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.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, November 7, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
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.
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.
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