Time to pick it up a little bit over here in the ol' Probablpoly Tribe. I had a little facial slap over the holidays that reminded me how much spiritual education matters.

In a casual conversation Mrs. Karl had with my sister in law, a person who I must point out is a charming and generous individual, it came to light that she was boycotting the new motion picture "The Golden Compass". Since Mrs. Karl knows that my three boisterous nephews would love to see an epic science fantasy adventure, she had to dig deeper.

"Have you seen it yourself?" , "Of course not."
"Have you read the books its is based on?" , "No."
"Do you know what the story is about?" , "Not really."
"Why won't you take them to see it then?" , "Well I received an e-mail saying that the director was an atheist and that the movie was an anti-Christian attack."
"Who sent you the e-mail?", "I don't know."
"You must know who sent it." , "No, I mean, their name was on it, but I don't know who that person is."
"Then why are you listening to their opinion?", "Well they must have gotten my name off of the church mailing list, so it must be someone from our church."

Whereupon Mrs. Karl did her best to convince my sister in law that the Devil was not working his will through New Line Cinema and that my nephews would enjoy the movie every bit as much as they did, "Star Wars", "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Chronicles of Narnia".

Now, I do not have any objection to any person holding beliefs that I do not happen to hold as well. In fact, I like it. It makes the Life Soup tastier. But when did Believing and Thinking become mutually exclusive? Following a course of action without concious awareness is not following your Beliefs, it is a reflex. It is closer to barffing when you stick a finger down your throat than it is to following the tenets of your chosen Religious Brand.

Even if one should choose the sad, but viable life-style of not thinking (commonly achieved through alcoholism, drug addiction, or surfing). Allowing someone else to control your thoughts, steps beyond the regrettable into the criminal. In a world where an ordinary Orange County housewife, can so easily be co-opted into mindless obedience, there is something Evil afoot. There is an insideous campaign of corruption being waged against the human mind. It is an attempt to move for and Age of Enlightenment into an Age of Obedience.

Human beings are capable of beautiful things, but they have to Choose to do them.