Penguins, and other polar biologicals

Kung Fu

Wall walking and bridging in class. I am sore. We did get to use the mats for stations, though, for headlock and choke escapes. Throwing people around is fun.

Weapons was all 6-count concentration drills. Would have been more fun if my arms weren't so tired by that point. When you're going through those drills, though, with someone who knows what they're doing, and you get into a place where you don't even need to think about what you're doing? That's pretty cool.

The newly taped up sticks work.

Hygiene

I need a haircut.

Confusion

So over on Pharyngula, PZ Myers is having some fun with creationist cartoons. One of them deals with the holy trinity. This sparked some curiosity, some googling, and some time on Wikipedia, and now, I'm confused.

I understand that Christianity is derived from old-school monotheistic semitic faiths. I can follow how the notion that Christ was divine would lead you to some murky questions about how monotheistic your religion can possibly be when you have two divine entities involved. I can see a certain amount of ass-covering going on in subsequent years as the various incarnations of the Church higher-ups try to reconcile the stated divinity of Christ and his relationship with God. But what I really don't get is where the holy spirit comes from.

(I'm operating from the assumption here that the doctrine of the various Christian churches are human creations. The argument that there is a holy spirit because there really is a holy spirit doesn't help me.)

Did the holy spirit make its way into Christian theology as a sop to a neighbouring or competing cult or religion, to facilitate the spread of Christianity? Did it get worked into the mythology by a converted population somewhere who didn't really give up all their old beliefs? Is it a product of internal politics?

Why is it relevant that it's invisible? Does it have the option to be visible, since presumably God could also be invisible if he wanted to be?

I don't get it.

Trying Not To Laugh

"I saw a lot of police cars, and I saw a lot of penguins, and I saw a bunch of people herding penguins up," said Evelyn Sepulvado

Jealousy

My brother has a new MacBook. Also, the specs on the new MacPros are out, and, wow.

And Last But Not Least, A Picture



Update! After some discussions with Catholic co-workers who shall remain nameless (Serdic), I still don't really get the Holy Spirit, but I can sorta get my head around this metaphor:

The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit : Darth Vader, Luke, and the Force.

Is that close enough?