Religion

As most of you know by now, and the rest of you will know after reading this, I am an atheist.  There is a lot of misunderstanding as to what it means to be an atheist.  Being an atheist has nothing to do with one's politics.  No, I am not a communist!  Although some communists are atheistic, and some atheists are communist, it just isn't true that all atheists are communists.  In fact, if you examine how the early Pilgrim/Puritan colonies were set up, you will see that they were communistic.  And no one would accuse them of being atheists.  Actually, when I take one of the various tests that supposedly determine one's position on the political spectrum, I always come out as a centrist with a very slight right lean.  I suppose I would vote libertarian if they didn't have so many flakes heading the party.  If we could get rid of the religious nut cases in the Republican party, I'd be satisfied with them.

Nor does being an atheist mean that one doesn't believe and support moral codes espoused by "religious" people.  In other words, just because the Bible says it doesn't mean it's wrong.  I look at early religious leaders/prophets as the first scientists, the first social engineers, the first law givers.  They were people with wisdom and insight enough to recognize actions that could either help the small, fragile society grow in a healthy direction or lead to it's ultimate destruction.  For the most part they made wise decisions, decisions that applied to the times in which they lived.  I just think they were wrong in not accepting that they were wise enough to draw the conclusions they did but instead attributed their wisdom and insight to revelations from some supreme being.  

People ask me how I can believe something as intricate as mankind could exist without some supreme guidance in the design.  I in turn ask how something as flawed as mankind could have possibly been designed by an omnipotent, omniscient being.  An all-powerful God could surely have done a better job.  I will explore this theme more in further posts.  And feel free to leave your comments on this or other related topics.  We learn through discussion.  But for now I will move on to:

HELL!  Come on, people!  Do you really think a just god would condemn folks to an everlasting (that's a pretty long time!) punishment in fire for just not believing in that god?  WOW!  Would you even WANT to worship such an egotist?  More on that later, also.

What about the very premise of Christianity?  The sacrifice of the innocent to save the sinners?  Where is the sense in that?  When ancient Indian tribes practiced this very thing (virgin sacrifice) we called it barbaric.  How is it any less barbaric to believe that a man named Jesus was sacrificed to save anyone who wanted to believe He was sacrificed to save them?  And what about the rite of communion?  We are asked to believe that the bread (wafer, whatever) and the wine (or grapejuice for some sects) actually transmute to the body and blood of Jesus.  Would that not mean that Christianity accepts and practices cannibalism?  And it's supposed to be ok because Jesus is the son of God? 

Friends, I think I will stop on this for the day.  I have much, much more to say on the subject of religion in general and Christianity in particular.  But I've swum these waters enough for the nonce.  Time for a cold beer.

Benbrook Lake

Today is our last day here at Benbrook Lake.  Tomorrow we leave for (and arrive at) Wichita Falls, Texas.  I'm really looking forward to being at Wichita Falls, not only because I anticipate doing well with sales at Sheppard AFB, but because I've seen some nice pictures of the bike trails there.  Wichita Falls is host to the Hotter-N-Hell Hundred, a hundred mile bike race, every year and the looks of the trails system indicate that this is an excellent place to ride.

I haven't been getting as much riding done recently as I would like.  My longest ride in the last few weeks has been just over 16 miles and I am hoping I can get back up to at least 20 miles three days out of four like I was riding last year, with at least one 30+ ride in the next month.
 
 I'll be seeing my doctor for a yearly exam in January and I want to be down a few pounds by then.  We saw the doc in Oct and for some reason I gained 10 pounds in the two weeks before that visit.  I don't think she believed that I'd gained it that rapidly, so I want to show her that at least  I can take it off.

Glenda' side pain has been diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome.  I told her that I was suffering from irritable spouse syndrome.  She wasn't pleased with that comment.  Go figure!  In any case, it was a relief to find that it's not something life threatening (or even requires surgery).  And she's starting to feel better. 
 
 I'll be back atcha when we get to Wichita Falls.