Daycare… April 18, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 1 comment so farDaycare just sent me a bunch of photos of Luna…
Here are two…
Love this kiddo!
Random thoughts of a random world April 18, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Religion, Go Team Go Team Go Team, Ghost in the (sewing)Machine , 4 commentsFirst, I want to say "THANKS!" to all of you who commented on Luna’s doggie blanket. As Omegamom predicted, she now sleeps with the ratty old blankey and her new doggie blankey. This is fine with me, because I just wanted her to have a blanket she loved that covered her whole body! As for the straight stitches, I purposely didn’t show you the one edge where there was an exciting play on the hockey game and I sewed too fast and the one seam went all over the place.
To make the blanket, I got 1.5 yards of fleece that Luna picked out. I trimmed the edges square. Then I folded a 1 inch edge on each side, top stitched that down. I folded it again 1 inch and top stitched it down with a 5/8inch allowance. Then I added another top stitch right along the edge of the fold to a) hold down the edges so Luna didn’t pick up the edging and b) to add that second row of stitches on the good side of the blanket. Easy and quick. She loves her blanker.
Game 4 is tonight in my series. Go Sabres.
I try to be a reasonable person, but sometimes I tend to lose it. One issue that hits hard is religion. I have posted before about my feeling of being non-Jewish in a Jewish family. Lately, I’ve been hit on-line and IRL about converting to Christianity and about Atheism in general.
One of my core beliefs is the religion is extremely personal. It is not for me to tell others how to believe. I mean, it is a belief. Faith is only faith when one believes in it. Not cold hard proof, but a leap of faith. Why should others push me to believe a certain way? Why?
A recent study found doctors believe (note that word again!) the religion plays a role in healing. This is not surprising to me, nor is the fact that the more religious the doctor was, the more likely he/she would report that religion plays a large part of healing. The quote that struck me was:
The most telling part of this outcome,” said Dr. Farr A. Curlin, the lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago,
“is that it shows that what doctors bring to the data, whether
religious or secular, seems to have as much to do with their
interpretations of the data as the data itself.”
Again a BELIEF, not evidence or fact or data. I do think it is important that if you have a strong belief to stick with it. To work with it, to live your life that way.
The problem arises when people try to insist religion is right for everybody. In this study, Americans tend to trust Atheists the least of all types of religious (or non-religious people). The key quotes here are
"It tells us about how Americans view religion," said Penny Edgell,
an associate sociology professor and the study’s lead researcher. "Many
Americans seem to believe some kind of religious faith is central to
being a good American and a good person."AND
"I know atheists aren’t studied that much as a sociological group, but
I guess atheists are one of the last groups remaining that it’s still
socially acceptable to hate," Foley said.AND
First-year pharmacy student Amanda Wawrzynia, however, found the study reasonable.
She said she would have ranked atheists at the bottom of the list of those sharing the same vision of American society.
"I would rather have my kids marry someone of a different religion than someone who has none," she said.
Hmm, so if you believe in G-d, then you are a good person? And if you don’t believe there is a G-d, then what? You’re an evil mass murderer? Of course that can’t be true. We are all well aware of people who believe in G-d who kill and are cruel to others. What we aren’t aware of are the 10% of Americans who are Atheists. Atheists in general don’t go around with their lack of a deity exposed. Odds are that you know an Atheist without realizing it.
There’s been a backlash lately against Atheists. A lot of it goes to a group of Atheists who are trying to convert others to their view point. In my opinion, this is no better than those who come to my door, ignoring or ignorant of the mezuzah on the door post and hand me literature on why THEIR version of the bible is best.
Listen, All I want is to allow people to live peacefully. With their religious choice, or lack thereof. Why does it matter so much to others what you believe? Why is it so important to push your religion down other’s brains?
