Wishful thinking

I read a story by a writer this week.

While that opening statement is deliberately vague and by no means a shock, it's what follows that I wish to meditate upon. 

The writer is not an unintelligent person.  I need to make that clear.  The text itself could be placed squarely within the realm of Christian fiction.  It takes place after an apocalyptic occurrence renders civilization without law and order.  Rather than feeling "left behind," the characters of this opus believe that God kept them in the flotsam of the aftermath for a special purpose.  Whether that was to help people or convert them to Christian fundamentalism was a bit vague as both were going on.  Yes, the main characters would interact and trade with other stragglers and survivors but would also leave them with pamphlets on the New Testament. 

Sort of a "The Jehovah's Witnesses face 28 Days Later."

In the end, trumpets sound, the ground quakes, and the Rapture delivers the faithful to God.

It would be easy to dismiss this or poke holes in it, but I can't.  For in sooth, am I really any different?

As I hide in bed, contemplating ways that I might never leave my house again, trying to muster the strength to get through another day in this state, terrified of my future and questioning whether I should continue writing in any form...am I not looking for a final form of salvation?  I blog all the time about transhumanism and leaving the frailties of the human body behind.  Without the need for food and shelter, the need for money...or at least as great a deal of it...dissipates.  Isn't that thinking just another form of "I wish someone or something would come and save me"?

I also feel great empathy for UFO cultists.  Not that I want to join them, mind you, but I understand and relate to their underlying desires.  Is it really any crazier to posit that aliens will return one day in their UFOs and set everything right than what other religions say?  People just want something to believe in.

So I'm having little luck with positive thinking.  My current level of coffee consumption has final sent my bad stomach past the tipping point.  What's the address of the nearest UFO cult?

Oh what's the use?  The aliens have probably been monitoring people like Pat Robertson and Jake Timber and want nothing to do with our planet.  They'll never show up.


By the way, I took this online quiz to see which Star Trek character I am.  It was a tie!

You are part Scotty. You are very mechanically skilled and love to work with your hands. You are constantly creating gadgets and trying to devise ways to make the world work faster and better. You love new technologies and are content to spend an entire day working on your inventions. When there is something that needs to be fixed you are the first one on everyone's list! You are fun and personable and even though you thrive when you work alone, you also love to be around people.

You are part Spock. Logic defines you-just like Spock! Sometimes you may seem a bit rigid, but that is only because you want everything to go according to plan. You tend to take things literally and people sometimes bewilder you with their jokes and sense of humor. You are reliable and intelligent and can always be counted on to keep a cool head when situations get out of control. You tend to keep everything- but in a well organized manner, of course! Friends love your ability to be able to solve problems.

I dunno.  My answers might have...again...been wishful thinking.





Follow me on Twitter: @Jntweets