baylie

this is the entire transcript of my conversation with Father Brian, my friend(?) brian who is a devout catholic kid who plans on becoming a priest.

this all started after he left me a voicemail criticizing my answering machine which happens to be matt skiba talking about animal rights stuff.
and brian used to be a vegetarian until he became anemic.

yes, both arguments are completely baseless, but i just wanted to show the insanity that is his religious justification. i deal with this every day.
"jesus says so. the bible is completely true. if i believe it, it's true despite the lack of evidence. you not believing doesn't mean it's not real. i'm right because i'm religious."

purple = me.

Well, it’s true. God created animals FOR humans…so we could eat them :]

Did jesus come down from heaven and tell you that personally? otherwise, no.

Well the Bible is the living word of God…So in a sense yes He did :]

I take that as a no, he didn’t.

Well you shouldn’t. It’s in Genesis, chapter 1. Look it up. Man has dominion over the animals. They aren’t rational creatures, nor do they have a soul.

first, i’m not believing a second hand text as proof. and what the hell animals don’t have souls?

They are just matter…Flesh and bone. Not body and soul. If we eat them…It doesn’t really matter. Feeling sorry for something that isn’t rational and was made for us to eat is just silly.

I think Jeffrey dahmer used that same argument to justify his actions.

Who’s that?

Google.

I don’t really have a computer near by…

Serial killer and cannibal.

Well human beings and animals we eat are entirely different things…He sounds like a lunatic.

No more insane than a zealot.

Hah…Yes way more insane than a zealot. Being passionate about something and a serial killer are also very different things.

Two extremes. both intense beliefs and actions. both think they are right and think they have the right to act how they want.

But what if the zealot IS right?

that’s only a what if. Same argument can be used on the cannibal’s side.

And I hardly think a serial killer feels they have the right to murder. They are just numb to how awful it is.
Eating other humans can’t be justified.

Says you.

Says most of the world as well.

Majority does not equate correct.

But God equates correct and He says eating other humans isn’t okay. It’s the same as murder, again if you feel like that’s okay then you need to sort out some priorities.

you use an imaginary omnipotent figure as your justification for living. your priorities need a bit of sifting through as well.

Haha but not so imaginary. Well what are you living for then?

Myself. why live for something/someone who may not exist and probably doesn’t like me anyway?

He loves you more than you could ever know! But living for yourself is completely selfish and won’t bring you any happiness. I mean true, lasting joy. Not instant, selfish gratification that can’t keep you happy.

there is no proof that god loves anyone. more evidence claims that he doesn’t. so why not just make myself happy. if god loves me he’ll want me to be happy.

Selfishness isn’t happiness. Freedom isn’t to do whatever you want. Freedom as it was made, means not to be a slave to your sings. If God took away all of our problems and made everything easy, how would we ever know what it means to be faithful? There is proof. You just have to open your eyes to it.

I’m quite content being blind. it allows me to wear cool glasses.

Cool glasses is nothing compared to unconditional love that lasts forever.

I love my glasses unconditionally. and will for forever.

But they can’t love you back…It’s an inanimate object.

Says you.

God says that too…Do you really think being blind will bring you happiness? It’s true…Ignorance can be bliss, but only for a time. And there is something much greater…

Allegedly. there may be nothing after bliss.

Yes there is. Eternal bliss. Ignorance certainly won’t bring you that. It’s impossible to be unaware of the truth forever.

unless you’re ignorant until you die and nothing happens after. that’s forever.

But there IS something after that. Eternal salvation or the fires of Hell. It’s not like not believing in it changes the fact that they exist.

Believing doesn’t make it real. your only proof is the bible. second hand accounts written by people who weren’t there. no hard evidence.

There is only one real author of the Bible. God. Science can’t tell us what’s beautiful, it can’t tell us why people sacrifice themselves when it tells us that our basic instincts are completely self centered. It IS the truth, and it is real :] there is way more proof. Miracles (still not explainable by modern science) happen all the time. Bodies of saints that haven’t decayed for well over a few hundred years, and a lot more.

You sound like a sermon preaching to save his life. Trying to justify your existence. No point in trying to convince me.

Yes there is. I know why I’m here. But you don’t Is being concerned about the fate of a friend’s soul really so meaningless?

if you think it has meaning then it does to you. not to everyone else.

But it SHOULD have meaning to you. What if you’re wrong?

then it will suck to be me.