Questions for believers (Christians)

Not too long ago a poster apparently from the Netherlands who was reading my blog asked me if I could post a link he had provided with a list of questions he thought that every Christian should attempt to answer. I personally went to his site and began to read the list of questions and found that they were indeed logical and reasonable questions to ask. So as per my readers request I am providing the link to his site and urge all of my readers to review this list and feel free to comment here and on his site what you think about these questions. Also, I would appreciate it if theists actually try to provide rational responses to some of these questions. I am very familiar with the bible and would love to hear what you theists have to say about this. So without further ado here is the link for the English version: http://www.freethinker.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10033 and here is the link for the same site in Dutch: http://www.freethinker.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8382 Enjoy!!

It's all about fear

As a former fundamentalist Pentecostal preacher I struggled daily with a crazy situation. I had been preaching for four years and had a ministry which I shared with the public on the streets on the weekends and with other churches by invitation. I was becoming quite well known in the Christian community, but at the same time I was beginning to question many aspects of my faith.

The bible teaches that as a believer you are to fear the Lord in Matthew 10:28 ²⁸ 'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” (NJB). There are many threats like this throughout the entire bible and it is these very threats that kept me hanging on to my faith as long as I did. You see fear is the driving force behind Christianity especially fundamentalist groups. They constantly remind you about the consequences of doubt and backsliding as they like to call those that turn their back on the faith.

During those days I was a literalist, and so the threat of hell was not allegorical but rather a very real threat for me. Back then I did not even dare think why a loving god would even create a hell or permit such an inhumane form of punishment for someone not believing in his existence or just living their lives to the fullest without God. As an atheist I demand proof of the existence of God especially when there are believers trying to influence the U.S.  government to make this evil deity’s commandments the law of the land.

We as believers were taught that it was far worse for us because of the fact that we have “known” the truth and willfully turned it down. ²⁶ If, after we have been given knowledge of the truth, we should deliberately commit any sins, then there is no longer any sacrifice for them.
²⁷ There is left only the dreadful prospect of judgement and of the fiery wrath that is to devour your enemies.
²⁸ Anyone who disregards the Law of Moses is ruthlessly put to death on the word of two witnesses or three;
²⁹ and you may be sure that anyone who tramples on the Son of God, and who treats the blood of the covenant which sanctified him as if it were not holy, and who insults the Spirit of grace, will be condemned to a far severer punishment. (NJB)


After having read the bible in its entirety and having researched as much as I could regarding the scriptures, I became convinced that not only was the bible not true but that it was a work of fiction. I realized after reading my way through the O.T. that this God was far from loving. The bible is full of tales of this “loving” monster and his so called mercy. The biblical God has been the cause of more tragedy and death and destruction according to the tales of the bible itself. God is far from good, and judging by the standards of men he is no better than Hitler, Stalin, or Mao put together.


This goes to prove once again that Christians don’t read the bible they profess to believe in, and when they do they just ignore what they choose to deny. How can anyone call God good after reading the Old Testament? And even after reading the O.T. the N.T. doesn’t make God look any better. The N.T. has God punishing people with eternal torment in a hell he created for such silly things as not believing in him. In fact, living a life without God is a sin no matter how good of a life you live here on earth. This is what is referred to as coercion through fear and is not what you would expect from a loving god.


Man has many fears, but what fear is greater than the fear of death? Man has been searching for the fountain of youth from time immemorial and has been trying to find ways to prolong life as long as they can. The bible promises eternal life to all those that believe and live their lives according to God's good will. And then to sweeten the pie you are promised a whole bunch of imaginary door prizes for worshiping God and committing your life to him.


The fear of death is made much worse through Christianity through the use of threats of eternal torments that will follow you even after death. Christians believe that they will be resurrected to eternal life and live a perfect existence in the presence of the Lord forever and ever and ever. Now if you ask me, that is worst than hell.


My greatest fear is eternal life in a heavenly realm stroking God's great big ego and telling him how great and wonderful he is. All of this knowing that in all reality if he did exist and if what the bible says he said and did is true would actually make this deity a cruel, vindictive, and maniacal devil. Before I bow down to an eternal dictator I would much rather suffer the torments and flames of the imaginary hell.

God and Birth Defects

            One of the things that have always nagged at me was the subject of birth defects. I remember a few years ago that my eldest sister and I had a discussion regarding the existence of God. She said that the miracle of birth was evidence of the existence of God, and I responded by stating that it was not a miracle and that it was just a natural and very normal occurrence.

            When I was a believer people attributed birth defects to several causes and quite frankly none of them made any sense to me. Some said it was demons interfering with the pregnancy while others stated that it was God either testing the parents to be or punishing them for some hidden sin that they have not yet confessed. The bible does in fact teach that God punishes the rebellious or sinful man, but it does not get into the subject of birth defects specifically.

            In the book of Deuteronomy 5:9 it states: … “I punish the parents' fault in the children, the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren, among those who hate me;”(NJB) or as it says in the KJV to the third and fourth generation. Could this punishment aside from misfortune in life refer to birth defects as well? Children are born with missing limbs, all sorts of congenital disorders, heart disease, mental illnesses and even conjoined. Does a belief in God provide sufficient explanation to account for all these different types of phenomenon? I don’t think so.

                I think that genetics explains the many causes of these issues a lot better than the bible ever could. Although those of us that are familiar with the scriptures know that God has no problem with killing children 2 Kings 2:23-24. He killed King David’s son for his father’s transgression against Bathsheba’s husband.  Demons and God’s wrath are silly superstitions invented by men who during a pre-scientific age could not explain these things in any other way. Myths are important because they give us a peek into the mind of post modern man. As a result of this fact when you read the bible with this in mind the beliefs of these people are better understood and do not seem so preposterous.

                The U.S. Center for Disease Control state in their website that there are several causes for birth defects but the most common are listed as follows:

• Women who take certain drugs, smoke, or drink alcohol during pregnancy.
• Women with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or obesity.
• Women who take certain medications that are known to cause birth defects, such as isotretinoin (a drug used to treat severe acne).
• Women who have someone in their family with a birth defect. To learn more about your risk of having a baby with a birth defect, you can talk with a clinical geneticist or a genetic counselor.
• Women over the age of 35 years.

Considering these facts we begin to see a clearer cause for birth defects and even some possible ways of prevention when that option is available. The site goes on to break down these cause to the following mixture of factors: Most birth defects are thought to be caused by a complex mix of factors. These factors include our genes, our behaviors, and things in the environment. For some birth defects, we know the cause. But for most, we don’t.

                Another issue that I think is related to this one is that of fertility, if there was a God then why would he allow women who He Knows would be unfit mothers to have children? The hospitals are filled with abused children, crack babies, and children who have been found abandoned and left for dead. It seems that also in third world countries the women are very fertile as well. One woman having ten children in the middle of the goddamn desert with no means of supporting them is a very common occurrence, while there are couples all over the world who for whatever reason can’t have children and have to resort to adoption.

                In the book of Genesis 20:18 we read in that God closed the wombs of all the women in that town because Abraham had lied to Abimelech by telling him that his wife Sarah was actually his sister. As a result of this lie Abimelech was going to take Sarah to himself. Now if God could do this to an entire town, then why doesn’t he do this to unfit mothers, crack heads, or abusive parents? I mean what is the sense of a child being born only to die at the hands of the neglect and abuse of their parents? The bible has no answer for these questions.

Sources

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/index.html

God loves to play games!

As an atheist I have always wondered why the bible is full of stories of God testing the faith of his followers. Christians read these same stories and all they see is the rewards that God's faithful obtain after proving themselves worthy but they never ask themselves why the good Lord would have to test anyone in the first place. The answer is that he likes to play games with peoples lives like the little kid burning ants with a magnifying glass!

The bible say's that God knows our innermost thoughts and intentions, so if this is the case then why is he constantly testing peoples faith in him? In fact the bible takes it a step further by stating that "¹⁶ Your eyes could see my embryo. In your book all my days were inscribed, every one that was fixed is there."(Psalms 139:16 NJB). Before you are born and formed in the womb he supposedly knows you and according to this scripture your days on earth are fixed. With this text alone you can forget about free will and living day by day because God has your days planned out in his daily planner lol.

