The difference between religiosity and secularism

This morning, Tina and I are headed back to Grand Rapids. This time it’s a scheduled trip for my second cousin Morgan Witteveen’s wedding. She’s getting married today at 4 p.m. followed by a pig roast at a country club.

It should be exciting.

We’re staying at my cousin Todd’s house, whose wife doesn’t like dogs. So this is the first time we’re traveling without Talulah. I sorta get what it’s like to be a parent right now as I”m about to leave Talulah with a friend who will be dogsitting.

What a bitch!

In other news, I’m dying to post more pictures from some shoots I’ve had, but I’ve been playing major catchup. There are still many from regular-reader Xina’s wedding that I’m hoping to share.

I called Xina yesterday to see what she thought of the amount of photos I gave her, and she was very pleased. I gave her closer to 500. I’m happy, because I saw another woman’s photos from her wedding recently, and she received probably a 1/16 of what I sent Xina, and they weren’t nearly as creative or fun.

Not to mention, this other woman hired an agency that charges over double what I charge just for the photographer. That doesn’t include books, prints, or funny one-liners that I deliver so easily.

The other day when I was driving to a shoot, I was thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I could call my blog and leave a post?” Well, apparently the wordpress people were already working on it, and it’s now available. This synchronicity is what religious people often call, “An answer to prayer.”

I remember the first time it donned on me that things I prayed for were what secular people hoped for. The word “hope” and “prayer” is interchangeable … at least to me. It’s often things that would probably come about anyway. I’ll pray/hope that you get a job. I pray/hope you’ll get through this hard time.

I’ve heard stories like, “We didn’t have money for our bills, and a check showed up for the amount of our need.” This was not a story from the Yeshua Fog. It was a story from a non-believing couple. I heard those exact same words from believers, only they included the notion of prayer. Both instances ended positively.

Or I heard, “We bought a new dishwasher, and our old one was fine. We called my friend and asked if they needed on, and wouldn’t you know it … they did!” There was no, “Praise, Jesus” after it, like I grew accustomed to in North Carolina. There was just thankfulness.

Do you know the biggest difference between religiosity and secularism?

It’s vocabulary.

Martin Luther sings the blues

“Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but – more frequently than not – struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God”

–Martin Luther

Via Kilre

Be sure to check out Kilre’s post on anal sex toys in Mississippi.