lose really...the subgenius promise "Eternal salvation, or TRIPLE your money back!!"