Abraham almost sacrificed his son to God and Job withstood the most arduous tests of any of the biblical characters. Job lost his livestock, all his children in one day, was afflicted with boils all over his body, and had to put up with his wife trying to make him curse God and die, let us not forget his friends who kept blaming him for his calamities! And why did Job go through all of this? So that God could show the devil that even if Job was not blessed and had it all that he would be faithful to the end! It was a wager between God and Satan!

These are not the acts of a personal loving and caring father figure! They are the acts of an insecure little petulant child or unreasonably jealous lover who thinks that everyone wants to steal their mate. If ever there was someone or in this case something or being that abused and abuses his power it has to be the biblical God. He demands complete submission and absolute obedience from those he created to live only to worship and stroke his ego not just in this life but for all eternity.

For those of us who question this deity, who require evidence for his existence and dare to oppose him we are threatened with an eternal place of torment known to the sadistic Christians as hell. This alone makes this god a monster and a sadist. In closing it is my opinion that he does not deserve worship but instead the very mention of him should be greeted with disdain.

How is God merciful?

This post is in response to an anonymous commentator who stated that although his God was merciful that he/she did not think that he would tolerate blasphemy. So before we get started let's take a look at the dictionary definition of merciful and see if God measures up. According to the free dictionary online mercy is defined as:

1. Compassionate treatment, especially of those under one's power; clemency.

2. A disposition to be kind and forgiving: a heart full of mercy.

For illustrative purposes I will use one example from the Old Testament that will demonstrate without a doubt that the biblical deity is not merciful; in fact, he is a tyrant! Our story takes place in 1 Kings chapter 18 and I invite all theists and non theists to read it for themselves. According to this tale there was a great famine in Sumaria at the time, and God had sent his prophet Elijah to speak to Ahab regarding the people and their worshiping of a false god called Baal.

Elijah basically told Ahab that they had brought this famine upon themselves due to their infidelity towards Yahweh. He then ordered that all of Israel (the people not the nation) gather on Mount Carmel where Elijah would be. Elijah then issued a challenge to the prophets of Baal which numbered at 450 and basically set the terms of the challenge. Two altars were to be set up with sacrifices for their respective gods. They were to call on their respective gods and the one that responded by fire would be recognized as the one and only true god.

The prophets of Baal spent all day calling out to their god to no avail, but when Elijah called on Yahweh he responded with fire from heaven and all the people fell on their faces and cried "Yahweh is God." As soon as the challenge was over the bible says that: ⁴⁰' Elijah said, 'Seize the prophets of Baal: do not let one of them escape.' They seized them, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon, and there he slaughtered them.' 

You read right, they slaughtered all 450 prophets of Baal. Now here is my problem with this, why weren't they given the opportunity to convert after having seen a demonstration of God's power? Where was God's mercy then? Where is God's mercy towards humanity now? It is nowhere to be found. My argument is if God is loving, merciful, and kind then why could he have not just forgiven mankind and all living things as a whole for the transgressions of Adam and Eve? I mean he is supposed to be omnipotent yet he can't with a word restore man back to his original state without going through the ridiculous and lengthy process of redemption through Christ.

This is not the only occasion where God was lacking in compassion, the bible is full of stories like this one and the biblical tyrant is responsible for more deaths in the Old Testament alone than all the mass murderers and tyrants that have ever existed on Earth. It's actually worse in the New Testament where God is not just satisfied to punish the so called "wicked" in this life, but for all eternity in hell. This God is nothing short of evil and not even worthy of worship or respect.

It's funny how God in the O.T. was willing to demonstrate his powers to the people of Israel upon Elijah's request but in the N.T. Jesus admonishes his listeners with these words: ⁷ 'Jesus said to him, 'Scripture also says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' It's actually a sin to request a demonstration of proof from God! The only means he wants to be known is through blind faith and thus he remains hidden to all the rest of us who ask for proof of his existence first. 

The N.T. doctrine of hell demonstrates clearly that the god of the bible is nothing more than a tyrannical dictator who rules with an iron fist. His motto: "Worship me or suffer eternal pain and torment." He requires complete and unwavering submission from his followers who he gladly labels servants a fancy word for slaves.

What was the point of the flood?

According to Genesis man had fallen from God's graces due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve. If we are to believe the scriptures between chapters 3 and 6 man continued to decline morally and lived only to satisfy the pleasures of his flesh. After some time God became weary and decided: ⁵ Yahweh saw that human wickedness was great on earth and that human hearts contrived nothing but wicked schemes all day long.

Now before we move on I would like to point out that this verse alone challenges the so called claims regarding the attributes of God. Namely, omniscience (all knowing/ infinite knowledge). The reason I say this is that upon closer examination of the text it seems that God was surprised at how man had turned out. So much so that the very next verse says:  ⁶ Yahweh regretted having made human beings on earth and was grieved at heart.

The Sage dictionary defines regret as: sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment. Why would God be sad if he already knew that this would be the outcome? If he was truly omniscient he would have known that his so called "good" creation was going to be a bust.

Now what was Hitler ooops I meant God's final solution? Well in the very next verse he makes it known: ⁷ And Yahweh said, 'I shall rid the surface of the earth of the human beings whom I created -- human and animal, the creeping things and the birds of heaven -- for I regret having made them.' Again he emphasizes that he regrets having created not just mankind but all living things.

If we were to use the allegory of disease in regards to sin and a corrupt nature then I could see the logic in destroying all forms of life and starting from scratch. If you had a deadly plague spreading rapidly across a region and was able to contain and exterminate the infected to eliminate further spread and infection then I could agree with such an action and it would make perfect sense. But this is not what the great and knowledgeable God did. For it says in verse 8 that: ⁸ But Noah won Yahweh's favour.

Now here is the kicker, how could one man gains favor with God is he also inherited the curse of God upon all of mankind? Since the fall of man in the garden man was cursed and so were all the future generations. God's curse was like a genetic disorder and as such would not just disappear.

The purpose of the flood was to cleanse the Earth from all wickedness, yet he does not fulfill this by sparing on of the "infected" and his family. And as expected his descendants did exactly like their previous ancestors had done. They ended up going back to their sinful ways and pissing God off once again.

Now in verse 13 you find a huge contradiction in motive for God: ¹³ God said to Noah, 'I have decided that the end has come for all living things, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of human beings. So I am now about to destroy them and the earth. Notice that he said that not only will he destroy all living things but also the earth! If this was his plan then why tell Noah build yourself an ark? In fact why spare Noah at all since as I stated earlier he was infected with God's curse against humanity through the fact that he was part of the human race?

So I have to ask, what was the purpose of the flood? He killed every living man and beast on the face of the earth, except those he let live on the ark. Only to end up back at square one. Then he waited thousands of years before he sends his son the perfect sacrifice to redeem man and begin a new covenant with man.

This chapter undermines the so called omniscience of God. It demonstrates that he does not know everything nor how things will turn out in the future. God is a bad planner and basing ourselves on the Old and New Testament a bully and a tyrant. Luckily for us he does not exist, and these tales are nothing more than myths and legends that have no objective means to validate their claims.

The blame game

I have been an atheist for nearly 18 years and have debated many a theist. One of the things I find most annoying about debating theists about matters of morality etc. is that they love to play a silly childish game I like to call the blame game. Atheists themselves have been known to also fall into these stupid arguments that in my opinion are completely irrelevant to the issues that matter.

The bible actually contains a very good version of the blame game in Genesis 3:11-13 after having eaten from the tree of knowledge and attempting to hide from the presence of the Lord, they are asked by God why they had disobeyed his commandment. Adam blamed the woman and the woman blamed the snake, but in the end God made all three of them accountable for their individual part in the fiasco.

I have heard Christians blame atheism for atrocities committed against humanity by Communists or other tyrannical forms of government. Atheists on the other hand like to pull out all the dirt that they can find on theism from their own atrocities committed against humanity such as the crusades, inquisitions, etc.

What we all forget is that these acts are not the result of a particular belief system, but rather the result of the acts and beliefs of individuals. You can't blame an entire belief system or lack thereof for the acts of certain men who claim to be proponents of those systems. This also applies when they don't claim to represent any system of belief as well. People have the bad habit of labeling others by their actions or former beliefs.

