We used to only have to listen to this kind of scientific ignorance from some fundamentalist groups. but lately its been getting more and more prevalent among our elected representatives. That's why it is imperative for everyone who opposes this kind of thinking to speak up. Write letters to public officials and to the editors of newspapers regardless of whether you are agnostic, atheist, or a more liberal Christian, or a member of any other faith. Just because you may share some common beliefs with the fundamentalists doesn't mean you should support them when they utter such stupidity. Remember, if their views win the day in the political world your children will also suffer the consequences of being denied a proper education in science. America will lose its scientific edge in the world and along with it all of the benefits of modern technology and medicine.
Speak up now! --- And loudly!
Friday, February 16, 2007
Saturday, October 28, 2006
God: 2 Million, Satan:10
I stumbled across a great blog entry at 'Dwindling in Unbelief' that compares the number of people killed by God in the bible against the number Satan killed. It is a clear example of just how cruel and evil the god of the Old Testament is. God killed millions while Satan only killed 10 and these ten were Job's kids which God allowed Satan to kill.
This is supposedly a "god of love and peace"!. Compared to this god, Satan looks like Ghandi.
Plus we can't forget all of the future deaths that god will cause at the rapture.
Wake up "People of the Book"! This god - pretending for the moment that he exists - is not worthy of worship. He is EVIL!
And yet Christians continue to say that nothing that god does is evil because he is god and evil is not in his nature. Hello! Evil is not only a part of his nature, he is the epitome of evil -- if we believe the bible to be true. And that's the whole point - it's FICTION!. Don't believe a word of it. Believe in a god if you want, but please do not believe even for an instant that the bible is the true revealed word of a good and just god. And this is the same god that Jesus is supposed to be, so you can't just accept the New Testament and toss out the old.
Please read the bible critically and see for yourself. If you truly believe what it says and act on it, then you are in danger of being a danger to society.
This is supposedly a "god of love and peace"!. Compared to this god, Satan looks like Ghandi.
Plus we can't forget all of the future deaths that god will cause at the rapture.
Wake up "People of the Book"! This god - pretending for the moment that he exists - is not worthy of worship. He is EVIL!
And yet Christians continue to say that nothing that god does is evil because he is god and evil is not in his nature. Hello! Evil is not only a part of his nature, he is the epitome of evil -- if we believe the bible to be true. And that's the whole point - it's FICTION!. Don't believe a word of it. Believe in a god if you want, but please do not believe even for an instant that the bible is the true revealed word of a good and just god. And this is the same god that Jesus is supposed to be, so you can't just accept the New Testament and toss out the old.
Please read the bible critically and see for yourself. If you truly believe what it says and act on it, then you are in danger of being a danger to society.
Monday, October 23, 2006
I Deny the Holy Spirit
According to Jesus in Luke12:10:
"And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. "
So, as an atheist who has denied the Holy Spirit, I want to know why so many Christians continue to 'witness' to me. Don't they know that I can't be saved, that I am already doomed to eternal punishment for non-existent crimes!
They just need to shut up and read their Bibles -- probably for the first time.
"And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. "
So, as an atheist who has denied the Holy Spirit, I want to know why so many Christians continue to 'witness' to me. Don't they know that I can't be saved, that I am already doomed to eternal punishment for non-existent crimes!
They just need to shut up and read their Bibles -- probably for the first time.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Narcissistic God
Narcissism
Narcissism is the pattern of characteristics and behaviors which involve infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. (Source:wikipedia)
Sound familiar. Just browse through the old testament. A quick review of the ten commandments will show that God is obsessed with being worshipped. A review of the Pentateuch shows several instances of God either conducting or condoning rape and murder, particularly when it interferes with his wishes.
God kills almost the entire population of the planet, including plants and animals that couldn't possibly do anything 'sinful'.
God sends several plagues down on Egypt including killing all of the first born (again including innocent animals) so that the Pharoah will set 'His chosen people' free. But all through the old testament God doesn't seem to have a problem with 'His chosen people' having slaves!
All throughout Leviticus, God is obsessed with useless ritual animal sacrifice in 'His' name.
In Deuteronomy, God says that you should kill your family members if they try to get you to worship another god. Apparently God believes in other gods, otherwise, why would he be worried?
It goes on and on and on all throughout the Old Testament. Then, in the New Testament (Matthew 5:17 - 5:19), Jesus states "...Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled". He clearly indicates that the old law is still valid. Same god, same rules.
