I would now like to bring to your attention the fact that there are actually two creation stories in the Old Testament and they differ in several key points, and to add insult to injury; they are literally placed back to back from one another. Genesis chapter one relates the story of creation and although that version is chock full of bone headed errors chapter two is no different. As always I will be using quotations when necessary from the King James version of the bible. So...that being said lets get this show on the road.
There are several major discrepancies in the creation stories, but one of the most blatant ones is in regards to the order of the things created. I will list them as they appear on both versions and then we will make a comparison of the two. Let's start with Genesis chapter one from day one of creation:
Day 1
heaven and the earth
light
day and night
Day 2
the firmament
the heavens (sky)
Day 3
the land and the seas
plant life, trees
Day 4
the sun and the moon
Day 5
sea creatures and fowl of the air
Day 6
land creatures and insects (crawling things)
man and woman
Note that in this version of the creation story man and woman were created together and were gods last creation before he decided to take a break on the seventh day.
Genesis 2 does not give you a day to day account of creation but it puts it in a loose order.
heavens and the earth
plant life and trees
Adam/man
the garden of Eden
the beasts of the fields and the fowls of the air
Eve/woman from the rib of Adam
So as you can see according to these two chapters of Genesis the most prominent thing that stands out is that chapter one states that man was God's last creation, plant life, sea creatures and the fowl of the air and the beasts of the land were all created before us. Chapter two on the other hand agrees that plant life came before us but that following plant life came man followed by the beasts of the fields and the fowl of the air and finally woman. In this chapter woman is God's last creation after all other life forms were made. Nothing is more amusing than showing this to a christian and watching them scramble their brains looking for an answer to this obvious discrepancy. There is more to this story but we will get to that in another post.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Let there be light! Astronomical errors.
I would like to address one of the biggest blunders of the bible when it comes to the field of astronomy. Although some may contend that the bible is not a book on science, but even though that may be the case the bible makes plenty of false scientific claims. This just serves as evidence against the claim that the bible is "inspired by God". If it was in fact inspired by this fictional god then either he is ignorant of how he created the world and the laws that govern it, or he is truly not omniscient (all knowing) as the bible authors claim that he is. My conclusion as an atheist is that he does not exist and is in fact as I have stated many times the creation of the fertile imagination of the human mind.
As always all of my quotations are from the King James version of the bible unless stated otherwise. According to Genesis 1:3-5 the bible says that: 3.'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4.And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5.And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.' There are several important points I would like to make regarding these verses of scripture the first thing I would like to draw your attention to is that on the first day of creation God created light, divided it from darkness which is logically impossible since darkness is technically an absence of light and the two cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
The next thing I'd like to point out is that it then goes on to state that the evening and the morning were the first day. One of the theists contentions is that the days referred to here are not counted as a 24 hour cycle as we do today but rather that this time span is indeterminate.They use such passages as 2 Peter 3:8 which states:'But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' The more liberal theists use this to try to conform their theology to include evolution, and sometimes even the age of the Earth. The only problem with this is that in the very text I quoted it literally betrays and contradicts the above mentioned text. It says that the evening and the morning was the first day, I don't know about you but that sounds pretty literal to me. Whoever wrote this passage was not thinking about a day lasting a thousand years but was rather writing from the perspective of what is perceived to be a normal day. Granted it may not have been a 24 hour cycle but it could have been less. Either way the evening and the rising of the sun was the criteria he used to determine that a day had passed.
The succession of days in the tale of creation is relevant to the succession of days we use today the proof is in the flow of the text. Genesis one tries to present a chronological order of the days of creation and in Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23, and 31 they all say exactly the same thing "and the evening and the morning were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, day and so on and so on. So the so called indeterminate days of Genesis argument falls apart right away and is not even worth arguing over anymore. Now here is where this tale gets downright stupid. Genesis 1:14,16,18 'And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:... 16.And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.' Now here is the first problem with this, didn't he create light on the first day and divide light from darkness already?
The two great lights of course are a reference to the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night and they were for signs and season and for days and years as stated. The problem is that if this is true then what was the light and darkness he divided on the first day? He had already called the light day and the darkness night? According to the previous text he did not even create the sun nor the moon nor the stars until the fourth day of creation. He created the oceans, the firmament or the heavens, land, and all sorts of plant life etc. prior to having created the astral bodies which in and of itself makes no damn sense since plant life needs the sun to grow and for nourishment. I hope you all enjoy this post and I will see you next time with more good bone headed bible facts.
As always all of my quotations are from the King James version of the bible unless stated otherwise. According to Genesis 1:3-5 the bible says that: 3.'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4.And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5.And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.' There are several important points I would like to make regarding these verses of scripture the first thing I would like to draw your attention to is that on the first day of creation God created light, divided it from darkness which is logically impossible since darkness is technically an absence of light and the two cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
The next thing I'd like to point out is that it then goes on to state that the evening and the morning were the first day. One of the theists contentions is that the days referred to here are not counted as a 24 hour cycle as we do today but rather that this time span is indeterminate.They use such passages as 2 Peter 3:8 which states:'But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' The more liberal theists use this to try to conform their theology to include evolution, and sometimes even the age of the Earth. The only problem with this is that in the very text I quoted it literally betrays and contradicts the above mentioned text. It says that the evening and the morning was the first day, I don't know about you but that sounds pretty literal to me. Whoever wrote this passage was not thinking about a day lasting a thousand years but was rather writing from the perspective of what is perceived to be a normal day. Granted it may not have been a 24 hour cycle but it could have been less. Either way the evening and the rising of the sun was the criteria he used to determine that a day had passed.
The succession of days in the tale of creation is relevant to the succession of days we use today the proof is in the flow of the text. Genesis one tries to present a chronological order of the days of creation and in Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23, and 31 they all say exactly the same thing "and the evening and the morning were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, day and so on and so on. So the so called indeterminate days of Genesis argument falls apart right away and is not even worth arguing over anymore. Now here is where this tale gets downright stupid. Genesis 1:14,16,18 'And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:... 16.And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.' Now here is the first problem with this, didn't he create light on the first day and divide light from darkness already?
The two great lights of course are a reference to the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night and they were for signs and season and for days and years as stated. The problem is that if this is true then what was the light and darkness he divided on the first day? He had already called the light day and the darkness night? According to the previous text he did not even create the sun nor the moon nor the stars until the fourth day of creation. He created the oceans, the firmament or the heavens, land, and all sorts of plant life etc. prior to having created the astral bodies which in and of itself makes no damn sense since plant life needs the sun to grow and for nourishment. I hope you all enjoy this post and I will see you next time with more good bone headed bible facts.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Cain and Abel (some discrepancies)
Genesis chapter 4 tells the tale of Cain and his brother Abel the firstborn sons of Adam and Eve, many skeptics including myself have found several discrepancies with this story and I will point them out here in this post. All quotations of scripture are from the King James version of the bible, and will be utilized to demonstrate one of many obvious biblical contradictions. According to the tale both Cain and Abel presented themselves before the Lord with their offerings but the Lord only accepted Abel's offering and rejected Cains. As a result of this Cain was angry and when he was alone with his brother he murdered him in cold blood.
The very first contradiction we find is that according to Christians and Jews God is omnipresent (at all places at all times) and omniscient (all knowing) but given these attributes he still had to ask Cain: Genesis 4:9.'And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?' What is the point of asking him where his brother was if he was there and knew where he was if he supposedly possessed those attributes I have mentioned above? After Cains reply then the Lord supposedly realizes what has happened because he hears the blood of Abel calling out to him from the ground. This contradiction is irrelevant to the actual contradictions within the story but I thought it would be interesting to point it out. There are many examples in the bible where God demonstrates that he lacks knowledge of certain things and events.
Now this next contradiction is one that theologians have been struggling to find ways to explain for quite some time, although at least to me none of their expectations are sufficient nor strong enough to fix this biblical boo boo. As punishment for slaying his brother God pronounced a curse upon Abel: Genesis 4:12,14 12.'When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.14.Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.' If you read these verses carefully immediately one big contradiction stands out. According to the story the only people that existed were Adam, Eve, and Cain but here Cain is concerned that everyone that finds him will try to slay him. Now here is my question who is everyone? This implies that either there were more people populating the Earth besides Adam and if there were then the story is shown to be inaccurate and a lie.
One thing I have learned on my way to becoming an atheist is that the best way to read the bible is with a mental scalpel at the ready, if you take most of the tales apart and read them in detail you will notice things that your faith did not allow you to see or even question if you did see them at all. As an atheist I find that one of my favorite past times is literally dissecting the bible piece by piece. The more I do this the more confirmation I get that I am right and that the bible is what I have been saying it is for the past 15 year; a myth. The next contradiction ties into the last one, because the tale goes on to say that after he left his parents Cain dwelt in the land of nod East of Eden. Genesis 4:17 is the icing on the cake; '17.And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.'
Immediately upon reading this I have two questions to ask: Where did Cain find a wife when the bible says clearly that he and Abel were the first sons of Adam and Eve and technically there were only four inhabitants in the Earth at the time. Not only that, what happened to the curse the Lord put on Cain? For a fugitive and a vagabond it seems that according to this verse Cain has done quite well for himself, he has done so well that he was able to have a son and even build a city despite the curse of the Lord that was upon him! I have heard Christians state that the tale of Adam and Eve is allegorical and not meant to be taken literally or as historical fact but that is not what the bible says. In fact in chapter 5 immediately after gives a genealogy of Adams lineage ,so that pretty much takes apart that feeble argument or defense if you want to call it that. In my next few posts I will do as I have done here and start to share with my fellow atheists and Christians interested in researching this further the contradictions I personally have found in the biblical narratives so sit back and enjoy the ride.
The very first contradiction we find is that according to Christians and Jews God is omnipresent (at all places at all times) and omniscient (all knowing) but given these attributes he still had to ask Cain: Genesis 4:9.'And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?' What is the point of asking him where his brother was if he was there and knew where he was if he supposedly possessed those attributes I have mentioned above? After Cains reply then the Lord supposedly realizes what has happened because he hears the blood of Abel calling out to him from the ground. This contradiction is irrelevant to the actual contradictions within the story but I thought it would be interesting to point it out. There are many examples in the bible where God demonstrates that he lacks knowledge of certain things and events.
Now this next contradiction is one that theologians have been struggling to find ways to explain for quite some time, although at least to me none of their expectations are sufficient nor strong enough to fix this biblical boo boo. As punishment for slaying his brother God pronounced a curse upon Abel: Genesis 4:12,14 12.'When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.14.Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.' If you read these verses carefully immediately one big contradiction stands out. According to the story the only people that existed were Adam, Eve, and Cain but here Cain is concerned that everyone that finds him will try to slay him. Now here is my question who is everyone? This implies that either there were more people populating the Earth besides Adam and if there were then the story is shown to be inaccurate and a lie.