In the end we as individual are all held accountable and must suffer the consequences or rewards of our own actions. That is part of being an adult, taking responsibility for the things you do in this life in the here and now not in some imaginary afterlife. I am not moral because the bible tells me to be moral and to love my neighbor etc. I am moral because society has taught me that there are rules that we all must abide by.

I didn't learn right from wrong from the biblical god, but rather from my parents. The society I came up in has laws that one must abide by or else suffer imprisonment or in some states the death penalty. When I debate theists I try to avoid playing the blame game because it draws attention away from the real issues that need to be discussed. I can't blame the person I am debating for his religious institutions immoral and brutal actions that happened in the past and in some parts of the world continue to happen when he personally had no part in it. 

I personally have a felony on my record from 2003 for resisting arrest one night and injuring a police officer in the process. But society labels me a felon and puts me in the same category as a rapist, murderer, pedophile, etc. What happened to me could've happened to anyone but I have and continue to be judged as bad because of the label felon. It is difficult for me to find a job and I am discriminated against for being a felon. Although I have never stolen anything or robbed anyone or committed any major crime in my life.

In conclusion my fellow atheist, when dealing with theist try not to make blanket statements or label and discriminate against them for the things that other rotten apples of their religious institutions have done. Not all theists are bad, and some are very open to reasonable discussion regarding matters of their faith. Sometimes in the end you just have to agree to disagree and let them go on with their delusion. And remember always to be responsible for your own actions whether they be for better or for worse.

Adam and Eve literal or allegorical?

One of the latest ploys that the theologians have been using to try to explain all of the inconsistencies of the tale of the Adam and Eve story is to state that those events described in Genesis were not meant to be taken literally. They have been saying that Adam and Eve were not real people and that the entire story of the fall of man was meant to be interpreted allegorically.

There are several problems with this form of interpretation but I will start with the most damaging one first. If Adam and Eve did not exist and the tale of the fall of man was an allegory then that would mean that man never sinned and Jesus died for nothing! If there was no fall and the story is not true then how did man come to be? Where did we come from? Religion has no answer to this question except that God created man out of mud and the woman out of one of mans ribs.

Now here are the reasons that I believe that the author or authors of the story in Genesis meant for it to be taken literally. Genesis 4:1,2 state that Cain and Abel were the first couples two sons, it makes no mention of daughters. In the same chapter we are given a short genealogy of Cain and his family after he was ejected from the garden. Genesis chapter 5:5 says that Adam lived to be 935 years old and fathered a son named Seth at the ripe old age of 130! We are then given a genealogy of Seths family tree in the subsequent verses.

Now if this tale was mean to be an allegory and Adam and Eve never existed, then why go through all the trouble of giving us genealogies and even telling us of Adams death etc.? These things alone contradict the apologists beliefs that this story was not supposed to be taken literally. The author/authors of this tale meant for every word to be taken literally as they wrote it.

The Bible condemns God as a monster!

Contrary to what some of the readers of my blog may believe, I did not discard my beliefs because of my disillusion with my particular religious sect (Pentecostalism). It wasn't the pastor or the rest of the congregation or what this or that person did or how they conducted themselves towards me. My disillusion began when I first sat down and decided to read the Bible in its entirety.

When I read the bible for the first time I was literally disgusted that I had unknowingly submitted my life and devotion to what I believed was a benevolent deity. The O.T. deity was not the God I thought I loved and worshiped and who at the time I thought loved and looked after me with an even greater love than I could ever imagine. It has been my experience that man has demonstrated more morality throughout our existence than the biblical god has.

You would think that the Hebrews would try to put their god in a more favorable light, but instead they have created a monster who is to be feared and worshiped unconditionally. We are supposed to be forever thankful for his having created us and given us life, we are supposed to remind him through worship how grateful we are for his mercy etc. It's akin to someone lending you money in a time of need and expecting you to thank him for it even after you have paid him back on a daily basis. Not only that, he must remind you to thank him and make sure that you never forget his generosity!

It was not the church or the religion, but rather the testimony of the scriptures regarding this god. It was the crimes against humanity, the complete annihilation of entire races and the usurping of their lands in order to give it to the Hebrews. On some occasions men, women, children, not even the animals or livestock were spared the wrath of God. He punished them for worshiping false gods but he never presented himself to them. Here are some of the great things that the bible contains: fratricide, incest, polygamy, mass murder, ritual killing, massacres, genocide, slavery, etc.

The worst criminals in human history can't hold a candle to the biblical God! Mao and Hitler put together couldn't match the evil and ferocity of the biblical deity. It has been my opinion that if God were a human he would be tried and executed for crimes against humanity. Christians who don't read the bible are given the watered down version and even when they are shown some of God's acts of cruelty they are convinced that the victims brought it on themselves! If God were real then all he had to do was make himself known to mankind through every generation in such a way that his existence would never be in question. But instead the fictional deity only exists on the pages of some ancient texts and the heart and minds of those fools who choose to believe in them as being his word or revelation without learning more about the texts themselves.

I personally despise all religions that require man to debase himself and grovel on the ground to some invisible vainglorious deity that requires worship and praise under the threat of eternal damnation, and through the use and manipulation and fear.

In summation my position is simple: I do not accept the existence of a biblical God or any other gods, the fact that the origins of religious beliefs are rooted in ancient fears of the unknown through the creation of myths and superstitions is telling. I see gods as the creations of man and not the other way around, and feel that the God of the Bible not only does not exist but his existence in and of itself is an impossibility that stands outside  the realms of reason. I don't differentiate the biblical deity from all the other thousands of deities that man has created for himself the world over. Basically, if you've seen one myth you've pretty much seen them all.

I honestly don't understand how anyone could read the bible in its entirety and come to the conclusion that God is love. The Jesus tale in the N.T. was an offshoot of the old and anyone who had read both would immediately recognize that it was written in order to make Judaism more palatable to foreigners also known as gentiles in the scriptures. They dropped some of the older Jewish traditions and made the gentiles also acceptable to God through the fictional story of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.

Check your brain at the door

According to the scriptures faith is a virtue while the quest for knowledge is looked upon with disdain. The New Testament book of  Hebrews extolls the virtues of faith in chapter 11 and goes as far as saying : ⁶ 'Now it is impossible to please God without faith, since anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and rewards those who seek him.'

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as: ¹ 'Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen.' According to the scriptures, contrary to reason, we must accept its claims without a prerequisite of evidence. Faith is basically hope in the unknown or the unseen, and what are we supposed to base this hope on? a 2000+ year old collection of writings by a group of for the most part unknown authors.

The first sin according to Genesis that mankind committed against God was that of disobedience. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (sounds mythical to me). It is interesting to note that this particular tree would open up the eyes of the first couple and make them aware of many things about the world that in their ignorant state would have otherwise remained unknown. This suggests to me that God's original intention was that man remain subservient to him for all eternity.

If you read the story though, you will realize that curiosity brought on by Satan eventually got the best of Eve and Adam followed suit. From the beginning knowledge was a curse, a condemnation that carried the penalty of death! (Gen. 2:17). After the "fall" the only way to truly obtain knowledge was to revert back to the original state of subservience to God. (Proverbs 1:7). According to the cited text knowledge comes from God.

On the other hand, those who refuse to bow down to this imaginary deity are considered fools and corrupt. ⁷ The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools spurn wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7). You ever wonder why Christians associate atheism with being morally handicapped or lacking morals altogether? Well, we have the bible to thank for that misconcpetion: ' The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' Their deeds are corrupt and vile, not one of them does right.' (Psalm 14:1). This is state in various places of the bible and theists love to quote it as much as they can.

According to the scriptures without God's guidance all knowledge is a delusion. We are basically taught in the bible to despise our own minds and distrust our powers of observation for faith, submission, and unquestioning loyalty. As a believer you are not allowed to question God, in fact, you are instructed to praise and glorify him in the good as well as the bad times. In the midst of calamity you are supposed to praise God the entire time knowing through faith that some how he will deliver you!

