Fellyconnelly's Journal

06/06/2007 12:07 #39544

Religion: Theory and Evolution
Category: religion

Due to some of the recent discussions of religion on the estrip, I have decided to write a bit about my own religious views.

I'll begin with something my mother once told me. It went something like
"I don't need a roof over my head to believe what I believe" in reference to going to church.

I grew up attending church. Or Sunday school at the very least. I have to confess that a great deal of my superficially religious nature had to do with the activities at the church, rather than the religion itself. My Sunday school teacher was a wealthy woman who used to set up an assortment of activities that peaked my interest. Picnics, trips to Darien Lake (what is that religious week that they have? Kingdom Bound?) We went to Toronto to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat.

It wasn't until about tenth grade when, in my social studies class, we started to study world religions from an educational position. It was at this point that I started listening. I started quietly questioning what they were teaching me.

Throughout the years I have become very interested in religion, but from a more open minded, historical and didactic point of view. I took a course in the Bible in college and got an A. I have probably watched every program that has ever been on the History channel about religion. But my curiosity has always been in the historical rather than the religious. To be precise, the evolution of religion to what it has become today, and the theories and gospels that have been dropped along the way.

I read in a book of fiction recently (one of the slew of post - DaVinci Code religious conspiracy theory books) something that I actually found as an interesting theory. At the risk of an argument, I will summarize.

The theory went as follows: Jesus was an ordinary man who had a religious inspiration about the way to live life. It was a beautiful and inspirational way to live without judgment of others, and love for one and all. When Jesus died, he was not resurrected to walk the earth in the flesh. The resurrection of Jesus was intended to develop into the rebirth of his principles into the traditions of his followers. It was the state of the world, and the requirement for a more authoritative message that prompted for the ascension of Jesus as the Son of God, in order to generate Christianity as force to challenge the pagan religion of the Romans as well as Judaism.

Now I'm not saying that this is in fact my belief, but I will say that this speculation touches me more than the contradictory and ever evolving verses of what has become the bible. The bible is an amazing volume of poignant and moral (and not so moral) stories that serve as a guideline for living a life of love and peace. But the idea of taking said Bible and following it as if it were law is quite absurd to me. I am very much in the conviction that religion is an individual experience, not one of sheep following sheep blindly without question.

Okay on that note I'm going to stop, as I could probably go on forever, and I've probably made enough enemies for the day.

drew - 06/06/07 21:04
Ok, here's the scoop on Q.

Of the four Biblical Gospels, 3 are similar, Matthew Mark and Luke. John is pretty different, and likely written at a later date. By looking at what's in the other 3, scholars have concluded that Matthew and Luke both had access to Mark and used it as a source. They also each had an independent source that nobody else used. Matthew and Luke also had a source in common, besides Mark. The Scholars called this "q" short for the German word for source. Nobody has a copy of Q, it may or may not have existed, it is our best guess.

Even the most skeptical of scholars give earlier dates to the New Testament. There are multiple attestations to it in the 2nd century.

The different translations have actually helped us understand what the early texts said. This is because most translators did not do translations of translations, but worked from the original languages. There are, of course, a few variants, and the footnotes of a scholarly Bible will point these out (Oxford NRSV is kind of the standard English translation--I can show you the best Greek if you want). Anyway, by comparing early translations, we are able to see that the Greek text was pretty well established. Almost all modern translations have gone back to those early texts, rather than doing the copy of a copy thing.

Yes, the canon was formally voted on at Nicea. However, there was wide agreement much earlier than that. If we look at the "excluded" texts, most of them were written at a later date, and by people that had no connection at all to Christ.

It's fun to look for conspiracies, but if they were being conspiratorial, they did a lousy job of it. After all, they did not do anything about the inconsistancies among the 4 gospels, or the different theologies held by Paul, John, and James. They also left letters explaining why some books were left out and others included.

Same thing about the bishops "deciding" that Christ was the son of God at Nicea. That's like saying that Newton "decided" that gravity was real when the apple hit him. The ideas had been there for a while--yes, there were people contesting them. (By the way, some argued the opposite position--that he was only divine, and not human). They weren't "decided" at Nicea, so much as "codified."

Yes, history is written by the victors, but its pretty much all we have.

As for other theories:

If Roman soldiers knew anything, they knew how to kill people.

If Jesus had a kid, SOMEONE would have mentioned him/her.
Thanks for listening.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I get into this stuff, but I know I am in the minority.

And yes, I do understand that I can be wrong on just about anything, but I have put some time and energy into this stuff.

fellyconnelly - 06/06/07 19:31
good call man... lots of historical stuff that i would go into in epth right now but fortunately for us all i am supposed to be working/closing my store!

metalpeter - 06/06/07 19:08
I am the first to admit that I don't know much about the history of different religons. But it does sound like and interesting subject. Along with the theory you have said there are a few others that when you say them people think you are blastfamous but you really aren't. One of them (can't think of the name of it, but it does have a name) is that when Jesus was stabed he was stabed in the side but not in the heart cause if his heart would have been puncherd he couldn't have come back to life. There are many theories about Mary Magdelin I guess the biggest one is the one used in the DaVinci code that she had a kid with Jesus. In terms of History scholers do belive that there may be what I was told is called the Q source. If my memory is correct there are different bible stories that tell the same thing but with varations. Some scholers belive that some of the stories where taken from this one source. I wish I could remember it better. I guess the one thing about my belief system that I wish more people would remember is 3 things.
1) The Bible (any realigous book) was written by men and not god.
2) It was supposidly written around 400 years after Jeusus died
3) It was translated into many different langauges and there are different versions of it
: For your own personal beliefs it is good to keep those things in the back of your mind but when you start to think someone isn't living the way they should then you need to think about those 3 things and understand that you might be wrong.

fellyconnelly - 06/06/07 18:18
As I have indicated, I do not necessarily believe in this theory, but it interests me enough to allow myself to be open to it. I agree that the theory does not follow what we have been taught in history. I also see that there is a great deal of history that is being rewritten as we speak. The axiom 'History has been written by the victors" has been found to be true on many occasions when searching through the rubble of ancient civilizations. Why, then, should we discount any possibility of an altered history when considering religion?

At the Council of Nicaea - wherein said canons of what was to be the bible were decided upon, it was decided that Jesus was the son of God.... by bishops. And even at that, it has been proven that there were many bishops that were prevented from reaching the council until after the vote had been made. But all that is another story that I will not get into right now.

Truth is a constant factor that exists at many levels; it is in our interpretation of the details that confusion exerts influence and our faiths fragment.

For myself, someone who had struggled for a long time with religion, I find peace in following the teachings of love and compassion for all, without having to adhere to the beliefs that have been outlined by various religions.

joshua - 06/06/07 15:52
YOU THINK DIFFERENTLY THAN ME - CLEARLY I AM HATFIELD AND YOU ARE MCCOY! Mwahahah.

Yeah, I think denying the ressurection would rankle Christians - its one of the single most important articles of faith in all of Christianity, and most Christians would argue that beyond the ressurection being an article of faith, it is a historical fact based on documented eye-witness accounts. Ultimately, I suppose either you believe it or you don't.

To be honest though, I agree with virtually everything you wrote and am particularly interested in the historical angle.

Actually, this afternoon NPR had a panel discussion about religions role in society - slightly skewed (everybody on the panel was either liberal or a member of the "left hand of God") but still an interesting and level-headed discussion that I thought had alot of value. One of the panel members suggested that Europeans, while vastly secular, are more educated about religion than most Americans. Personally I thought this idea was counterintuitive and simply wrong, but it got me thinking about how more secularized societies than our own approach religion. Generally speaking, its my understanding that secular people are more prone to approach religion from a historical perspective. One of the more interesting historical tidbits for me is how the Roman Emperor Constantine affected the spread of Christianity - without him Christianity as it is and has been might have been vastly different. Another more controversial topic might be the Apocrypha and how the early church manipulated what the Bible would contain based on what they thought was and wasn't heretical.

