X-entry 31 - how did this turn into a 9/11 post?i've had a fascination w/ "church signs" since about 1997. i guess the first one that i can recall would be NEED A LIFEGUARD? WE'VE GOT ONE THAT CAN WALK ON WATER. seeing that let me know right away that someone had ordered some "cheese" and that it had been delivered. i did not, however, know that these signs would become a menu for ordering "cheese" for the rest of my roadtripping life....one on which we could easily stop to get some nachos.
some have made me shake my head side-to-side and laugh through the years w/ ones such as GOD ANSWERS KNEE-MAIL or THE MOST POWERFUL POSITION IS DOWN ON YOUR KNEES (a dirty mind can take this one the wrong way). and maybe they try to 'play' on a dirty mind when they put up a SWALLOW WHEN YOU WANT TO SPIT to connect w/ those dirty-minded folks...so maybe it’s actually trying to get them to think about what it's really saying? i mean...o f c o u r s e this one is about holding your temper back and/or not acting out in anger (aka: love not war/forgiveness)...right?....yeah...that's it. they might get some of that same crowd w/ a HAPPY HOUR HERE EVERY SUNDAY sign out front...i've seen that one too. they 'play' on words a lot in these signs. the ever-famous use of "sun" vs "son" like w/ EXPOSURE TO THE SON MAY PREVENT BURNING or something along the lines of SOULED OUT!....yeah...they get clever  A FAMILY ALTAR CAN ALTER A FAMILY...hmmm...and not so clever.
the signs are popular enough these days that many sites can be found on the web that are dedicated to "church signs" along w/ sites that even have "church sign" generators...where you can create your own saying and input it onto a picture of an actual church sign....neat, eh? i've even seen huge billboards on the interstate these days. you've probably seen them. the ones w/ the modern-day God quotes (ones which are not in any religious text) like "DON'T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE" -GOD. the idea of God buying ads on a billboard is also slightly amusing. maybe God is in marketing, and Jesus took over management from Him 2000 years ago...because i've seen a few signs out in front of churches that said UNDER THE SAME MANAGEMENT FOR 2000 YEARS...and this has been on more than one occasion.
i tend to joke about these signs....but i like these signs also because they can be like modern-day parables for me sometimes...seriously....to help me to stop and think about life along my way. a sign might simply say PRAY or something like FORGIVE...and those never hurt...maybe even a REPENT wouldn't hurt to see every-now-and-then either. and even when it does come w/ a little cheese....i can still dig it. for instance...one currently down the road from me reads GOD WANTS SPIRITUAL FRUITS NOT RELIGIOUS NUTS. i sincerely like this one...cheese and all. and maybe it's fitting for today's Sept 11th date. because the "church sign" movement has been known to 'play' on holidays and certain times of year...w/ signs around Christmas time that say SANTA CLAUS NEVER DIED FOR ANYONE or Easter's NOBODY LAID EGGS FOR YOUR SALVATION (or EASTER IS MORE THAN SOMETHING TO DYE FOR)....and i'm s u r e Halloween has many good ones that i can't recall at the moment.
but back to the "religious nuts" sign - yeah...i'd say that sign might be a 9/11-themed sign strategically put up for this week. there was definitely a brand of "religious nuts" that made quite an impact on the world back on that day in 2001. i believe this date is now even a national holiday here in the USA...Patriot Day or something like that. the media/government definitely help us to "never forget" that day. it's like i still hear 9/11 referenced daily here six years later....and the actual "anniversary date" - wow...that really gets the 9/11 fire stoked up each year. i'm by no means trying to down-play those "horrific events from that day" - but i do also know that it is just ONE of MANY events throughout all of history where religious radicals have been motivated to commit similar acts. religion is probably the all-time leading cause of death around the world....and our history is full of it. that sign and/or this day is just another reminder of how religion can be used to justify some way-out-of-whack things....even awful things….world changing things.
to try to come back around to the topic of this post....i guess i could say that religions are like church signs in a way. as in they can be as cheesy as they want...because that's not hurting anyone....and if they make people stop/think from time-to-time...then that's even better. now....if i were to start seeing signs out in front of churches that said something like KILL JEWS LIKE THEY KILLED JESUS.....well then....i would at least know where the "religious nuts" were hanging out. i also know to stay away from a place w/ a HARRY POTTER IS GOING TO HELL sign out front
i won't mention any specifics here. but i've heard/witnessed (in my opinion) some pretty cheesy beliefs in my day. the popularity of some of these amazes me. they can be broken down through religions, sects, denominations, cults....whatever classification we want to give it (blue cheese, swiss cheese, cottage cheese). some of them may be hooked on a man who is currently preaching at their local church or maybe someone who has recently written a book, some may still go by doctrines of a man who started a church 60 years ago, some may choose to be part of a religion founded by a man 180 years ago (on the 22nd of this month), and some may follow a man who taught about a “way” to live over 2000 years ago. for the most part...all of these people tend to be chilled out and going about their personal spiritual journeys while not harming anyone else. so i'm cool w/ that...and i'm cool w/ those people…no matter how cheesy i might think their beliefs are.
w/ that said.....they can put up a SOUL FOOD SERVED HERE sign anytime they'd like for all i care...or if they really want to make me think...they can throw up the THERE ARE NO ATHEISTS IN HELL sign out front. however, they should also know to not leave the movable letters on the sign to where they are accessible to me...because i may be tempted to rearrange the letters on their GIVE SATAN AN INCH AND HE'LL BE A RULER - SUNDAY WORSHIP 9:00AM. because i could rearrange that to be I LOVE Y0UR HUGE PANDA ASS AND TW0 MINI BALLS (not using the letters HNERNA9CAERH: or the ’ ) i don't know what that means...but it's a possible change that could be made
that's it.... may [insert your God here] use you as an instrument of peace.....
V/ pre-noon
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