According to the New Testament, we who do not believe are condemned to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). Infinite punishment for finite crimes.
Consider a person that gave their time, money, and energy to help people as much as they could; who never drank, smoked, took drugs, swore, killed, stole, or any other negative activity. This person would be condemned to eternal punishment while a rapist, murderer, or pedophile needs only to truly repent and accept Jesus to gain entry to heaven and eternal bliss.
How could anyone even consider worshipping a so-called god like this?
But this is the god of the Old and New Testaments! And he is worshipped by billions!
If you want to believe in a god, fine, no problem. But don't make it a god as cruel and sadistic as the one described in the Bible.
Narcissism is the pattern of characteristics and behaviors which involve infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. (Source:wikipedia)
Sound familiar. Just browse through the old testament. A quick review of the ten commandments will show that God is obsessed with being worshipped. A review of the Pentateuch shows several instances of God either conducting or condoning rape and murder, particularly when it interferes with his wishes.
God kills almost the entire population of the planet, including plants and animals that couldn't possibly do anything 'sinful'.
God sends several plagues down on Egypt including killing all of the first born (again including innocent animals) so that the Pharoah will set 'His chosen people' free. But all through the old testament God doesn't seem to have a problem with 'His chosen people' having slaves!
All throughout Leviticus, God is obsessed with useless ritual animal sacrifice in 'His' name.
In Deuteronomy, God says that you should kill your family members if they try to get you to worship another god. Apparently God believes in other gods, otherwise, why would he be worried?
It goes on and on and on all throughout the Old Testament. Then, in the New Testament (Matthew 5:17 - 5:19), Jesus states "...Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled". He clearly indicates that the old law is still valid. Same god, same rules.
According to the New Testament, we who do not believe are condemned to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). Infinite punishment for finite crimes.
Consider a person that gave their time, money, and energy to help people as much as they could; who never drank, smoked, took drugs, swore, killed, stole, or any other negative activity. This person would be condemned to eternal punishment while a rapist, murderer, or pedophile needs only to truly repent and accept Jesus to gain entry to heaven and eternal bliss.
How could anyone even consider worshipping a so-called god like this?
But this is the god of the Old and New Testaments! And he is worshipped by billions!
If you want to believe in a god, fine, no problem. But don't make it a god as cruel and sadistic as the one described in the Bible.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Why are we here - Part III
Just to follow up on an issue related to our supposed 'Perfect God'.
Consider the end result of the whole process described in the bible.
Consider the end result of the whole process described in the bible.
- God creates universe and man.
- God destroys mankind, plants, animals (except for Noah and company).
- God and man continue to kill, maim, rape, etc... until Jesus comes back.
- Jesus comes back. All the saved go to heaven. All the rest go to eternal damnation.
- God and the saved spend eternity together.
Create it all, gather some back, destroy it all. What's the point? Why cause all of that suffering? God's Great Plan!
What plan could possibly justify all of the destruction? Why would God need any of this if He is perfect? He didn't do it for us, we didn't exist in the first place!
Now what? Start it all over again?
Lunacy.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
The "Good" Book = A "Good" God. Don't make me laugh.
You can tell the character of a person by what he says and does. At least that's all we have to go on because we can't tell what is in someone's mind. So we base our opinion on the "goodness" of a person by how he/she treats others in word and deed.
So if we try to determine the biblical god's character from his word and deed, we should just examine his actions in the Bible. I know that their will be objections to this such as 'mere humans do not have the right to judge God' or ' this is taken out of context'. Well, I disagree. The only way to distinguish between the different versions of gods that are proclaimed by various religions and determine which one to follow (if any) would be to examine what they are supposed to have said and done. The one that appears to be the most fair, just, loving, and consistent is probably the more likely candidate for worship (assuming you believe any of them).
Let's look at just a couple of items from the Old Testament for now since this represents the foundational root for the god of three of the major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).
Deuteronomy, Chapter 23:
23:1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
23:2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
This is from the King James Version of the Bible and is supposedly the word of God. I don't know how you could justify saying that this is taken out of context. Apparently, anyone who is injured or blemished in any way is unfit to be in God's company. That seems totally rational and fair doesn't it? By no fault of your own you become injured and lose your testicles or penis and now God has no interest in you.
If your mother and father conceived you out of wedlock, then you and all of your children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, etc. are 'barred from the congregation of the Lord'. That seems fair, too doesn't it? Again through no fault of your own, you are punished. And even if you get married and have children and keep them from being born 'bastards', they still get punished.
