[lit-ideas] Re: Shadows, Fog, and Money

From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 03:48:59 EDT
 
<<Religious people are anybody who asks why someone would want to  live
without a tooth fairy, or some variation thereon, by their  side.>> 
Some years ago, when my eldest  daughter was maybe 3 or 4, she lost a tooth 
on the night before Easter.  I  had not yet disillusioned her re. childhood 
myths and she was incredibly  concerned hat the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny 
(the 
following year we had a long  conversation about Ostara and Christianity and 
the renewal of life in Spring and  how unrelated rabbits and eggs are to 
Christian notions of the Resurrection; and  since we have talked about how and 
why 
Christianity embraced to some extent  paganism to make it more palatable to 
the culture of the time)) would bump into  each other in the night and frighten 
one another.  She wrote an elaborate  note to each.  "Dear Easter Bunny:  I 
lost a tooth tonight so you  might run into my Tooth Fairy.  She won't hurt 
you, 
she just wants to leave  me money for my tooth, please be her friend", etc.  
"Dear Easter Bunny, the  Tooth Fairy is a Good lady and won't hurt you.   
Please don't be  scared if she's here when you come".  When I found the notes I 
was,  understandably, in hysterics.  And yes, I left her a personal note from  
each party, plus Easter candy and tooth money.  I tell her about it today  
(she's 13) and she cracks up with a red face.  But to her, these were  
immensely 
real, important entities, and she was concerned for each of  them.  Do we take 
care of our gods?  Rilke's Book of Hours suggests we  have that desire. 
Julie Krueger
reading way too much Rilke and Sexton to encourage  sanity


========Original  Message========     Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Shadows, Fog, and 
Money  Date: 6/13/05 12:19:59 A.M. Central Daylight Time  From: 
_aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)   To: 
_lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) , _lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)   Sent on:    
> [Original Message]
> From:  <Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx>
> To:  <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 6/13/2005 12:44:18 AM
>  Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Shadows, Fog, and Money
>
>  
>  In a message dated 6/12/2005 3:51:02 PM Central Daylight Time,  
>  aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> A.A. I  knew people are stupid.   Now I now they're assholes.  Why does  no
> one explore the  wonderment of why people bother to continue to live if 
they
> are  religious?  Why don't religious people just kill themselves  and  go
and
> meet their maker, take the expressway to paradise?  I  just  hope to god
that
> it's better in Europe than in these  backwaters called the  United States,
> California and New York  excepted.  Thanks at least to  Eric for getting it
> that the  wonderment is simply in being alive, not in  believing in some
>  tooth fairy who tells us when to fart and when not   to.
>
>
> Hi, Andy,
> My response was about why one  might bother to live if one did NOT believe
in 
> a Higher or Supreme  Being (whether or not that being is the tooth fairy
or  
>  not...<g>)


A.A. I know.  What kind of retarded question is  that?  



>  
> (I'm not sure what you meant to  accomplish by the first two 
sentences...Were 
> they simply stated as  part of your frustration because *your*  question
had 
> not been  answered?)tup
>  


A.A. Frustration that such a question as  stated above would even enter
someone's mind.  Instead, it was a serious  question.  This is following on
the heels of learning that people equate  atheism with nihilism.  Truly, it
was self delusion on my part to think  people are as intelligent as I gave
them credit for.   



> Before I do try to take a look at your question, perhaps  you can define 
what 
> you mean by "religious people" more clearly for  me.  I do hope you are 
aware 
> that there are are multiple ways  of looking at the world even when one 
looks 
> at it through a  "religious" manner.


A.A. Religious people are anybody who asks why  someone would want to live
without a tooth fairy, or some variation thereon,  by their side.


>  
> My thought is that not all  "religious" folk are those like the  
> fundamentalist sort.   (though I will try to answer from their point of
view  if I  can...)  
> Please be aware of that.  There are varying degrees  of 
religiousity....though 
> one book that I used to like a lot in  explaining some of  it was The 
> Heretical Imperative by Peter  Berger (I think that is who it is  by...it
is not near 
> me,  alas)


A.A. Hey, if you're a moderate in this camp, and you asked the  original
question, what more is there to say?



>   
> Would you be able to understand the varying aspects and reasons why  a  
> "religious person" might think that life is worth living *now*  if we look
at the  
> different levels or types of "relgious  persons" or beliefs that are Out 
There?  
> (knowing while we do  so that we won't be analyzing each one--for I  do
know 
> so  many...)   
>  
> I have gathered that you might want  more information on the more  
> fundamentalist mindset and that is  okay...I can try to 'go there'.  But,
it  would make 
> it  MUCH easier if you (at least every now and then <wry look>)  made  sure
to 
> mention that you DO understand that not all religious  mindsets are  the 
> same...and that alot of them do have a problem  with the fundamentalist  
> sorts...(though I admit that their 'time'  does seem to be  'now'...<g>)
>  
> But, in case I  am misunderstanding what your definition of a 'religious  
> person'  is, perhaps you could define it better for me.  (I apologize  if
you  have 
> done so in the past...)


A.A. See  above.  My definition of religious person is someone who can't
imagine  life without a tooth fairy to guide them along, tell them right
from wrong,  give them a reason to live.  Please, I'm making myself sick
thinking  about this.  I'm going to bed.


Andy  Amago



>  
> Mostly my post (to which you replied)  was in regards to a thought on the  
> other direction...and that is  because that topic is one that is in my
'regular  
> life' to a  certain extent and affects a number of people in regards to a  
>  particular subculture.  
>  
> (though I can see how your  question and Paul's certainly do seem to  be 
>  related....)
>  
> Best to all,
> Marlena in  Missouri
>  
>
>
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[lit-ideas] Re: Shadows, Fog, and Money

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