One thing I have learned on my way to becoming an atheist is that the best way to read the bible is with a mental scalpel at the ready, if you take most of the tales apart and read them in detail you will notice things that your faith did not allow you to see or even question if you did see them at all. As an atheist I find that one of my favorite past times is literally dissecting the bible piece by piece. The more I do this the more confirmation I get that I am right and that the bible is what I have been saying it is for the past 15 year; a myth. The next contradiction ties into the last one, because the tale goes on to say that after he left his parents Cain dwelt in the land of nod East of Eden. Genesis 4:17 is the icing on the cake; '17.And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.'
Immediately upon reading this I have two questions to ask: Where did Cain find a wife when the bible says clearly that he and Abel were the first sons of Adam and Eve and technically there were only four inhabitants in the Earth at the time. Not only that, what happened to the curse the Lord put on Cain? For a fugitive and a vagabond it seems that according to this verse Cain has done quite well for himself, he has done so well that he was able to have a son and even build a city despite the curse of the Lord that was upon him! I have heard Christians state that the tale of Adam and Eve is allegorical and not meant to be taken literally or as historical fact but that is not what the bible says. In fact in chapter 5 immediately after gives a genealogy of Adams lineage ,so that pretty much takes apart that feeble argument or defense if you want to call it that. In my next few posts I will do as I have done here and start to share with my fellow atheists and Christians interested in researching this further the contradictions I personally have found in the biblical narratives so sit back and enjoy the ride.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The fear of eternal torment
Of all the idiotic things taught in Christianity; nothing irritates me more than the constant threat of eternal damnation. When I left the ministry and the church behind, anytime I ran into members of my former congregation on the street they would remind me of the dire consequences I will suffer for turning my back on God. They would bring to mind the stupid tale of Jonah and the whale; which by the way the bible does not specifically mention that it was a whale: Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Christians assume that since the Whale is considered the largest sea animal it must have been a whale, That is like saying that if he had been swallowed by a large land creature it must have been an elephant. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a whale a mammal? There is a huge difference between a mammal and a fish for example mammals are warm blooded fish are not, they breathe through blow holes and not gills, and finally they give birth to live babies that drink their mothers milk. Just goes to show how faulty Christian reasoning is.
I am warned what a terrible thing it is to have known God and turned away, than to have never known him at all. In reference to back sliders (people who leave the Lord and revert back to the world) whoever wrote 2 Peter 2:21 said: 'For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.' All throughout the bible you are told that the only way to live a fruitful and productive life is through the worship and adherence of God's commandments. Those that refuse to be mentally enslaved by fairy tales are forewarned that nothing they do in this life is going to go well or be good enough without God. Not to mention the terrible fate that awaits them after they depart this life and enter into the next life.
The bible clearly makes a distinction between the "saved" and the unsaved, the world and the church. John 17:14 'I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.' They are the elite, the chosen by God to walk the Earth bringing the word of truth and eternal salvation to mankind. It is because of this that I think Christians in general have an air of arrogance about them, a detestable snootiness to their persona that quite frankly make me sick. This is also where I think the term 'born again' came from, when you are born again according to Christian theology you are no longer a man of the flesh you are born again as a man that lives by the spirit. John 3:5,6 'Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' This is the significance of baptism by immersion in most protestant churches; the immersion in water signifies the burying of the old man of the flesh, the ascending out of the water signifies the birth of the spiritual man.
Then there is the threat of you being a target for evil spirits and demons to take their abode in your physical body, due to the fact that you are no longer under God's protection and graces. Matthew 12 43-45 states:43.When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.44.Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.45.Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Finally, the threat of hell and eternal torment which I find stupid and completely at odds with a so called forgiving God of mercy and love. It sounds more like this biblical deity is very good at having his poor little feelings hurt and can hold a grudge forever. Revelation 20:13,14 'And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.' According to whoever wrote Revelations under his drug induced haze he composed this wonderful end for those who did not serve God. Notice too that according to this text it seems that death and hell are treated separately. It almost sounds like death is also a place apart from hell "and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them". Could this be the equivalent to what the Catholic church refers to as purgatory, or what others call limbo? Either way the lake of fire seems to be the final place of eternal torment that awaits us who don't believe. I tip my hats off to the church for being able to hold the world through fear and intimidation with such ridiculous beliefs and ideas. You die, you go to hell, and finally after the judgment we are cast into the lake of fire, what utter bullshit!
I am warned what a terrible thing it is to have known God and turned away, than to have never known him at all. In reference to back sliders (people who leave the Lord and revert back to the world) whoever wrote 2 Peter 2:21 said: 'For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.' All throughout the bible you are told that the only way to live a fruitful and productive life is through the worship and adherence of God's commandments. Those that refuse to be mentally enslaved by fairy tales are forewarned that nothing they do in this life is going to go well or be good enough without God. Not to mention the terrible fate that awaits them after they depart this life and enter into the next life.
The bible clearly makes a distinction between the "saved" and the unsaved, the world and the church. John 17:14 'I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.' They are the elite, the chosen by God to walk the Earth bringing the word of truth and eternal salvation to mankind. It is because of this that I think Christians in general have an air of arrogance about them, a detestable snootiness to their persona that quite frankly make me sick. This is also where I think the term 'born again' came from, when you are born again according to Christian theology you are no longer a man of the flesh you are born again as a man that lives by the spirit. John 3:5,6 'Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' This is the significance of baptism by immersion in most protestant churches; the immersion in water signifies the burying of the old man of the flesh, the ascending out of the water signifies the birth of the spiritual man.
Then there is the threat of you being a target for evil spirits and demons to take their abode in your physical body, due to the fact that you are no longer under God's protection and graces. Matthew 12 43-45 states:43.When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.44.Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.45.Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Finally, the threat of hell and eternal torment which I find stupid and completely at odds with a so called forgiving God of mercy and love. It sounds more like this biblical deity is very good at having his poor little feelings hurt and can hold a grudge forever. Revelation 20:13,14 'And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.' According to whoever wrote Revelations under his drug induced haze he composed this wonderful end for those who did not serve God. Notice too that according to this text it seems that death and hell are treated separately. It almost sounds like death is also a place apart from hell "and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them". Could this be the equivalent to what the Catholic church refers to as purgatory, or what others call limbo? Either way the lake of fire seems to be the final place of eternal torment that awaits us who don't believe. I tip my hats off to the church for being able to hold the world through fear and intimidation with such ridiculous beliefs and ideas. You die, you go to hell, and finally after the judgment we are cast into the lake of fire, what utter bullshit!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The fear of death
Is Christianity just a way to stave off the fear of death? It is a known fact that mankind in general has always harbored a fear of the unknown, he has always wondered beyond his means of discovery. Death is one of those subjects that you just can't research until you get there, but once you get there your findings stay with you since there is no way for you to bring them back to the world of the living. The invention of the soul as the essence of your very life and its ability to live on even after the death of the body, is apparently one of the main features of Christianity. In fact fear is even emphasized in the biblical text to be a factor even beyond the grave. Take for example this verse of scripture: Matthew 10:28 says 'And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' In this case it is clearly a reference to God.
Christianity promises several things that are appealing to those that wish to conquer death, although from a logical standpoint it is in and of itself an illogical and non rational concept. Matthew 25:46 'And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.' and John 3:15 'That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.' As you can see from these biblical quotations the bible promises its faithful eternal life. This resolves the issue of death in one fell swoop, and all you have to do is believe in him (Jesus Christ) and live according to his word and will. This is nothing more than the god of the gaps theory in action, whatever we can't explain through science or experience we simply insert God into the equation and the problem is solved.
Here is my take on life and death from a more grounded perspective. We are all biological creatures, living organisms of different kinds and structures, but we all have one thing in common and that is that we die. Death is imminent for every living organism that has ever existed and will exist in the future long after I am gone. Death is simply aging and decay and it is certainly not due to something as silly as the false concept of sin. You die because as you get older your metabolism slows, your body begins to wear down, your bones begin to ache and even weaken, sometimes even your mind begins to deteriorate to the point where you can't even retain your own ability to remember the simplest things. All of these are clearly the signs of wear and tear on the human body and frame. We all have our own particular shelf life and this depends on many factors that are all consequences of how well we took care of our bodies and how we lived our lives. Most people that live hard and fast end up crashing and burning at an early age, those that take care of their bodies and watch what they eat and live healthy clean lives tend to last longer. This of course excludes death by unforeseen causes such as genetic disorders or even murder etc.
If you think about this from the perspective of material things around us it just makes complete sense that this is just a fact of life that we all have to face and come to terms with some day. Because of my martial arts training and my interest in Budo (the way of the samurai) I have come to embrace death as a completely natural occurrence that needs not be feared.I would like to share this quote that pretty much sums up my outlook on life and death in general: "To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve - as if you might die in the next instant" - Taisen Deshimaru. I don't believe in ghost so I tend to think that there is nothing on the other side of life, you cease to exist literally; in my view, there is no conscious awareness nor some silly devil or god to fear.
Why do people in general have such an interest in death when you have a whole life ahead of you to live in the here and now? Why cling so tenaciously to life when you know that it will eventually come to an end? Just enjoy life for what it is, your individual reality and journey. Don't sit around wasting your time pondering fairy tales and myths trying to find something to take away the sting of the prospect of dying. Just know that you are not alone, we all will die one day or another and nothing will change that. Not religion nor imaginary deities that live in the sky. There is nothing more real than life and that is what you should be concentrating on, there is where you should focus all of your energy on. Make the most of this life and try to enjoy the ride before it's over.
Christianity promises several things that are appealing to those that wish to conquer death, although from a logical standpoint it is in and of itself an illogical and non rational concept. Matthew 25:46 'And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.' and John 3:15 'That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.' As you can see from these biblical quotations the bible promises its faithful eternal life. This resolves the issue of death in one fell swoop, and all you have to do is believe in him (Jesus Christ) and live according to his word and will. This is nothing more than the god of the gaps theory in action, whatever we can't explain through science or experience we simply insert God into the equation and the problem is solved.
Here is my take on life and death from a more grounded perspective. We are all biological creatures, living organisms of different kinds and structures, but we all have one thing in common and that is that we die. Death is imminent for every living organism that has ever existed and will exist in the future long after I am gone. Death is simply aging and decay and it is certainly not due to something as silly as the false concept of sin. You die because as you get older your metabolism slows, your body begins to wear down, your bones begin to ache and even weaken, sometimes even your mind begins to deteriorate to the point where you can't even retain your own ability to remember the simplest things. All of these are clearly the signs of wear and tear on the human body and frame. We all have our own particular shelf life and this depends on many factors that are all consequences of how well we took care of our bodies and how we lived our lives. Most people that live hard and fast end up crashing and burning at an early age, those that take care of their bodies and watch what they eat and live healthy clean lives tend to last longer. This of course excludes death by unforeseen causes such as genetic disorders or even murder etc.
If you think about this from the perspective of material things around us it just makes complete sense that this is just a fact of life that we all have to face and come to terms with some day. Because of my martial arts training and my interest in Budo (the way of the samurai) I have come to embrace death as a completely natural occurrence that needs not be feared.I would like to share this quote that pretty much sums up my outlook on life and death in general: "To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve - as if you might die in the next instant" - Taisen Deshimaru. I don't believe in ghost so I tend to think that there is nothing on the other side of life, you cease to exist literally; in my view, there is no conscious awareness nor some silly devil or god to fear.