As a former Christian myself I can attest to the fact that once I denounced my beliefs and accepted atheism, the first and hardest lesson I had to learn was to think for myself and be self reliant. The imaginary guy in the sky was no longer a factor in my life. Atheism has taught me to take responsibility for my own life and actions. There is no Satan or devils to blame in my world for my setbacks or failures. My morals are not of divine origin but rather they stem from a sense of right and wrong that I have learned through life and observation.

In closing if you really want to be saved and experience true freedom you will never achieve that sense until you are willing to discard your mythical beliefs and delusions and see the world the way it is. It's a harsh place that is unforgiving and unpredictable but it is the world in which we live in and we have to learn to overcome adversities and adapt to it the best we can. Make your own choices in life and own up to them if you are called upon to answer to them. Waiting on the invisible guy in the sky for an answer will only lead you away from reality and deeper into the path to superstition.

Stop validating religious beliefs!

Ever since I renounced my religious beliefs over 17 years ago, I have been of the opinion that the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, and any other religious so called sacred texts should be filed in the library or anywhere else in the section labeled mythology. America's academic community has been giving the Bible in particular way too much undeserved attention.

It is an insult to a rationalist such as myself that in today's society in order for you to be heard regarding matters of religion you now have to have a doctorate in philosophy and biblical studies. You don't need to learn Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic to see through the false nature of the Bible and similar texts or so called divine origin.

All it took me in order for me to reject my former beliefs was a thorough reading of the bible in its entirety. I read it from the book of Genesis all the way through to the book of revelations not once but four times. And just to make sure I was not missing something I read it in its entirety in Spanish as well noticing differences in translations from the English versions. The more I read the more absurd the biblical tales became, and the more disgusted I became with myself for having given four years of my life practicing and promoting those implausible and ridiculous beliefs.

I have always had trouble with authority in the sense that I would not tolerate my civil rights being violated nor bow down to any form of tyranny. I have always said that before I would ever let myself be subjugated by any authority, I would prefer death. Living life under oppression is a life that in my view is not even worth living. But fundamental Christianity is just that; a life in oppression. You are subservient to an imaginary deity who demands obedience and worship. 

The more I delved into the Old Testament the more it became apparent to me that this deity was no god but rather a monster. The bible is chock full of atrocities committed by God against humanity and most of the time for something as trivial as stealing a scarf, where the offender alone was not punished for the crime but his entire tribe as well. In short the sin was always disobedience in some form of another. But God was not content to punish just the offender but his entire tribe all the way to the 3rd and 4th generation of his family. Exodus 34:7

I think by giving the Bible in particular precedence in our secular universities and institutions of higher learning such precedence all we are doing is validating it as worth consideration. You don't need a college degree to see that the bible not only is not true, but can't be true.  The various fields of scientific studies has proven the bible false a hundred times over. Archaeology has proven it false as well, and so have many other disciplines of knowledge.

It's time people stop giving this book so much damn attention and they put it where it belongs; right alongside all of the other ancient books that propagated beliefs in bunk and superstition. The bible is written by fallible men and is not inspired by no deity, it is an ancient superstition like all the other religious beliefs that preceded it, and is not even worthy of all the time an energy that has been put into it in serious studies conducted by academics.

Giving the Bible this prestigious place in academic circles inadvertently validates it instead of debunking it. Our government has and continues to assist Christianity in maintaining its prominent place in our society by allowing its influence to corrupt even our governments and our laws and policies. It's high time that our government puts its foot down and starts making the church subservient to the laws of the land. They should make the church pay taxes like everyone else and take away their so called "non-profit organization" status. If you as an individual or institution want to worship and believe in superstitions then be my guest. But you should keep your damn beliefs from infringing on my rights as an unbeliever.

Separation of church and state should be enforced to the fullest in every aspect of our society, there should be no exceptions regardless of religious affiliations. In my state the clergy can violate parking laws with the permission of the state by putting up their church business plaque on their windshield. They don't pay grocery taxes since they carry a tax exempt card with them and all they have to say is that its for church purposes etc. They are not obligated by the IRS to report their finances and it's because of laws like these that we see such abuses committed by the church and many of its representatives. It's high time that the church be treated like the rest of us, and that these exceptions be taken away from them.

Jesus Is Late!

In this article I would like to point out to Christians and Atheists alike that Jesus did not fulfill his most important promise. In order to do this I will be using a couple of biblical references regarding the return of Jesus Christ. I will use the scriptures to demonstrate how the early church expected the return of their Lord in their generation and not 2,000+ years later. With that being said let's begin with what Jesus had to say about his return.

Since the book of Mark is believed to be the first gospel, let's take a look at chapter 9 verse 1: ¹ And he said to them, 'In truth I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.' In the previous chapter Jesus called his disciples and other people around to listen to his sermon. Obviously he was speaking to them and not to our future generation.

Because of the fact that immediately after this verse it goes into Christ being transfigured before the eyes of Peter, James, and John people assume that this is what Jesus was referring to. But the transfiguration is a far cry from the coming of his Kingdom. The book of Matthew confirms this in chapter 16 verse 27: ²⁷ 'For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his behaviour. He then follows with the same statement made by Mark cited above.

Luke also confirms that the apostles and followers of Jesus expected his return in chapter 9 verse 26:  ²⁶For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. And like Matthew followed this verse with the citation I used from the book of Mark. In the book of Mark chapter 13 verse 30 regarding the end times say's this: ³⁰ In truth I tell you, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place.

Apologists like to use Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 which both say the exact same thing: ³² 'But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.' These verses and others have been used as a means to defend the fact that 2,000+ years later Jesus has not yet returned.

It's a clever ruse because when taken out of context these verses and this type of mentality can go on forever and continue to perpetuate the myth for generations to come. This just goes to show how desperate Christians are for their ridiculous beliefs to be true. In order to accept this inane faith you have to be completely in denial of the truth, and intellectually dishonest with yourself. If you put the Christian belief of the second coming into perspective you would see how insane it really is.

A man/god who died over 2,000 years ago and rose from the dead three days later, and depending on which text you read, hung around for 40 days before floating back up to heaven before the eyes of 500 unknown witnesses and will one day return. If it sounds stupid, that's because it is! Not to mention the fact that this Jesus fellow is nowhere to be found outside of the scriptures conclusively. Even if he did exist, he is definitely not coming back because he was not a god, nor the son of a god, but rather a man just like you or I. 

Do as I say, not as I do!

If you took the time to read the bible from cover to cover as I have done, the first thing you will notice is the recurring theme which is the title of this post. In the end, it all boils down to obedience; from mans first test in the garden of Eden to his final breath on this earth. But according to the scriptures there is a catch to all of this. Just like the traffic cops instructions at the intersection supersedes the written traffic laws, so does God's direct commands supersede his written laws. There are many examples of this in the scriptures so I will only demonstrate a few.

The next rule requires that you don't ask any questions just do what "God" commands of you even if it makes no sense to you at the time.  Job when he was going through his trials received a pretty good tongue lashing from his god for asking to many questions. This admonishment lasted from chapters 38 to 42 where the deity asked Job a bunch of impossible questions and pretty much established his authority over mankind. Job then repented was supposedly restored before the site of God and rewarded for his faithfulness.

I know that these stories are myths but I am just trying to briefly establish my first too points regarding these two main themes that are prevalent throughout the entire scriptures. The first example of do as I say and not as I do is the following: Exodus 20:13 'You shall not kill.' That is the sixth of the ten commandments. But look what good old God commands them to do later on to the Midianites: Numbers 31:7,9 ⁷ They made war on Midian, as Yahweh had ordered Moses, and put every male to death.⁹ The Israelites took the Midianite women and their little ones captive and carried off all their cattle, all their flocks and all their goods as booty.

I am convinced that it's passages like this one and many others in the scriptures that motivated the various inquisitions. The Churches biggest threat was Islam and so they fought for power and control of  the world through military might and the subjugation of its people through fear and intimidation through the forced acceptance of myths through pain of death if you refused.

The next example of the first theme was the famous story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son to the Lord to demonstrate to God his absolute loyalty and obedience. Although the Lord did not let him go through with it at the very last moment, he was rewarded for his loyalty. Christians try to brush this off as just a test of Abraham's faithfulness to God, but test or not he was willing to kill his child for the Lord. If this was a true story which I completely doubt it was, then that poor kid must have been traumatized for the rest of his life.

