Integrity - A Foreign Concept
It seems to be the common fad these days to lie on behalf of your chosen delusion. You've got a better chance of finding an honest man in a lawyers office than behind a pulpit. Men like Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Ken Ham, and many others have made a good living from lying for Jesus. And while I'm certain that the bible has a thing or two to say about lying, it seems to be just another section of the book these men choose to gloss over as they promote a literal interpretation of Genesis as the "scientific" answer to how life arose on this planet. The sad part is how many people actually listen to these disingenuous bunch of degenerates and snake oil salesmen. They decry Mormonism or Scientology as the obvious fraud it is while trying to sell you on the idea that a dog in a tutu is actually a freaking ballerina. Then these pricks have the nerve to call everyone who doesn't agree with their nonsense liars.
Now I am aware that there are some out there who are just ignorant and simply tend to repeat the nonsense they've been told by others. They haven't taken the time to do the studying and maybe they don't have the time or maybe it's just easier to go with the common answer, but they aren't intentionally lying to everyone. Men like Comfort and Ham are not ignorant however. They know exactly what they're doing and they've no excuse. It isn't knowledge these men lack but rather integrity. When they claim that they can scientifically prove that god exists, they are lying. When they claim they can disprove evolution, they are lying. It isn't an accident born of ignorance, they are just flat out lying. They've been told over and over again that they're lying and been shown the actual facts and continue to lie anyway. These are actions that completely destroy any sense of integrity that these men could claim, and should cause any person to question every word they say.
"The pen is blue, the pen is blue, the goddamn pen is blue!" [2]
I often wonder just how horribly a day on which these men were forced to be honest would go. I remember seeing a movie starring Jim Carrey called Liar Liar in which Carey played a lawyer whose son makes a birthday wish that comes true. The son's wish is that his father would be unable to lie for one day, which is rather damning for this man as a defense attorney who lies for a living. I imagine that for these "liars for Jesus," a day where they were required to be completely honest would go much the same. It would likely be a day full of admissions that would crumble their little "empires" and show everyone what men such as myself know full well - these men are liars. They are con men who are making a living by perpetuating other peoples ignorance and using people's fear of death to sell them a dream with no substance.
Now, I honestly don't care what you believe. You're welcome to believe anything you want, as long as you don't want me to be forced to believe it as well, and as long as it doesn't cause others harm or infringe on their freedoms. So the reason these liars for Jesus are people I speak out against, is that they do cause harm to others and they do want to force their ideas onto me and everyone else. Quite frankly, I don't think these men believe a single word they claim to believe. I think they see a great many people with a capacity for belief and a willingness to accept anything in the name of that belief. These men aren't idiots, they're con artists and they're making out well at doing it. But worse than that, they want these ideas pushed into schools and government to help further the cause of keeping an easily manipulated flock out there to fund their own laziness.
Ghost Walking
As many of you have likely guessed, the name Casper is a nickname I earned a long time ago. You see, there's this slang term called "ghost walking" which is the act of walking out on an event without telling anyone. I've had this habit for most of my life. If I don't want to be somewhere, I just leave. Most times this is because I see where that path leads. I've walked out on parties right before the cops showed up more times than I can count. This isn't luck. I just pay attention to my surroundings and use logic to determine where things are headed. Because of this, friends and family think of me as a bit of a ghost.
But I'm not the only person who has this sort of foresight. Just look at all the pews that are emptying out faster than a bar after last call. People are ghost walking out of churches left and right. And when the holy man comes knocking, these folks just aren't answering the door any more. They're fed up and they see the path ahead leads straight into a dead end. You see, you don't get to ghost walk away from the aftermath because people are already watching. You always get caught that way, and get left playing the part of Captain Hindsight.
"There's no one left to save!" [1]
We all lie or have lied. Every last one of us, even if it was just a lie of omission, has told a lie. Each of us has spoken in ignorance. After all, they say error is a very human trait. But the mark of a man, what we call integrity, is measured by how we try to correct ourselves. You see, we all get caught in those lies sometimes and we have to be willing to accept that we're at fault, and try earnestly to correct that behavior and make amends for what effects those lies had. When a man is shown to be a liar, yet will not own up to his mistake and take action to correct it, then he has no integrity. That is a man you know you can never put any stock in. You have every right to disbelieve every single statement that man makes in perpetuity until he corrects that behavior.
An honest man will offer you evidence to back his assertions. He will not tell you to take them at his word, because trust is earned just like respect. Faith is not a noble trait, but integrity is and I for one would rather have an ounce of integrity over a ton of faith.
References:
- Lyrics from the song Ghost Walking by Lamb of God
- http://imdb.com/title/tt0119528/quotes
