A New Religion and the Return of Indulgences?

Bring on the show down.
How long will you waver between two opinions?
If the Lord is God, then follow Him
But if Baal is god, then follow him

lyrics from the song God of Elijah by the band Disciple

We've really gotten goofy in this country. I really, really think that conservatives and liberals are just flat-out wired differently from one another.

A quick example of this is to compare all of the brouhaha that erupted last fall, just before the mid-term elections, over Ted Haggard, supposedly some Christian big shot (though I'd never heard of the guy) with the lack of brouhaha over the Virginia ACLU muckety-muck that was caught last week with child rape movie pornography on his home computer. One story caused dancing in the streets, and the other is being ignored. The predominately liberal media hates Christianity, and loves the ACLU.

I think that liberals are trying to not only knock down Christianity, as evidenced by James Cameron's (of Titanic fame) upcoming "documentary" on the bones of Jesus, his wife, and kids that were supposedly found; but they are also forming a new religion, called Global Warming.

Bear with me here, ok? My older brother, as a teen, had a motorcycle. This motorcycle had a kick start method of cranking the engine. Although I don't ride myself, it appears to me that almost all motorcycles and the like these days have electronic ignition. Push a button and it just starts. But do y'all remember the sound of someone trying to crank a motorcycle with a kick start? It rarely cranked on the first try, and you really had to put some effort into it.

Brrrrhh. Brrrrhh. Brrrrhh-wanngannganng!

I personally think that on Sunday night, that sound ripped a hole in the space-time continuum, and the worshipers of Global Warming got the motor cranked on their religion when Al Gore won an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth.

The Oscars had long ago lost my interest. It was, as the Grammys and most other awards shows have long been, a gala of the actor's Mutual Appreciation Society. They don't give a hoot about what the movie going public watches or likes, they're now into "making a statement" with choosing certain films. Like the Grammys awarded all those statues to the Dixie Chicks, not for the album, but for "sticking it to Bush." All of these awards shows are out to make political points instead of truly trying to reward the best. It's which movie or musical group best represents our liberal world view best? And then the award goes to those people. It's why I can't watch that crap any more.

Seriously, how many of the nominated films have you seen? Yeah. Me neither. The only one that looks worth watching is Letters From Iwo Jima.

Al Gore was coronated as the true prophet of this new religion on Sunday night. Yeah, the environmental movement has been around for decades, but it's grown to the point that anyone, like, say, me for instance, who dares look at such a mighty prophet as Al Gore with the squinty eyes of an unbeliever, or, horror or horrors, voices my exceptions to the Global Warming mantra, is immediately shouted down as a tool of the oil industry.

I have talked about my problems with the whole global warming thang here, and my problems with Al Gore, here.

But after the Academy Awards the other night, it was brought out, yet again, how Al Gore preaches, but doesn't practice what he preaches. His mansion in Nashville is x-square feet, and uses more electricity in one month than the average American home uses in well over a year.

Al wants me to cut back. The big thing we're being told now, is we can do something small to help, like switching to fluorescent bulbs like Al and the Gore family. Wuh-hoo! I'm really helping the environm…..Wait. If I recall correctly, fluorescent bulbs use mercury in each one. Aren't we supposed to take fluorescent bulbs to special places for recycling because of the dangers of mercury poisoning? Holy Dilemma Batman!

And the list goes on.

But what really got under my skin about the whole thing is when Al Gore's spokesman came out in his defense. First of all, as predictable as could be, the people who revealed Al's home electricity habits were quickly labeled as tools of the oil industry. (Excuse me while I stifle a yawn.)

They throw out the accusation as if it means something to people. Don't liberals understand that most Americans DO NOT think that oil companies are evil environment destroyers, willing to destroy the earth and all life on it for the sake of profits? I guess not. I guess to liberals, oil companies are evil, and that's a given, not to be denied or disputed. I guess they're in denial of exactly what propels their limos and provides their mansions and various vacation homes electricity and makes a private jet go zoom!

