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Religion > My Problems with Religion (Part Three)
 

My Problems with Religion (Part Three)


Okay. Another thing now.
If there are things that I can create that I really don’t like, am I going to waste my time creating them? I mean, why would I create something that is really upsetting to me? And, if I DID create something that turned out to be displeasing to me, I’D DESTROY IT!
So, if God hates homosexuality, or alcohol, or pornography, and you believe that he is the all-powerful creator of everything, why the hell are those things still around? I mean, if one man kissing another man turns his Almighty Stomach, why the hell did God create homosexuality in the first place? And, if he created it and only then realized that he’s not too crazy about it, why didn’t he just wipe it out?
I mean, look. If I were almighty, I can definitely assure you that there would be no brussel sprouts or Rush Limbaughs anywhere in the universe! I made them. I can obliterate them! Simple as that!
And what about this whole redemption thing? Christians believe that Jesus is The Savior, and The Redeemer, right? And the Jews are still waiting for the Messiah, right?
There’s two things about this whole redemption story that I really don’t understand.
1. Back in the beginning, one or two of our forefathers did something REALLY OUTRAGEOUS, and it made God see red, right? (The story of Adam and Eve.) Now, think about it for a minute. What could Man have possibly done to have irked his creator so badly that the Creator completely disowned him??
I mean, look. I’ve had many puppies in my life. And sometimes puppies shit where they shouldn’t, right? So you reprimand them and say "NO!" very sternly, and then you show them where the proper place is for them to relieve themselves. When they do it correctly, you praise them and pet them and love them up. When they don’t, you reprimand them.
Do you hit them? No. Do you throw them out in the cold to fend for themselves and you don’t care even if they die? Of course not!
I had a puppy once who was extremely tough to housebreak! After weeks and weeks and weeks of working with him, I thought he finally got the message. When we had a few days of no "accidents" in the house, I figured he was ready for the litmus test. I left him in the house to roam freely while I went out for a couple of hours. When I came back…the little bastard had climbed up on my bed and shit andpissed on my pillow! Even then, I didn’t hit him or throw him out in the cold! I just continued to train and train and train him, and finally, he got the hang of it!
Now, what could Adam and Eve have EVER done that would be worse than that?
Get my point?
And yet, we’re supposed to believe that God got furious enough to strip them of all the joys of life and throw everybody out of the pool. He went so far as to condemn them to death (In the original blueprints and plans, according to Genesis, humans were not supposed to die.)
2. Whatever it is that Adam and his concubine (They were never officially married, were they?) did, only God's son could atone for it?
HUH??!!!
You mean to tell me that, if you did something unspeakable to me, I’m going to turn around and say, "What you did was really, REALLY bad and it hurt my feelings beyond belief!!!! Therefore, I’ll only forgive you for it IF YOU KILL MY KID!" Where in the hell is the logic in that? Does that make sense to you???
Again, I just don’t get it!
And this temper thing! After reading the Old Testament, I really think that somebody up there in the clouds needs a couple of good sessions in anger management classes! I mean, seriously! We’re supposed to be God’s children, right? He’s supposed to be all knowing, all loving and all forgiving, and yet, every time he turns around in the Old Testament he’s blowing his cool all over the place! If he treated his kids nowadays the way that he treated them back then, The Department of Children and Families would be on his case in a heartbeat, and he would more than likely end up in jail for child abuse!
I mean, come on! He condemned a WHOLE FREAKING NATION of people to wander around in a desert for FORTY YEARS! What was the crime? Well, he told Moses, the leader, to strike a stone with his staff once to get water to flow from it. Moses, instead of hitting the rock once, hit it twice! THAT WAS IT!!!!! FORTY YEARS for an extra hit!
Two whole cities were destroyed by celestial fire and avenging angels because the actions of the citizens there displeased God! Two whole cities GONE!
And that pillar of salt thing! Creative, but was it really necessary? I know a few district attorneys who would love to get a hold of a father who punished one of his daughters by turning her into a pillar of salt! I mean, I don’t care WHAT her crime was! You don’t go turning people into pillars of salt and expect to get away with it!
I guess what I’m really trying to say in this post and in the two previous ones is that religions and the ways that they are practiced are not positive things, to my way of thinking.
Also, my God shows up nowhere in the Bible. Nowhere.
Jesus, if he really existed, (There is no proof that he ever really did live. No official records. No documents. Nothing but the gospels.), was a spiritual, tolerant and peaceful man. (Nowhere in the gospels does he ever proclaim to be God. He calls himself the Son of God, but he also said that we ALL are children of God.) He doesn’t fit the image of the wrathful Yahweh of the Old Testament. Nor do any of his words or actions reflect what is going on in religion today.
Somebody once said that Christianity is a wonderful thing. The problem with it is that is has never been practiced.
(Still more to come…)

posted on July 11, 2008 5:23 AM ()