For religious people... true believers, religion is (in my own view, anyway) not an intellectual exercise outside of knowing the content of the Bible. The larger meaning of the faith is contained within the experience of having a personal relationship with God. I think all religious people should at least have some understanding of other faiths, because there are some lessons to be learned and since religion has been the most powerful force in human history (for both good and bad, admittedly) the more everyone knows the better.

I also grew up attending church (e:felly) - my family are members of the United Church of Christ... one of the more liberal and gay-friendly denominations I might add. We did not grow up as members of your stereotypical "christian right," in other words, hehe.

Maybe some wouldn't admit it, but I believe everybody struggles with understanding God, or if not g-o-d then the concept of a higher power. Personally I find myself wondering alot about the concept of a loving God versus the concept of a punitive God (biggest religious topic (e:jason) and I talk about), the afterlife and whether or not the major world religions really are that mutually exclusive. I think there are some positives to take out of most religions that Christians, Buddhists, Hindus can all appreciate. You can imagine my twin brother and I with a joint talking about these religious things - sometimes they get too deep and way too theoretical, haha!

Sorry for this long comment but I'm like you - I could go on forever. When it comes to TV I'm a horrible, unrepairable History Channel/National Geographic Channel/Science Channel/Discovery Times Channel junkie.

drew - 06/06/07 14:42
First of all, if a Christian considers you an enemy for disagreeing with you--they aren't very good students of the Bible. So no, you aren't an enemy.

Secondly, I agree with most of your post.

Finally, while your theory is intriguing, there isn't a lot of evidence to back it up. Because you have studied a lot, I am sure that you know that the earliest and most reliable accounts of Christ and the church were Paul's letters, and then the Biblical Gospels. I'm not saying that there weren't other books. We both know that there were others, but most of those came later.

Proving the actual resurrection is tough, but the first followers of Jesus were convinced that they saw an actual resurrected body, and were willing to (and did) die to defend that idea.

That being said, I wouldn't mind if a lot of people followed the way of Jesus for other reasons. I just don't think your theory squares well with history.

06/03/2007 17:43 #39515

New Paltz Pride
Category: gay

first of all thanks paul again, as the restore key just kept me from being a very cranky dyke on Pride day!

the parade was today. but first.....
KITTEN!

cute as hell, I know. so anyway... on to the parade....

a truck (float) in our parade.

this was the grand marshal though i'm unsure as to who he is supposed to be.

I love these drummer women. they are an all female brazillian drummer group and they rule.

this is one of the hudson valley drag queen personalities. she is at all the gay events. i wish i cared enough to look up her name.

then after the parade came the festival in the park

i am not sure who these horses were but i loved them...

Char played later after we left.

this is qi. i wish i could describe qi, but there are no words that could possibly get you to truly wrap your mind around that which is qi. this picture, however, is probably the closest that i could put up here without legal implications. please take in the hair, the yell face, the half pointing finger and the starbucks cup of straight scotch. this is qi.

my drummer ladies played too!

which led to....

in new paltz, gay parades turn into hippie festivals...

lauren likes to dance too!

michael (one of our current fruits) came out of nowhere with a water bottle full of tanqueray and a splash of tonic.

got home and found our other fruit - steven, at home... steven doesn't do the pride thing.

so yeah those are a couple of our current fruits that we need replacing...

i'm doing something. or should be doing something now anyway.

fellyconnelly - 06/04/07 10:49
there are so many wrong comments i could make about packing fruits, but i won't make them because its just wrong....

qi is a character... you should be scared... we've been friends for about 8 years, and i've been scared plenty of times...

kitten is the cutest ever. (its a he though)

painting is very exciting!

theecarey - 06/03/07 22:24
ooh, I like the drumming.

qi looks like a character. I think I am scared.

kitten is mad cute. *gushes* - look at the dots on her belly :D

art project. I relocated all of my art supplies away in the basement. Feeling like I want to paint now..