Finally, in the ten commandments God says in Exodus 20:3,4  ³ 'You shall have no other gods to rival me.⁴ 'You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth. Yet later on in the scriptures he commands Moses in Numbers 21:8,9 ⁸ and Yahweh replied, 'Make a fiery serpent and raise it as a standard. Anyone who is bitten and looks at it will survive.'⁹ Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived.

This was done to stay a plague of poisonous serpents that the good Lord himself started! There are many similar stories in the bible in the O.T. as well as in the N.T. that illustrate what I have spoken of in this post. To me this is all the more reason to not believe, much less worship such a cruel and merciless tyrant that is the biblical God.

It's funny how we as a species tend to forget all the good an individual has done in his life for one single act of evil. But when it comes to God he can do no wrong no matter how evil his acts or deeds this is just another one of the many Christian double standards.

Giving Up Your Beliefs In Fairy Tales

It is incredible and hard to believe that with all the advances in human technology and the sciences that we still cling to beliefs in myths. The whole idea of some being that is undetectable who lives outside of our known time and space is ridiculous. When someone talks out loud to themselves he is thought to have lost his mind, but when someone prays to an imaginary friend he is perfectly sane. That's what you call a double standard and it's not accurate nor fair to live by it.

Recently in the news I saw a story on how our nations government was debating whether to keep 'In God We Trust' as our nations motto or whether we should discard it altogether. Not surprisingly the votes for this motto were overwhelmingly greater than those against it. Congress voted 396 for the motto and only 9 representatives voted against it while two others abstained from voting. Part of the bill encouraged that the motto be displayed in all public schools and government buildings! There goes the separation of church and state!

Before you know it we might have to be forced to become Christians in order to obtain government jobs. The U.S. makes me sick to my stomach sometimes with their hypocritical acts. A portion of our taxes go towards supporting certain religious institutions although we individually might be opposed to that. We can't even pull out a coin or any other currency without seeing the stupid affirmation of false beliefs that this nation clings to.

If you really want separation of church and state then you need to start by removing that stupid motto from our currency and public places. That is one of the many reasons that you have all of these Christian fanatics saying that the U.S. is founded by Christian principles when in fact it was not. We as a nation have done pretty good without God. The only thing we have in common with God and religion is that we too have committed heinous acts of murder to obtain this land and our so called freedoms.

The bible and its god has proven himself to be absolutely useless and unnecessary to our nation and our individual selves. Many people use religion to mask who they are and cover up their idiotic acts. How many have sat in a court room and blamed the devil for their crimes?

Come on people, the dark ages are over! It's time we get our heads out of our asses and recognize religion and religious beliefs for what they are. God does not exist, in fact he was an invention of man. There is only one verse of scripture that I like although Paul was talking about something completely different, I think this saying applies here and is completely relevant to unproven beliefs in fairy tales. 'When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.' 1 Corinthians 13:11 (KJV)I know that the King James Version of scripture is not the best but I love the way it's worded.

Christianity has been called by many Santa Clause for adults for a reason. There is for example no evidence outside of the biblical narrative that Jesus Christ even existed. And what evidence some think there is has been proven to be false or left up to individual interpretation. Does anyone know what Jesus real name was? Christ is not a proper name, it's a title that means the anointed one or the chosen sort of like Neo from 'The Matrix.'

It's time people take their bibles and put them to good use for such things as holding the door open or paper for your pets to defecate on. I am good without God and it was actually liberating for me to break free from those ancient superstitions. We've learned so much from science and discovery to continually turn back to myths. We need to eliminate God, the bible, and those silly beliefs altogether in order to progress and move forward as a nation. As long as we keep being slaves to superstition we will be stagnant and non progressive.

Hell is for everyone!

Many Christians who do not take the time to study the scriptures they so diligently believe to be true, don't realize that the bible teaches that hell is not only for the wicked. You hear them say it all the time regarding murderers, rapist, pedophiles, dictators, etc. "I hope he rots in hell!" But upon closer examination of the scriptures could it be possible that even a good person could go to hell? If this is true then what are the conditions that would lead him there in the first place?

According to Ephesians 2:8,9 you are saved by faith: '8 Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God;9 not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit.'(NJB) But it takes a combination of both works and faith for you to earn your place in the kingdom of God. James 2:14,17,18,24 '14 How does it help, my brothers, when someone who has never done a single good act claims to have faith? Will that faith bring salvation?17 In the same way faith, if good deeds do not go with it, is quite dead.18 But someone may say: So you have faith and I have good deeds? Show me this faith of yours without deeds, then! It is by my deeds that I will show you my faith.24 You see now that it is by deeds, and not only by believing, that someone is justified.' (NJB)

According to the above cited scriptures faith/belief is a prerequisite to salvation. If this is true that means that anyone who does not believe in God is on the highway to hell so to speak. This would include atheist, agnostics, those that have different religious beliefs, etc. You can be the best person in your lifetime in the eyes of your family, children, wife, friends, and neighbors, but if you are an atheist you are going to hell.

Christianity is a religion that is based on coercion, obedience, and fear. 7 'The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools spurn wisdom and discipline.' Proverbs 1:7 makes this quite clear and so does Luke 12:4,5 4 'To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.5 I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, he is the one to fear.'(NJB)

So based on the scriptures hell is for all those that do not believe regardless of his/her works. Submission through repentance is the main requirement and without it no matter what good deeds you have done in this life you are going to hell. If you're one of those hypocritical Christians that have faith but don't have works then you will also be joining me in your fictional hell as well. Tough break huh?

This article and the bibles own admission proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the biblical God is a tyrant and a prick who deserves to be executed for his crimes against humanity. Even if he did exist, I would not worship a tyrant so hell would be awaiting my entry with open arms.

Practical Atheism

One thing can be said about atheism and that is that simply put it is the rejection or non-belief in gods and this means all gods. I have read literature on atheism from many perspectives and the one I find the most useless and ridiculous is the philosophical one. I am of the opinion that philosophy is not the appropriate discipline to argue the existence of the biblical God.

“I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one less god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” —Stephen F Roberts

This now famous quote expresses my form of atheism, although I have been accused by theists of being too simplistic. But I feel that in defending my atheism I should not have to go through the trouble of trying to define for example the so called attributes of God. The question I ask is basically; attributes, what attributes? Christians can't even define the attributes of their god because they are too busy trying to interpret what the bible says they are and in what sense they are meant to be understood.

Christian apologetics try to use modern as well as classical philosophical arguments to defend their beliefs, but in doing so all they end up doing is confusing themselves as well as others with circular nonsensical arguments. For example to argue that everything that exist has a cause for its existence and then name that cause God is nothing more than special pleading which in and of itself is classified as a logical fallacy.

Regarding the beginning of all things I am simply content with the idea that it is still a mystery that science has yet to solve. We may never know in fact, but I am okay with that. But to use the God of the gaps argument to plug up the holes or mysteries that science has yet to resolve is inane. Besides the onus of proving the existence of God falls on the believer entirely. The atheist in this situation has nothing to prove. Basically I don't believe in the biblical God or any other gods because the idea of supernatural beings ruling the universe is insane and outright ridiculous.

The greatest challenge to the theist is that of trying to prove the existence of their God. Anyone who has taken the time to study the bible profoundly and without bias is bound to come out a nonbeliever. Everyone knows that proving the existence of God objectively is an impossible task I am of the opinion that whoever achieves this monumental task will undoubtedly win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Belief in God takes faith for a very good reason, the reason being that his existence cannot be proven. In other words you must accept that he exists without the requirement of evidence. God is and always will be the creation of man and a figment of the imagination.

The Bible Is Outdated

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

The above cited quote exhorts believers to study but even in today's world this is quite impossible. There are several challenges that a Christian faces when he/she takes the initiative and decides to delve into the scriptures even further than your typical church Sunday bible study. The first of these challenges is that of translations, and which one you should use for the purpose of studying. In the English language alone there are over 500 translations!

The next hurdle is that of interpretation. Depending on which Christian church you are a member of will determine how you interpret what you read. Unless you approach your bible with an open mind then your interpretation is already biased by your denomination of choice. You must also keep in mind that none of the original texts that comprise the bible exist today and that what you are actually reading are copies of copies.

