holy shit
so we have a wacko down in florida who wants to burn the koran (quran) on saturday because he believes that Jesus would in fact certainly burn this book. and yes, he did preface his decision by saying he didn’t think that Jesus was a book burner. he prayed and prayed, and prayed… and the answer came, yes, yes yes, burn the koran (quran).
and then you have a woman who beat the living shit out of her baby and said that Jesus told her that her child should be with him now. she stood in front of a judge and through her cracked tears, said she prayed and prayed and the answer was: your child should be with me now. so, she beat the child to a pulp. i’m pretty sure the Jesus defense will not fly.
and then you have the politician who said he prayed and prayed and prayed and the answer came: homosexuality was a disease, and no he could not support the union of two gay people. he was adamant. his God told him that the only marriage that was honorable was between a man and a woman. and God is always right. well, apparently God was as confused as he was, because a few years later that politician announced his homosexuality, and once again, God was smack dab in the middle of that decision.
and then there are the folks who pray and pray and pray to their God’s, all different God’s … and apparently their answers are just as clear: they must demonize others, criticize others, denounce others, kill others, be holy intolerant, vicious, filled with vile hatred, burn others, stone others, whip others, torture others, and bully others.
from my own experience, and i share this because, well, i seem to share everything… there are times when i pray (as a practicing buddhist) and i am filled with rage and anger and confusion and sadness, and that all that seems to swirl around in my head and my heart (just like the stale air in an airplane), and what comes out of that kind of prayer is, yes, yes, YES hurt ken, hurl something at him. just hurl him across the room. urggggggggggh. but i know that that answer in front of my altar comes from anger and rage and it is not THE TRUTH. it is not the ANSWER. it is my own anger. my own fear. my own prejudice and confusion. it is my own delusion. he didn’t pick up after himself, and so, that pissed me off. the voice telling me to slap him silly was NOT a buddhist god, it was my anger. it was my own anger and it’s called “clouded delusion.”
i believe that for some folks, not all folks, praying with a heart already filled with anger and rage and hate and torture and fear and prejudice and torment … chances are those voices (inside) will grow much louder, screaming at you, and that’s not God talking to you. it isn’t. and honestly, if you’re anything like me, i gotta say, for some of us, those voices we hear screaming at us, berating us, ripping us to shreds – could very well be the voice’s of our mothers, and contrary to all rumors, mothers were and are not God — although vaginas are. Nothing is more powerful than a vagina.
Jesus did not tell mr. jones he must burn the koran. mr. jones is a crazy lunatic fanatic. period.
Jesus did not tell that mother to murder her baby. that mother was a crack addicted unstable woman. period.
but … yes, yes, yes, oh yes i think it’s time that glenn beck, and sarah palin and george bush and dick cheney and john mccain and rush limbaugh and rev. wright, and the whole lot of them- and there are plenty – who claim that God talks through them, that God walks beside them, that God speaks to them – i think it’s time that they announce that God wants calm and peace and kindness and tolerance, and “to love they neighbor as thyself” is not just a bumper sticker, and that they must and should denounce the hatred and violence and intolerance that is being invoked in the name of GOD.
RIGHT NOW, RIGHT THIS MINUTE.
Category: Uncategorized 14 comments »
September 9th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Amen sister/friend. This is the truth. I wish it would happen as well.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Hallelujah!
So well said. Thank you Amy Ferris.
What a great piece.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Brilliant!!!
September 9th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Brilliant Amy! Every fascinating word resonated truth to me. You go girl!
September 9th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Your points are valid but very skewed in your last paragraph. You failed to mention Rev. Wright, or even President Obama. But wait, perhaps you think he is God. He certainly does himself.
September 9th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
thank you mary. i just added rev. wright to the blog – thank you for reminding me about his tirade & hate filled remarks.
i don’t feel the same way you do about obama, so i’ll just let that one go.
best, amy
September 9th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Peace. Please.
September 9th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
I have always wondered how the God of one universe came with so many contradictory opinions on just what constitutes FAITH.
I believe we serve one god, creator of one universe, adorer of all creatures, believer in all man kind. We’re the ones that screw it up, not god.
September 9th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
you are such a goddess, jane. thank you thank you.
September 10th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Bang on, Ms. Ferris. As always.
Anger is just louder than peace. Which is why we so often hear it first.
September 11th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Hey Amy, Long time no talk. Loved this. The world is a mad mad place.
September 12th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Good one, loved where you got to Ken, while chanting, unexpected and wildly silly! But still your message touching and true… love you…
September 13th, 2010 at 8:00 am
All you need is love…. What a wonderful world this would be…. Amy, you are so right, very well said! My God is not a vengeful one…. XOXO
September 13th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Amen!