"fruits' are cute. Pack them up and bring 'em with you!

06/02/2007 18:06 #39504

dance your cares away...
Category: randomo

After work yesterday Lauren and I drove up to Utica to see her ex boyfriend's art show.
Now I have to first of all admit that I don't like the guy. And it is not just because it is her ex boyfriend, but more so because he is a genius in most everything that he does and therefore tends to be extremely pretentious. Most of the time I want to punch the pompous little prick in the face. (I'm not violent; I just wish I were sometimes). Anyway, the kid has only been painting for about 10 months, and he already has an art show. He is exceptionally good and I have to admit that there was a green little monster inside me that I was having an internal debate with for a while.

So I have decided that this evening I will grab the paintbrush and canvas and let it go. I will paint with wide-open strokes, and not tiny tentative dabs. I have spoken it, and therefore it is so.

Last night, in the car on the way home, we were discussing Buffalo, and she said, "We are going to need a new cute gay boy. I need a cute gay boy in my life!".... Okay we are fag hags. Gay men = Less drama + more fashion than a lesbians.... Applications to be our gay boy will be posted in the weeks to come.

So I see from (e:metalpeter)'s pics that last night's party was quite the enjoyable one! the pictures really helped me get a better idea of what the estrippers are all about. Also to put names with faces - though i don't know 98 % of you still...hope to see many more pics from tonight's party! I'll be sitting in my garage painting whilst you all party on up!

fellyconnelly - 06/04/07 10:53
theecarey: ya know i was wondering why buffalo seemed to have a large # of gay men... now i get it!

Metalpeter: these pics really help me figure out who is who, so thank you!

metalpeter - 06/03/07 10:10
Just wanted to add that there will be more pictures soon. Yes my pictures do show one side of (e:strip) but mostly the party side. Maybe if I put in some more time and labeled who was in each picture it would help people to the site. However that being said I don't know all the peeps and know who they all are. Matt and Paul and some other peeps have pictures at events and eating so they show another aspect of peeps.

theecarey - 06/03/07 03:33
hehe all the comments here are cracking me up. Anyway, you'll be in the right place for finding a pack of cute gay men-- we dont call it the queen city for nothing! Good luck :)

fellyconnelly - 06/02/07 22:11
ah but youth does not always guarantee victory!

paul - 06/02/07 21:53
Oh man, if I have to compete with mike I will lose. He is the younger model.

mike - 06/02/07 21:02
where do i apply? though i kinda have a few fruit flys already, the more the merrier

fellyconnelly - 06/02/07 20:58
fruit fly! haha wow i am so amused i am tempted to use multiple !'s intermixed with some 1's and other numbers. i love it...

we will definetely have to have fruit fly interviews!

jenks - 06/02/07 20:43
you and paul should all get together then- Paul was soliciting apps for a new fag hag (or, the new term, fruit fly) for after sarah leaves. sounds pretty win-win!

imk2 - 06/02/07 20:23
if you go back in peoples journals (like (e:jenks), (e:ladycroft), (e:metalpeter)) you'll see lots more pics from previous parties.

06/01/2007 13:15 #39492

i decorate in my sleep
Category: randomo

My nephew is selling raffle tickets for the Ransomville fire department. Apparently there are about ten different grand prizes along the lines of a laptop, flat screen tv, dyson vacuum, a generator, power tools, etc. Also there is supposed to be a beer/wine tent. and other things. Well I guess that since a good deal of my family will probably be there for it and my parents should probably be in town for that - I might as well go. And then I realized that it was august 11th... the day before my birthday. Wow. Nothing like spending the day before my birthday at the firehall... reminds me of me of my entire youth - always there has to be a fire department event to go to.... God my life is exciting.

Ever walk around in a store and just have a striking urge to just stick your arm out and just knock everything on a shelf onto the floor? Not that I would ever do such a thing, but I still think about it and it makes me chuckle to myself a bit.