Another major problem is that the bible is outdated. When studying the bible you must read it while taking into consideration its cultural context and the time period in which it was first written and refers to. Even today it is evident that there are huge cultural differences between the U.S. and the Middle East. Many people read the bible and forget that the events described in its pages supposedly happened from 2 to 5,000 years ago. You simply cannot apply some of the bibles so called moral and legal teachings to the modern world.

Putting your faith aside you will see that by modern standards the bible is chock full of inconsistencies and outright absurdities. There is nothing holy about the Holy Bible. Contrary to what many Christians think about their god it will only take a reading of the O.T. to see what a cruel and vindictive deity they serve.

The laws in the scriptures as allegedly given to Moses whose existence is questionable are cruel and seem communistic. I have always and continue to refer to the biblical god as a dictator. These are just some examples of the insanity that are biblical laws. God was very fond of the death penalty as demonstrated by these texts. In Leviticus chapter 20 it states that you shall be punished with death if you worship other gods, curse your parents, commit adultery ( have sex with someone other than your wife or husband), if you have sex with your step mom, if you have sex with someone of the same sex, if you blaspheme the name of the Lord etc. Don't take my word for it give that chapter a read for yourself.

The bible is and always has been a book of myths and is nothing more than a collection of a cultures paranoid superstitions. This is my opinion and it applies to all of the so called holy books out there.

Learned believers? LOL

One of the things that I find hard to believe is how far Christianity has come from its birth to its current state. Whoever thought two thousand plus years ago that this myth would be taken so seriously in some parts of the world that people would need college degrees and doctorates to qualify as authorities on the scriptures?

In my opinion when it comes to Christianity and the scriptures all it takes to understand them is common sense. I have no respect for a minister who holds a doctorate in theology, that is the same to me as holding a doctorate in astrology; utterly useless! Becoming an expert on superstitions and myths does not equate being an expert in the more mundane practices of the various disciplines of science such as medicine, math, astronomy, etc.

When it comes to the bible the fact that outside of those scriptures none of those fantastic tales can be verified makes the case against most of them being untrue. I am of the opinion that there is some history mixed in the scriptures but that they have been cleverly interwoven with myths. For instance, it takes a huge stretch of the imagination to believe that Samson singlehandedly slew a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass (donkey) as described in Judges 15:15.

It takes an even greater stretch of the imagination to literally believe that the tribes of Israel brought down the great walls of the city of Jericho by walking around the city for seven days silently and then finally blowing trumpets! The absurdities in the bible both in the old and new testaments are too many to count and too unbelievable to be taken seriously. But despite all of these absurdities there are many fundamentalists out there that swear by the veracity of these tales on nothing more than faith.

When theists tell me that history and archeology confirm the biblical narratives it just tells me that they are ignorant and ill informed about both disciplines. Christians have their own version of science and archeology which consists of fabricating evidence to fit their stories. In other words, their idea of science is first establishing on faith that their tales are true and then finding evidence that fits what they believe. This methodology is the complete opposite of how scientific study is approached and conducted.

In closing I would like to end with the quote from Carl Sagan which states that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” To date the church has utterly failed to prove conclusively one single story of the biblical narratives. Their so called evidences have been proven many times to be fraudulent and faulty. Unfortunately for them subjective evidence does not qualify as evidence for the naysayers and non-believers such as myself. Let’s face it, without the bible you would not have even known of the existence of any of those tales nor held any beliefs about the divinity of such tales. The fact that these tales only exist as told in the bible make these tales all the more incredulous.

Cognitive dissonance and theism

As a former Pentecostal fundamentalist who has lived the life of a fanatic, I can say that the process of de=conversion is frightening and stressful. It is different for everyone but the deeper your commitment to God the harder it is to wean yourself from those deeply rooted beliefs.

In 1990 I was a Pentecostal evangelist who had an outreach ministry that consisted of preaching on the streets on the weekends and in churches during the week. My particular ministry was what is known as a deliverance ministry which basically meant that I specialized in exorcisms. I dealt often with the so called demon possessed and used the bible and my so called believed authority in Christ to overcome the powers of darkness.

During those years I believed that I had God’s spirit residing in me, guiding my every move and delivering the possessed, healing the sick, prophesying, etc. I thought I felt God’s presence constantly in and around me. I mentally talked to myself everyday and all day long believing I was having a conversation with God.

I was at a local atheist meeting recently and several of the guests were interested in hearing specifically about what made me turn my back on God and my religious beliefs. At the time as now I can’t quite pin it down to one motive but rather to a collection of experiences. One of the things I did as a fundie was that I did not listen to so called worldly music and I did not even watch television unless it was Christian programming. I did not read anti-Christian books but I read all books that I thought would strengthen my beliefs and inform me about my ministry and how I could perform my duties to the best of my abilities.

When I was in seminary there was one issue that really had my curiosity and it happened to be the theory of evolution. I remember how I eagerly awaited the day that we would reach the chapter in our textbook that dealt with alternative theories of origins. When the day had finally arrived I recall that the instructor of the course paused when he got to the theory of evolution and there was a silence of about a few seconds. He then looked up at the class with this silly grin on his face and said: “ if you believe that you came from a monkey go right ahead, as for me… I am a child of God and was created by him.” With this statement he closed the book and dismissed the class!

To say that I was upset was an understatement, but this was the reason why I personally took it upon myself to read everything I could get my hands on regarding the theory of evolution. This included reading all of the works of Darwin and some of the then popular books on the subject. Then next thing that happened to me was that I was challenged by my pastor to read the bible in its entirety at least once so that I could understand God’s plan better.

I took up this challenge and I ended up reading the bible four times and it seemed that the moe I read the more disgusted I became. The God of the O.T. did not seem anything at all like the god I worshiped. He was a tyrant and evil to the nth degree. The biblical God was racist, endorsed slavery, got angry often over the most petty offenses, etc. He was nothing like the God of love I believed in who took upon himself the ultimate burden of liberating us from sin to save us all from eternal damnation, a fate which in reality he created lol but that is another issue altogether.

The bible also led me to question my own practices and beliefs regarding the workings of the Holy Spirit its use in the ministry and in the church etc. brought a lot of questions and doubts to my mind regarding what I had experienced in my church and ministry. Then I read a book that changed my entire life, although I don’t think that it was the authors intent to lead me into atheism since he was a Christian himself. The book was called ‘Charismatic Chaos’ by John F. MacArthur. Since I was having issues with the use of the Holy Spirit and I was a charismatic myself of course when I saw the title of this book in a Christian bookstore I was stopped dead in my tracks and bought it on the spot.

The author basically stated that the gifts of the Spirit were no longer needed or active since their only purpose was to help the church during its infancy to establish itself. By the time I was reading this book I had already come to the same conclusions and was already doubtful regarding my own experiences with the Spirit. This was the hardest part of my de-conversion for me and I was very afraid where these ideas would lead me. I was so impressed with this book that I wrote the author for advice regarding which church affiliation I should seek out. He wrote back to me with a list of churches he was affiliated with in my area although I did not visit any of them or follow through with his advice.

By the time he wrote me back a couple of months later I was already starting to pull out of my church and only attending service on rare occasions. My heart was no longer in it and my beliefs were in serious question. Because of my deep seated beliefs my fear of God haunted me for about 6 years after I left the church and it took about as long before I openly admitted that I was an atheist.

As an atheist I love reading everything I can get my hands on regarding Christianity and religions in general but it is more for informational purposes. I refute what I believe now to be nothing more than superstitious lies and false beliefs. I don’t hate Christians but I do hate Christianity and religions in general. I personally feel that they do more harm than good and that the more fanatical that you are the more prone you are to doing and believing stupid things.

In closing my point here is that it’s not easy for some theists to abandon deep seated religious beliefs. John Loftus mentioned in his book that this is because of cognitive dissonance: "Cognitive dissonance is the mental conflict that people experience when they are presented with evidence that their beliefs or assumptions are wrong." Montier (2002)

It is because of cognitive dissonance that theists have such a hard time letting go of their beliefs despite the evidence presented against them. Apologetics is a perfect example of this and demonstrates that this is true not only of the less intelligent but even among the elite. There are theists that despite their religious beliefs demonstrate a higher than average intelligence in other areas of knowledge. It is not about intelligence or lack thereof as some assume but rather about culture and upbringing.

