Metaphysic Storm

I’m currently on the road painting and can be found at rssutton.blogspot.com

[simulposted on the Tome]

I’ve been traveling within the bourgeois capitol of the United Highways of America, KKKalifornia for two weeks. It is very beautiful here, when one can find that rare spot where private property doesn’t completely choke off the vista and that moment coincides with a low smog point.

I’ve been enjoying the minivan life. As you most likely recall, this is my second tour of duty in the Sunshine State. My first was very bleak, for I was very ill prepared for an extended production from my Quest. And the misanthropy of those days are but a slight hum in the back of my non-army/police mind now. I’ve resolved the paradox of loving my mobile home and hating a society built around the automobile. Nature sure is a funny thing, seeing as though humans gravitate to pleasant climates and the most beautiful areas of earth and in doing so ruin the climate and beauty with cookie cutters homes, megastore parking lots and ten lane highways. I wonder if they’ll be ok if this is as good as it gets.

My production is warming up although I don’t think I’ll be able to do as many house portraits as I hoped. The first two I did received no response from the owners and although that’s not much, it’s caused me to give pause to investing enormous amounts of my time into paintings I’m not going to want in the future. That’s why I’ve already gravitated to landscapes/cityscapes. But the good news comrades, is that I’ve “sold” my first work. I picked up a commission while I was painting my second painting here. The house for the portrait is located in Yorba Linda.

I stood out in the blazing sun coated in White preserver and produced the painting. They’re trying to sell it even though they just bought the property, tore down the house that was there and rebuilt 5 years ago. They think 4,800 square feet is a little much. Although they will miss the view of Disneyland’s fireworks every night from the private view of paradise found from their back patio. Don’t get the wrong idea. These Romanian immigrants are down to earth. They drive modest cars, although they did make me remove their Jetta from my painting, and are only asking 1.5 million for their house. They’re frustrated that they’re Christian adult kids aren’t Christ like. The youngest daughter wore tight pants with “love pink” spread across her ass as she smooched her soon to be live in boyfriend.

When I presented the painting to them I got the usual barter routine. As a rule of thumb I don’t barter unless my need for capitol dictates my actions, such as the situation I’m in now. He asked if I would take less than $300 for a painting that’s already reasonable priced. I told him that I would not, that I would rather keep the painting of his beautiful expensive house than sell out completely. I had my landscape paintings outside of my van curing in the sunlight. I offered him two paintings for $400, a steel of a deal. He said yes and I prepared his house portrait for sale.

I only stretch my paintings from my mobile studio when they’re sold because I can no longer keep them in my minivan afterwards do to damage. When I went into their house to finish the transaction he asked me to look at the back of his house. I could smell the sourness already. When I stepped into his backyard I was taken back by the view. His home is 30 miles from the ocean but it can be seen as a thin white line along with most of LA. I was excited just thinking about painting it when he said, “It’s a nice view but it would be too easy to paint.” He didn’t want one of my “art” paintings. He wants another painting of his house, from the back.

I was not happy. I don’t mind selling out a little and painting portraits of the Capitalists trophies but for a person to unconsciously express such a lack of interest in the art/artist instead of the subject discourages me. I kept my happy face on as the wife tried to get me to be a distributor of her pyramid miracle juice when I realized I promised them 2 for $400. As I sat their sipping her $40 dollar a bottle juice they then tried to convince me to paint their family portrait. At that point I was willing to lose the sale, tell them I wanted $300 cash for the painting or forget it. I was growing tired of them telling me how I am an industrious rule model for their children as they complained their kids were hanging out with pot smoking, lazy heathens.

It turns out they didn’t have enough cash on them. Because I couldn’t take the painting with me I’ll have to trust them and return next Tuesday to finish the deal. I think I’m going to paint the view from their backyard though. If they don’t want it, fuck em’ I’ll be happy to use their private view as a visual spring board. Here’s to metaphorically bighting the hand that feeds.

Few things surprise me in regards to religious faith. When the main principle of the “leap” is that a person doesn’t need evidence or facts to believe in something, anything can potentially be believed. The leap of faith has never been in my nature. The frequent reason that god demands faith because without it the belief would be meaningless is internally flawed. The reason is not that it would be meaningless, the reason is that god demands it. But the proof that god demands it is non existent. Thus, the virtue of faith is without a valid reason. Leaps of faith foster irrational belief. I’m confident that the believers think valid reasons based on evidence and logic exist. But after an exhaustive study, and inquiry, I’ve found nothing other than “the bible says so”. Therefore there is no reason. That’s my argument from ignorance but I talking to a wailing wall. The following clip from an article from Time threw me off balance.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year surveyed 35,000 American, and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement “Many religions can lead to eternal life.” Even more remarkable was the fact that 57% of Evangelical Christians were willing to accept that theirs might not be the only path to salvation, since most Christians historically have embraced the words of Jesus, in the Gospel of John, that “no one comes to the Father except through me.” -sorce

