tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43597138568162065122026-10-18T22:58:09.772-07:00Incongruous CircumspectionThe writings of Joe Sands, Author.Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.comBlogger556125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-50734576235135259782018-03-12T06:42:00.003-07:002018-03-12T06:42:47.176-07:00Superheroes - Allegories to the Finicky Nature of God
Note: I try to be vague in this post, but there could be some spoiler alerts.
I'm slogging through the brilliant show, Jessica Jones, a Netflix Original. Season 1 was absolutely fascinating. The character Killgrave is beyond the complexities of most characters we love to hate and really gets under your skin, if you've ever experienced the cognitive dissonance of an abuser.
He's a superhero Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-23568987246481470432018-03-10T13:43:00.001-08:002018-03-10T13:43:25.844-08:00I Do Like My Tax Cut
I’ve been a software developer since May 11, 2009. At that time, I made $50,000, right out of college. Six years later, I was making about $85,000. Then, I left that little company that allowed me to cut my teeth in the industry and grow, for a job that gave me an 85% raise. We were flush with money. My wife, I, and six kids then spent it all. We not only spent it all, but we blew tens Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-49997765939428426822016-11-10T09:20:00.002-08:002016-11-10T09:20:15.463-08:00It's Quite Possible I Will Begin Writing Here Again: A Sort of Mea Culpa
I'm not sure yet.
This last two years has left me disillusioned with both sides of the political spectrum. That doesn't bode well for my new home on Free Thought Blogs, which is ironic, being that "free thought" would mean I'm very much allowed to speak from the heart about why things are not as they seem.
But I really feel like it isn't so, and that I have not the independence to Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-65783352293049342702016-03-14T20:17:00.000-07:002016-03-14T20:17:49.779-07:00My First Free Thought Blogs Post
Read it here, wherein I introduce myself.
I'll be moving some of the content from this blog to Freethought Blogs. I may be cross-posting posts here, but may also begin to move away from the Blogger platform, as the extra work will become kind of tiring.
I hope you enjoy my new home and come over and read with me.
Love,
I. C.
Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-87934005688555993712016-03-13T22:24:00.001-07:002016-03-13T22:24:24.050-07:00Moving to Free Thought Blogs
Or Freethought Blogs. Or something...
Yeah. That happened.
In February, 2011, I began Incongruous Circumspection. It was on a whim, really. I hadn't considered blogging before, but knew I loved to write and provoke thought in the process. I had just joined a community of survivors from Bill Gothard's institution, most of them homeschoolers.
Many of them encouraged me to take my Facebook Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-73241559379580262632016-03-10T09:54:00.001-08:002016-03-10T09:54:45.662-08:00My Writing Style Around Religion
In my last two posts, I've been writing to a young man, named Tom B. He was kind enough to attempt to bring me back to Christianity by some very poor logic. So poor, I almost wept with the deepest of pity. In the first post, I spoke about Tom's view of authority and his role in a defined hierarchical society. In the second post, I got down to brass tacks, speaking to Tom about the idea Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-6528887739262870492016-03-08T08:43:00.000-08:002016-03-08T08:43:06.234-08:00When Rules Are Stupid, Breaking Them Is a Good Idea
My continued response to Tom B....
I'm going to walk away from Tom B's response to me for a bit and just sit down by this fire and have a chat with a little boy. Tom, you're a little boy. You may be 20, but you have no idea how to live in the real world. Your rigid ideas of life may make you a disciplined young man, but it won't go far in your relationships with the rest of humanity.
Tom, you Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-16472796643259616322016-03-05T10:55:00.001-08:002016-03-08T08:56:52.172-08:00When Deserving of Burning in Hell Depends on a Mystery
Tom B. grew up with me at Normandale Baptist Church in Bloomington, Minnesota. I am 15 years his senior, so really, not that much older. He was better in softball than I was, mostly because I couldn't play an inning without pulling a damn muscle that I never knew I had. He's 20, and as he says, "independent, away from his parent's tutelage."
I'll take that at face value, and hope beyond all Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-71069993644990970602016-03-03T14:16:00.001-08:002016-03-03T14:16:48.435-08:00A Nice Letter from a Reader
While I disagree with this woman's conclusions about God and the singular organism nature of the Bible, I sincerely appreciated her tone. Her letter is below:
I found your blog because I am keeping up with the Gothard drama. It is riveting.
I do not blame you for your anger for having been raised under legalism and patriarchy or even for becoming an atheist and calling something that Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-5433648333884164872016-03-03T09:37:00.002-08:002016-03-03T11:32:45.046-08:00Letters from Mama: Be Careful, I Have Spies
Disclaimer: Against my better judgment, I'm going to continue sharing Mama's letters and shenanigans with my readers. While I realize I am giving a voice to a proud narcissist, propping up her already overblown ego, I am convinced it is more important to offer a case study to those who may find themselves in the clutches of someone like her, or give those who may have escaped an evil human Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-31667094805070801802016-02-25T09:55:00.001-08:002016-02-25T09:58:17.153-08:00I can kill my children if God tells me to
I wrote a post, yesterday, titled, I Am More Powerful Than God. The point of the post was to say that, since God is supposedly all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere, being accused of "turning others away from Jesus" with my words was a false accusation. If I am able to best the god with all the myriad omni-characteristics, then I must be more powerful than him.
I'm actually okay Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-73094360116949265562016-02-24T10:14:00.001-08:002016-02-24T10:14:47.036-08:00Hello, Mama. Welcome to my Blog
Sure, I'm fairly certain you've been reading it for many moons. After all, it's the easy way out. The privacy of your curtained living room, able to react to your non-existent sky fairy, hoping beyond hope, your empty words' vibrations you spew into the room's abyss will get past the single-paned glass windows, floating up into the atmosphere, breaking through the (impervious to me) barrier of Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-55903726408514334242016-02-24T09:39:00.001-08:002016-02-24T09:39:18.028-08:00I Am More Powerful Than God
Yes. Satan said that and was banished from God's presence. I'm okay with that.