Why do people in general have such an interest in death when you have a whole life ahead of you to live in the here and now? Why cling so tenaciously to life when you know that it will eventually come to an end? Just enjoy life for what it is, your individual reality and journey. Don't sit around wasting your time pondering fairy tales and myths trying to find something to take away the sting of the prospect of dying. Just know that you are not alone, we all will die one day or another and nothing will change that. Not religion nor imaginary deities that live in the sky. There is nothing more real than life and that is what you should be concentrating on, there is where you should focus all of your energy on. Make the most of this life and try to enjoy the ride before it's over.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Religions mythological nature
I used to own a book a few years back entitled 'Creation Myths' and I was pretty surprised to find the biblical account of creation finally placed in a book and categorized for what it really is, a myth. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary a myth is: a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. In other words this definition is perfect to define all religious beliefs that worship a deity or deities. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam seem to suffer from a horrible disease I like to call: stuck on stupid! Because honestly speaking only an idiot would cling so tenaciously to such utterly ridiculous nonsense.
The indoctrination of 6 thousand or so years has obviously worked because even in today's world of scientific discoveries and technological advancements, it still surprises me that religion continues to thrive the world over. Unlike some Christians believe I do not think it is because their fictional god has a hand in it or he is somehow behind the scenes manipulating events and helping the progression and growth of his church along. It all boils down to one thing, and that is stupidity. It seems there are more stupid and ignorant people than intelligent people on this wonderful planet of ours. It is not always a bad thing because quite frankly this world would be boring without stupid people and their beliefs to keep us atheists entertained.
The mythological nature of religious beliefs are truly self evident, and in my opinion as plain as day. Many theists for fear of damnation or getting on their deities bad side are afraid to delve into the so called mysteries of their religious beliefs. They fear Satan and demons will enter their lives and enslave them forever and that they would be helpless without their god. Everything that has survived and exists on this planet has done well without gods and humans are no exception, imagine if every living organism on this planet had to in its own way worship the biblical creator. Christians attribute the lack of a need for god for animals etc to their not being conscious of their own existence as we are. They claim that animals don't have a soul as if they could prove the existence or non-existence of the soul. If a soul is what defines a person then I would rather not have one. I have had pets that are more pleasant company than some people could ever hope to be.
The indoctrination of 6 thousand or so years has obviously worked because even in today's world of scientific discoveries and technological advancements, it still surprises me that religion continues to thrive the world over. Unlike some Christians believe I do not think it is because their fictional god has a hand in it or he is somehow behind the scenes manipulating events and helping the progression and growth of his church along. It all boils down to one thing, and that is stupidity. It seems there are more stupid and ignorant people than intelligent people on this wonderful planet of ours. It is not always a bad thing because quite frankly this world would be boring without stupid people and their beliefs to keep us atheists entertained.
The mythological nature of religious beliefs are truly self evident, and in my opinion as plain as day. Many theists for fear of damnation or getting on their deities bad side are afraid to delve into the so called mysteries of their religious beliefs. They fear Satan and demons will enter their lives and enslave them forever and that they would be helpless without their god. Everything that has survived and exists on this planet has done well without gods and humans are no exception, imagine if every living organism on this planet had to in its own way worship the biblical creator. Christians attribute the lack of a need for god for animals etc to their not being conscious of their own existence as we are. They claim that animals don't have a soul as if they could prove the existence or non-existence of the soul. If a soul is what defines a person then I would rather not have one. I have had pets that are more pleasant company than some people could ever hope to be.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
God the prick
This is a wierd post for me because I am not going to use bible references nor talk about theology or religious philosophy, these are just some random thoughts that have occurred to me in the last days. I was helping my 12 year old daughter with a school project, she was given some sun flower seeds and told to plant them to see if they would grow. She came home that day with a little pot and every day we began watering the pot and putting it in the sunlight to nourish and grow it. Of course after a few days the plant began to break through the soil and slowly it began to grow. I have since moved it into a bigger pot now and it has become another plant for the house.
The funny thing is that this little project got me thinking, where is God in all of this? This plant made me come to the conclusion that life is self sufficient, you don't need a deity to grow and live a full and productive life. All of those attributes come from yourself and from within, God is what you make of him. He is either an imaginary insignificant being as he is to me, or he is the almighty, all powerful, creator of the Earth, life, and everything else. If you have been following my blog you will know that I have had quite the journey through Jesus land, and to this day I regret it all as one big waste of time and energy.
Today I find the concept of God an insult to the intelligence of mankind, it is a primitive idea and does not require much thought. All you need is faith and some instruction regarding the myth itself and you are well on your way to becoming a servant of the Lord. A servant is sometimes defined as a domestic worker but in the case of Chrisitianity he/she is nothing more than a slave to the God they serve and the religion that they preach. Christian terminology mirrors that of our own slave trade here in the U.S. where a slave was referred to as a nigger. Looking up the word nigger and defining it in the dictionary you come up with someone who is ignorant and that is exactly what christians are completely ignorant of reality. They tend to cling to their myths to get by and forget to live.
This God they serve is nothing more than an arrogant, megalomaniac who like to have smoke blown up his ass all the time. He likes to be told how great he is and how wonderful are his works. He is a stuck up prick (if he did exist) who likes to bathe himeself in his own glory. If you read the bible in its entirety the first thing that you will noctice is that he created man to worship him. As a christian that is your one and only purpose in life, letting him know and the world around you know that God is great and mighty. I personally think that anyone in the real world with a personality like that is in serious need of mental help.
I personally think it is more natural to think of life as a natural occurrence and to stop trying to make it more than it is. Once my big sister asked me "how can you deny the existence of God, what about the miracle of birth?" I told her it's no miracle it is a natural occurrence as a result of two people fucking lol.
The funny thing is that this little project got me thinking, where is God in all of this? This plant made me come to the conclusion that life is self sufficient, you don't need a deity to grow and live a full and productive life. All of those attributes come from yourself and from within, God is what you make of him. He is either an imaginary insignificant being as he is to me, or he is the almighty, all powerful, creator of the Earth, life, and everything else. If you have been following my blog you will know that I have had quite the journey through Jesus land, and to this day I regret it all as one big waste of time and energy.
Today I find the concept of God an insult to the intelligence of mankind, it is a primitive idea and does not require much thought. All you need is faith and some instruction regarding the myth itself and you are well on your way to becoming a servant of the Lord. A servant is sometimes defined as a domestic worker but in the case of Chrisitianity he/she is nothing more than a slave to the God they serve and the religion that they preach. Christian terminology mirrors that of our own slave trade here in the U.S. where a slave was referred to as a nigger. Looking up the word nigger and defining it in the dictionary you come up with someone who is ignorant and that is exactly what christians are completely ignorant of reality. They tend to cling to their myths to get by and forget to live.
This God they serve is nothing more than an arrogant, megalomaniac who like to have smoke blown up his ass all the time. He likes to be told how great he is and how wonderful are his works. He is a stuck up prick (if he did exist) who likes to bathe himeself in his own glory. If you read the bible in its entirety the first thing that you will noctice is that he created man to worship him. As a christian that is your one and only purpose in life, letting him know and the world around you know that God is great and mighty. I personally think that anyone in the real world with a personality like that is in serious need of mental help.
I personally think it is more natural to think of life as a natural occurrence and to stop trying to make it more than it is. Once my big sister asked me "how can you deny the existence of God, what about the miracle of birth?" I told her it's no miracle it is a natural occurrence as a result of two people fucking lol.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Knowledge of God and man
This post is for all my fellow atheists who have wondered how is it possible that Christians can't see the insanity of their beliefs, how is it that they can't see that these tales are not inspired by God but rather the inventions of man? As a former fundamentalist Pentecostal preacher myself I can answer that question very easily for you, and then I will elaborate using references from the King James translation of the bible to back my claims. The reason Christians are so closed minded is because they must be! It is literally a sin to question the scriptures in a negative light. You can question them in a positive sense as long as it does not take you into other realms of study that refute the bible, otherwise you may be led astray by the dark lord himself Satan.
According to the scriptures there is a difference between the knowledge of man and the knowledge of God, and the two types of knowledge are worlds apart. Proverbs 1:7 states: 'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.' and then in Proverbs 2:6 it says: 'For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.' So according to the scriptures themselves knowledge of God is the gateway to wisdom, without knowledge of God we are all doomed to be fools. Isaiah 55:9 states that: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. This is the main reason that Christians believe that atheists are incapable of understanding the mysteries of god. For it takes the spirit of the Lord to guide you to all wisdom and understanding.
Most Christians who seek out knowledge to try to refute the many arguments atheists place before them, seek it in a biased manner, they reject or ignore any knowledge that poses a challenge to their beliefs. Paul made sure that all believers knew not to accept anything that was not what what they had taught them in Galatians 1:8,9 'But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.' According to the bible you are supposed to turn to the scriptures for all of your daily needs. 1 Timothy 3:16,17 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.'
The bible actually tells christians in 2 Timothy 2:15 to : 'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' But at the same time it instructs them in Titus 3:9 : 'But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.' So they are supposed to be secure in their knowledge of God and in fact not even bother with people like us regarding the word of God or his existence because finally according to the scriptures we are nothing but fools and they are to avoid foolish questions. Psalm 14:1 'The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.'
Although the bible clearly states that they are to ignore us, the christians feel the need to defend their beliefs in god. They can't stand to see anyone dare to state that there is no god, or that their beliefs are myths or fairy tales, as if their omnipotent god could not fight his own battles. If they are so sure about their beliefs then there should not even be debate forums or books written about god and against atheism. If what the bible says is true then God will see to it that his word gets out to those that he supposedly has chosen. Now you should be able to see why christians can't think outside the box, it's because the box is sealed and if they dare go beyond the box they might be led astray.
According to the scriptures there is a difference between the knowledge of man and the knowledge of God, and the two types of knowledge are worlds apart. Proverbs 1:7 states: 'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.' and then in Proverbs 2:6 it says: 'For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.' So according to the scriptures themselves knowledge of God is the gateway to wisdom, without knowledge of God we are all doomed to be fools. Isaiah 55:9 states that: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. This is the main reason that Christians believe that atheists are incapable of understanding the mysteries of god. For it takes the spirit of the Lord to guide you to all wisdom and understanding.
Most Christians who seek out knowledge to try to refute the many arguments atheists place before them, seek it in a biased manner, they reject or ignore any knowledge that poses a challenge to their beliefs. Paul made sure that all believers knew not to accept anything that was not what what they had taught them in Galatians 1:8,9 'But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.' According to the bible you are supposed to turn to the scriptures for all of your daily needs. 1 Timothy 3:16,17 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.'
The bible actually tells christians in 2 Timothy 2:15 to : 'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' But at the same time it instructs them in Titus 3:9 : 'But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.' So they are supposed to be secure in their knowledge of God and in fact not even bother with people like us regarding the word of God or his existence because finally according to the scriptures we are nothing but fools and they are to avoid foolish questions. Psalm 14:1 'The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.'
