I’M CURRENTLY READING THE BOOK

i’m currently reading the book contact, by carl sagan. i loved the movie they made of it, so i wanted to see how well the movie stuck to the book. there’s some minor differences, but it’s basically the same. one of the parts in both the movie and the book that i like best is the religious response to alien signal. every religious group in the world is up in arms about the Message. some say its good, others bad. most interpret the Message as being from God (not the overnight delivery company). just reading or watching these scenes always makes me angry. i hate seeing a bunch of people throw away their individuality by subscribing to an organized religion, and adhering to its doctrine without giving it an speck of thought. its the same feeling i get when i go to church. i hate seeing a whole church-full of people sucking up to some unseen big guy in the sky, for the selfish prupose of “saving their souls”. as far as i’m concerned, organized religion is a lame excuse for people to ignore the world’s problems and let other people handle their spiritual needs. i’m not saying that religion is all bad. it has good intentions, but it also has out dated practices, and its follower are for the most part merely (i love this metaphor , coming from a relatively catholic family) a flock of sheep; unthinking, glazed over followers who follow as long as they don’t have to sacrifice anything (except an hour on sundays). there are exceptions, but not many. in church, i look around and wonder how many people are actually going to adhere to the message being preached, or even actually listening and thinking about it. 3 or 4, maybe, out of 75. pretty pitiful. personally, i’m a lazy self serving, hypocritical bastard, but at least i know it. these people actually think they’re doing something virtuous by just going to church!! UUURRRRGGHHHHH!!!! i can’t stand it! if you really want to do something virtuous, do charity work (yes, that means with no pay), or better yet (and this is my master plan) set a low level of what is comfortable living, set aside the money from your income for it, and donate the rest to charity! but i’m sure that idea has never even grazed the minds of all the “devout parishioners” in my congregation. argh.

i think i’l stop the tyrade for now. i’m beginning to offend myself.

when i grow up and don’t practice what i preach, the reader has my permission to destroy me. it’ll probably be in a couple of years.