The Christian god of the Bible is defined in many ways, and has been so, throughout history. Popular ideas of who God is have come and gone. But once the masses, however fractured, accept a version of God, he changes again. It has to be this way as the potential realm of the supernatural shrinks smaller and smaller Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-29112486577569940302016-02-23T08:41:00.002-08:002016-02-23T08:41:17.121-08:00Letters from Mama: Son, You're Going to Go Blind
Mama says I'm going to go blind. But why I'm going to go blind is the most fascinating reason I've ever heard. I'll explain below.
You are very strong son.
Yay! She says I'm strong! Oh shit. Wait...a compliment from Mama precedes a slam.
In presentation.
And there it is. I only APPEAR strong, due to how I present myself, positing my arguments and personality with great gusto. But Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-58799625212920821382016-02-22T12:41:00.002-08:002016-02-23T08:43:31.513-08:00I got another letter from Mama!
Here...
Love,
I. C.
Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-85736047553564474892015-12-25T13:50:00.000-08:002015-12-25T13:50:02.390-08:00Letters From Mama: Assumptive, Manipulative, Narcissism
I hadn't heard from Mama for quite a while. I have her completely blocked on all social media, as well as my phone. I know she has access to this blog, and I'm quite happy about that, really.
Anyway, I received the letter in the photograph to the left - and.....there is just so much to see here. So much.
But I must start out with the following:Do not feel badly for me. Please. Just don't.
Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-73842837497165149152015-12-18T09:24:00.002-08:002015-12-18T09:24:45.656-08:00Innocence of Children vs. Crankiness of Old People
Excitedly, I pointed the standard-sized SUV toward Budget Rental. I had been held in check for three hours, since ordering the "surprise" for my six kids, renting a 2016 Ford Transit, 15-passenger van until Christmas Eve, while our SUV was in the shop, and we were finally headed there, the kids noticeably oozing with excitement over my words that something was going to be "fun."
We had Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-75796249588734036912015-12-10T07:44:00.004-08:002015-12-10T07:44:42.020-08:00The Pool of Men is Getting Smaller, Apparently
I just received this message from OKCupid:
We just detected that you’re now among the most attractive people on OkCupid.
We learned this from clicks to your profile and reactions to you in Quickmatch. Did you get a new haircut or something? Well, it’s working!
To celebrate, we’ve adjusted your OkCupid experience:
You’ll see more attractive people in your Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-65551891145073024672015-10-30T14:14:00.001-07:002015-10-30T14:14:04.528-07:00What do you do when the hairdryer breaks?Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-59112840337150399452015-10-23T15:16:00.001-07:002015-10-23T15:16:43.809-07:00Let's Have a Chat About Morality - Part 1, or whatever
Thus begins a few of my gathered ramblings about morality. The following, by no means, is the final word on the subject for me. Regardless, I hope what I write here is meaningful to some.
As an atheist, I have been accused, either directly or indirectly (referred to as a collective in articles, posts, and conversations) of having no morality (or rather, an anything goes morality), once I Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-68087203989277422362015-10-19T14:09:00.000-07:002015-10-19T14:09:10.961-07:00Baseball is in My Blood
Walking through the kitchen, a dish towel thrown over my bare shoulder, I feel a wad of spit forming in the center of my tongue. I purse my lips, shoving my tongue expertly to the roof of my mouth, sharpen the end of it, pressing it hard against the back of my massive upper front teeth, then prepare a breath to send a beautifully arched stream of saliva, twenty feet from where I stood.
"Oh Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-40797951367337556862015-10-19T13:46:00.002-07:002015-10-19T13:46:33.415-07:00The Dangers of Texting While Writing
So, the kids are outside, "raking leaves"... hang on...
Oh! Julie spit seeds out of her back door last summer and a watermelon grew from it! I wonder if they were watermelon seeds. Come to think of it, she never really said in her text, just now. What if they were yellow spaghetti squash seeds and yet a watermelon came from it. That would be something else, wouldn't it be.
Hang on...let me Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-60597881915916948422015-10-18T19:39:00.003-07:002015-10-18T19:39:58.657-07:00The Mostly Naked Man on the Leather Chair
There he sat, in his leather chair, staring out the window, leaning back timidly, allowing his bare back to touch the coldness, popping forward with a slight gasp, then squishing it all the way back, mumbling about heat transfer and science crap he didn't understand.
He smelled of fresh deodorant and some bergamot spiced cologne he splashed on after every shower, one of which he had just Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-80419406932897691272015-06-12T08:48:00.000-07:002015-06-12T08:48:11.849-07:00Suppressing Blood Terror for the Love of The Freak
"DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!"The piercing scream came from outside my bedroom door. A terrified yell, mix with sobs. I woke up with a start and shot out of bed, throwing on my ample robe, crossing to the door, and flinging it open.
There stood The Freak (5). She was holding her hands to her nose. Blood was coming around her fingers. She's terrified of bloody noses and worse, has been getting them once a Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4359713856816206512.post-32143429138867963282015-06-10T09:41:00.002-07:002015-06-10T09:41:48.009-07:00When Your 13-Year-Old Daughter Knows Your Heart
If you've read my blog long enough, you know two things about me. The first is well-known, the second lesser, yet regardless, well-known to me.
1. I want my house clean at all times. No equivocations. I cannot handle a dirty house.
2. I have no desire to learn what the hype about Minecraft is, nor do I want to play it at all - ever.
And, if you've followed me, you know that #1 is a Incongruous Circumspectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16232186225573312896noreply@blogger.com1