I’ve been listening to music coming out of the 60’s and 70’s more as of late. You know the whole “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” era. I think this is why I could never relate to it as a Christian. We were supposed to look upon that time with scorn and disgust. As an atheist, I have found some of the ideas coming out of this era particularly appealing. I really like some of the ideas that come from the song Imagine, by John Lennon. It talks about world unity, no religion and no greed. The unity brings everyone together, and there would be no border separation. I’m not sure how this would work exactly, but I appreciate the pacifism presented in the song. Anyway, it’s yet another barrier being brought down as a result of feeling enabled to open my mind to other ideas that were once restricted when living as a Christian.
Imagine, by John Lennon
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky
Imagine all the people Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Christian: You are called to witness to the ends of the earth
This was the conundrum that I faced when I desired to take Christianity seriously. I wanted to be a great witness that had all the right answers. But, how can you be a great witness when you don’t have convincing evidence for what you believe in? For whatever reason, silly ole’ me tends to put more trust in evidence than in faith, and faith certainly isn’t evidence despite what Hebrews 11:1 suggests. The evidence that I was looking so desperately for was very poor.
I also don’t think there are very many good witnesses around, especially the kind that spread the message to the ends of the earth as instructed. Why is this? Sometimes I wonder if they are unconvinced as the rest of us but on a subconscious level. There may be a handful of missionaries out there, but the majority of Christians here in the states seem to live as “secret Christians”. This wasn’t what Jesus preached. In fact, many of the preachers that I have observed privately are really not much different. Jesus was vocal, putting on healing demonstrations. Jesus cast out demons. Where are the demons now? Did they just go home after Jesus left us? Most of us know that so-called demonic possession is really a case of psychiatric distress.
There seems to be this indifference amongst the Christian members. The preacher can stress the importance of witnessing, but most of them never change. Don’t actions/inactions speak louder than words? If they really believed in the demands of their Lord, why aren’t they voraciously spreading the word? I argue that there may be a disconnection between what they actually believe, and what they want to believe. It can’t just be a case of laziness. Perhaps, they just don’t understand the urgency because of their privileged circumstances. Many Christians may think that others will take care of the witnessing for them, but they are still saved since they proclaimed Christ as savior. I still think that they are living in disobedience, since Jesus made it clear that they are to witness to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). This isn’t a suggestion, but Christians live according to their own needs and wants just like the rest of us. If this doesn’t speak volumes than I don’t know what does.
I also don’t think there are very many good witnesses around, especially the kind that spread the message to the ends of the earth as instructed. Why is this? Sometimes I wonder if they are unconvinced as the rest of us but on a subconscious level. There may be a handful of missionaries out there, but the majority of Christians here in the states seem to live as “secret Christians”. This wasn’t what Jesus preached. In fact, many of the preachers that I have observed privately are really not much different. Jesus was vocal, putting on healing demonstrations. Jesus cast out demons. Where are the demons now? Did they just go home after Jesus left us? Most of us know that so-called demonic possession is really a case of psychiatric distress.
There seems to be this indifference amongst the Christian members. The preacher can stress the importance of witnessing, but most of them never change. Don’t actions/inactions speak louder than words? If they really believed in the demands of their Lord, why aren’t they voraciously spreading the word? I argue that there may be a disconnection between what they actually believe, and what they want to believe. It can’t just be a case of laziness. Perhaps, they just don’t understand the urgency because of their privileged circumstances. Many Christians may think that others will take care of the witnessing for them, but they are still saved since they proclaimed Christ as savior. I still think that they are living in disobedience, since Jesus made it clear that they are to witness to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). This isn’t a suggestion, but Christians live according to their own needs and wants just like the rest of us. If this doesn’t speak volumes than I don’t know what does.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
God just isn't worth worshipping
It’s been well stated by the likes of The A-Unicornist that the only thing worse than a god that doesn’t exist is a god that might as well not exist. I would like to look at this from yet a different angle and suggest that god just isn’t worth worshipping regardless if he exists or not. I’m going to look at this from a human perspective because that happens to be the only perspective available to me. I can’t very well step into god’s shoes and look at it from his perspective. If he exists, he already knows that good and well. I’m simply going to use the brain that he supposedly gave me to assess his worthiness as a deity that deserves worship. To do this, I’m going to ask some simple questions.
First, I have to ask is a god that kills, or at least functions as an accomplice, my fellow humans worthy of my worship? I don’t think so. He lacks any respect for the species that I call my own. Throughout history, he has shown time and time again that he holds a total disregard for our species. We can look at natural disasters as a prime example. If he has omnipotence, he is capable of controlling the weather. Some Christians pray for rain, suggesting that he can turn the weather on and off as he so pleases. Yet, it goes without saying that untold numbers have died as the result of devastating tsunamis, tornados, earthquakes and many others natural disasters.
When looking at the Bible, assuming that it has any historical merit whatsoever, we find that god doesn’t hold any punches. Infants, children and women are subject to his unrestricted wrath. How can a god expect humans to respect him if he lacks any sort of respect for our species? If he is willing to destroy children, he is equally willing to destroy you at any given moment.
In many ways, god seems more like the devil than the devil. God is the one who controls everything; Satan just sits in the background and occasionally whispers diabolical thoughts into our ears. God has killed more people directly than Satan ever thought about. I can’t help but think that Satan is down there, wherever that is, eating a bag of popcorn and watching god wipe out entire civilizations. He has to be gods biggest fan. I mean just look at what god does to children. He allows African children to starve to death, he aborts babies via miscarriage, he gives children terminal cancer and the list goes on and on. God is certainly the source of unbridled suffering because he’s the one who holds all the power. The innocent depend on him to save them from the wrath of the wicked but help rarely comes. We could take the tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri recently as a example.
