Archive for April 15th, 2005

2005.04.15

The Problem with Religious Conservatives in America

One of the biggest problems I see with the seemingly dominant form of religious conservatism in America today is they do not follow the teachings of Christ. The New Testament is a their rhetorical slave and the Old Testament is their whip. The wrathful Old God who drowned the world in a righteous rage is who they are worshipping, not the gentle and tolerant Christ. These people aren’t Christians. They are worshippers of Yahweh the wrathful, vengeful, angry, jealous God of the Old Testament who killed, punished and taunted his enemies and followers.

If Christ appeared before them today they would stone him for harboring the poor (The War on Poverty), comforting a prostitute (showing actual compassion), throwing out the money lenders (Corporate Responsibility), healing the sick (Health Care), and speaking his mind (First Amendment). I am not against true Christians, for they are my natural allies. I am against those who use his name in vain and who worship the Old Testament God. Except the Jews.

2005.04.15

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

WatchmenI decided to reread Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s classic graphic novel Watchmen after reading various reports on The Movie Blog that a movie version might actually be progressing. I loved the book then and I love it now, and reading it over again brings out subtle details I’ve not noticed before.

For those of you not in the know, Watchmen revolves around a group of ex-superheroes who are being killed one by one. A few of them band together to figure out who is doing it and why. While the plot isn’t terribly complex, the beauty of the story is the rich detail and characters. In fact if it weren’t for the graceful storytelling the book would be rather boring and the almost sublime, morally challenging payoff at the end would have little meaning.

My only complaint about the book is the pirate story told in the background. I know it has a purpose and is, by itself, an interesting story and an important plot device but this time around I skipped reading it. Otherwise the story has been a great read and I’m glad I went into it again. I think I might reread several more of my old graphic novels now…