If the sun imploded, what would you do? Watch it, or run away? I'd watch.

Well, angelfire never got this much action from me.

I have no real reason for this post but thought that I'm here, why not.

You will notice that, after I stop whining about angelfire, I will make posts that have nothing at all to do with said vile waste of cyberspace.

My posts will often be ramblings on a subject that I pluck from the aether. The titles I use will rarely have anything to do with the subject. The subject will rarely have anything to do with the title, and they will both have very little to do with anything at all. That's the way I like it.

Occasionally, you may read something that is coherent and sane. I apologise for this now, and not again.

Oh, who thinks Ratzinger will make a good pope? It's an interesting notion isn't it 'popedom'?

I applied myself but was turned away on the grounds that I am not a Catholic. Well, news flash... nobody's really a Catholic. Looking at that word, it actually appears to be a condition.

"Are you ok?"
"No, not really, I'm Catholic"
"Oh, you poor thing."

I mean, good on them for having beliefs and all but, really, they need a better name.

It also seems pretty inaccurate for the most part. 'Catholic' as a word means things like 'of broad and liberal scope' and 'free from prejudices'.

Hee hee hee, that made me giggle. I wasn't around, but I've heard of the Inquisition. I've got books on the subject. They need to change there name to something like "The Church of the Holy Biggot and those that follow the creeds although they may be against the preudice and hatred that is preached from on high". Something like that anyway.

I'm not against Catholocism, I'm not against any religious beliefs. I am against the proselytising methodology of fanatics however and the insane belief that all those who don't follow a particular creed will perish in the pits of hell or whatever. It's not needed. Televangelists are not needed. People who knock on my door unannounced are not needed. Personally, I'd prefer to rot in hell before I go along with something I don't believe in 100%.

I used to go to church, I used to be a believer. It was the Uniting Church. In the end I was only going to take care of the kids in Sunday School and play in the band. That's what I was there for. I started turning down holy communion on the basis that it didn't feel right and then, one day, bamm, I stopped going. I have beliefs, You'll probably hear about them one day. I have no interest in converting anyone because it's a personal choice. If you want to believe in an all-powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent god, then do so. If you want to believe in an entire pantheon of deities, then do so. If there are no gods and you believe in the divine power and presence of alien life-forms, then go ahead, Von Danniken was probably on to something. Are there fairies in your garden, does an ancient philosopher and his followers provide all the answers for you? Then , good. Great. We should all be free to believe what we want, and I mean really free, not the illusion that we have at the moment. If that freedom was there then Salmon Rushdie would not be living under a Fatwa and people wouldn't be persecuted STILL for practicing witchcraft and voodoo and a host of other belief systems.

I've seen predjudice and bigotry performed by people who are supposedly firm believers in their own faith and also very accepting people. "Bring them to the Lord" they will cry, "Show them the way". It is there that they should stop and think about what they are saying. "THE way", as if there is only one way. One way to what? Heaven? Well, if you don't believe in heaven then the way there really is of no importance. If you don't believe in hell, chances are you won't end up there anyway. You'll go wherever you believe you'll go. Excepting those who believe they'll reappear at Hugh Heffner's Playboy Mansion. I don't think that would happen. But, I may be wrong.

It irritates me to no end to hear people screaming about Islamic fundamentalists blowing up cars and calling for Jihad on the infidels. Fair enough, it's an insane notion but really, are televangelists any better? NO!!! They're worse. We can look at an extremist Islamic group and think that causing violence such as car bombs is wrong and uncalled for regarding religion (it's a slightly different matter regarding political motivations), but when we watch a televangelist we are corroded from the inside if we don't have our wits about us. We (i.e. everyone, believers or not) are worthless sinners who must repent, repent, repent!!! We are an eyesore to God, but he still loves us. The god of the televangelists is vindictive, jealous and not terribly pleasant. It is their fervour that incites violence (whether intentional on their part or not). Violence towards people of other faiths. And it isn't just televangelists and it isn't just Christians and Muslims that can possess a dangerously fanatical devotion to their creeds. Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Mormons, Wiccans, Satanists, primal religious devotees, Palo Mayombe, Voodoo and virtually every other religion has had its share of fanatics. This is often a case of the bad apple ruining the whole bunch but were it not for something within the bunch (a creed, an oath, a belief) then fanaticism would be a rare concept indeed.

Anyway, the crux of the matter, in a nutshell is that fanaticism in whatever form it may take or whatever purpose it may seek to fulfill, is an outdated, socially inferior way of thinking. I may not like your beliefs, you may not like mine. I am NOT going to send you a letter bomb in the hopes that you may meet MY god before yours wanted you. I will not persecute you because what you believe differs from what I believe, and I will not be persecuted. If I am though, so what, it won't change my beliefs. Many have tried but I am unconvertable (or, inconvertable- I should look that up). I don't believe that there is only one true faith because that, to me, seems completely pointless. Only a jealous god would want that. Also, that the god of the Christians, Jwes and Muslims is practically the same god, makes the idea of Jihads and Crusades against each other seem completly daft. Basically it could be interpreted as the Jews possessing the Foreward (Old Testament), the Christians have the first and only chapter (New Testament) and the Muslims follow the appendix (Koran). So, really being themselves, a complete Trinity, maybe they need to readdress their views on each other and say "well, fine, you believe that section, we'll believe this one. Whichever of us gets it wrong will be decided at the end of time". Leave each other in peace and focus on what you believe. That's the order of the day as I see it. There's been too much bloodshed and devastation in the names of gods. It's past time that it stopped. We are better than that, as a species. I hope.

Well, that's my last post for tonight, I promise. See, I get carried away sometimes. It's all good though. It's fun, it's creating a basis for discussion. I like that. I also like coffee and these postings have been brought to you by a well know brand.

Goodnight.