I can wrap my head around a persons faith. They have a level of confidence in validity of the bible. I can not except the superiority of any book especially when the claims should transcend words thus nullifying the sacredness of print. If I’m to believe that Muhammad, Jesus, Vishnu or Buddha flew up into the sky, I’m going to need a little more than millennial old testimony. What I fail to understand is how a peson who bases their belief off of the stories in a book can allow their belief be counter to that word. Without any intent of condensation and no gentler way to say it, it appears to be a mental disorder or evidence of cherry pickin’

I’ve been accused of being a Christian hater because of the “caustic” language in my arguments against religion. I understand why a person who’s personal identity is superseded by Christianity would think that. I find the belief that I’m going to go to an eternal torture prison for not worshiping a ghost or come back as a cockroach repulsive. Especially when “what I’m not doing” isn’t bad according to the logical principled ethical base of self ownership and passive reciprocity. I do hate the Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. However, I don’t hate John, Mahoud, Kumudavati or Chan Khong, for I need more reason than their alegance to a religion they were most likely born into. What it takes is if John tells me I’m bad for not doing something.

I don’t see any problem with the “good” side of religious belief. Daydreaming about chilllin’ with the creator of the Universe and an eternal life of bliss with all your friends and familly on cloud nine really can’t be topped. And if the believer believes there is no one way to get there, their belief is relatively harmless to the rest of the species. I bet the results from the survay are missleading though. When a believer was asked if another religion could lead to non-damnation, they might have assumed the other religions were variations of Christianity. My first thought was that those that answered with the liberal many paths answer weren’t actually even theists. It’s such an agnostic answer. Although I’m happy with the many path answer I actually have more respect for the Orthodox believers of the doctrines I dispise. A more revealing question would be to ask if they believe a peace loving atheist will escape the firey pits of hell.

Post by Vox Day an Award-winning Cruelty Artist

New Atheists and the Neocons - What do they have in common? Both of them took a proudly triumphalist posture just as their perceived popularity began to visibly collapse. Neocon boasting of a permanent Republican majority was still being bruited about only two years before the 2006 electoral debacle, while as I noted in TIA, atheist identification and popularity have actually taken declined since the New Atheist literary wave began:

“Most Americans believe that angels and demons are active in the world, and nearly 80 percent think miracles occur, according to a poll released yesterday that takes an in-depth look at Americans’ religious beliefs. The study detailed Americans’ deep and broad religiosity, finding that 92 percent believe in God or a universal spirit — including one in five of those who call themselves atheists.”

Best-selling books can, but don’t necessarily, prove the popularity of the views contained within those books. In some circumstances, it is the reverse that is more likely the case, after all, the fact that I own more than a few New Atheist books doesn’t indicate that I agree or even think well of the arguments contained within them. It is, of course, quite funny to see yet more evidence that so many “atheists” define atheism so broadly as to include belief in God. But they’re entirely rational… just ask them.

And of course, in nearly half the major cases, the New Atheists ARE Neocons. Both Harris and Hitchens fit the bill rather nicely; they’re not conventional Republicans, but they support American military adventurism in the Middle East. Hitchens, in fact, is very nearly a true Neoconservative as defined by the elder Kristol, considering his former Trotskyite politics.

Aren’t you the Christian who believes in Polytheism?

Eaglewood said, Bunny boy shows up. How ya doin’ Robert? Yes a good number of Christians understand that there are many gods but that there is only one G_d. The Creator Jehovah.

Hi Eaglewood. I’m doing fine. Getting ready to hit the west coast for some plein air painting. I had no idea that many of the Monotheists were Polytheists. So what makes a god a god?

Vox said, All Christians believe in polytheism. Note the definition:

the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods.

Christians worship one supreme Creator God. Not only does this worship not conflict with belief in the existence of many lesser gods, but the latter is quite literally Biblical. If Christians did not believe in the existence of other gods, there would be no need to capitalize God.

Now, you can certainly attempt to get pedantic, but you’ll lose. You’ll soon find yourself attempting to deny that what is by any atheist definition “a god” is not “a god”.

So what makes a god a god?

This is a reasonable definition:

“(lowercase) one of several deities presiding over some portion of worldly affairs.”

I would add: “supernatural” and “that is worshipped, propitiated or otherwise entreated for action by human beings or other sapient beings.”

MarkkuKoponen said,

@So what makes a god a god?

Whatever receives worship, be it sentient or not, is a god. For example:

Phl 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.

Not all Christians believe in Polytheism. That is a fact. I’ve asked around because when I read what you wrote about Christians believing in “lesser” gods I just couldn’t believe it. The majority of the Christians I asked believe in only one God.

I’m also curious to know what lesser gods you and Eaglewood believe in. Continue Reading »