Faith and Wheelbarrows

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. ~mathematician Blaise Pascal, 1670

Easy ride to Bonita Springs on these great flat roads. We have a very luxurious condo with two porches. Mom has rented a cabana and is quite pleased with herself.
Hot as blazes.

To show their devotion to Murugan, the Hindu God of War, devotees in South India and Sri Lanka (all males) are pierced with large hooks and then hung on a festival float, as if they were toys on a nightmarish baby mobile. It’s an amazing and horrifying display not unlike Christian devotees in the Philippines who are nailed to crosses.

Primates given ecstasy twice a day for four days (eight total doses) show reduction in the number of serotonergic neurons seven years later.

                            Faith and Wheelbarrows

A recent gospel Christ recounts the story of a rich man sent to hell for being uncharitable. He tries to negotiate some relief, then, failing that, tries to send his brothers a warning to avoid his fate. He is told that the brothers would not heed his warnings; if they did not believe the prophets they would not believe a man who returned from the dead.
The wicked cynicism here is unmatched in the Gospel, I think. One hardly knows what to make of it.
A French acrobat named Jean François Gravelet, better known as Monsieur Charles Blondin because of his extravagant blond hair, came to the United States and decided to cross the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. His success made him a sensation and he returned to do it countless times, each time adding to the risk with some trick or another. Once he did it with his head covered in a sack so he could not see where he was going, once carrying a locomotive light. In his most famous exploit, he carried a stove and utensils on his back, walked to the center of the cable, started a fire and cooked an omelet. When it was ready, he lowered the breakfast to passengers on deck of the Maid of the Mist. 
Once he did it pushing a wheelbarrow. It is said that at the end of his walk the crowd acclaimed him, shouting he was the greatest ever. He asked them if he could safely carry one of them back in the wheelbarrow and the crowd cried "Yes!" But when he asked for a volunteer, no one accepted.
Such are the limits of faith.