Last night I dreamt of our buffalo apartment. It was right on elmwood and it was lovely. I don't remember much about the actual apartment, except that we had a lovely brown and light blue living room (as seen @ pier one). I only remember that it was great, and I felt wonderful living there. I hope that is a sign of great things to come.

I can't think of all those things that I thought about posting previously. So I guess I'm done.

Hope you all have a great time tonight/tomorrow! And good luck to lilho's evening goals!

leetee - 06/01/07 15:00
I have the urge to sweep stuff with my arm off store shelves, yeah... And if they would make banging or smashing noises, i am even more tempted.

I totally hope your dream is a sign of good things to come!

05/30/2007 17:08 #39463

when you work at a toy factory....
Category: work

I just set my post its to go to my phone. how exciting... i feel as though somewhere along the line i have jumped into the age of technology.

So I am presently working a ten hour day in one of my stores. It is a slow store, so i usually spend the day bored/playing online. today i watched a movie online - Another Gay Movie which is a spoof on all the gay movies that are out there.

Wow there is a lot of gay sex in that movie.

So the funny thing is that here I am, watching gay sex movies at work.... and if my boss was here , he probably would just laugh at me.

The funny thing is that the owner of this company has another business. he runs this website: www.shevibe.com with his wife. so when i work in the poughkeepsie location, there is constantly shipments being delivered for his website.... and so when the owner (thor) calls me back and says 'hey your order is in' and then he waves a giant black dildo at me, i think to myself... wow... this is the greatest job ever...

if i were just reading this, i would probably be completely skeeved out by the idea of a boss waving a giant rubber dildo at their employees... but somehow here it just is hilariously the way it is...

anyway... i just thought there should be some type of indication of the fun environment in which i work..

fellyconnelly - 06/01/07 12:25
guy on guy sex doesn't really do much for me either... but then again... i'm a flaming lesbian.. :)

metalpeter - 05/31/07 17:24
Firstly Guy on guy sex doesn't do anything for me personaly in movies. All that really maters is that there is hot chick or at least someone atractive in the scene somewhare. I will admit I havn't been to lots of video stores to campare prices but it does seem that as I have gone through a store the "alt" section the prices all of a sudden jump higher but that could just be me.

fellyconnelly - 05/31/07 12:49
James: yes it is called NY video exchange. and they indeed have such a section there... it is in a section that includes 'cult classics' 'alternate lifestyle' 'musicals' and 'fellini'. I never really had much in the way of inspiration to actually rent any of these movies. in fact i don't rent movies very often at all...
also yes. his name is thor, and he looks the part. he is about 6 foot tall and 4 feet across - a former body builder. and he is hilarious.

james - 05/30/07 19:42
There was a charming little video store in New Paltz that, in addition to the queer escapist fantasy section (my name, not theirs) also had a giant horror section populated mostly with Italian movies from the 70's. What was the scary part? The pot bellied guy dressed as a vampire? Or a script written by the functionally illiterate?

So, your boss owns an online sec store AND in addition to, his name is Thor? That is fucking awesome. In fact, my day has been made.

fellyconnelly - 05/30/07 18:46
Well it is actually gay male sex, i guess i should have been more specific.

and yes - there is typically a whole section of a video store dedicated to 'alternative lifestyles' - but then i do live in new paltz... i can only assume that these video sections exist everywhere (outside of blockbuster).

but i will say that i only watch girl/girl porn if i am prepared to laugh.

metalpeter - 05/30/07 18:29
See I really do learn something everyday I didn't know there was a type of movie known as gay movies. I knew there where gay characters but that kind of movie (not including porn). So then to hear that there is a parody sounds even more interesting. I've seen a few bad Parodies but I've seen some really good ones. So me being a piggy guy who likes all sorts of stuff would like to know what is the name of this movie with all this (I assume) girl on girl sex. I have said for years that I wish Blockbuster movies or even comedy movies (mainstream) would have great porn like sex scenes but I'm a little messed up. I can't imagine working in a sex toy factory (the other buisiness).