Although the bible clearly states that they are to ignore us, the christians feel the need to defend their beliefs in god. They can't stand to see anyone dare to state that there is no god, or that their beliefs are myths or fairy tales, as if their omnipotent god could not fight his own battles. If they are so sure about their beliefs then there should not even be debate forums or books written about god and against atheism. If what the bible says is true then God will see to it that his word gets out to those that he supposedly has chosen. Now you should be able to see why christians can't think outside the box, it's because the box is sealed and if they dare go beyond the box they might be led astray.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Traditions die hard
If there is one thing that I have learned in my short journey through this life so far it's that traditions; especially those linked to a society, are very powerful motivators towards believing the unbelievable. Most people are very tentative to question their societies traditions, especially in some of the more underdeveloped countries where tradition is the life blood of a society as a whole. No matter how ridiculous the belief systems that accompany those societies may be nor how nonsensical they may seem to the rest of us, in those closed and ignorant societies they are as real as life itself. People in a society tend to live, work and play as a collective and are always seeking a sense of belonging. It is because of this that they generally try not to question their societies traditions and beliefs.
It takes a person of character and boldness to step back from tradition and analyze and question everything around him regardless of what others think; when it comes to religious matters that is why I am an atheist. I am proud to have broken free from the shackles or religion and to reclaim my independence as an individual and not just another mindless face in the crowd. People don't realize it but if you were honestly to stop, step back, and analyze your beliefs from a rational perspective you would quickly come to realize the insanity of those beliefs. Some Christians who are not really thinkers have asked me that if their religion wasn't true and if Jesus did not exist, then why would so many people have died martyrs for these beliefs? I have replied in the best way I know how. I tell them that tradition is a strong motivator and that just because people are willing to die for a tradition does not make it true.
In fact there have been martyrs in almost every religion involving a deity that you can think of, so that in and of itself negates the argument. There have been many martyrs who have died horrible deaths at the hands of the inquisitors of the christian faith and the Muslim faiths simply for not succumbing to the inanity that is superstition. There have been quiet atheist, agnostics etc throughout history that have had to endure the agony of worshiping a god they did not believe in and fostering a belief system in order to fit in with their society rather than to be imprisoned, murdered, or as they do today ostracized by their communities and their neighbors. To this day atheist continue to be persecuted for their lack of belief in the nonsense that is christian ideals and God.
There is an old saying that states: 'old habits die hard.' This is so true and so relative to traditions and superstitions as is evident even in today's modern world where people insists on clinging to the ridiculous superstitions of long ago. Traditions don't tend to go away,instead, they morph and change and become something else. They are followed like religion, as if your very life depended on them. Our society is rife with age old superstitions such as omens, bad luck, beliefs in the power of witch craft and spells, if it were not for all these scientific discoveries happening daily around us you would think that you are still living in the dark ages!
I am of Hispanic descent and the Latin community in particular is still overrun by primitive superstitious beliefs, many still believe that if you put a glass of water in some corner of your house it will capture all the negative influences in the air that may enter your home. Others are devout Catholics who have shrines in their homes to their favorite saints and deities. One thing Hispanic Catholics tend to do is to mix Catholicism with Santeria which is a religion of West African and Caribbean origins. Even in today's world there are those that still revere and even seek guidance from their long dead relatives. Ancestor worship is alive and well even in today more enlightened world. This just goes to show that the need to believe in something is nothing more than a belief in traditions with no foundation of truth whatsoever.Your indoctrination will eventually dictate your experience, and make it as real to you in a subjective manner.
For a Christian, Muslim, or Jew no amount of talking or displaying of truths and evidences to the contrary of their beliefs will change their minds, becoming a skeptic and eventually an atheist or agnostic is something that comes from within you. It takes a bold person to step back and ask;" what is the history of these beliefs, where did they come from, what proof that they are real and correct is there?" It takes an individual to pull away from the herd and remove himself from the collective, not caring what others may think of him/her. Atheism is an open display of your individuality as a person, your unwillingness to bow down to imaginary gods but also to not become a slave to tradition. To take control of your own life and make your own future on your own terms unashamed of who you are and of what you can accomplish.
It takes a person of character and boldness to step back from tradition and analyze and question everything around him regardless of what others think; when it comes to religious matters that is why I am an atheist. I am proud to have broken free from the shackles or religion and to reclaim my independence as an individual and not just another mindless face in the crowd. People don't realize it but if you were honestly to stop, step back, and analyze your beliefs from a rational perspective you would quickly come to realize the insanity of those beliefs. Some Christians who are not really thinkers have asked me that if their religion wasn't true and if Jesus did not exist, then why would so many people have died martyrs for these beliefs? I have replied in the best way I know how. I tell them that tradition is a strong motivator and that just because people are willing to die for a tradition does not make it true.
In fact there have been martyrs in almost every religion involving a deity that you can think of, so that in and of itself negates the argument. There have been many martyrs who have died horrible deaths at the hands of the inquisitors of the christian faith and the Muslim faiths simply for not succumbing to the inanity that is superstition. There have been quiet atheist, agnostics etc throughout history that have had to endure the agony of worshiping a god they did not believe in and fostering a belief system in order to fit in with their society rather than to be imprisoned, murdered, or as they do today ostracized by their communities and their neighbors. To this day atheist continue to be persecuted for their lack of belief in the nonsense that is christian ideals and God.
There is an old saying that states: 'old habits die hard.' This is so true and so relative to traditions and superstitions as is evident even in today's modern world where people insists on clinging to the ridiculous superstitions of long ago. Traditions don't tend to go away,instead, they morph and change and become something else. They are followed like religion, as if your very life depended on them. Our society is rife with age old superstitions such as omens, bad luck, beliefs in the power of witch craft and spells, if it were not for all these scientific discoveries happening daily around us you would think that you are still living in the dark ages!
I am of Hispanic descent and the Latin community in particular is still overrun by primitive superstitious beliefs, many still believe that if you put a glass of water in some corner of your house it will capture all the negative influences in the air that may enter your home. Others are devout Catholics who have shrines in their homes to their favorite saints and deities. One thing Hispanic Catholics tend to do is to mix Catholicism with Santeria which is a religion of West African and Caribbean origins. Even in today's world there are those that still revere and even seek guidance from their long dead relatives. Ancestor worship is alive and well even in today more enlightened world. This just goes to show that the need to believe in something is nothing more than a belief in traditions with no foundation of truth whatsoever.Your indoctrination will eventually dictate your experience, and make it as real to you in a subjective manner.
For a Christian, Muslim, or Jew no amount of talking or displaying of truths and evidences to the contrary of their beliefs will change their minds, becoming a skeptic and eventually an atheist or agnostic is something that comes from within you. It takes a bold person to step back and ask;" what is the history of these beliefs, where did they come from, what proof that they are real and correct is there?" It takes an individual to pull away from the herd and remove himself from the collective, not caring what others may think of him/her. Atheism is an open display of your individuality as a person, your unwillingness to bow down to imaginary gods but also to not become a slave to tradition. To take control of your own life and make your own future on your own terms unashamed of who you are and of what you can accomplish.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Religious beliefs are insane
I think this is going to be one of my simplest posts ever written. I want to focus on how idiotic and childish religious faiths can be, particularly the christian faith. Just like any other myth they are impossible to believe and go beyond the realms of reason. If anything, all religious beliefs should be relegated to the category of myths and fantasies, since they reflect the imaginings of an ignorant people with limited knowledge about the world around them.
Let's look at the Christian myth for example in its entirety from start to finish. Well will take a general overview of this story in the simplest way possible without getting too much into detail and theology. God the so called creator of the universe was sitting in his ethereal plane one day and decided to create the universes, the planets, the various stars and finally amongst all this waste of space he creates one sole planet that is capable of supporting life as we know it.
Man sprung into existence full grown all by himself with no companion, so upon his request god created all the animals. I don't know what was on the Lords mind, maybe he wanted Adam to fuck a goat. After finding himself still lonely he makes his request again, and out of his rib God creates a woman. They against God's wishes then go on and eat of the fruit of a tree in the garden that he did not want them to touch and so because of their disobedience they were tossed out of this magical garden, but not before all of the future generations of humanity were cursed forever.
So God made laws that man should abide by and rituals to temporarily hide their sins from the Lord while seeking his presence and favor. This was done through the use of animal sacrifices, and blood seemed the only thing that would appease him. But somehow God still was not satisfied and decided on another plan. He would make himself a man and die on a cross and lay down his own mortal life for us. While on Earth he prayed to himself since he was his own divine father and worked wonders through the might of his holy spirit. All three are God all at once playing out three different roles in this script simultaneously.
He rose from the dead and went floating on back to heaven to sit on his own right hand and now demands that we worship him forever and ever for what he has done. We are being blamed and punished for sins that we had nothing to do with. In fact just being born is a sin since we have inherited sin vicariously through Adam and Eve. This story is even more ridiculous than those that believe in it. Honestly I find more truth in Peter Pan than in the entire bible put together.
Let's look at the Christian myth for example in its entirety from start to finish. Well will take a general overview of this story in the simplest way possible without getting too much into detail and theology. God the so called creator of the universe was sitting in his ethereal plane one day and decided to create the universes, the planets, the various stars and finally amongst all this waste of space he creates one sole planet that is capable of supporting life as we know it.
Man sprung into existence full grown all by himself with no companion, so upon his request god created all the animals. I don't know what was on the Lords mind, maybe he wanted Adam to fuck a goat. After finding himself still lonely he makes his request again, and out of his rib God creates a woman. They against God's wishes then go on and eat of the fruit of a tree in the garden that he did not want them to touch and so because of their disobedience they were tossed out of this magical garden, but not before all of the future generations of humanity were cursed forever.
So God made laws that man should abide by and rituals to temporarily hide their sins from the Lord while seeking his presence and favor. This was done through the use of animal sacrifices, and blood seemed the only thing that would appease him. But somehow God still was not satisfied and decided on another plan. He would make himself a man and die on a cross and lay down his own mortal life for us. While on Earth he prayed to himself since he was his own divine father and worked wonders through the might of his holy spirit. All three are God all at once playing out three different roles in this script simultaneously.
He rose from the dead and went floating on back to heaven to sit on his own right hand and now demands that we worship him forever and ever for what he has done. We are being blamed and punished for sins that we had nothing to do with. In fact just being born is a sin since we have inherited sin vicariously through Adam and Eve. This story is even more ridiculous than those that believe in it. Honestly I find more truth in Peter Pan than in the entire bible put together.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Theology
This post is about the so called discipline of study called theology. I would like to begin by first defining the term using both the Catholic Encyclopedia and the Merriam Webster dictionary. Then we will examine both definitions in relation to religious beliefs and to each other.
That part of theology which treats of the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and His works (Catholic encyclopedia)
the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially : the study of God and of God's relation to the world (Merriam Webster)
Before I take these two definitions apart I would like to give my opinion regarding theology, I personally do not consider it a real academic discipline mainly because it is not based on any known facts. Instead the entire field of theology is based on religious mythology and speculation based on ancient texts and the nature of their preferred God. The problem with this lies in the fact that in order to speculate on the nature of God you must first prove that this being exists. The church has been completely unsuccessful at this and I don't think that they will ever succeed at achieving this impossible goal.
