Entry XVII--Taking Shape

Allowing myself a rare moment to pause--and reflect.

Got the main 'fallacy' down, that of the contradiction between christianity and political/economic conservatism, but there are still more to explore.

The one that strongly relates to 'christ as a hippie' is the idea that christ would probably be the number one opponent to christianity today if he did indeed return. The rapture wouldn't be quite what christians want it to be--they'd be the ones left behind.

In fact, that would be the title "Left Behind"--dig ironic twists like that.

Another fallacy would be, "god helps those who help themselves."

Though this may be more crudely regarded as a 'cop out' rather than a fallacy.

This expression, or way of thinking, is a rationalization based on the fact that god does not impact in any way the day-to-day life of any person, that there is no god up in the sky answering prayers or watching over his faithful flock. This is twisted to be interpreted as god preferring subjects who do things for themselves and don't bother him with petitions of healing and good tidings and forgiveness.

If there truly was a god involved in the lives of individuals who had faith, such an expression would not be necessary.

It would just be: "god helps."

Seriously twisted shit there. god does nothing, the person does all the work, yet god gets the credit.

That's a good one, but I still need a few more to round out this essay.

Been distracted from writing specific essay material because the outline for the entire book has been really taking shape in my mind these last couple of days.

It's almost as if; once I stopped worrying about the outline, it all came to me--or most of it came to me, I'm still trying to come up with a couple of essays for the second half of the book, and have them be consistent with the shift in tone the book undergoes in the second half.

See, my intent is that even though it's a collection of completely separate essays, that there should be an ever shifting tone that opens heavy, then becomes lighter, until finally concluding with an even tempered perspective--and one, hopefully, that neuters christianity.

Much as I kept putting it off, the outline is a necessary evil; ultimately I can't decide on which essay ideas to develop fully and which ones to drop, until an outline is...outlined before me.

Already been arranging and rearranging the order of the essays I've already written and/or decided are necessities, but I need to get it all down on paper...or up on the screen.

Starting off with the 'Hatred of Life.' That is the essence of christianity's threat, and also the fictional opening is the most aesthetically appropriate to open the book. This essay is essentially complete.

Second essay will be 'Hollow Knight' as the issue of faith is one that must likewise be confronted right off the bat. Likewise, this essay is essentially complete.

The faith metaphor should allow for a smooth segue into the essay on women and christianity, the latter being an essay which still needs considerable work. Starting this afternoon, I'll get on it.

Can't get bogged down in specifics--have to hammer out the outline.

After addressing the complex and often contradictory relationship between women and christianity, it seems natural enough to then address the excessively contradictory dynamic between christianity and morality.

There's still work to be done, but I've amassed a far amount of material, both documented and my own reflections, on the Psychology of christians and that seems to suitably follow the morality issue.

I suspect that the Psychology essay will signal a change in tone of the book; lighter, more sarcastic, and will thus pave the way for the essay on Fallacies.

Fallacies will take the book in a different direction; less ominous, which seems to be aesthetically fitting, given the book concludes with two optimistic essays.

Well, the last essay is half optimistic and half pessimistic, as it should be, because there are many possibilities of what will become of christianity--and the culture at large in the next generation.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. After Fallacies, I've got an idea for a more offbeat essays that will deal with the notion of whether or not atheists really "hate" god/christ, as the novelist C. S. Lewis claimed.

Stay with the lighter tone when I go with an essay on the 'marketing' of christ, born again, personal relationships. Again, I see a lot of room for sarcasm. It could also end up being one of the most controversial essays, primarily because it also attacks liberal/progressive support of christianity, which ultimately undermines a cultural shift away from a religio-centric culture.

This segues nicely into the next essay, which re-assumes a more strident tone; because this one, on the question of the existence of a soul, is not merely criticizing the christian viewpoint, it will be actively making the case against the christian concept of soul as being legitimate.

The essay following that, "There is No God, Anywhere" is even more ambitious, attacking the very notion of the existence of god.

Having run the gamut of tones throughout the course of this book, I think it's fitting for the final essay, on the future of christianity and the culture to be more even handed, poker faced if you will. Because there is more than one possibility for the future and christianity's place in it. Will it completely dominate? Will it be relegated to status of myth? Or somewhere in between?

Frankly, it's not limited to those three prospects. christianity may come to not dominate completely, yet more than enough to mean a shitty future, which is of course, what is taking place at present.



There. Done. Can't believe I came up with ten strong essays. Are they the best I'm capable of? I don't know. Probably not, actually. But it's the best I can do given my deadline.

But as I look at this outline up on the computer screen, it sure seems like I'm covering every aspect of christianity I've always wanted to confront.



I--HATRED OF LIFE

II--HOLLOW KNIGHT/FAITH

III--WOMEN AND CHRISTIANITY. Moral imperative for abortion. Possible title "Putting Herself in Her place" to underscore the essay's theme of the tragic contradiction of women adhering to a faith that only seeks to enslave them, mind body and soul.

IV--SEX, DRUGS AND CHRISTIANITY MORALITY AND CHRISTIANITY Hypocrisy. Catholic priests abuse. The concept of Christian sin will be explored at length. Drugs and christianity.

V--PSYCHOLOGY OF CHRISTIANS. Christians superiority, how to use it against them, christian rationalization. christian mind control tactics

VI--CORNERING THE MARKET ON CHRIST. christianity in relation to other religions. personal relationship. born again's. Attacking the liberal/progressive tolerance/outright support of religion.

VII--FALLACIES. Christ as communist. Christ would be anti-christian. God helps.

VIII--SOUL'D OUT. The notion that a soul 'weighs' 22 grams. Exploring the reality of what a soul could be, quantum physics, life after death, reincarnation, christ's views on reincarnation.

IX--THERE IS NO GOD, ANYWHERE--Desperation of christians to make christ/god real. Origins of the christian god. The logical arguments against god's existence and man's comprehension of god. Expounding on the previous essay, explanation the Hermetic Kabbalistic origin of the metaphysical and physical worlds. The notion that a God does not seek to judge or control but live experientially through each living sentient creature.

X--TWO PATHS, which will depict two possible futures of our society in relation to christianity; one in which christianity becomes dominant, and one in which it has been abandoned by a suitable majority of the populace. Actually it's more than two paths, more than two possibilities, but for the sake of editorial brevity, I'll focus on the extremes, even though something in between is more realistic to expect.

The ten essays that will comprise my book, Bye Bull.

Or as I refer to them as a private joke, the 10 Abandonment's.

Have to correct one previous erroneous thought--don't know if the above essays are the 'best I can do.' Nor am I sure if they're only going to amount to a steaming plate of shit, all depends how well or poorly they're written within the deadline restrictions.

One thing is for sure, not going to ultimately undermine and trivialize this book by including a lot of references to current events that will be the musty past in ten years. While aiming for an 'eternal quality' or 'timelessness' is a bit much to ask for (and quite frankly, inappropriate--christianity is neither eternal nor timeless, it's a scant 2000 years old and on the way out), I don't want this book to be dated or outdated anytime soon. It should resonate for decades, if written properly.

At least not until christianity has been rendered irrelevant. Then Bye Bull can be relegated to the cutout bin along with bible.

In order to achieve that, I've got to be highly selective when it comes to the fiction and nonfiction I use as introductory vehicles for each essay, don't want to get bogged down with current events--only those events that reflect the more enduring issues, such as morality, atheism, the existence of god, the role of religion in government and its suitable influence on the culture at large, etc.

But I shouldn't have to remind myself of all that; the main thing is, with the outline complete, it's all laid out in front of me now.

Only thing left to do is fill in the empty pages...