In the very first week of the very first religion we are studying as part of Year of Faith, I transgressed.

That’s right, I ate a hot dog. On a Thursday. With the bun.

All things considered, it’s not exactly a big deal. Discordianism is pretty fast and loose compared to Ordthodox Judaism. I could always take the cheap way out and claim my pineal gland ordered me to. Hm, that’s not a bad idea…

What surprised me was the ease with which it happened. I wasn’t even aware that I had done something against Discordianism until the following day. How common is this? Does this happen to everyone? Where can I find statistics on this sort of thing? Would these religious statisticians have a building in the shape of a cross with numbers drawn on the sides? Probably not.

However, this did get me thinking about the nature of religious transgressions in general. All religions have some form of tenets or rules that should be obeyed. When the average believer disobeys one of these rules, is it more often a conscious decision or unnoticed until afterwards? Does it make a difference in how you feel about it or in the punishments you receive?

I’d already violated my strictures once without noticing, so for a change of pace I made a conscious decision to violate it again. I ate more hot dog buns. Well, not just the buns but you get the idea.

I discovered that I felt less guilty when I made the conscious decision to violate this rule. Go figure! I have yet to notice any kind of negative effects or punishment received for either of these transgressions. This leads me to the conclusion that there are no consequences for anything you do, ever. And on that note, I have to go purchase an axe.