Now lets move on to the purpose of this post. I actually prefer the Catholic definition because contrary to their history of lies they for once tell the truth on this one. They refer to this discipline as a theory of the truths of faith concerning God. We all know that faith is nothing more than hope based on ones own subjective opinions or supposed experiences regarding the matter. Faith in and of itself requires no evidence whatsoever and just accepts religious beliefs as absolute.
It is my opinion that faith and truth are akin to an oxymoron, they are two contradictory terms that should not be used in conjunction with one another, nor even in the same sentence. The Webster definition is more simplistic and therefore easier to dismantle. Basically theology is the study of God, religious faith, practice, and experience. But the weakest link in this definition is God, there is no evidence outside of the bible or other religious text to his existence.
Studying something basing yourself on ancient texts and so called revelations is not studying at all. As I have stated many times, revelation is only a revelation to the one who claims to have had the experience. To the rest of us it is just hearsay. You are essentially not studying God but speculating things said about him based on hearsay. World mythology is rife with gods and goddesses and most of the worlds myths have taken their rightful place as such. I don't see why Christianities god should be the exception to the rule.
That part of theology which treats of the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and His works (Catholic encyclopedia)
the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially : the study of God and of God's relation to the world (Merriam Webster)
Before I take these two definitions apart I would like to give my opinion regarding theology, I personally do not consider it a real academic discipline mainly because it is not based on any known facts. Instead the entire field of theology is based on religious mythology and speculation based on ancient texts and the nature of their preferred God. The problem with this lies in the fact that in order to speculate on the nature of God you must first prove that this being exists. The church has been completely unsuccessful at this and I don't think that they will ever succeed at achieving this impossible goal.
Now lets move on to the purpose of this post. I actually prefer the Catholic definition because contrary to their history of lies they for once tell the truth on this one. They refer to this discipline as a theory of the truths of faith concerning God. We all know that faith is nothing more than hope based on ones own subjective opinions or supposed experiences regarding the matter. Faith in and of itself requires no evidence whatsoever and just accepts religious beliefs as absolute.
It is my opinion that faith and truth are akin to an oxymoron, they are two contradictory terms that should not be used in conjunction with one another, nor even in the same sentence. The Webster definition is more simplistic and therefore easier to dismantle. Basically theology is the study of God, religious faith, practice, and experience. But the weakest link in this definition is God, there is no evidence outside of the bible or other religious text to his existence.
Studying something basing yourself on ancient texts and so called revelations is not studying at all. As I have stated many times, revelation is only a revelation to the one who claims to have had the experience. To the rest of us it is just hearsay. You are essentially not studying God but speculating things said about him based on hearsay. World mythology is rife with gods and goddesses and most of the worlds myths have taken their rightful place as such. I don't see why Christianities god should be the exception to the rule.
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Exodus fairy tales
For my fellow atheists that are not familiar with the story of Exodus in the bible I will give you a quick and brief synopsis of the most ridiculous elements of this story. The first thing God wanted to do was to introduce himself to his people through Moses. Why he did not do this personally is beyond me, and only illustrates even further the mythological origin of this and similar stories.
The next thing he wanted to do was send Moses to Egypt on his behalf to demand that he free his "chosen people" from slavery. Of course Pharaoh did not have a snow balls chance in hell of doing this because according to Exodus 11:10
"And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land." Because God had the need to show off as usual he did so at the expense of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
After God finally obliterates most of Egypt with various plagues and even the murder of every first born son in Egypt and the firstborn livestock and cattle in the land Pharaoh decided to let the Hebrews go. What most people don't know is that God had them roaming the desert for 40 years and that most of the original followers died in the desert. And the reason the bible gives for this is that God was tired with their constant complaining and lack of faith.
So according to the biblical narrative he killed over a million of his followers for complaints and disobedience. What a great father we have in heaven!! When the Hebrews finally reached the so called promised land on the other side of the Red Sea they were not told till then that they had to slaughter and dispossess all of the current inhabitants of the land. It's funny how the bible teaches that we were made in God's image, but when we act like him we were punished or murdered by the good Lord himself in the O. T.
Along the way every little offense was punishable by death, courtesy of God himself. He killed his so called chosen people by the thousands, and they followed him because they feared him. Fear is an important component of religious beliefs today, without it and its consequences (hell) no one would have a reason to accept these ridiculous beliefs in the first place. The people of the O.T. were terrified of being smitten with death all the time.
Torment in the afterlife is in and of itself more fearful than physical death itself, and the bible makes sure that you know this. The theme of fearing the Lord is carried out throughout the N.T. as well, just read Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Without fear or the promise of eternal joy and happiness to those that are faithful and obedient to the word of the Lord Christianity as a whole loses its bite. The thing that religious folks don't seem to see is how irrational and unhealthy this fear is. Death is a very natural and imminent event that no living organism on this planet can escape. So, my view regarding death is that you should not fear the inevitable.
The next thing he wanted to do was send Moses to Egypt on his behalf to demand that he free his "chosen people" from slavery. Of course Pharaoh did not have a snow balls chance in hell of doing this because according to Exodus 11:10
"And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land." Because God had the need to show off as usual he did so at the expense of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
After God finally obliterates most of Egypt with various plagues and even the murder of every first born son in Egypt and the firstborn livestock and cattle in the land Pharaoh decided to let the Hebrews go. What most people don't know is that God had them roaming the desert for 40 years and that most of the original followers died in the desert. And the reason the bible gives for this is that God was tired with their constant complaining and lack of faith.
So according to the biblical narrative he killed over a million of his followers for complaints and disobedience. What a great father we have in heaven!! When the Hebrews finally reached the so called promised land on the other side of the Red Sea they were not told till then that they had to slaughter and dispossess all of the current inhabitants of the land. It's funny how the bible teaches that we were made in God's image, but when we act like him we were punished or murdered by the good Lord himself in the O. T.
Along the way every little offense was punishable by death, courtesy of God himself. He killed his so called chosen people by the thousands, and they followed him because they feared him. Fear is an important component of religious beliefs today, without it and its consequences (hell) no one would have a reason to accept these ridiculous beliefs in the first place. The people of the O.T. were terrified of being smitten with death all the time.
Torment in the afterlife is in and of itself more fearful than physical death itself, and the bible makes sure that you know this. The theme of fearing the Lord is carried out throughout the N.T. as well, just read Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Without fear or the promise of eternal joy and happiness to those that are faithful and obedient to the word of the Lord Christianity as a whole loses its bite. The thing that religious folks don't seem to see is how irrational and unhealthy this fear is. Death is a very natural and imminent event that no living organism on this planet can escape. So, my view regarding death is that you should not fear the inevitable.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Lord Of Lies
Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:27 all represent one of his farewell speeches that he gave to his followers. All three of them made it clear to the disciples that Jesus was supposed to have come back during their lifetime. Let's take a look at Luke 9:27
But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
When will Christians wake up and realize that their god man is a mythical figure who actually did not exist in history? He never walked the Earth and since he does not exist he will not be coming back. All of your searching for signs of the end times are completely in vain. The bible states that there will be wars and rumors of wars, that a house would be divided etc. etc. But all of these things have been happening since the beginning of time.
Christians like to argue that their subjective experiences is proof enough of the existence of their god. Some even claim to have visitations of none other than Jesus himself! When I was a believer I too believed that I would hear the voice of the lord, that I saw visions of Christ, that I could feel his spirit and his power coursing through my body at all times. I guess if you believe in something hard enough it can become very real to you.
I had tingling sensations running through my body at all times, especially when I preached. Others claimed to feel my anointing whenever they were close to me. Once I left the church I had to figure out a way to explain this for my own piece of mind and I eventually did find the solution. I actually stumbled upon it inadvertently. I was meditating clearing my mind and all of a sudden I felt the surge of energy running through my body, just like I felt it as a believer.
Everyone who claims to have visions of Jesus always see him as tradition makes him out to look like, but the reality is that no one knew what this Jesus looked like at all. http://www.religionfacts.com/jesus/image_gallery.htm go to the link and take a look for yourself. Christian art throughout the ages has depicted Christ in so many ways but nothing was every done during his alleged lifetime. No one painted a portrait, or made an image of him whatsoever.
Christians want to continue to promulgate their myth so bad that they have stooped to lying and making some pretty elaborate forgeries to provide evidence of their lords existence. This is nothing new since the church has been busy manipulating history and historical documents to support their myth.
There is so much more evidence against the existence of Christ than there is supporting it. Myths are hard to kill, especially when it has over a billion believers and promoters of that myth. I personally don't think Christianity will ever go away in my lifetime, but I am happy to see that many have woken up and have come forth openly recognizing that it is nothing more than a myth. The success of my pages and hubs are also a testament to these facts. Atheism is on the rise and for those that are too uncertain to make a decision there's always agnosticism.
The church follows the example of their leaders and their very own scriptures and resort to under handed tactics to promote their lies. Most do it unknowingly while others have a more sinister plan such as the church leaders, especially the catholic church. Those lies are there bread and butter so they must do everything to keep them fresh and relevant.
But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
When will Christians wake up and realize that their god man is a mythical figure who actually did not exist in history? He never walked the Earth and since he does not exist he will not be coming back. All of your searching for signs of the end times are completely in vain. The bible states that there will be wars and rumors of wars, that a house would be divided etc. etc. But all of these things have been happening since the beginning of time.
Christians like to argue that their subjective experiences is proof enough of the existence of their god. Some even claim to have visitations of none other than Jesus himself! When I was a believer I too believed that I would hear the voice of the lord, that I saw visions of Christ, that I could feel his spirit and his power coursing through my body at all times. I guess if you believe in something hard enough it can become very real to you.
I had tingling sensations running through my body at all times, especially when I preached. Others claimed to feel my anointing whenever they were close to me. Once I left the church I had to figure out a way to explain this for my own piece of mind and I eventually did find the solution. I actually stumbled upon it inadvertently. I was meditating clearing my mind and all of a sudden I felt the surge of energy running through my body, just like I felt it as a believer.
Everyone who claims to have visions of Jesus always see him as tradition makes him out to look like, but the reality is that no one knew what this Jesus looked like at all. http://www.religionfacts.com/jesus/image_gallery.htm go to the link and take a look for yourself. Christian art throughout the ages has depicted Christ in so many ways but nothing was every done during his alleged lifetime. No one painted a portrait, or made an image of him whatsoever.
Christians want to continue to promulgate their myth so bad that they have stooped to lying and making some pretty elaborate forgeries to provide evidence of their lords existence. This is nothing new since the church has been busy manipulating history and historical documents to support their myth.
There is so much more evidence against the existence of Christ than there is supporting it. Myths are hard to kill, especially when it has over a billion believers and promoters of that myth. I personally don't think Christianity will ever go away in my lifetime, but I am happy to see that many have woken up and have come forth openly recognizing that it is nothing more than a myth. The success of my pages and hubs are also a testament to these facts. Atheism is on the rise and for those that are too uncertain to make a decision there's always agnosticism.
