Lay Lines by Carol Lay for April 29, 2024

Oddly, worms do more good for the planet than people do. We should have more worms.

i know people who hold deep belief in a deity, and others whom i consider (when i’m feeling whimsical) evangelical atheists.

i’m a militant agnostic: i don’t know and you don’t either!

When in college, my Ex tied me up and held a loaded pistol in my mouth. I sent up a prayer warning that I was coming up sooner than expected. My Ex stopped with a glazed look, untied me, and returned me to my dorm – all wordlessly. I have never had any contact with them since – although I have struggled with a massive gun phobia for years. I don’t think churches have it right – but I KNOW there is something more. That is a fact in my life, because I am alive today.

What you believe will determine your destiny or maybe I should say… your destination.

I read a book on the history of blasphemy (called “Blasphemy;” historical usage, prosecutions through the ages, and so on), and apparently it’s really hard to do (using actual scriptural definitions). It isn’t just denying God, insulting God, or mocking God (or saying ‘That piece of halibut is good enough of Jehovah’). One actually has to place God’s curse upon God, or at least try to…

I don’t know if you have to mean it. Some weeks ago I read the following in a book of Irish Folk Tales and Fairy Tales: “Murphy the tax collector and the devil made a bet to see who could make more collections between sunrise and sundown, the hitch being that they could only accept what was freely and honestly offered. Early morning they walked passed the McCullough home and heard Bridgid McCullough shout at her husband ‘Connor, you lazy sod, why aren’t you out doing a job of work? The devil take you for a dog!’ Murphy said to the devil ’There’s one for you,’ but the devil said, ‘No, her heart wasn’t in it. She was just making a figure of speech. They’ll have made up by supper time.’ Around midday they passed Reilly’s blacksmith stand and heard Tom Reilly shout at his son ‘Sean, you eedjit, will you never learn to make a proper shoe? The devil take you for a stone fool!’ and Murphy said ‘How about that one?’ but the devil answered ‘No, Tom’s a good man having a bad day. He was just making a figure of speech. Sean’s a fine lad, and the apple of his father’s eye.’ At last the sun was setting, and neither had made a single collection. Finally they passed the cottage of the widow O’Day, who was standing at the door sweeping out the dust. ‘If it isn’t Murphy the taxman,’ she says, ‘Straight to the devil with you for a mean, vicious, greedy louse on a louse’s backside!’ Murphy said ‘Sure, and she was making a figure of speech too, yes?’ The devil replied ‘No, she meant every word straight from the heart,’ and he popped Murphy into his sack and went home.”

the multi-universe aspect of quantum physics demand that there is a god … somewhere … Blaise Pascal’s wager says that you should believe … just in case … if there isn’t … well no harm done, if there is … well you are covered.

i feel that if there is one she doesn’t really care what we believe or don’t believe.

as for Blaise Pascal’s wager shouldn’t we be using that in the whole climate change thing too?

Faith requires a lot of heavy lifting. I’m just too lazy to keep doing it.

I hold a belief I call monoatheism. There is a single Creator but he doesn’t believe in us. :(

I have an aunt that wanted an above ground crypt because she couldn’t stand the idea of being buried underground. I thought corpses got over claustrophobia when they died.