Still searching for the "perfect" stitching show (and failing), but working on pissing off the world

I decided to do a Starz free preview this week (I can do numerous movie channel previews for 7 days through Amazon Prime, and I thought I had done most, apparently not). My Sister has been going on and on about "American Gods" and how much she thought I'd love that show, so I thought I'd give it a go. And warning, this post might be offensive to some. I don't mean it to be, I'm just being my usual blatant Asper self! Religion is one of those topics that you can't have an open conversation about because, despite their teachings to the contrary, it's a very selfish and personal thing and people get violently defensive about their religion. It's a behavior I just don't understand, but here we go anyway because I feel a rant coming on!

One thing to know about me...I was Christened Catholic and raised Southern Baptist, so when I got up to a certain age (16 to be exact), and started questioning everything. My mother is the kind of person who has ALWAYS said two things that walks all over my nerves..."just because" and "look it up". But unfortunately, it created a certain response behavior in me that exists to this very day. If someone says to me "just because", I get extremely pissed and tend to start asking serious, often extremely uncomfortable questions just to annoy because that is NOT an answer and, if I get interested in something, I tend to collect (and read ad-nauseum) every book I can find on the subject. These two things often go hand-in-hand and tend to make me incredibly (or dangerously, depending on who you ask) knowledgeable about the stupidest of subjects (hence a head full of useless information).

The worst thing you can say in church is "why?", they give you what they consider a legitimate answer (but basically a non-answer) and you follow it up with a "but why?" because they really didn't answer you at all. They don't understand why you keep asking because they think they've answered you, you keep asking because they haven't answered a bloody thing, just threw bible quotes at you (or said those magic words, "because the bible said so") and you suddenly find yourself looking for answers elsewhere (a BIG no-no in most Christian churches, especially in the South). Had I not left voluntarily, they probably would have kicked me out.

Needless to say, I have a semi-working knowledge of Christianity and its Pagan origins (as well as other mono and polytheistic religions). It's all pretty fascinating, but enough to have granted me my own special room in hell (at least according to my mother) because it made me question everything (again, a BIG no-no). I see it more as recognizing the broader view of religion, because ultimately, they are all connected and are all, in the broad strokes, pretty much the same overall...basically, same story told from different points of view. One pops up, steals various important points from the one before it, modifies the information to suit the current model and adapts accordingly. Step outside the bubble and it's a LOT easier to see that, but maybe that's just another Asper trait...not everyone can step outside their own bubble. I do it quite a lot.

Nowadays, I'm not religious, but I do consider myself a very spiritual person. Study numerous religions and the color of jade sneaks in, but you can't look at the wonder of the universe and not think that there are higher powers in play. When all is said and done though, I don't think we're important enough to question those higher forces, let alone mandate what they are and our place in their master plan (as religion tries to do). If anything, that's humanity's arrogance, thinking they know what the powers that be are, let alone what they want from us and that we are "made in their image". Maybe, every blue moon, someone is enlightened to a tidbit of the information and a religion is born, but otherwise, I see religion as humanity's creation (often by those in power to control those who are not) and spirituality as something that just "is". But I digress, because now I'm offering opinions, the very definition I'm throwing out for religion.

But "American Gods"...wow! How right they got some of these origins and how really uncomfortable I got a lot of the time when they got extra creative with the details! Despite my lack of Christianity, there is still that 15 years of Christian conditioning (or brainwashing as the hippies would call it) and I squirmed a lot! It's one thing to know where Easter came from and why the Christians adopted it as a religious holiday, it's another thing to see Kristin Chenoweth in a Easter colored-filled house with candy everywhere, talking to spy bunnies, hosting a party filled with Jesus's from every nationality (because every country has their own Jesus with the appropriate skin color and language), walking past an obvious Jesuit priest with the stigmata and jelly beans flowing through this wound holes, various other gods snacking on macaroons and Easter eggs and her soaking up the "real" worship because she is Ostara, goddess of the dawn and she's piggy-backing off of the worship that Jesus gets! Granted, most of the Germanic/Nordic gods probably came after Christianity (or at least were written down afterwards), but the origins of the Sun gods and the Spring solstice go all the way back to the Neanderthals and pre homo sapiens. They migrated their homes based on the Spring equinox and gave offerings for a safe passage. She played off this too, but the whole Easter candy thing went WAY too far, even for the sake of comedy. I did finish the series, but it makes me wonder about the Christians who watch the show and how much do they actually know about the origins of their religion (if at all) because I could see a massive backlash otherwise!

"American Gods" was good, if you know nothing about religion other than the basics and think every other religion that came before (or since) are just myths. One day, Christianity will be just a myth to whatever religion replaces it, but for now, our Ilu, Zeus, Jupiter, Taranis or as many polys as you can think of hold that top spot! I wonder if, in the future, when Christianity gets replaced, we'll end up back with polytheistic gods or stay with a monotheistic? Polys actually make more sense to me in the pantheon of religion (if you're going to practice it) and, if you want to get technical about it, Christianity, as well as other monotheistic religions, are basically a polytheistic religions anyway...god (or whatever name they call it in their various versions) at the top, Jesus (or again, whoever is their top prophet), Mary (for the Catholics), the saints, the angels, satan...etc. Again, same story, different storytellers. And I also just realized that Christianity as well as Islam basically just Fifty Shaded their bible from the Avesta and the Zoroastrians anyway! But they all did a heck of a lot of damage to get their messages across and "gain" followers just, as I'm sure, the next one will also do. I love to throw the Crusaders in the face of one particular Pentecostal co-worker who is extremely anti-Muslim (although she thinks Crusaders were Catholic and therefore NOT Christian...I can't convince her that Catholics ARE Christians!). She thinks all Muslims are terrorists and Jews are evil (although I have to remind her that Jesus WAS a Jew). She will often defend the Crusades as "missionary work" and I always point out that rape, pillage, plunder, torture and massacre is ALWAYS the best way to bring someone over to your way of thinking! Suicide bombers are humane in comparison! Ah, the joys of trying to reason with the religious.

Which is why, I started watching "Black Sails" and LOVE that show! Granted, it's still not a stitching show, but at least I'm extremely entertained and not uncomfortable in the least...the raping, pillaging, plundering, torturing and massacring are all in the name of treasure, so it's OK! I can watch pirates all day and not have to think about these deep religious implications because, frankly, they make my head hurt!