The church follows the example of their leaders and their very own scriptures and resort to under handed tactics to promote their lies. Most do it unknowingly while others have a more sinister plan such as the church leaders, especially the catholic church. Those lies are there bread and butter so they must do everything to keep them fresh and relevant.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Primitive thinking
It's almost embarrassing to say it but I am still in awe at how even in today's modern world religion has not ceased to be relevant in our society. Religious beliefs in any and all its forms are the products of ignorance and primitive thinking. To paraphrase the title of Carl Sagan's book; during the dark ages this was a 'Demon Haunted World'. Amazingly even today this statement holds true.
In the dark ages before the enlightenment every sickness, or malady or misfortune was caused by demons, spells or curses, witches were very real to those people in those days. Satan was everywhere and the only way to purge our society was to root out his servants and torture, maim, and murder them. They were tortured to confess that Jesus was lord and they were forced to confess their league with Satan. Then they were absolved and once their souls were saved their bodies had to be destroyed, so usually they were either publicly burned at the stake or hung from a tree. All this barbaric behavior came from those professing to be bearers of the truth, and lovers of mankind, Christians.
Basically anything that they felt contradicted their primitive scriptures were considered blasphemy and of the devil. scientists had to walk a very fine line to avoid from being accused of being Satan's cohorts by the religious. It's called the dark ages because it was basically a theocracy, the church had complete control and power over the government. The church was the legislator and the government served as enforcer of the laws instituted by the church. It wasn't long before the church took over the role of judge, juror, and executioner.
Those perverse priests in charge of torturing confessions out of the accused used to strip the women naked while they looked for tell tale signs of them being witches or servants of the dark lord. They looked for birth marks on their naked bodies and fondled their privates in the name of the lord. Everything had Satan's signature.
The witch hunters had a guide book written in 1486 by the inquisitor Heinrich Kramer entitled 'Malleus Maleficarum' which meant the hammer of witches it was officially published in 1487. This treatise was nothing short of a book of horrors and a reflection as to how ignorant the church was in those days. It was one of many proofs to the evils that the church had brought upon the world when it was given too much power.
According to my research no one is certain to how many innocent lives were destroyed and wiped off the face of this earth by the church both the Catholics and the Protestants. Both churches had their inquisitions and crusades where killing for the lord was considered a great honor and earned you a place of prestige. How anyone can read the bible and not see how this book of myths perpetuated these horrors by inciting its believers to carry out unspeakable murders, rapes etc.
You might argue that it was not the bible but people that did those things in the name of God. But if you read your bible and peruse the Old Testament there are many instances where according to your scriptures your god led the Hebrews on holy crusades to conquer foreign lands. And they did pretty much everything that our dark age crusaders were doing, they were just following the example of their earlier brethren.
In the dark ages before the enlightenment every sickness, or malady or misfortune was caused by demons, spells or curses, witches were very real to those people in those days. Satan was everywhere and the only way to purge our society was to root out his servants and torture, maim, and murder them. They were tortured to confess that Jesus was lord and they were forced to confess their league with Satan. Then they were absolved and once their souls were saved their bodies had to be destroyed, so usually they were either publicly burned at the stake or hung from a tree. All this barbaric behavior came from those professing to be bearers of the truth, and lovers of mankind, Christians.
Basically anything that they felt contradicted their primitive scriptures were considered blasphemy and of the devil. scientists had to walk a very fine line to avoid from being accused of being Satan's cohorts by the religious. It's called the dark ages because it was basically a theocracy, the church had complete control and power over the government. The church was the legislator and the government served as enforcer of the laws instituted by the church. It wasn't long before the church took over the role of judge, juror, and executioner.
Those perverse priests in charge of torturing confessions out of the accused used to strip the women naked while they looked for tell tale signs of them being witches or servants of the dark lord. They looked for birth marks on their naked bodies and fondled their privates in the name of the lord. Everything had Satan's signature.
The witch hunters had a guide book written in 1486 by the inquisitor Heinrich Kramer entitled 'Malleus Maleficarum' which meant the hammer of witches it was officially published in 1487. This treatise was nothing short of a book of horrors and a reflection as to how ignorant the church was in those days. It was one of many proofs to the evils that the church had brought upon the world when it was given too much power.
According to my research no one is certain to how many innocent lives were destroyed and wiped off the face of this earth by the church both the Catholics and the Protestants. Both churches had their inquisitions and crusades where killing for the lord was considered a great honor and earned you a place of prestige. How anyone can read the bible and not see how this book of myths perpetuated these horrors by inciting its believers to carry out unspeakable murders, rapes etc.
You might argue that it was not the bible but people that did those things in the name of God. But if you read your bible and peruse the Old Testament there are many instances where according to your scriptures your god led the Hebrews on holy crusades to conquer foreign lands. And they did pretty much everything that our dark age crusaders were doing, they were just following the example of their earlier brethren.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Religion is slavery
One of the things that bother me most about religious beliefs, especially Christianity is that it seems to me that it is like a form of slavery. It is to put it plainly a form of oppression. Even the terminology of Christendom confirms this. In some instances god is considered a father figure and his followers are all his little children, but in others he is considered the Lord and master and his followers are referred to as his servants.
I personally have a huge problem with authority figures and to this day I have stated that if I was in a communistic country I am pretty sure I would be dead right now for insurrection. I don't like the whole master slave relationship. I find it belittling when someone refers to themselves as the servants of the Lord. What is the purpose of worshiping god? You go through so much just so that you can have eternal life after this one is over? You literally waste and deprive yourself of some of the joys of this life in hopes of obtaining a better life in the great beyond?
There is nothing noble about belittling yourself throughout your entire life to please a non existent being. I am one of the few atheists who dares to state definitively that there is no god or gods. My research has led me to prove to my own satisfaction that theism is false and that gods are not real. I try to live my life to the fullest every day, and do my best to help out those in need. I teach my children values that are pertinent towards living a full and productive life.
One of the things I discovered after becoming an atheist was that I felt as if I was literally set free, born again, and released from oppression. I felt that by shedding my garments of superstition I was able to see life in a whole new light. I was now able to explore and enjoy many things that at one time were prohibited because of my religious beliefs. Some call these things sin but I call them living, sin is not even a real word or viable concept for me anymore. If anything it is a sin to repress your natural instincts and desires, and deprive yourself of enjoying everything that this life has to offer in the here and now.
I was no longer concerned about the afterlife, hell, judgment day etc. I now could redirect my life to those things that were fun and productive, I could enjoy any vice I desired without worrying about god approving or disapproving of my actions. I did not need the criticism or the consent of the church to do anything anymore. To be an atheist is to truly free your mind to think, analyze, and to grow in knowledge.
On a side note I almost forgot to tell you my followers and those that enjoy this blog that just yesterday I have started a new blog on hubpages.com where I get into details about my journey from die hard theism to atheism. Here is the link http://hubpages.com/hub/God-is-a-myth
I personally have a huge problem with authority figures and to this day I have stated that if I was in a communistic country I am pretty sure I would be dead right now for insurrection. I don't like the whole master slave relationship. I find it belittling when someone refers to themselves as the servants of the Lord. What is the purpose of worshiping god? You go through so much just so that you can have eternal life after this one is over? You literally waste and deprive yourself of some of the joys of this life in hopes of obtaining a better life in the great beyond?
There is nothing noble about belittling yourself throughout your entire life to please a non existent being. I am one of the few atheists who dares to state definitively that there is no god or gods. My research has led me to prove to my own satisfaction that theism is false and that gods are not real. I try to live my life to the fullest every day, and do my best to help out those in need. I teach my children values that are pertinent towards living a full and productive life.
One of the things I discovered after becoming an atheist was that I felt as if I was literally set free, born again, and released from oppression. I felt that by shedding my garments of superstition I was able to see life in a whole new light. I was now able to explore and enjoy many things that at one time were prohibited because of my religious beliefs. Some call these things sin but I call them living, sin is not even a real word or viable concept for me anymore. If anything it is a sin to repress your natural instincts and desires, and deprive yourself of enjoying everything that this life has to offer in the here and now.
I was no longer concerned about the afterlife, hell, judgment day etc. I now could redirect my life to those things that were fun and productive, I could enjoy any vice I desired without worrying about god approving or disapproving of my actions. I did not need the criticism or the consent of the church to do anything anymore. To be an atheist is to truly free your mind to think, analyze, and to grow in knowledge.
On a side note I almost forgot to tell you my followers and those that enjoy this blog that just yesterday I have started a new blog on hubpages.com where I get into details about my journey from die hard theism to atheism. Here is the link http://hubpages.com/hub/God-is-a-myth
Monday, June 7, 2010
Atheism is not a religion!!
One of the many dumb things that theists say that gets under my skin constantly is when they state that atheism is a religion. So I have decided to take it upon myself to set the record straight regarding this matter once and for all. First lets begin be defining what the word religion means and what constitutes or qualifies as a religion, does that sound simple enough? Alright, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary a religion is defined as follows: (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
Now let us compare atheism against religious belief, dogmas and faiths. The first definition falls flat because the very word atheism implies a=without theism= God/gods so according to this part of the definition we don't qualify as religionist's. Also, the second part of the definition fails because if we have no god we have no devotion to any faith or observances of the religious sort.
The last part falls simply because we don't have any institutionalized systems or religious attitudes, our beliefs are varied and many, and we don't particularly practice anything related to our beliefs. But Christians insists that evolution is a religion and that it takes faith to believe in evolution, so lets kill that bug as well in one fell swoop. Evolution is far from being a belief in the traditional sense. The reason is that evolution through the process of natural selection is a well known and established scientific fact. But the hard ass ignoramuses insists that we must have faith in the scientists who make the claims. Nothing could be further from the truth my Christian friend, see when a scientists makes a discovery he must prove his findings to his peers and those findings are also greatly scrutinized and refined before they are published.
One more thing regarding science, unlike your religious faith which has no way of being proven in an objective and secular manner scientific findings can be reproduced by anyone who has the desire to do so on his or her own. When a scientist puts out a finding he must submit his tests results and how he obtained those findings so that other scientists or science enthusiasts can try the recipe at home to see if they would get the same results. If his findings and his research were conducted with honesty and he has left nothing out we do obtain the same results and can confirm his findings.
Let's simplify those last statements for the theists dummies that can't comprehend plain English. It's like when you go to the grocery store and buy a box of cake mix and when you read the back of the box it tells you that you need 3 eggs, 1 1/3 cups of water, and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. You are then instructed by the manufacturer to blend these three items together, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put this mix in the over for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Guess what happens after the time is up. You get a cake. It is basically the same thing a scientist does when he makes a discovery public and later declares it fact.
Atheist don't have any set dogmas or doctrines and we don't worship science, in fact we even disagree about some of sciences findings ourselves and at times as in all things we question it as we would religious beliefs. We are not bound by the fetters of faith, our minds are free to think and evaluate for ourselves what is truth and what is false. We don't need your imaginary guy in the sky dictating to us what is truth through a bunch of lying nomads and rulers of a darker age where knowledge was limited and superstition reigned supreme.
