Myself

I never write about myself, usually just about my views (which I guess is equally narcissistic). Blogs are supposed to be personal, right?

So in an effort to explain a few things about me, I thought I’d post about where I got my online nickname, Ginx, and what my user picture means.

I chose the word Ginx because Jinx13 was taken as an AOL account when I was 12. I remember I was 12, because everything required you to be 13 to participate. I figured a 13 in my name would be sufficient proof. I guess I also liked cultish stuff back then.

I changed the first letter because I saw no pronunciation dilemma, thinking, “‘g’ as in ‘George,’ not ‘g’ as in ‘gorge.’” Because I occasionally play video games that allow voice chat, I hear Ginx mispronounced a lot, but frankly I don’t care. I let a professor call me “Brad” for a whole semester once. I even thought about putting “Brad” on my papers.

Which reminds me, my name is Brett. My wife doesn’t want our names online, but I think it’d be cool to be martyred for your beliefs. It’s so much less effort to die young than to grow old. More than being lazy, I’m intrigued by the possible impact; if someone killed me because of my atheist blog, my writing would have far more of an impact than it does with a readership composed mostly of people who would read this and feel very depressed and sorry for me (rather than the appropriate response of strangers, which is to laugh at my naiveté and wish I’d move on to something funny or dramatic… not melodramatic).

The name Ginx stuck this whole time (I’m 25 now). In fact, I’ve had the moniker longer than I have not. Since adopting it, I researched it as thoroughly as I have all my other names (Brett is a demonym meaning “from Britain”). A man by the name of Edward Jenkins wrote an amazing book called “Ginx’s Baby. His Birth and other Misfortunes: A Satire.” Ginx is the last name, so the child also share’s this name. The entire book can be read online here, as the copyright expired decades ago.

In high school, I formulated the “GINX Maxim,” which states, “God Is Not X.” It is an expression of my frustration at liberal Christians whose concept of God has far transcended anything actually described in the Bible. There are some who say that God is simply the unknown, but this view is in no way supported by the Bible.

God is the One, the Prime Mover, the beginning and the end. Nowhere in the Bible can one infer that God merely occupies the gaps in human knowledge. I see no appeal in this view, from a theistic perspective, as this would mean God’s realm and influence in shrinking daily, as we learn more and more.

It’s an interesting idea, and I support their decision to start a brand new religion based on this view, but why perpetuate the lies of the Bible? The Bible should not be religious doctrine, but rather a scholarly text akin to the works of Homer. There is far more psychology within the Bible than ethics or morality.

So about my profile picture... Again, my wife doesn’t want our identities to be known (though I think she has since posted wedding photos with us in them). While I joke about it, I would prefer to live to see my children grow up and resent me, so a picture of me is not an option. Instead, I Photoshopped a picture of a Penrose triangle over a background I made.

The Penrose triangle is an interesting concept. It is an example of what is called “an impossible object.” It can be drawn, but it cannot be constructed in real life. I find this to be a metaphor for most philosophies and religions: it seems possible on paper, but it has no anchor in reality. It is a constant reminder that everything I think and write is merely mental masturbation unless it can be enacted in real life.