The fact that god doesn’t take care of children was one of the main reasons I began my de-conversion process. There was no point in praying for others, or my own needs, when he refuses to prevent the suffering of children. It simply made no sense to pray for my petty problems when god allowed children to die of malnutrition, disease, devastation of war and natural disasters. I just do not find this god appealing or worthy of my worship. Prayer is the main way Christians communicate with god, and it became a frivolous undertaking.
First, I have to ask is a god that kills, or at least functions as an accomplice, my fellow humans worthy of my worship? I don’t think so. He lacks any respect for the species that I call my own. Throughout history, he has shown time and time again that he holds a total disregard for our species. We can look at natural disasters as a prime example. If he has omnipotence, he is capable of controlling the weather. Some Christians pray for rain, suggesting that he can turn the weather on and off as he so pleases. Yet, it goes without saying that untold numbers have died as the result of devastating tsunamis, tornados, earthquakes and many others natural disasters.
When looking at the Bible, assuming that it has any historical merit whatsoever, we find that god doesn’t hold any punches. Infants, children and women are subject to his unrestricted wrath. How can a god expect humans to respect him if he lacks any sort of respect for our species? If he is willing to destroy children, he is equally willing to destroy you at any given moment.
In many ways, god seems more like the devil than the devil. God is the one who controls everything; Satan just sits in the background and occasionally whispers diabolical thoughts into our ears. God has killed more people directly than Satan ever thought about. I can’t help but think that Satan is down there, wherever that is, eating a bag of popcorn and watching god wipe out entire civilizations. He has to be gods biggest fan. I mean just look at what god does to children. He allows African children to starve to death, he aborts babies via miscarriage, he gives children terminal cancer and the list goes on and on. God is certainly the source of unbridled suffering because he’s the one who holds all the power. The innocent depend on him to save them from the wrath of the wicked but help rarely comes. We could take the tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri recently as a example.
The fact that god doesn’t take care of children was one of the main reasons I began my de-conversion process. There was no point in praying for others, or my own needs, when he refuses to prevent the suffering of children. It simply made no sense to pray for my petty problems when god allowed children to die of malnutrition, disease, devastation of war and natural disasters. I just do not find this god appealing or worthy of my worship. Prayer is the main way Christians communicate with god, and it became a frivolous undertaking.
Friday, July 8, 2011
20 reasons I'm not a Christian now
In no particular order:
1) God sacrificed himself to himself for the curse that he placed upon humanity. This just seems like a really retarded god.
2) The book doesn't give me that important, "Hey, this must have been written by highly inspired people that consulted with some very powerful being" feeling.
3) God's a spoiled, evil prick.
4) God kills infants/children to suit his own purposes.
5) God's failed creation. Adam and Eve were failures . The entire world failed, so god destroyed everything but Noah. The Israelites get killed off by neighboring nations and god himself until only a chosen few make it to the promised land. Warmonger anyone?
6) No geological evidence for the flood.
7) No substantial archaeological evidence for the Bible.
8) Christians are such hypocrites for the most part.
9) No reason to believe that the Bible is more believable than any other religious text.
10) No way to objectively tell what the Bible means. Fundamentalists contend that everything is literally true except for the most obviously metaphorical parts, while liberals state that most of it is just allegorical.
11) No contemporaneous sources for New Testament stories.
12) Natural disasters.
13) Science makes more sense.
14) People are gullible, think Scientology.
15) Stoning as a method of killing.
16) God doesn't try to communicate to us through the 5 senses he supposedly instilled in us.
17) Lack of evidence.
18) Christians think the must stupid, mundane things are evidence of god and his involvement in human affairs. For example, a tree by Caylee Anthony's memorial site was struck by lightning, so that implies that god was involved. Where was he when she died?
19) Statistically speaking, Christians fair no better in married relationships than non-Christians.
20) Poor education levels, unwanted pregnancies, and violence are more highly coorelated with Christians.
*Bonus* What Harris said.
1) God sacrificed himself to himself for the curse that he placed upon humanity. This just seems like a really retarded god.
2) The book doesn't give me that important, "Hey, this must have been written by highly inspired people that consulted with some very powerful being" feeling.
3) God's a spoiled, evil prick.
4) God kills infants/children to suit his own purposes.
5) God's failed creation. Adam and Eve were failures . The entire world failed, so god destroyed everything but Noah. The Israelites get killed off by neighboring nations and god himself until only a chosen few make it to the promised land. Warmonger anyone?
6) No geological evidence for the flood.
7) No substantial archaeological evidence for the Bible.
8) Christians are such hypocrites for the most part.
9) No reason to believe that the Bible is more believable than any other religious text.
10) No way to objectively tell what the Bible means. Fundamentalists contend that everything is literally true except for the most obviously metaphorical parts, while liberals state that most of it is just allegorical.
11) No contemporaneous sources for New Testament stories.
12) Natural disasters.
13) Science makes more sense.
14) People are gullible, think Scientology.
15) Stoning as a method of killing.
16) God doesn't try to communicate to us through the 5 senses he supposedly instilled in us.
17) Lack of evidence.
18) Christians think the must stupid, mundane things are evidence of god and his involvement in human affairs. For example, a tree by Caylee Anthony's memorial site was struck by lightning, so that implies that god was involved. Where was he when she died?
19) Statistically speaking, Christians fair no better in married relationships than non-Christians.
20) Poor education levels, unwanted pregnancies, and violence are more highly coorelated with Christians.
*Bonus* What Harris said.
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