Brian’s Reflection: Saturday, July 7, 2007


A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace
gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and
good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the
Lord in vain - then have a heart attack at that moment and be
damned for eternity. Is that the system?

- Robert Heinlein, “science fiction” writer, born on this day, 1907

As the wonderful New Yorker cartoon says, “Wrongity Wrong Wrong!” NO, this is not the system - though I know a lot of people who think it is, or worse, who wish it was ….. themselves excepted, of course.
[ Equally, I know a lot of people who think that they can mutter a word of repentance in the last few seconds of life and “be saved”. Wrongity Wrong Wrong.]

If you believe that God exists, do you think that God is a fool?? Or for that matter, the rest of us? How infantile. As I look around these days though, what I see is a hell of a lot of people promulgating a God who is Ungodly and foolish - whereby illuminating their own stupidity. But stupid or not, they wield power. So, “be wise as serpents but gentle as doves” ….. but resist the idiocy with as much passion as possible.

Since Heinlein was born on the same day I was, below are some of his comments with which I essentially agree. Enjoy! [The parts I particularly agree with are highlighted.]

Brian+

I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.

It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.

Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

One man's "magic" is another man's engineering. "Supernatural" is a null word.

One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.

Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything.

When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know, the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives.

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.