Posts tagged ‘religion’

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November 21, 2013

Jack London on gods

by jhon baker

I haven’t been writing any poetry lately but have continued to read quite a bit – not as much as my wife but enough to satisfy me. Someday soon I’ll get back to writing but for now I thought I would share this quote from “White Fang” – by Jack London

 

“To man has been given the grief, often, of seeing his gods overthrown and his alters crumbling; but to the wolf and the wild dog that have come in to crouch at man’s feet, this grief has never come. Unlike man, whose gods are of the unseen and the overguessed, vapors and mists of fancy eluding the garmenture of reality, wandering wraiths of desired goodness and power, intangible outcroppings of self into the realm of spirit…”

 

That was all I really had – nothing much to report and I don’t really get into the repost thing but for your amusement I may repost a few older poems soon – or hell, a few newer ones I’ve not been exactly sure of. We shall see.

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July 16, 2013

A revision of the 10 commandments or a Decalogue for the 21st century

by jhon baker

I try not to post things here that I haven’t been the author of but I just became aware of the following and decided to maybe offer it to my limited audience. So for your reading pleasure I offer “a revision of the ten commandments” or “a Decalogue for the 21st century.”

 

by Christopher Hitchens

 

  1. Do not condemn people on the basis of their ethnicity or their color
  2. Do not ever even think of using people as private property or as owned or as slaves
  3. Despise those who use violence or the threat of it in sexual relations
  4. Hide your face and weep if you dare to harm a child
  5. Do not condemn people for their inborn nature
  6. Be aware that you too are an animal and dependent on the web of nature, try and think and act accordingly
  7. Do not imagine that you can escape judgment if you rob people with a false prospectus
  8. Turn off that fucking cellphone – you can have no idea how unimportant your call is to us.
  9. Denounce all jihadists and crusaders for what they are: Psychopathic criminals with ugly delusions and terrible sexual repressions.
  10. 10. Be willing to renounce any God or any religion if any of the holy commandments contradict any of the above.

In short: Don’t swallow your moral code in tablet form.

 

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June 8, 2013

I suppose

by jhon baker

I suppose that I ought to post something. I don’t have much to say. So, this may well be short or a ramble or a short ramble or something about god.

I am an atheist. I know some of my Christian followers will stop following now and are offended at the very thought. But there it is. I am an atheist and have been most of my life. Do not pray for me – if you are going to waste your time do it on something that will at least make you feel better. So, a few questions answered:

1. If you are an atheist, why do you write about god, Judas and the like?

Well, regardless of the veracity of the belief – it is a powerful subject that evokes powerful imagery in the reader. Also, I write a lot about mythology as popular mythology is a subject that sustains my interest when a lot of other subjects do not. Modern religion is nothing other than modern popular mythology. Lastly, all subjects are fair game for the writer and the writer is not always the narrator of the poem – not even as often as you might think.

2. If you don’t believe in god where do you get your inspiration from?

Everything else. Well, that isn’t accurate – I find inspiration in everything up to and including modern mythology as noted above. Most of my inspiration comes from the observation of life as I see it and experience it.

3. without god as a part of your personal experience isn’t your life and therefore poetry devoid of deep meaning?

I find more meaning and mystery and wonder of life without all the answers – with all the answers everything just stops doesn’t it – or at least this is the way it seems to me. Believing in some god provides the answers for everything and the conversation seems to stop right there, there is no mystery and wonder left for science or poetry.

I’ll take other questions in the comments and probably make another post with those.

Posted in Othe blogs and other interesting things. | 8 Comments »

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May 13, 2013

what I say is holy

by jhon baker

but it’s no good,

the secret out,

and I am on my knees.

 

what I say is holy,

holier than the tomes of great men

whose bodies are dust;

 

I can no longer blow them for good graces

except by exhale,

 

head buried to the lap

of dead gods turned to ash.

Posted in Poetry, Short poem | 3 Comments »

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