SOCOM and GOMORRAH

--Ranger was recently awarded the FUBAR
medal by Ranger Andy
of the Society for Dysfunctional Vets

"And you will know I am the Lord
When I lay me vengeance upon you."
I just thought it was a cold-blooded thing
to say to a motherfucker
before I popped a cap in his ass
--Pulp Fiction (1944)

They had found a can of white paint,
and on the front doors of the cab
Frank had painted white stars,
and on the roof he had painted
the letters of a granfaloon:
USA
--Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
___________________

Contrary to the views of people like Rick Santorum & Co., God rained destruction down upon the residents of Sodom and Gamorrah not because, to quote the coy Santorum, they were "do[ing] things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be." No -- they angered a tightly-strung God because they took advantage of travelers; Good Samaritans they were not:

"It is only somewhat mollifying to realize that the sin of Sodom was not homosexuality but inhospitality. You can't tell from this episode whether God is against buggery, but you can be sure he takes a dim view of raping perfectly nice strangers who come to visit" (The Gift of the Jews, Cahill, p. 77).

The next set of gods were Greek, and they emphasized the host's imperative to treat guests well. These guys learned from others mistakes (but don't look for any sexual changes there.)

So what are the rules of godly etiquette for treatment of people in their own homes, sleeping in their own bedrooms?

We in the U.S. believe a man's home is his castle. Here in the Gunshine State in 2005, our own Governor Jeb Bush signed State Bill 436, the "Castle Doctrine", into law. It basically establishes the presumption that a criminal who forcibly enters or intrudes into your home or occupied vehicle is there to cause death or great bodily harm, therefore a person may use any manner of force, including deadly force, against that person (gunlaws.com).

Reasonable enough idea: Someone does a home invasion, they are not coming to bring you cupcakes. However, the Castle Doctrine was violated when god created an unclassified critter cataloged as the SOCOM (Special Operations Command) WARRIOR. A SOCOM warrior breaks into people's homes, usually under cover of darkness, and violates their very existence, defying the sacredness of the home.

The biblical god allowed the Angel of Death to kill Egyptian babies in their cribs, but SEALs are not god's angels of death. Sadly, even many otherwise informed people think that SEALs are "kill teams".

RangerAgainstWar will call this sin, SOCOMY. Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do. Thinking is not their purview.

As the the poet Tennyson wrote, "Theirs not to reason why / Theirs is but to do and die."

Sympathy for the Devil

It's a fools' game
Nothin' but a fools's game;
standing in the cold rain,
feeling like clown
--It's a Heartache, Trick Pony

So far as I can remember,
there is not one word in the Gospels
in praise of knowledge
--George Bernard Shaw

It's embarrassing -- you try to overthrow
the government and you wind up
on the Best Seller's list
--Steal this Book, Abbie Hoffman
___________________

Sunday homily: What if we've got it all wrong?

By "it", Ranger means the bible as the Good Book and the god-worshiping thing? What if the devil is the one before whom we should be burning incense? Let us go back to Genesis.

Genesis portrays a Club Med for Adam and Eve. Unless mistaken, those two were thrown out of paradise --if you call Babylonia paradise -- for eating an apple symbolizing knowledge and free will.

So Step One is the travesty of getting evicted for opting in for knowledge and free will. That, we demonize as temptation . . . the work of the devil. So what of all of that exegesis going on by theological scholars? Well, it's not looking good for learned theologians. If we stay stupid, can we live forever?

Step Two is everyone turning around and believing that this same god who screwed us in the beginning is going to gift us with glorified bodies after death and give us life everlasting, IF we follow all of his rules. Why would we expect he is going to suddenly play nice once we have strut our petty hour upon the stage, dependent of course upon how well we walked within his lines?

Oh, and further, no one knows if they have won the lottery and gained his grace, anyway. It's like playing monte, but the dealer never shows his suit. Are those the odds of a loser, or what?

Again, if not mistaken, it was the devil (= fallen archangel and god's favorite) who encouraged mankind to seek knowledge and free will. If god will cast down and out his favorite (Lucifer), then why should we trust he will not turn on us?

Why do we put our faith in the goodness of this very strange god? How is he any better than the fallen angel who encourages us to make our own meaning? Are we to believe that everything achieved beyond the supposed "received" word of this god as transcribed in the bible is evil?

Ranger does not believe in any of the bible's mutterings, but if he did, he would give the whole thing a good thinking over.