Comments:

Your religion posts are sure starting us all up thinking and writing. I am wondering about one thing -- I thought that there was a bit of evidence that Jesus was historical. I thought that there was a letter written by a Roman soldier describing a Jesus, as "that pale Galilean" who was sentenced to death and so on, and this letter was held as being authentic. Maybe it's described in the writer Josephus' work. Something I need to read more about.
comment by drmaus on July 23, 2008 1:05 PM ()
Here's something to ponder. The deity of Father/Son/Holy Spirit is a community of beings that are also "one". It is stated many times in both the Old + New Testaments that it is a mystery. The error of mankind is focusing on trying to solve it. It isn't meant to be solved but to create in us a seed of faith that grows over time.

I've known scholars and theologians who ask the same questions that you've posted and their interpretations always seem to land them in a place of
humility and acceptance of that mystery which is confounding, and choosing to believe in something intangible.

Part of man's fallen nature is to want to be "more". Knowledge, intelligence, athletic prowess, beauty, etc - all describe the physical man. But man was created with intangible parts too. The mind and soul cannot be physically seen as it can be understood. Make sense?

We each are mysteries as is the universe. Not everything in creation has been physically explained by man and that confounds and upsets man.

People aren't "prepared" for losses in life. Especially deep loss. We need to blame. If we believed in God, we blame. It is at this very point that our faith is tested. We begin to sour by our own soul's losses... of hope and all its confident expectation.

Loss is often random and unexplainable. Very few are untouched by it. For every person who suffered greatly through loss and who allowed their faith to germinate, there is some sense of acceptance - a key word.

We don't like to accept that fact that we're hurting. That's just one aspect of acceptance. Sometimes we need help but our pride stands in the way so we don't seek it. Again, the souring of our souls.

Over time, that little seed germinates too. Over time, we become more cynical, resentful, more doubtful - especially about faith issues. We can see the hypocrisy in a Sunday service and experience its followers as sinful. But the other side of the coin is that they realize their sinfulness and all the more reason why they continue to go to church...

For me, there aren't easy answers to your posted questions. Interpretation of the bible truly requires scholarly attention. For decades, theologians have debated over several issues in both testaments - which brings me back to a previous point - that the plight of mankind is to search for a solution to the problem of "mystery". Science cannot always explain the intangible and unseen. This is where faith takes over.

Each of us has a seed that germinates something. I don't attend church services nor adhere to a body of members either. I hope that my daily living is a reflection of something spiritual. I disdain "religion" but I delight in aspects of spirituality. Instead of lining the pockets of some pastoral administration, I prefer to serve in a capacity that cares for the needy. Orienting myself toward faith in God is not a giant effort but like a gardener, I like to water it everyday.
comment by november on July 13, 2008 10:33 AM ()
Being the upstanding atheist that I am, I'm staying out of this. I have enough "enemies". But I can tell you, it sure is simpler just to accept the fact there is no "God". No more whys or why nots.
comment by solitaire on July 12, 2008 3:38 PM ()
Yet another great article!I've often thought that the original sin of Adam n' Eve that p*ssed God off so much was that they ate from the tree of knowledge. Think about that... the tree of *knowledge*. So, does that mean that God was being selfish with his knowledge of the Universe, and he didn't want us to have the power to enrich our own lives? I don't know... but if I were Adam n' Eve, I'd be ordering a fruit salad too! It seems that God's threat of hellfire and brimstone is only to discourage us from heading out on own quest for spiritual fulfillment.
comment by mellowdee on July 11, 2008 8:47 AM ()
You're making a fine case for atheism.
comment by looserobes on July 11, 2008 7:56 AM ()
Another Goody Jim. Is it possible that God Himself has grown? Maybe He did get a few anger management sessions. Or maybe Mother Mary had a talk with Him. My God isn't as angry as the one I've read about.
Great article. Keep em coming.
comment by shesaidwhat on July 11, 2008 6:29 AM ()
There could be two of them! Lewis Black says that the god of the Old Testament was a "pr*ck," while the New Testament one was a really nice guy.
comment by jondude on July 11, 2008 6:28 AM ()

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