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
Now let us compare atheism against religious belief, dogmas and faiths. The first definition falls flat because the very word atheism implies a=without theism= God/gods so according to this part of the definition we don't qualify as religionist's. Also, the second part of the definition fails because if we have no god we have no devotion to any faith or observances of the religious sort.
The last part falls simply because we don't have any institutionalized systems or religious attitudes, our beliefs are varied and many, and we don't particularly practice anything related to our beliefs. But Christians insists that evolution is a religion and that it takes faith to believe in evolution, so lets kill that bug as well in one fell swoop. Evolution is far from being a belief in the traditional sense. The reason is that evolution through the process of natural selection is a well known and established scientific fact. But the hard ass ignoramuses insists that we must have faith in the scientists who make the claims. Nothing could be further from the truth my Christian friend, see when a scientists makes a discovery he must prove his findings to his peers and those findings are also greatly scrutinized and refined before they are published.
One more thing regarding science, unlike your religious faith which has no way of being proven in an objective and secular manner scientific findings can be reproduced by anyone who has the desire to do so on his or her own. When a scientist puts out a finding he must submit his tests results and how he obtained those findings so that other scientists or science enthusiasts can try the recipe at home to see if they would get the same results. If his findings and his research were conducted with honesty and he has left nothing out we do obtain the same results and can confirm his findings.
Let's simplify those last statements for the theists dummies that can't comprehend plain English. It's like when you go to the grocery store and buy a box of cake mix and when you read the back of the box it tells you that you need 3 eggs, 1 1/3 cups of water, and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. You are then instructed by the manufacturer to blend these three items together, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put this mix in the over for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Guess what happens after the time is up. You get a cake. It is basically the same thing a scientist does when he makes a discovery public and later declares it fact.
Atheist don't have any set dogmas or doctrines and we don't worship science, in fact we even disagree about some of sciences findings ourselves and at times as in all things we question it as we would religious beliefs. We are not bound by the fetters of faith, our minds are free to think and evaluate for ourselves what is truth and what is false. We don't need your imaginary guy in the sky dictating to us what is truth through a bunch of lying nomads and rulers of a darker age where knowledge was limited and superstition reigned supreme.
7 things God hates about himself!
Proverbs 6:16-19
16.These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17.A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18.An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19.A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
1. A proud look
Pride is a sin but all the biblical God does is gloat about all the things he has created and done for mankind. He demands that we as his creation and by default his servants constantly remind him how great he is. Now that is pride to the extreme and at its best!
2. A lying tongue
But God has no problem lying when it suits his purposes. Read 1 Kings 22:20-22 where the Lord uses a lying spirit to deceive Ahab into believing some false prophecies meant to lead him to his demise.
3. Hands that shed innocent blood
God certainly had no problem shedding innocent blood when it came to the Egyptians when he passed over all the live stock and the first born sons of all the households of the Egyptians just to prove that he was God! Exodus 11:4-6, 12:29 This is just one of many instances in the bible where God killed thousands of innocents for the sins of the few.
4. A heart that devises wicked imaginations
The price for not worshiping God in the O.T. was the physical death of you and possibly your entire family. In the N.T. it's physical death followed by a helping of eternal torment in a fiery lake. Revelations 12:13-15 There is nothing more wicked than eternal torment for not believing in a God who did not provide sufficient proof of his existence.
5. Feet that are swift in running into mischief
This is something God does well he says so in Isaiah 45:7 In this sense God is like a dirty politician who will do and say anything to get your vote!
6. A false witness that speaks lies
Yet another one of God's specialties! The biblical narrative is chock full of lies perpetuated by God, himself for example he told Adam and Eve that the day that they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they should surely die. They did not! I know fundies will say they brought spiritual death and physical death on humanity by their disobedience to God which led to the birth of sin, but in reality the only one that told the truth in that narrative was the serpent.
7.He that soweth discord among bretheren
God made sure there was plenty of discord in the scriptures and Jesus sealed the deal in Matthew 10:34-37
Basing myself on the bible and this brief assessment I must say that either God abhors and is an abomination to himself or he is a hypocrite. I choose the latter, everything that is a sin to man is okay for God. I guess since he made the rules he can break them.
16.These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17.A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18.An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19.A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
1. A proud look
Pride is a sin but all the biblical God does is gloat about all the things he has created and done for mankind. He demands that we as his creation and by default his servants constantly remind him how great he is. Now that is pride to the extreme and at its best!
2. A lying tongue
But God has no problem lying when it suits his purposes. Read 1 Kings 22:20-22 where the Lord uses a lying spirit to deceive Ahab into believing some false prophecies meant to lead him to his demise.
3. Hands that shed innocent blood
God certainly had no problem shedding innocent blood when it came to the Egyptians when he passed over all the live stock and the first born sons of all the households of the Egyptians just to prove that he was God! Exodus 11:4-6, 12:29 This is just one of many instances in the bible where God killed thousands of innocents for the sins of the few.
4. A heart that devises wicked imaginations
The price for not worshiping God in the O.T. was the physical death of you and possibly your entire family. In the N.T. it's physical death followed by a helping of eternal torment in a fiery lake. Revelations 12:13-15 There is nothing more wicked than eternal torment for not believing in a God who did not provide sufficient proof of his existence.
5. Feet that are swift in running into mischief
This is something God does well he says so in Isaiah 45:7 In this sense God is like a dirty politician who will do and say anything to get your vote!
6. A false witness that speaks lies
Yet another one of God's specialties! The biblical narrative is chock full of lies perpetuated by God, himself for example he told Adam and Eve that the day that they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they should surely die. They did not! I know fundies will say they brought spiritual death and physical death on humanity by their disobedience to God which led to the birth of sin, but in reality the only one that told the truth in that narrative was the serpent.
7.He that soweth discord among bretheren
God made sure there was plenty of discord in the scriptures and Jesus sealed the deal in Matthew 10:34-37
Basing myself on the bible and this brief assessment I must say that either God abhors and is an abomination to himself or he is a hypocrite. I choose the latter, everything that is a sin to man is okay for God. I guess since he made the rules he can break them.
Man created god (some negative attributes of God)
Genesis 1:27 states: ' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.' When in fact the opposite is true, it should read man created God in his own image. According to christian theologians the main attributes of God are omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence in plain English it means that he is all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere. There are many ways I can use the very scriptures themselves to refute all of these claims, but that is not my goal for this post but I promise I will do that in a future post sometime soon.
My goal in this post is to address some of the lesser attributes of the biblical God. The attributes I am referring to are those attributes that are mirror reflections of the attributes of mankind in general. I would not like to waste your time here by analyzing and criticizing those benevolent attributes such as love, patience, sympathy etc. I will focus on the most negative and detrimental attributes of the biblical God, the very attributes that make mankind one of the ugliest creatures to ever walk the Earth. Those attributes that our parents tell us we should never feel or have toward anyone of our fellow human beings or animals that share this lovely planet with us.
One of the things I find most troubling about this biblical god is his ego, he seems to get off on the attention that is given to him by his many worshipers and does not hesitate to remind them where he freed them from. One of the things about being a successful Christian is that you have to be good at fanning Gods ego, he likes to be constantly reminded that he is great, and worthy of you ruining your good pair of slacks by kneeling in his presence at all times. There is a word for people like that, and it suits god just as well; it is megalomaniac, which in short is a pathological egotist.
Another thing god does not like is that you worship any other gods Genesis 20:9 for he is a jealous God. Being a man who has never suffered from jealousies I think that this is one of the most ridiculous and stupid sentiments of man, especially when it is directed towards a woman or lover of the same sex. Most psychiatrists and relationship experts would say that a person that is overly jealous suffers from confidence issues or low self esteem. Could it be possible that the biblical God suffers from such a stupid and I dare say asinine affliction? Gods own actions in the scriptures indicate to me that he does. Here is another thing that I think is stupid beyond belief, if he is the only one and true god then why would he be jealous of other gods created by men? Obviously they don't exist so why all the fuss? I guess you will have to ask a theologian about that one since they are the ones who claim to know the mind of god.
I feel that in today's world most Christians are misrepresenting the biblical God. They only tell you that he is love, peace, understanding, that he wants to save you and give you life eternal etc. What they don't tell you is that in Deuteronomy 4:24,25 it states that he is a consuming fire, he is jealous, and that you basically don't want to provoke him to anger. Now I don't know about you but isn't anger one of those negative emotions we are always taught to control? Don't we have anger management counseling for such things as lack of control? Based on Gods actions and his many tantrums over the pettiest of offenses I think that in today's world God could use himself a full course on anger management. Killing thousands for worshiping nonexistent gods, or for stealing, or for any other petty offense is way beyond extreme.
My goal in this post is to address some of the lesser attributes of the biblical God. The attributes I am referring to are those attributes that are mirror reflections of the attributes of mankind in general. I would not like to waste your time here by analyzing and criticizing those benevolent attributes such as love, patience, sympathy etc. I will focus on the most negative and detrimental attributes of the biblical God, the very attributes that make mankind one of the ugliest creatures to ever walk the Earth. Those attributes that our parents tell us we should never feel or have toward anyone of our fellow human beings or animals that share this lovely planet with us.
One of the things I find most troubling about this biblical god is his ego, he seems to get off on the attention that is given to him by his many worshipers and does not hesitate to remind them where he freed them from. One of the things about being a successful Christian is that you have to be good at fanning Gods ego, he likes to be constantly reminded that he is great, and worthy of you ruining your good pair of slacks by kneeling in his presence at all times. There is a word for people like that, and it suits god just as well; it is megalomaniac, which in short is a pathological egotist.
Another thing god does not like is that you worship any other gods Genesis 20:9 for he is a jealous God. Being a man who has never suffered from jealousies I think that this is one of the most ridiculous and stupid sentiments of man, especially when it is directed towards a woman or lover of the same sex. Most psychiatrists and relationship experts would say that a person that is overly jealous suffers from confidence issues or low self esteem. Could it be possible that the biblical God suffers from such a stupid and I dare say asinine affliction? Gods own actions in the scriptures indicate to me that he does. Here is another thing that I think is stupid beyond belief, if he is the only one and true god then why would he be jealous of other gods created by men? Obviously they don't exist so why all the fuss? I guess you will have to ask a theologian about that one since they are the ones who claim to know the mind of god.
I feel that in today's world most Christians are misrepresenting the biblical God. They only tell you that he is love, peace, understanding, that he wants to save you and give you life eternal etc. What they don't tell you is that in Deuteronomy 4:24,25 it states that he is a consuming fire, he is jealous, and that you basically don't want to provoke him to anger. Now I don't know about you but isn't anger one of those negative emotions we are always taught to control? Don't we have anger management counseling for such things as lack of control? Based on Gods actions and his many tantrums over the pettiest of offenses I think that in today's world God could use himself a full course on anger management. Killing thousands for worshiping nonexistent gods, or for stealing, or for any other petty offense is way beyond extreme.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Negative effects of religious beliefs
History itself has been witness to the negative effects of religion. It has been used to control the populace, to extort money from the poor, and has been behind many nefarious activities. Religion has been the cause of wars, persecutions, the suppression of knowledge, with the ultimate goal of ruling with an iron fist. It has buried its claws in politics and legislation particularly in the U.S.
Even in today's world religion continues to hold sway over the politics of this United States to the point where we have the phrase 'In God We Trust' inscribed on our currency, in our court rooms, and at one time not so long ago prayer in school was a requirement. In fact, it has even been said that this nation is a Christian nation and that the writers of the Constitution were themselves Christians although this is not true.
There was also a time not long ago that an atheist was not allowed to testify in court because he could not make the oath to god to tell the truth, and also because it was believed that if he did not believe in god he was himself lacking morals and thus not a trustworthy witness. Religious beliefs force you to suppress your most base instincts as a person to please an invisible being whose own actions based on the scriptures are nothing short of tyrannical.
Almost everything that is prohibited in Christianity is something that most of us love. Premarital sex (fornication) is a sin, adultery (extra marital affairs) is a sin, but this could also be a sin if you have been separated but not legally divorced from a woman/man. Certain sexual acts are prohibited by religious law and are considered deplorable. It's no wonder that priests who must take a vow of celibacy are always being accused of sexual misconduct with children. That is the result of sexual repression which is due to the strict rules that one is forced to adhere to for the sake of religion.
Even in today's world religion continues to hold sway over the politics of this United States to the point where we have the phrase 'In God We Trust' inscribed on our currency, in our court rooms, and at one time not so long ago prayer in school was a requirement. In fact, it has even been said that this nation is a Christian nation and that the writers of the Constitution were themselves Christians although this is not true.
There was also a time not long ago that an atheist was not allowed to testify in court because he could not make the oath to god to tell the truth, and also because it was believed that if he did not believe in god he was himself lacking morals and thus not a trustworthy witness. Religious beliefs force you to suppress your most base instincts as a person to please an invisible being whose own actions based on the scriptures are nothing short of tyrannical.
Almost everything that is prohibited in Christianity is something that most of us love. Premarital sex (fornication) is a sin, adultery (extra marital affairs) is a sin, but this could also be a sin if you have been separated but not legally divorced from a woman/man. Certain sexual acts are prohibited by religious law and are considered deplorable. It's no wonder that priests who must take a vow of celibacy are always being accused of sexual misconduct with children. That is the result of sexual repression which is due to the strict rules that one is forced to adhere to for the sake of religion.
Atheist Blogroll
God is a myth! has been added to The Atheist Blogroll. You can see the blogroll in my sidebar. The Atheist blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to Atheist bloggers from around the world. If you would like to join, visit Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for more information.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Validating Christian beliefs
One thing I find ironic about Christianity is that this religion is supposed to be completely faith based, yet the Christians have demonstrated that they are just as eager to validate their beliefs as atheists are for finding evidence that supports their beliefs. To date there is no secular nor archeological evidence to support the veracity of the biblical texts. Faith and subjective evidence based on experience remain the only evidence for Christianity.
So called evidence such as the Shroud of Turin, the Jesus family tomb, the ossuary, and Noah's ark have all turned out to be very elaborate frauds, in most cases perpetuated by Christians to validate the truths of their biblical texts. It seems every time a discovery is made public of a possible piece of evidence to support the veracity of the scriptures the Christians begin to get restless in their cages.
The Catholic church in particular have been very busy over the centuries collecting what they believe to be Christian relics such as wood from the cross of Christ, the Chalice that led to the holy grail myths, the crown of thorns, even baby Jesus foreskin! Not to mention the over 30 nails that were supposedly used to nail Jesus to the cross. When will they get the picture? Their beliefs are myths and try as you may you will never find satisfactory evidence to support a myth. Because my dear Christians myths are not real.
I debated a Christian in May and this idiot said to me that the N.T. narrative was true because "there were towns mentioned there that have been discovered by archeologists". I told him all that proves is that those towns existed, it does nothing for proving Christianity. Novelists do it all the time they create great stories about murder and mayhem and use existing cities and towns as the backdrop to their tales.
I believe that god is so elusive because he does not exist, and that all the tales in the entire bible are nothing more than stories created against the backdrop of the time in which they were written. There will never be evidence for the existence of the biblical god or Jesus for that matter. Just a bunch of desperate gullible people trying to prove to us that their beliefs are real, yet all of their searching will be in vain.
So called evidence such as the Shroud of Turin, the Jesus family tomb, the ossuary, and Noah's ark have all turned out to be very elaborate frauds, in most cases perpetuated by Christians to validate the truths of their biblical texts. It seems every time a discovery is made public of a possible piece of evidence to support the veracity of the scriptures the Christians begin to get restless in their cages.
The Catholic church in particular have been very busy over the centuries collecting what they believe to be Christian relics such as wood from the cross of Christ, the Chalice that led to the holy grail myths, the crown of thorns, even baby Jesus foreskin! Not to mention the over 30 nails that were supposedly used to nail Jesus to the cross. When will they get the picture? Their beliefs are myths and try as you may you will never find satisfactory evidence to support a myth. Because my dear Christians myths are not real.
I debated a Christian in May and this idiot said to me that the N.T. narrative was true because "there were towns mentioned there that have been discovered by archeologists". I told him all that proves is that those towns existed, it does nothing for proving Christianity. Novelists do it all the time they create great stories about murder and mayhem and use existing cities and towns as the backdrop to their tales.
I believe that god is so elusive because he does not exist, and that all the tales in the entire bible are nothing more than stories created against the backdrop of the time in which they were written. There will never be evidence for the existence of the biblical god or Jesus for that matter. Just a bunch of desperate gullible people trying to prove to us that their beliefs are real, yet all of their searching will be in vain.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Christian sects
One of the many problems I have had with the bible as being the word of God is that it being written in the manner that it is written, makes it subject to human interpretations, and can be easily changed and manipulated in many different ways. The first place where it is vulnerable is in the transcribing of the scriptures from oral traditions to the written word.
When the bible was first put down in writing it was subject to human error in the transmission of the words, the scribes own biases or beliefs as to what the passages he was transcribing meant, and finally; the translation of the documents to other languages. There are so many ways in which the texts of the bible can have easily been changed and rewritten. Not to mention the councils that chose what which books were to be included in the bible itself.
Because the bible can be interpreted in so many ways I think that this is the very reason why we have so many Christian sects today. It is an eye opener to go to your local library or even do a search online and see exactly how many sects fall under the banner of Christianity. I believe that all of these sects are simply a testament to the confusion and disagreement among the churches as to what the bible is trying to say on certain matters.
http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations if you can't reach this link directly just copy and paste it to your browser and it will take you to the article I looked up for this blog post. According to wikipedia there are around 38,000 Christian sects! Now that is alot of interpretations of the same book according to each of these groups own understanding.
Biblical interpretation methods does nothing to help sort out all of this doctrinal confusion. There are several ways to interpret passages of scripture, most commonly there is the literal, the allegorical, and the metaphorical. There are others but just for the sake of illustration I have mentioned the above three, in closing the sheer number of Christians sects are a testament to how confused this whole bunch of believers are regarding god and all matters of religion.
When the bible was first put down in writing it was subject to human error in the transmission of the words, the scribes own biases or beliefs as to what the passages he was transcribing meant, and finally; the translation of the documents to other languages. There are so many ways in which the texts of the bible can have easily been changed and rewritten. Not to mention the councils that chose what which books were to be included in the bible itself.
Because the bible can be interpreted in so many ways I think that this is the very reason why we have so many Christian sects today. It is an eye opener to go to your local library or even do a search online and see exactly how many sects fall under the banner of Christianity. I believe that all of these sects are simply a testament to the confusion and disagreement among the churches as to what the bible is trying to say on certain matters.
http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations if you can't reach this link directly just copy and paste it to your browser and it will take you to the article I looked up for this blog post. According to wikipedia there are around 38,000 Christian sects! Now that is alot of interpretations of the same book according to each of these groups own understanding.
Biblical interpretation methods does nothing to help sort out all of this doctrinal confusion. There are several ways to interpret passages of scripture, most commonly there is the literal, the allegorical, and the metaphorical. There are others but just for the sake of illustration I have mentioned the above three, in closing the sheer number of Christians sects are a testament to how confused this whole bunch of believers are regarding god and all matters of religion.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Through the eyes of faith
Mark 9:23
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
I have always interpreted faith as synonymous with belief and so the above text is appropriate for this post. Atheists always wonder why a theist cannot see how absurd and childish their beliefs really are, and I think that the above statement makes it abundantly clear as to why. It says if you believe all things are possible and all Christians apparently have to eschew logic and reason in favor of faith.
I personally have called faith; the ultimate equalizer when it comes to arguing for the existence of god. The reason for this is that when you are debating with a Christian about their beliefs, and they get cornered and find their backs against the wall they can always appeal to faith. They make such silly statements such as how finite our minds are to be able to comprehend the infinite mind of god etc.
Faith requires no evidence, through the eyes of faith you can command a mountain to move from one place to another in Jesus name and it must obey. Although, to date I have never met a man Christian or otherwise who can demonstrate the truth of such a statement. When asked for proof they say that you should not tempt the lord etc. etc. The same old tired trash that they spew all the time. If you argue with them long enough you realize how much they sound like drones, they all tend to repeat the same reprocessed nonsense they have been taught.
Through the eyes of faith the absurd makes sense, and the illogical becomes logical. For faith there are no worldly boundaries to it's powers. Faith goes beyond the natural and reaches out into the supernatural world without missing a beat. Faith requires no evidence just the gullibility of its subscriber, and the suspension of their own free ability to think for themselves.
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
I have always interpreted faith as synonymous with belief and so the above text is appropriate for this post. Atheists always wonder why a theist cannot see how absurd and childish their beliefs really are, and I think that the above statement makes it abundantly clear as to why. It says if you believe all things are possible and all Christians apparently have to eschew logic and reason in favor of faith.
I personally have called faith; the ultimate equalizer when it comes to arguing for the existence of god. The reason for this is that when you are debating with a Christian about their beliefs, and they get cornered and find their backs against the wall they can always appeal to faith. They make such silly statements such as how finite our minds are to be able to comprehend the infinite mind of god etc.
Faith requires no evidence, through the eyes of faith you can command a mountain to move from one place to another in Jesus name and it must obey. Although, to date I have never met a man Christian or otherwise who can demonstrate the truth of such a statement. When asked for proof they say that you should not tempt the lord etc. etc. The same old tired trash that they spew all the time. If you argue with them long enough you realize how much they sound like drones, they all tend to repeat the same reprocessed nonsense they have been taught.
Through the eyes of faith the absurd makes sense, and the illogical becomes logical. For faith there are no worldly boundaries to it's powers. Faith goes beyond the natural and reaches out into the supernatural world without missing a beat. Faith requires no evidence just the gullibility of its subscriber, and the suspension of their own free ability to think for themselves.
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