om.
dot com.
Ok, so here's how it seems like it is. We created the devil to keep us all in line, but then we realized that he threw really bitching parties, and we all wanted to get down with him. Thing is, someone dropped the dime on this cool crew, and the party got broken up, went underground, and now you need to know some big dude with some keys to get in. The party is even better now that all those squares aren't involved. I hate those guys.
I just watched 4 hours of tv after finally having a good hockey game. the first 2 were devoted to the 9-11 comission, which was punctuated with wrestling matches thanks to the on demand tv. The second half was devoted to Hell, and the devil. Man, I love the devil.
Let me explain. The devil is sort of one of those cultural creations that if it were in any other culture we would laugh at. I mean, seriously. There's this big dude in the sky, and everything is groovy, then all of a sudden this one guy convinces a bunch of other dudes to rebel, and then they all get stuck underground. However, their leader Lucifer (the morning star) is an optimist and he convinces all the other dudes to make the best of their new space. They put up some posters, and settle in.
I must say, I've always been sort of fascinated by the idea of the adversary, just a figure that is supposed to be so evil and anti-good that we are supposed to hate him for being hateful. It's kind of like the whole Judas thing. Judas is stuck in his position of a traitor by fate. If he changed his mind, nothing would have happened. Maybe it can be argued that it was the devil working through him, but really, that's rough. I mean, he's just a dude like any other. He had a bad day. Can we really fault him that much? And why hasn't he been forgiven? Hmm? Come on.
But this is just a bit of rambling on about something that matters little in the realm of things. Go read the Malleus Maleficarum or something. Hunt some witches in the darkness, and convince us that all things are right with the universe, and that all good people are just that.
Man, if I were a few years younger this brooding would be so much more appealing to girls. Oh wait, it was...
Still, Hell is interesting. I wanted to write on it for the longest time, about how cultures develop their notions of hell and the adversary figure, and how it ties into their surroundings and just their whole deal. I mean, our modern view of hell comes from Dante, for the most part, but he just made a lot of that shit up to get back at people he didn't like. Where did the original concepts come from? Why are there so many named demons, like Baal, Behemoth, etc.? Demonology is really interesting, but people become wary when you say that you study demons. Cultural bias.
It is also interesting how people will get uncomfortable when reading about this stuff. Once again, cultural conditioning is to blame. We're raised to fear these things, and that notion that we're dealing with something we can't control or understand will always put a tinge of doubt into our minds. It's like being alone, and looking into the darkness. You know in your rational mind that nothing is there, but there is that possibility that your darkest fears reside there, that they are just waiting for the right moment to manifest themselves, to ruin your day, and to make you afraid in your isolation. It's that instinctual distrust of anything that seems safe that might be dangerous.
But enough rambling out of me for one night. I need to find a bed to sleep in, and a morning to waste. Regardless of whether there is a lord up high or a fallen angel, I need to sleep, and that will not change.
Until I'm dead.
-ccmas
dot com.
Ok, so here's how it seems like it is. We created the devil to keep us all in line, but then we realized that he threw really bitching parties, and we all wanted to get down with him. Thing is, someone dropped the dime on this cool crew, and the party got broken up, went underground, and now you need to know some big dude with some keys to get in. The party is even better now that all those squares aren't involved. I hate those guys.
I just watched 4 hours of tv after finally having a good hockey game. the first 2 were devoted to the 9-11 comission, which was punctuated with wrestling matches thanks to the on demand tv. The second half was devoted to Hell, and the devil. Man, I love the devil.
Let me explain. The devil is sort of one of those cultural creations that if it were in any other culture we would laugh at. I mean, seriously. There's this big dude in the sky, and everything is groovy, then all of a sudden this one guy convinces a bunch of other dudes to rebel, and then they all get stuck underground. However, their leader Lucifer (the morning star) is an optimist and he convinces all the other dudes to make the best of their new space. They put up some posters, and settle in.
I must say, I've always been sort of fascinated by the idea of the adversary, just a figure that is supposed to be so evil and anti-good that we are supposed to hate him for being hateful. It's kind of like the whole Judas thing. Judas is stuck in his position of a traitor by fate. If he changed his mind, nothing would have happened. Maybe it can be argued that it was the devil working through him, but really, that's rough. I mean, he's just a dude like any other. He had a bad day. Can we really fault him that much? And why hasn't he been forgiven? Hmm? Come on.
But this is just a bit of rambling on about something that matters little in the realm of things. Go read the Malleus Maleficarum or something. Hunt some witches in the darkness, and convince us that all things are right with the universe, and that all good people are just that.
Man, if I were a few years younger this brooding would be so much more appealing to girls. Oh wait, it was...
Still, Hell is interesting. I wanted to write on it for the longest time, about how cultures develop their notions of hell and the adversary figure, and how it ties into their surroundings and just their whole deal. I mean, our modern view of hell comes from Dante, for the most part, but he just made a lot of that shit up to get back at people he didn't like. Where did the original concepts come from? Why are there so many named demons, like Baal, Behemoth, etc.? Demonology is really interesting, but people become wary when you say that you study demons. Cultural bias.
It is also interesting how people will get uncomfortable when reading about this stuff. Once again, cultural conditioning is to blame. We're raised to fear these things, and that notion that we're dealing with something we can't control or understand will always put a tinge of doubt into our minds. It's like being alone, and looking into the darkness. You know in your rational mind that nothing is there, but there is that possibility that your darkest fears reside there, that they are just waiting for the right moment to manifest themselves, to ruin your day, and to make you afraid in your isolation. It's that instinctual distrust of anything that seems safe that might be dangerous.
But enough rambling out of me for one night. I need to find a bed to sleep in, and a morning to waste. Regardless of whether there is a lord up high or a fallen angel, I need to sleep, and that will not change.
Until I'm dead.
-ccmas
posted by CCMAS | 3:35 AM
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