I know that Chrisitians will say ' but that's the Old Testament. Things are different now'. Bull! This is the same God as the one in the New Testament. Did He change? I don't think so, not if you believe that He is perfect and has ultimate knowledge as we have been taught. Face it, if you believe the Bible is the word of God then you have to accept that God has a thing about keeping your 'manhood' intact. If you don't believe this is the nature of God, then why do you believe any of the rest of it?
This is the first of what I plan to be several posts that demonstrate the character of the Biblical god. Think about it and wear a steel cup at all times.
So if we try to determine the biblical god's character from his word and deed, we should just examine his actions in the Bible. I know that their will be objections to this such as 'mere humans do not have the right to judge God' or ' this is taken out of context'. Well, I disagree. The only way to distinguish between the different versions of gods that are proclaimed by various religions and determine which one to follow (if any) would be to examine what they are supposed to have said and done. The one that appears to be the most fair, just, loving, and consistent is probably the more likely candidate for worship (assuming you believe any of them).
Let's look at just a couple of items from the Old Testament for now since this represents the foundational root for the god of three of the major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).
Deuteronomy, Chapter 23:
23:1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
23:2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
This is from the King James Version of the Bible and is supposedly the word of God. I don't know how you could justify saying that this is taken out of context. Apparently, anyone who is injured or blemished in any way is unfit to be in God's company. That seems totally rational and fair doesn't it? By no fault of your own you become injured and lose your testicles or penis and now God has no interest in you.
If your mother and father conceived you out of wedlock, then you and all of your children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, etc. are 'barred from the congregation of the Lord'. That seems fair, too doesn't it? Again through no fault of your own, you are punished. And even if you get married and have children and keep them from being born 'bastards', they still get punished.
I know that Chrisitians will say ' but that's the Old Testament. Things are different now'. Bull! This is the same God as the one in the New Testament. Did He change? I don't think so, not if you believe that He is perfect and has ultimate knowledge as we have been taught. Face it, if you believe the Bible is the word of God then you have to accept that God has a thing about keeping your 'manhood' intact. If you don't believe this is the nature of God, then why do you believe any of the rest of it?
This is the first of what I plan to be several posts that demonstrate the character of the Biblical god. Think about it and wear a steel cup at all times.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Why Are We Here? -- Part Two
Let’s give God the benefit of the doubt and assume that He doesn’t need us. That leaves the “want” issue. Why would a perfect God want us? Why create the universe and perhaps more importantly, why create a human being capable of noticing? What psychological need do we fulfill? Perhaps it’s ego.
Let’s just start with a very small selection from Exodus 20. Three of the 10 commandments have to do with god.
20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
I think that one can see from these passages that God has an ego problem. He doesn’t say “Don’t rape, don’t molest, don’t abuse”. No. Instead of adding these to the list of things not to do, like murder and adultery, He is more concerned with praise and respect for Himself. So much so, that he will be such a just God and punish not only the unbelievers, but their children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren. He not only has an ego problem, but is clearly not a fair and just God. Does this sound like a God? Not to me. But maybe this isn’t God’s word here. Maybe this is just the way that man recorded the incident - with a little embellishment for effect! But then that would mean the Bible isn’t the true word of God. Hmm….
More later.
Let’s just start with a very small selection from Exodus 20. Three of the 10 commandments have to do with god.
20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
I think that one can see from these passages that God has an ego problem. He doesn’t say “Don’t rape, don’t molest, don’t abuse”. No. Instead of adding these to the list of things not to do, like murder and adultery, He is more concerned with praise and respect for Himself. So much so, that he will be such a just God and punish not only the unbelievers, but their children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren. He not only has an ego problem, but is clearly not a fair and just God. Does this sound like a God? Not to me. But maybe this isn’t God’s word here. Maybe this is just the way that man recorded the incident - with a little embellishment for effect! But then that would mean the Bible isn’t the true word of God. Hmm….
More later.
Why Are We Here? - God Is Imperfect.
God
The Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe.
Perfect
Being entirely without fault or defect.
Complete
Having all necessary parts, elements, or steps.
Just
Acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good.
When I was younger, I was taught that God, the god of the Bible, was complete, perfect, and just. That He was omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
So, why are we here?