Only problem is, liberals like Mr. Gore, are warning us and trying to guilt-trip us into a certain lifestyle, that they have created in their own religion's holy of holies, that they themselves will not live up to.

See now why I mentioned Ted Haggard? These same people held the man up to public ridicule, heck, maybe rightly so, but when it's their own religion's prophet Al Gore who is shown to be a hypocrite of massive proportions, he is to be given a free pass.

Liberals in general, and worshipers at the altar of Global Warming in particular, give Al Gore a free pass, BECAUSE HE IS TOO IMPORTANT TO THE CAUSE TO HAVE TO PRACTICE WHAT HE PREACHES. Men and women at the top of the Global Warming fear-fest hierarchy are allowed to travel in private jets and other polluting practices because they are vital to the cause.

The few, the proud, the Global Warming Apologists are just too dang important to have to live up to the expectations they require us mere mortals to live up to!

Oh yeah, and India and China and places like that get a free pass on the whole harmful emissions thing, well, because they've basically laughed in the Global Warming/Al Gore's faces when asked to stop building power plants and stuff like that. But China and India are the world's largest polluters and they WILL. NOT. STOP. OR. SLOW. THEIR. INDUSTRIES.

Basically, if we did everything humanly possible, in the the western countries to stop CO2 emissions, the ever increasing industrial might of China and India would more than negate anything and everything we could do, and destroy our economies by the back breaking cost of trying to lessen emissions.

But the one that really made me stand up and take notice was that Al Gore's p.r. guy also said that he buys "carbon credits" to offset his family's carbon footprint.

Best I can tell, this basically means that the Gores have invested money in endeavors that are "green" or that try to lessen CO2 emissions. Guess who is on the board of the green carbon credit corporation that Al Gore gives to? Yep. Mr. Gore hisself.

Haven't people pointed fingers at the Catholic Church for centuries because of their middle ages practice of indulgences? That's one of the things that caused Martin Luther to nail up his Theses and start the protestant reformation. The Catholic Church of the time basically allowed people to do what amounted to buying a piece of paper from the Church that forgave them of some sin or restitution that needed to be made.

So these days, we have this new religion, all kick-started and gunning the throttle, and they already have a system of indulgences in place so that rich people, who sin against the tenets of the Global Warming faith, can pay some money to other people just like them and receive absolution. For liberals, it's the rhetoric that counts, the hollow absolution of throwing money at a "green" company. Actually living a carbon neutral lifestyle? That's for the unwashed masses to adhere to.

It's also funny to see that video clip where Al Gore showed some emotion (finally) in the 2004 election, talking about President Bush, and screaming, "HE PREYED UPON OUR FEARS!!!" Oh really Al? And just what do you think you're trying to peddle with An Inconvenient Truth, but FEAR? Takes one to know one I reckon.

What strange times we live in.

Now I don't really care if you believe in Global Warming and are a charter member of that religion. I don't even mind if you want to stop by my house and tell my about your new god, I'm actually really open minded about discussing such things with people, despite what the one-sided nature of my blogging may lead someone to think. But if you do, I'll expect you to let me tell you why I believe in the God of the Bible. I don't expect you to convert to Christianity, just that, if I hear you out, at least have the courtesy to hear me out too.

But I've been reading and seeing what the church of Global Warming espouses, and though I do believe we're in a period where the earth's average temperature has risen just a bit, I don't buy that man is the cause of it. And I'm certainly not ready to see the economies of the western world destroyed under heavy requirements to meet the tenets of the Global Warming religion, while China and India pollute all they want to and grow strong at our expense.

Oh, and are all those rich actors going to stop giving money to Scientology and start buying forgiveness for carbon sinning with "carbon credits?" The church of Scientology better beware.

Heck, I might set me up wonna dem shell corporations and start selling me some carbon credit indulgences. I might just be able to retire at 50!

Hollywood does occasionally make a really good movie, but as to their religion of the day, Global Warming, and their newly anointed prophet, Al Gore, well, I'm not converting.