21.4.09

Usable Superstition

"You have to believe in God before you can say there are things that man was not meant to know. I don’t think there’s anything man wasn’t meant to know. There are just some stupid things that people shouldn’t do." -David Cronenberg

When I told the Timekeeper that Lulin was passing by our planet, he looked up the Javanese calendar with alarm.

"It's coming on Rebo Wekasan," he said with relief, "on the last Wednesday of disaster season."

Mockingly, "So does it cancel out the solar eclipse's effects on the Chinese New Year?"

"No, but it lessens the impact from that."

"With all due respect, sir, this..."
[…is coming from someone who has been highly educated in keeping detailed knowledge of astronomical movements. This is the Timekeeper; someone who knows the Qibla's position half-a-globe away just by sniffing the air, as well as the times for prayer just by looking at the shades. But to add astrology as part of his resume…]
"…is just downright crazy!"

"There are seasons for rice plantation, seasons for marriage, seasons for school, and even seasons for disasters. The Javanese calendar is congruent with Islamic calendar, which probably explains why disaster seasons in Javanese calendar concurs with Ash'hur Al-Haram. You remember that the Lord and His Prophet called off battles on these particular months? Basically these are the months where nature, including all the planets, go on periodic reshuffling. "

All this were in the books? How am I supposed to believe this superstitious load?

"You've seen enough supernatural beings in the last year to know the answer to that. You believe in what you cannot logically grasp the same way that you believe that every healthy compass in the world points North: A bit of faith to start with and a handful of rational testing to help along the way."

If losing all credibility isn't the top of my worries, how do we make use of this, this, ah, baloney?

"Like how you've always used your compasses: in preparation for your own death and destiny, in every prayer, in the benefit of mankind: A conscious act of worship."

Aha. Totally explains everything, doesn't it?



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