 | Time IndefiniteA repository and collective timeline of our individual significant moments in time. |
There Is No God (I Think)
Posted On Thursday April 12, 2007 By Stacy Horn
I actually don’t remember the date. It was when I was confirmed by the Catholic Church, whenever that was. According to my understanding, I was agreeing to becoming a member of the church, and all that that implied. To me that meant, if I was presented with the choice of admitting I was a Catholic and getting thrown to the lions or denying I was a Catholic and living, I was agreeing to not deny being a Catholic.
But I knew that in reality, I would do whatever it took to not be eaten by lions and if that meant denying I was a Catholic, I’d do it. I had already had lots of problems with religion and Catholicism, but the guilt of lying about agreeing to be eaten by lions plus the whole martyrdom thing. I mean, Christ died for our sins. Since God controlled everything, there was no need for his son to be tortured and murdered, the whole matter could have been settled any one of a million other ways.
I told my parents I was done, no more religion for me. Since most of the world believes in some form of God, that has put me in a relatively tiny minority ever since. I know that many many many people much smarter than me believe in God, but nonetheless, as far as I’m concerned, on this point, most of the world is kinda nuts.
Tags: catholicism, church, god, guilt, jesus, sins
Comment
Trust Jesus
Posted On Thursday April 5, 2007 By The Wonder Bread Man
I made the photo above on this day. The shot was actually taken a few days earlier but my timing was off. I was getting used to a new camera and it was one of my first attempts at street photography. I was learning about Robert Frank and Gary Winogrand at the time in my photo class. These guys were like my gods.
I don’t know much about the couple in this shot but they were a fascinating to me. They didn’t pay me any attention at all and seemed lost in their own thoughts. I ended up taking three or four shots of them as they crossed the street in front of the Wonder Bread factory. I just couldn’t get the shot I saw in my mind. So I cheated it a bit (please don’t tell Cartier-Bresson), and I brought my negatives into Photoshop to re-create the scene as I saw it, as I wanted it. I’ve never told anyone until now that this photo was Photoshopped, as they say. The thing is, it did happen, I just wasn’t fast enough to capture it.
At the time I really began to question the whole idea of the decisive moment. What is a moment anyway if it can be completely made up? Maybe I’m writing this because I have a need to confess this sin to the street photography gods. I hope they can forgive me. It seems to me that today there are very few pure images. Practically everything we see is manipulated, edited, or down right fabricated. Personally, I don’t trust anyone anymore.
Tags: decisive, jesus, moment, photography, photoshop, reality, religion, trust
Comment