If God is perfect and complete then He is self-sufficient. He is in need of nothing. There is nothing that He needs to complete Himself. He does not need food or shelter or companionship. To add anything to a perfect “anything” makes it imperfect. So if God doesn’t need us, He must want us. But “wanting” is a form of need. It is not a physical need, but it is a need nonetheless. It is a psychology need. I want something because it fulfils some sort of emotional need. If only I could have ‘x’, then I would be happy. Would a god have emotional needs? Not a perfect god. “Wants”, i.e., “emotional needs” indicate a defect, a sense of dissatisfaction to some degree. But, how could a perfect being be dissatisfied? Being perfect would imply being psychologically perfect as well. Such a being should be contented with existence as it is.
There should be no need or desire in a perfect god. So why are we here? I submit that if, for the sake of discussion, we assume that God exists, then we are here because God either needed us or wanted us. In either case, this would mean that God is imperfect. But if He is imperfect, then he is not a god.
The Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe.
Perfect
Being entirely without fault or defect.
Complete
Having all necessary parts, elements, or steps.
Just
Acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good.
When I was younger, I was taught that God, the god of the Bible, was complete, perfect, and just. That He was omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
So, why are we here?
If God is perfect and complete then He is self-sufficient. He is in need of nothing. There is nothing that He needs to complete Himself. He does not need food or shelter or companionship. To add anything to a perfect “anything” makes it imperfect. So if God doesn’t need us, He must want us. But “wanting” is a form of need. It is not a physical need, but it is a need nonetheless. It is a psychology need. I want something because it fulfils some sort of emotional need. If only I could have ‘x’, then I would be happy. Would a god have emotional needs? Not a perfect god. “Wants”, i.e., “emotional needs” indicate a defect, a sense of dissatisfaction to some degree. But, how could a perfect being be dissatisfied? Being perfect would imply being psychologically perfect as well. Such a being should be contented with existence as it is.
There should be no need or desire in a perfect god. So why are we here? I submit that if, for the sake of discussion, we assume that God exists, then we are here because God either needed us or wanted us. In either case, this would mean that God is imperfect. But if He is imperfect, then he is not a god.
Background
If you were raised in small town America like I was, you were probably told that the Bible is the "Good Book" and that God is a perfect god, a loving god, a just god. There were no "non-believers" in the town - at least none that would be very vocal about it. Exposure to other religions was almost nonexistant. Oh, maybe you would hear about how so-and-so was a "Jew", but it was usually a derogatory comment and didn't involve a discussion of Judaism.
Being brought up against that background, I went along with the flow, even though it didn't seem quite right. By about thirteen, I knew it wasn't right - felt it wasn't right. I had had enough and stopped going to church. Now, some thirty years later I feel more than ever that what I was taught is wrong, very wrong.
This site is about my thoughts about why and how it feels wrong. About the issues that cause me concern. I'm not a religious scholar, although I have probably read more scripture from various religions than most practioners. I think most followers of a religion don't really understand what there religion looks like when examined close up. They don't really explore the questions of spirituality and religion. They just follow the crowd and do what is expected of them.
I am not against religion. I happen to believe that there are some good aspects to almost all religions. But much of what we are told is conflicted and illogical. While I don't believe in a god, I do leave open the possibility that I am wrong. I am not anti-god, but I think that the picture that we have of God is warped and the idea that the Bible describes a good god is also in error. There may be a god, but I cannot imagine that such a being could possibly be as described in the Bible.
So read what follows and enjoy, or not. Agree or not. But at least think about the questions and the ideas.
Being brought up against that background, I went along with the flow, even though it didn't seem quite right. By about thirteen, I knew it wasn't right - felt it wasn't right. I had had enough and stopped going to church. Now, some thirty years later I feel more than ever that what I was taught is wrong, very wrong.
This site is about my thoughts about why and how it feels wrong. About the issues that cause me concern. I'm not a religious scholar, although I have probably read more scripture from various religions than most practioners. I think most followers of a religion don't really understand what there religion looks like when examined close up. They don't really explore the questions of spirituality and religion. They just follow the crowd and do what is expected of them.
I am not against religion. I happen to believe that there are some good aspects to almost all religions. But much of what we are told is conflicted and illogical. While I don't believe in a god, I do leave open the possibility that I am wrong. I am not anti-god, but I think that the picture that we have of God is warped and the idea that the Bible describes a good god is also in error. There may be a god, but I cannot imagine that such a being could possibly be as described in the Bible.
So read what follows and enjoy, or not. Agree or not. But at least think about the questions and the ideas.
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