This Just In from God
 | This is a controversial topic, which may be disputed. Please comment below before threatening my life. (This message should only be placed on talk pages.) |
Before there was God
In ancient times, most successful religions were polytheistic. Several deities, each in charge of a different aspect of human life, received worship and prayer. Some believe that deities of classical mythology were products of powerful politicians of the era. The convenient existence of the God of War or the God of Wine may have been political tools to influence public opinion. Politicians, kings, and holy men could claim to know how the gods felt, and could convince the people to go to war or drink more wine. Did these people really talk to their gods? Most modern thinkers would say, “no, their gods don’t exist.” To that I ask, “How do you know?”
They call it mythology when they talk about ‘dead’ religions, how do we know they are dead? How do you know your God exists? How does anyone know anything about God? Maybe the Judeo-Christian God is the made-up one. Maybe Dionysus is sitting on top of
Religion has evolved over the years. Classical mythology caved in to a more popular and efficient religion, a religion that would span the globe unlike any before or since, Christianity. Christianity is much more effective, instead of having to worry about all those old Gods, they can focus their attention on just one. This means that God gets more worship-hours than all of his predecessors put together. Christianity also has something that makes it stand out from other religions, a mascot, a poster-child that every human on Earth can relate to and associate with.
Jesus, allegedly the human manifestation of God, is the ultimate advertisement for Christianity. God is supposed to be a all-seeing, all-knowing, invisible, omnipresent being. For a lot of people, that’s pretty hard to wrap your mind around. Jesus is a much easier concept to grasp. Jesus was a man, just like you and me. He was flesh and bones and his followers could see him and touch him. He walked the Earth and did good things, and all was well. Then he died a miserable death because of a grave injustice at the hands of a traitorous villain. Curiously, this death was foreshadowed in an earlier part of the Bible. I won’t delve into the semantics of how the Bible was written, but it makes an interesting narrative.
Christians say that Jesus died for everyone’s sins; he died 2000 years ago! He died be-fore our sins. It looks to me like some asshole fucked him over and he just died. Through this tragedy and his later comeback, Jesus gained world fame. He was featured in thousands of paintings, all of which were made long after his death. Jesus made quite a splash in his 33 years on earth, yet no historians of the time make mention of him. In fact, the only historical reference to him was the Bible.
The Bible is not much of a history book. It’s more of a heavily edited, convoluted, opinionated, and abridged version of an older history book. The Bible has been rewritten several times, usually being changed for political reasons. Older, more natural versions of the Bible were destroyed when the updated editions came out. I guess they weren’t correct anymore.
Think of all those nuns who have never been laid. If God exists, he gave us sex organs for a reason. It is a waste to ignore the resources at one’s disposal. Abstaining from sex these days is like spitting in God’s face. Sex is a extraordinary experience that should never be suppressed. It is like getting a nice gift and never opening it, how rude.
The president and the pope are the two most powerful people in the world. Both were chosen by people, not God. I am scared by these facts as I categorically disagree with them. Both individuals currently claim to have a strong relationship with God. The president is stupid and shameless enough to claim to speak with him. Does he use the God phone in the oval office? Do the president, the pope, and God meet annually in heaven for a peace summit? Or do they do it via satellite?
These people claim to be so in touch with God, they are chosen for their positions for exactly that reason. They may well be lying right-out, it’s happened before. How do we know they are telling the truth? How do they know anything about God? How does anyone?
These leaders project an image that they work for God, but how can you do what your boss wants if you’ve never had a conversation with him? How do they know they are doing God’s will? Does God like seeing his people mercilessly kill others? Does he want people to die in wars? Was God patting Bush on the back when he went to
When religious groups announce that God wants them to take some course of action, did they get his email? Did they have a divine experience? Or is it a political move? If talking to God is a one-way experience, how do we have any clue about anything? The “This just in from God” tactic is as ridiculous as it is lacking criticism. There was never an easier tactic for writing your own ticket, just blame it on God. The gradual movement of American politics toward a religious society scares me for these reasons. Religion has the capacity to bring out the best in people. But in the wrong hands, religion is a powerful opinion manipulation force that is difficult to stop.
I fear that religion is falling into the wrong hands in
This American Life: Godless
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home