The Glade 4.0

News at 11

I must say she hit the nail on the head on how I personally am currently torn on the religion.

Specifically liked this part:



I'd say her devotion to Christ is a bit stronger than mine at the moment, but I agree with her overall sentiment.

In other words, she's not leaving Christianity at all; she's just not going to.. well, be a fundamentalist, looks like.

Interesting, though, that she's doing so based on their apparent failure to adhere to her political views, and that she seems to want to lump all 2.1 billion Chrisitians into that category. I'm thinking she may have misunderstood a few basic concepts, but really, her decision hardly warrants much attention.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

In other words, she's able to separate the belief from the dogma of the religion.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

I thought writing her novel about Jesus in the first person was an odd choice for a Christian.

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It feels like all the people who want limited government really just want government limited to Republicans.
---The Daily Show

She lasted longer than I thought she would and took away the important stuff.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

I don't know what distinction you think you're making here. "Dogma" is just a word for doctrine that has acquired negative connotations and stigma for some reason.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

From what I'm reading she's confusing the Roman Catholic Church with the whole of Christianity(TM). She hasn't "left Christianity", she's just left the RCC and isn't participating in church anymore. Or, at least, not church as she's accustomed to thinking of it. I take a fairly broad view of what constitutes church. That said, I've seen a lot of ex-Catholics who are so burned out and angry with Catholicism that they don't want to have anything to do with anything that might resemble church at all. While I can understand that sentiment, I hope she's not among those who have turned their backs completely on the rest of the body.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

More specifically, dogma is a word for religious doctrine. You can't use dogma synonymously with doctrine outside of the connotation of religion.

A religion is made up of two parts- the beliefs of the individuals and their personal commitment/relationship with the deity they worship, and the centralized doctrine of the religion, which along with the belief itself often stipulates certain ways to act, things to do/not do, and a certain amount of necessary ceremony to include in the religion.

To separate the belief from the dogma is to be able to continue your personal belief/relationship (in this case) with God, without needing a centralized doctrine and ceremony to back it up.

In other words, you keep the belief but leave the church/religion.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

^^This in a nutshell is my fundamental stumbling block on religion right now. I admire the loving, forgiving nature of the Christian God, as well as the messages of temperance, humbleness, etc. But there's also a lot of sheer stupidity that comes with the Christian doctrine that makes no sense and seems flat-out contradictory to God's loving nature. It seems to me that much of the doctrine (mainly the "list of cannot's" and "abominations") and ceremony were invented by strictly by Man to keep control. I feel that God really frowns on many of the things Christians believe.

More specifically, dogma is a word for religious doctrine. You can't use dogma synonymously with doctrine outside of the connotation of religion.

A religion is made up of two parts- the beliefs of the individuals and their personal commitment/relationship with the deity they worship, and the centralized doctrine of the religion, which along with the belief itself often stipulates certain ways to act, things to do/not do, and a certain amount of necessary ceremony to include in the religion.

To separate the belief from the dogma is to be able to continue your personal belief/relationship (in this case) with God, without needing a centralized doctrine and ceremony to back it up.

In other words, you keep the belief but leave the church/religion.[/quote]

Except that this disitinction does not really exist. The beliefs themself are part of the doctrine as well, and are what dictate the form of the various aspects of worship are. If you're leaving the church but retaining the belief, what you're doing is schisming, and creating a new denomination of one (yourself), or switching to another stablished denomination.

It's all fine and dandy, but you're only leaving the religion if you're moving to an entirely separate belief system. If you're leaving the church, that's fine, people leave them all the time. However, very few churches have dogma or doctrine that exist for no reason. Practically all of them are based on some interpretation of Scripture or other, just as the differences between different types of Moslems are based on different interpretations of Mohammed's will for who was to succeed him. If you want to make up your own doctrine, go right ahead, but there's a certain arrogance to deciding to leave because church doctrine doesn't fit your political views. If you really do believe in God, it takes a fair amount of hubris to think He agrees with any earthly political position.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Yes it does, however church leaders in most faiths do it all the time. Oh, they usually phrase the political position as God wants you to live like this and back it up with scripture that can be interpreted that way. Someone else will come along and find a scripture that seems to oppose that point. The Holy wars go on and on.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

I don't think the pope cares.

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In time, this too shall pass.

I am sure the pope is in the Vatican going "Oh Noes! who will write the next Jesus was a vampire killer novel?"

My big question... is her writing going to stop being a joke? Are we going to get any more good books from her?

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

You seem to be implying that she ever wrote anything but garbage in the first place...

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

I enjoyed many of her Vampire Chronicles books. She may never be Charles Dickens calibur, but she is better than many authors ever will be.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

that movie was horrible Kaffis, I have actually watched it.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

To each there own, I suppose, but I thought they were crap. Then again, I'm a total sci-fi/fantasy geek, so I can't exact write them off as meaningless trash.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Haha.

All I care about is how lame she helped make vampires. Damn you Rice!

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"...the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" -Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

My only familiarity with Anne Rice's work are via the movies made of them.

Interview With Brad Pitt was enjoyable, if not a bit . . . overwrought. She seemed to take the whole vampires as glamorous poofters route.

My view of vampires is a bit complex:
I think that they are an amalgam of all of the different portrayals (yes, even Twilight) -- somewhat vulnerable and emo; yet strong and confident; enjoying the glamorous, bourgeoise lifestyle; yet not afraid to lurk in the dark shanty places; hunters of blood; yet also patient seducers; warriors, lovers, poets, overlords, subjects, average Joe/Jane.


Anyway, back on topic: yes I agree her even becoming Christian to begin with was a bit odd, given her persona, but then again, a spiritual awakening can happen to anyone.

What's glamorous about the middle-class lifestyle?

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Bourgeoise were considered pretty well-off in their day. It's basically just an expression now.

I think someone's just trying to sell some books.

I have to disagree. Bourgeoisie = middle class.
The were a target because they had assets, and they might have seemed well off to the poor...
Kinda like Anne Rice saying Christ is central to her life, but she's leaving Christianity; somehow the two don't make sense, unless you believe the words have alternate meanings.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko