Of Rabbits and Rabis

I normally avoid delving into religious matters too much. This is for 2 reasons:

1) Whilst I consider myself a Christian, I have zero respect for the institution that is the Church

2) Religious beliefs are very subjective and vary according to interpretation

However, this being Easter and with the state of events around the world at the moment, I thought I'd venture into the topic.

Whether you are Christian, non-Christian or Atheist, there is no denying that Jesus Christ was a bloody good guy (based on the stories of him in the Bible). His message to the government and church of the time was, simply put, "get ya heads out of your asses, get off your high-horses, stop being hypocrites and start caring about your people". His message to the people was, again simply put, "stop caring so much about yourself and the petty shit in life and start looking after each other. Oh, and take some responsibility for your own actions while you're at it". Now, I don't know about you, but I think those are some fairly simple and reasonable concepts to build your life and country around.

While there have been some fairly major changes in the world over the past 2,006 years it seems that JC's message still hasn't gotten through. Compare the attitudes and actions of the characters in the Easter story then to those today:

The Sanhedrin: In today's world - the Court. JC's trial was held, unusually, at night when not all members of the council were present. Shame they couldn't have shipped JC off to Guantanimo Bay back then - though he'd be waiting a while if he was in line behind David Hicks.

Caiaphas: In today's world - Church Leader. Caiaphas lead the plot to arrest and kill JC because he saw JC as a threat to the Church. Caiaphas wasn't a fan of anyone who spoke out against the teachings of the Church and threatened his position of power and wealth. I'm sure that it would be possible to trace Fred Nile's (or any other condemner of the Chocolate Christ's) ancestry back to Caiaphas' blood line somehow.

Pontius Pilate: In today's world - Government Leader. Pontius was reluctant to condemn JC to death as he was afraid it would cause an uprising. Likewise, he was afraid to go too soft on his sentencing as he didn't want to put the Church off side. Stuck between a rock and a hard-place, Pontius sends JC off to King Herod. Just like little Johnny Howard, Pontius was too busy sucking up to his stakeholders to have the balls to make any hard and fast decisions. Fortunately for Howard, Bush didn't send Hicks back for him to deal with.

King Herod: In today's world - Foreign Government Leader. Herod welcomed JC from Pontius Pilate with as much interest as he would a tray of cow-dung. He wanted nothing to do with the issue and figured JC was Pontius' problem, so sent him back. Try as he might to shirk the issue, Kyoto keeps on coming back to haunt little Johnny.

At least it seems that we, the people, have taken some notice of JC's message. We've still got a long way to go, but there is hope for us yet. And that is what faith is all about.

May the deity of your choice bless you and your world this Easter/Passover/Pascha/Weekend.

Songs played while writing this entry:

"Children Of The Revolution" The Violent Femmes

"Mr Brownstone" Guns N Roses

"Raver's Damnation" The Wizard Of Oh

"The Stalker" Green Velvet

"New Year's Day" U2

"Blood Sugar Sex Magik" Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Animal" Pearl Jam

"Sweetness And Light" Itchee & Scratchee

"Born Slippy (Pink Floyd Remix)" Underworld Vs Aphex Twin

"Return To Reality" Antarctica

"My Happiness" Powderfinger

"Deliverance" K90

"Holiday" Weezer

"All I Want Is You" U2