Friday, October 20, 2006

Irony is Not Only Dead, It has Turned Into a Zombie and is Eating our Brains

It's not so much that ChurchReport.com has labeled David Kuo -- Christian, conservative, former member of the Bush Administration (as second in command of the faith-based initiative) David Kuo -- a member of the Axis of Evil for daring to publish a book critical of Bush, putting him in the same league as North Korea, as Adele M. Stan notes (to whom also a hat tip for the link). That's just par for the course for the "Bush is Jesus" Christians that we have around these days.

No, it's that at the end of this essay labeled "David Kuo: An Additiion (sic) to the Axis of Evil", an essay which says, among other things, that Kuo is "only move[d]... to author a masterpiece when he feels like an unimportant, disgruntled former employee and needs to make a few dollars," that claims that he has "penchant for penning thrillers as a disgruntled former employee," that says that he " has been described as a 'wolf in sheep’s clothing'" and that responds to Kuo's claim that the White House describes its Evangelical supporters as "nuts, goofy and boorish" by suggesting that "Kuo should take a closer look in the mirror" -- it's that at the end of all this, the essayist, one Jason T. Christy (I kid you not, that's his name) -- says this:
David Kuo forgot one important lesson: Judge not lest ye be judged.

Irony has now officially turned into a Zombie and is eating our brains. (Link via)

That is all.

Update: On (the non-ironic side of) the larger David Kuo issue, I think Tristero hits the essential point:
...no one seems to have asked what I think is the only interesting question: Does David Kuo believe that the US government actually should have an Office of Faith Based Initiatives?...

To make it clear, there should be no office of faith-based initiatives. The very idea is digustingly offensive. To say so does not make me a "secularist" as many of the devout understand how important such a wall is to their faith. I am merely being an American. A wall of separation between church and state was clearly established by the Founders and over the years, that wall has been determined, quite rightly, to mean that no religion can be privileged by the US government. And that means giving 'em money or other special breaks.

Kuo's basic point appears to be that faith-based initiatives would be great, provided he was in control of it, or some other incorruptible evangelical. No, it wouldn't. It is simply un-American, a direct violation of the Constitution and American traditions.
Amen.

1 comment:

Seven Star Hand said...

Hey Stephen,

David Kuo's book does nothing to dispel claims of an American theocracy as some have asserted. In fact, he has inadvertently provided stunning insights into their true nature and purpose. No leader of an empire ever truly believes the religions used to manipulate subjects. That would be like a drug dealer hooked on his product; its bad for business...

Understanding why religion is strong delusion

Christians often quote things like "know them by their fruits," yet after millennia of being duped into abetting blatantly evil scoundrels, many still don't understand the meaning or import of much of what they read. The same canon paradoxically propounds "faith," which means the complete opposite of "know them by their fruits," i.e., to discern the truth by analyzing deeds and results (works) and to weigh actions instead of merely believing what is said.

The deceptive circular logic of posing a fantasy messiah who urges both discernment of the truth and faith (belief without proof) clearly represents a skillful and purposeful effort to impose ignorance and confusion through "strong delusion." Any sage worth his salt could understand the folly of this contradictory so-called wisdom. This and mountains of evidence demonstrate that faith and religion are the opposite of truth and wisdom. It is no wonder charlatans like Rove, Bush, and others have marked Christians as dupes to be milked as long and as hard as possible. Any accomplished con artist easily recognizes religion as the ultimate scam and fervent followers as ready-made marks and dupes.

We now live in an era where science has proven so much about the vastness, rationality, mathematical preciseness, and structural orderliness throughout every level of our 11-dimension universe. Nonetheless, large percentages of people still conclude that these flawed and contradictory religious canons are the unmodified and infallible "word of God." People who can't (or won't) discern the difference between truth and belief are easily misled about the differences between good and evil, wisdom and folly, perfection and error, reason and irrationality, and right and wrong.

The fact that political leaders have always had close relationships with religious leaders while cooperating to manipulate followers to gain wealth and power is overwhelming evidence that the true purpose of religion is deception and delusion. People who are unable to effectively discern basic moral choices or to reason accurately are easily indoctrinated to follow the dictates of national and imperial leaders who wrap themselves in religious pretense. Truth and wisdom are direct threats to the existence and power of empires. That is why imperial leaders always strive to hide so-called secret knowledge and impose deception and ignorance upon their subjects.

What then is the purpose of "faith" but to prevent otherwise good people from seeking to understand truth and wisdom?

Read More...

Peace...