~Long joke, but it kind of mimics the circular logic of religion. I have changed the language to be more appropriate for all readers.
This morning there was a knock at my door. When I answered the door I
found a well groomed, nicely dressed couple.
The man spoke first: "Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."
Mary: "Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's rear with us."
Me: "Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would
I want to kiss his rear?"
John: "If you kiss Hank's rear, he'll give you a million dollars; and
if you don't, he'll kick the poo out of you."
Me: "What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"
John: "Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town.
Hank owns this town. He can do what ever he wants, and what he wants
is to give you a million dollars, but he can't until you kiss his
rear."
Me: "That doesn't make any sense. Why..."
Mary: "Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million
dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the rear?"
Me: "Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."
John: "Then come kiss Hank's rear with us."
Me: "Do you kiss Hank's rear often?"
Mary: "Oh, yes, all the time..."
Me: "And has he given you a million dollars?"
John: "Well, no, you don't actually get the money until you leave town."
Me: "So why don't you just leave town now?"
Mary: "You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the
money, and he kicks the poo out of you."
Me: "Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's rear, left town, and got the
million dollars?"
John: "My mother kissed Hank's rear for years. She left town last year,
and I'm sure she got the money."
Me: "Haven't you talked to her since then?"
John: "Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."
Me: "So what makes you think he'll actually give you the money if
you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"
Mary: "Well, he gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll
get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a
twenty dollar bill on the street."
Me: "What's that got to do with Hank?
John: "Hank has certain 'connections.'"
Me: "I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."
John: "But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And
remember, if you don't kiss Hank's rear he'll kick the poo out of you."
Me: "Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to him, get the details straight
from him..."
Mary: "No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."
Me: "Then how do you kiss his rear?"
John: "Sometimes we just blow him a kiss, and think of his rear. Other
times we kiss Karl's rear, and he passes it on."
Me: "Who's Karl?"
Mary: "A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing
Hank's rear. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."
Me: "And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank,
that Hank wanted you to kiss his rear, and that Hank would reward you?"
John: "Oh no! Karl's got a letter Hank sent him years ago explaining
the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."
John handed me a photocopy of a handwritten memo on From the desk of
Karl letterhead.
There were eleven items listed:
1. Kiss Hank's rear and he'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
2. Use alcohol in moderation.
3. Kick the poo out of people who aren't like you.
4. Eat right.
5. Hank dictated this list himself.
6. The moon is made of green cheese.
7. Everything Hank says is right.
8. Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
9. Don't drink.
10. Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
11. Kiss Hank's rear or he'll kick the poo out of you.
Me: "This would appear to be written on Karl's letterhead."
Mary: "Hank didn't have any paper."
Me: "I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."
John: "Of course, Hank dictated it."
Me: "I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"
Mary: "Not now, but years ago he would talk to some people."
Me: "I thought you said he was a philanthropist. What sort of
philanthropist kicks the poo out of people just because they're
different?"
Mary: "It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."
Me: "How do you figure that?"
Mary: "Item 7 says, 'Everything Hanks says is right.' That's good
enough for me!"
Me: "Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."
John: "No way! Item 5 says, 'Hank dictated this list himself.'
Besides, item 2 says, 'Use alcohol in moderation,' item 4 says, 'Eat
right,' and item 8 says, 'Wash your hands after going to the
bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be
true, too."
Me: "But 9 says, 'Don't Drink,' which doesn't quite go with item 2,
and 6 says, 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain
wrong."
John: "There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2.
As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for
sure."
Me: "Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made
of rock...."
Mary: "But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from
out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."
Me: "I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the moon
came from the Earth has been discounted. Besides, not knowing where
the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."
John: "Aha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we
know Hank is always right!"
Me: "We do?"
Mary: "Of course we do, Item 5 says so."
Me: "You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the
list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated
it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than
saying, 'Hank's right because he says he's right.'"
John: "Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come
around to Hank's way of thinking."
Me: "But.... oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"
Mary blushes.
John says: "Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything
else is wrong."
Me: "What if I don't have a bun?"
John: "No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."
Me: "No relish? No Mustard?"
Mary looks positively stricken.
John shouts: "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any
kind are wrong!"
Me: "So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it
would be out of the question?"
Mary sticks her fingers in her ears: "I am not listening to this. La
la la, la la, la la la."
John: "That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that...."
Me: "It's good! I eat it all the time."
Mary faints.
John catches her: "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't
have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the poo out of you I'll be
there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's rear for you,
you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater."
With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off.
Makes Sense to Me 
What's that? You haven't 
Linear Mode