Anthropomorphism and God

Normally I hate using big words on my blog to describe religion or Christianity in particular, but... I have had this topic on my mind for quite some time and have finally decided to write about it here. I believe that this is one of the tell tale signs that man created gods and not the other way around. When I read the bible I do not see any imprint of the divine, in fact it all looks like a product of human fabrication.

I generally attack Christianity because it is the number one religion in the world with the most adherents, and because it is what I know. But the analyses contained in this article is relevant to all religions past and present that worship some form of deity that is similar to man.

So let's start this article by defining that big word that is included in the title of this article in the simplest way possible. According to the Sage dictionary that I have on my system it is defined as: 'The representation of objects (especially a god) as having human form or traits.' It is important to understand that this definition is needed to understand not just today's religions but those of antiquity as being of human origin.

It is interesting to note that our gods, from the beginning of time have always been described as having some sort of human form or traits. Many ancient gods are also described as gender specific by his/her (goddess)followers. The Greeks and the Romans religious beliefs were a perfect example of anthropomorphism. They generally believed that everything in the universe, including random acts of nature were determined by the gods. Disasters were the physical display of a gods displeasure with his/her adherents.

The biblical God is said to be omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere at once), and finally ineffable (defying expression or description). Yet, the bible is chock full of descriptions of this god and coincidentally he seems all too human for my taste. In fact, all of those divine traits are overshadowed by his human traits. This God displays both positive and negative human traits that if we are to take the bible at face value betray the sacredness of God himself.

Most of the time we hear from believers that God is love but we seldom hear that he is also jealous and a consuming fire as described in Deuteronomy 4:24. God hates certain acts or deeds, he is jealous of other gods, he punishes and curses those that oppose him etc. All of these negative traits in my opinion don't belong to a deity who is supposed to be holy, perfect, and without sin. When you think of it doesn't the bible teach that hating and cursing people is a sin? The bible teaches that you should love your enemies and bless them that curse you (Matthew 5:44). Yet God can't seem to adhere to his own Word.

Why is this disparity so contradictory to what we hear about God from his adherents? Because it is not the word of God but the word of man, it's as simple as that. God is said to be holy yet his words and deeds as ascribed to him by the many authors of the bible betray this assumption.

The bible teaches that we were created in His image Genesis 1:26 when in fact the truth is the other way around. We created God in our image and I believe that if we were any other species capable of worship our god would look just like us as is illustrated in the 2001 movie 'Planet of the Apes.' In this film the apes were awaiting the return of their chimpanzee messiah Semos. Many have stated that God is the creation of primitive man in a pre-scientific age. In closing I second this opinion.

Why Jesus could not tell his own story

A couple of months ago on an atheist blog I participate in often another atheist asked the following question: "Did Jesus even know how to write?" I replied in the affirmative basing my reply on the gospel according to John 8:6-8.

6 They asked him this as a test, looking for an accusation to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger.

7 As they persisted with their question, he straightened up and said, 'Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her.'

8 Then he bent down and continued writing on the ground. (NJB)

To my knowledge this is the only place in the N.T. where you hear of Jesus writing anything at all. In fact, in this particular text it does not even bother to say what it was he supposedly wrote on the ground.

This question got me to thinking about why if the message of Christ was so important and so dire did he not write his own autobiography or doctrinal texts? I think this is a legitimate question that needs a reply. He is supposed to have been the son of God or God incarnate depending on which branch of Christianity you choose to subscribe to. Because of this lack of foresight we are left with a bunch of anonymous works that have been altered through time and are nothing more than a collection of nonsensical contradictory expressions of their authors personal beliefs and interpretations of doctrine.

One of my favorite works is 'The Age of Reason' by Thomas Paine. Although he was a deist and a believer in a God, he did not subscribe to any written text claiming divine origins or inspiration.Paine believed in nature as the unmistakable language of God. For those of you interested in reading this book for free you can access an online version at http://www.ushistory.org/PAINE/reason/index.htm. Here is a direct quote from that book:

"It is only in the CREATION that all our ideas and conceptions of a
word of God can unite. The Creation speaketh an universal language,
independently of human speech or human language, multiplied and
various as they be. It is an ever existing original, which every man
can read. It cannot be forged; it cannot be counterfeited; it cannot
be lost; it cannot be altered; it cannot be suppressed. It does not
depend upon the will of man whether it shall be published or not; it
publishes itself from one end of the earth to the other. It preaches
to all nations and to all worlds; and this word of God reveals to man
all that is necessary for man to know of God."

Although I am an atheist and do not subscribe to a belief in gods or a God of any kind I agree with Paine that the written word is an unreliable means for any deity to reveal himself to mankind. The fact that it is subject to translation, editing, suppression, and the manipulation of mankind makes it nothing more than useless.

The history of the church has proven these statements time and time again. The church decided which books or works they considered divinely inspired or not. If they did not like what the author had to say his book was rejected and not included in the Canon.

In conclusion to this short essay I believe that the reason Jesus did not write his own autobiography or any doctrinal texts is because he simply couldn't, because he did not exist.

On miracles

One of the issues I have encountered numerous times with my discussions with theists is that they believe what they believe on faith, therefore, facts to the contrary are not relevant. The whole idea of faith is basically to accept in this case the alleged writings of the so called prophets and apostles of the bible without any evidence to corroborate their stories.

Another big issue is that of miracles. You simply cannot put the gods or in this case the biblical God to the test. Since miracles and God belong to the realm of the supernatural they are completely outside the reach of the scientific community. There is obviously no way to verify whether Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, walked on water, ascended to heaven like a bird etc. All of these tales in my view are just that tales that completely fall under the classification of myth.

One question that nags me from time to time is why doesn't God do those same kinds of miracles today? Sure there are many amongst the more charismatic branches of Christianity claiming all sorts of miracles but like the bible authors they have no evidence to corroborate their extraordinary claims.

Instead what we see in today's day and age is a bunch of charlatans on television and radio getting rich off of the gullibility of believers. In fact these same charlatans claim that it is a sin to question them most of the time regarding miracles.

Anyone could write a mythological tale and place it in the setting of an actual existing place to give it that feel of authenticity. It's called fiction writing and we have been doing it for at least a few thousand years. I've had Christians try to argue that archeology confirmed that such and such a place existed as evidence that the bible tales in question and the events it claims transpired there must be true! The fact is that all archeology can confirm is that the place existed at one time or another. As to the alleged miraculous events ascribed to that place nothing can be said.

The Bible in its entirety describes some extraordinary miraculous events that defy logic and are an obvious contradiction to what we know about nature and its workings. But as far as today goes we don't tend to see those same kinds of miracles. You never hear about someone who was born blind, death, mute, or missing a limb being completely made whole again. Instead what you see today are a bunch of cheesy so called miraculous occurrences fabricated by the many charlatans calling themselves representatives of God.

Today's churches don't hesitate to label anything a miracle when in fact they are nothing more than coincidences or in some cases of apparent relief from pain etc temporary relief from psychosomatic disorders. Miracles if they ever occurred as described in the bible or today cannot be proven or verified conclusively. it is a matter of acceptance by faith

There is an interesting tale in the gospel of Mark 5:18-20 where Jesus meets a man who was possessed by a legion of demons. The story relates that he was well known in his community for being a lunatic and a violent man who lived in caves and in the cemetary. When Jesus arrived and had cured him of his possession he begged him to allow him to go with him. But Jesus sent him back to town to show and tell the people what God had done for him.

The point here is that this man was known in his entire town by pretty much everyone. He was sent back to testify to those that knew him and would have little doubts regarding the truth of his tale. I have never considered a miracle claim by a stranger without verification. To date there has been none found by objective investigators anywhere. There are occurrences that defy logic from time to time but calling these events miracles in my opinion is a misnomer. I prefer to call them strange occurrences or coincidences.

Irresponsible Fundies

Recently my older brother had some sort of domestic dispute with his wife and ended up getting beat up by his step daughters boy friend. In the end he ended up going to jail that night and was charged with 3rd degree assault and disorderly conduct. He is a fundamentalist Pentecostal and the true definition of ignorant fanatic. He like myself in the past is a member of an hispanic church who tend to take christian beliefs to the extreme.

These people seem to be living in the dark ages still and tend to see the influence of Satan in everything and everywhere. They are also what I like to call miracle mongers, they tend to gravitate towards people that can make them "feel" the presence of God or the Holy Spirit. If you demonstrate that you can heal the sick with a touch, cast out demons, prophesy,etc. then you will be highly successful and sought after.

The problem with this is that it tends to promote gullibility, and makes them easy marks for con artists and scammers. Another negative aspect of this sort of belief is that it also fosters hypocrisy and lack of responsibility for ones own actions. My sister is also a member of the same type of Pentecostalism and has been for about 10 years. She claims to receive messages from the Lord and to be guided in her life by his Spirit.

If you would look up the definition for hypocrite in the dictionary you would probably see a picture of my sister. She can talk about holiness and dedication to God etc. but her life does not reflect her beliefs. This is a woman who abandoned all of her kids who are now all grown, discarded her entire family for some female member of the church whom she refers to as her "spiritual mom." Meanwhile her real mom has not heard from her much and she has neglected her as well. She is a glutton, and a poor excuse for a human being. Her own children despise her and now that she needs help from her family again she has returned to find that none of us give a shit about her and are unwilling to help her in any way.

Before she left and gave her life to the Lord she came upon a million dollar settlement for losing her husband to carbon monoxide poisoning in an apartment they shared. She was in a coma for about a week, but when she got her money she moved to the Dominican Republic with her "spiritual mom" and has not been heard from till recently. She has called my house several times and spoken to my wife but I refuse to speak to her. I let her know through my wife that I don't have time for hypocrisy and that I hate hypocrites.

My brother on the other hand told me today that he drank a few wine coolers and lost his head. He then went on about how if you give the devil a chance he would devour you up. I told him the devil did not shove the bottle down your throat that choice you made all on your own. He attributed his latest arrest to Satan's meddling and refuses to take full responsibility for his actions and the consequences that followed.

This is the sort of Christianity that makes me sick to my stomach, but at least I let my family know where I stand. Everyone that knows me knows that I am an atheist and I am very outspoken about my unbelief and my reasons for being this way. Comparing my life now to the way it was when I was a theist I would have to say that I am good without God.

I guess I am just ranting, so if this bothers any of my readers I apologize and hope that you will keep checking back to my blog for more informative information about my experiences as a former fundie and Christian hypocrite lol. Sorry, I had to throw that in there. I hate hypocrisy.

Ten reasons why the Bible is not the word of God (updated)

1. The bible was written and created from the fertile imagination of man. Whether you choose to believe that it was “inspired” by God is a matter of faith entirely and not fact.

2. There are no firsthand accounts of the life of Jesus in the entire New Testament.

3. The earliest gospel (Mark) was not written till about 40 years after the alleged death of Jesus.

4. Many of the sayings of Jesus in Mark are supposedly copied from a hypothetical document called Q which has not been found. The existence of Q is nothing more than speculation.

5. The authors of the synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke and of the gospel of John were unknown and the names attached to these gospels did not appear till late in the second century. This was done in order to add authenticity to the work in keeping with the apostolic tradition which required that in order for a work to be considered inspired it had to have been written by an apostle or one of his followers.

6. Many of the so called historical accounts of events in the scriptures could not be corroborated with actual evidence outside of the scriptures themselves.

7. There are no extant (existing) copies of the original gospels, what we currently have are copies of copies that have been substantially edited by numerous scribes and the Church itself.

8. All the books of the bible were voted upon as inspired or uninspired by the clergy and bishops through several councils. Just another part of the editing process.

9. The bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. This leaves plenty of room for human error in transcribing ancient languages to modern day speech. It is difficult even today to translate from one modern language into another accurately and still be able to maintain the authenticity of the message. Imagine what it’s like to do it with ancient languages that have changed or evolved over time.

10. The abundance of embellished stories that mix superstition with facts make it impossible to accept these stories as authentic or trustworthy.

Religion: A profitable business

Recently I received an email from an investment company out of the UK asking if I would be interested in sharing an article that they put together regarding an investigation that they have conducted on the financial gains of religious institutions. Of course after having read the article I thought it would be nice to share it with my readers as well.

The article takes a look at Scientology, Catholicism, Televangelism, Freemasonry, and The Church of England. It tops this all off with a short list of religious billionaires. When required it gives you a short history of the religious movement being examined, and then it goes into their reported earnings and scandals related to those earnings. They also provide hyperlinks within the text that will take you to their sources if you want to obtain a little bit more in depth information.

The following is an excerpt:

Established in 1952 as a successor to dianetics, the Church of Scientology has always been a controversial entity. It has been criticised for taking money from vulnerable people, and reports of suicide and financial ruin caused by the extortionate fees incured as a Thetan are not unheard of. Rumour of harassment and covert surveillance of its followers are also rife.
Scientology

Number of followers: The Church of Scientology claims to have over 8 million followers worldwide and 3.5 million in the United States alone, but a 2008 survey showed that just 20,000 American individuals identified themselves as Scientologists.

Read more: http://www.money.co.uk/misc/the-business-of-religion.htm#ixzz1UmO3RuB9

Feel free to post your comments on this article and as always this topic is open to discussion from atheists and theists alike.

Christian greed and hypocrisy

‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’

Those are the exact words as presented in the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment. It gives everyone the freedom to practice their religion, not specifically Christianity; but any religion. It also gives everyone the right to practice freedom of speech and the right to assemble peaceably.

This is all well and good and I am in complete agreement with this amendment, but contrary to what many think, Christians don’t see this in the same light as the rest of us. They want the right to preach, teach, and practice their beliefs but they refuse anyone who opposes their views those same rights. Christians want to have their cake and eat it too.

Just like their predecessors the so called church fathers and the Roman Catholic Church who instituted the bloody inquisitions, today’s theists demonstrate the same hatred for freedom of thought and speech. Just like their predecessors they seek to silence those that expose the myths, lies, and folktales behind their beliefs.

They want the rest of the world to accept and respect their myths yet they refuse to do the same with all other religious or non-religious groups. They claim absolute truth based on faith in ancient works composed over two thousand years ago mostly written by anonymous authors. These works are comprised of folklore, ancient myths, and oral tradition and have no supporting evidence whatsoever.

They want the state to stay out of their affairs but like their ancestors they want to tell the state what to do and how to run this country. Being a majority group here in the states they manipulate politicians and through them influence politics and legislation. They want to impose their so called divine morality on the rest of mankind.

The methods may have changed but the goal remains the same, world domination. The church would love to make the U.S. a theocracy although we have already tried that and seen where it has gotten us. The inquisitions, witch hunts and many persecutions suffered at the hands of the Church should be enough to warn us of the horrors of giving the Church the power of the state. It has done nothing but hold back the progress of science, knowledge has been curtailed in the name of religion.

It is time that we put religion in its place and not let it influence our private lives and affairs. I am all for freedom of religion but those same freedoms that they claim should be available to everyone regardless of what your beliefs may be. As an atheist I cannot accept the Bible as the inspired word of any god. Nor can I let it be used as a means to regulate my life and dictate to me what is “moral” or not. Freedom of religion or lack thereof is a two way street and it should never be compromised for any reason.

Whether I believe in the biblical god or not should not be a criterion for me to swear in a court of law, run for a position in public office, obtain a job, or to judge whether I am a moral person. I should be able to stand on my own merits as a citizen in good standing with the state in which I reside. I should not have to endure being discriminated against or called crazy, immoral, or untrustworthy simply because I refuse to accept a belief in god.

The U.S. implies a separation of church and state in its Constitution but yet we have the words ‘In God we trust’ on our currency and in our court rooms. We have state holidays that are based on religious high days. We have bans on scientific research based not on morality but on religious beliefs about morality. Laws prohibiting same sex marriages; claiming that marriage is a sacred institution, but this sacredness comes from what the church believes not from secular beliefs. In this hypocritical country the state has always been in bed with its whore the church, and as distasteful as this may be I don’t see that bond dissolving anytime soon.