Monday 6 August 2012
Thursday 26 July 2012
Famous quote by a Christian
Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no
religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a
religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character
training and religion must be derived from faith.... We need believing
people.
-- Adolf Hitler, April 26, 1933
religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a
religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character
training and religion must be derived from faith.... We need believing
people.
-- Adolf Hitler, April 26, 1933
Monday 16 July 2012
why religion are bullshit
By geekyuniverse
We humans have always tried to explain how and why stuff happens
around us. And before we had more modern science, humans often
explained things they didn't understand by making up stories about
Gods or supernatural creatures. But with "modern science" we have
learned stuff like that Thor does not make thunder and lightning, it's
the sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning that
makes thunder and so on. Still some people believe that a god made the
earth and the universe. They don't seem to see that religion started
out as a way to explain things, but then was used as a tool to
maintain control over the people, get power, and to make money, lots
of money. Just look at the Vatican, so much money and power. So kudos
to the Christian leaders for milking that cow for what it's worth.
Even when people started to understand more and got more scientific,
the head of the church still held on to the God theory and everything
that was said in the Bible. They went as far as torturing or even
killing people who came up with new and better theories, just so they
wouldn't fuck up the sweet sweet thing they had going. Luckily for us
the Church grew weaker, science eventually became stronger, and we got
out of the "Christian dark ages". That's why we have the great
scientific advantage we have today. :)
Something that really annoys me is that many of the people who
believes that God made everything, don't believe in evolution! As they
say: "evolution is just a theory"… yeah, well, so what the fuck is the
theory of an Almighty Creator? Evolution is a proven theory, and as
far as I know, throughout history no one of the billions of people who
has ever believed in religion, has ever proven that there is a God.
And many of these people defend their beliefs by saying "well, no one
has proven that a God doesn't exist". To them I say "how the fuck can
you prove that something doesn't exist?". And how is it that of all
the religions, all of the Gods ever believed in, their God is the only
one that's real? The Christians have no more proof of "God" than the
Muslims has of "Allah".
Believing in God is a lot like believing in Santa Claus. When we are
young, we believe in Santa Claus, and that makes us happy because we
know he's gonna come on Christmas Eve and give us presents. But then
we grow up we realize that he doesn't exist, and we're fine with that.
So how come adult people still believe in God when they're grown up?
It's the same exact thing! You believe in something that makes you
happy and then later learn that it doesn't exist. In Santa Claus's
case, we eventually accept that, but when it comes to God many people
don't.
Some might say that I have the same faith in science as a Christian
has in Christianity. Well… Science adjusts its views accordingly to
the observations we make. For example we don't believe that the earth
is flat anymore, but at the time it made sense. Scientists accept that
they were wrong, and when a new and better theory comes along, they
throw away the old one and stick to the new. Religion on the other
hand is the denial of observation so that beliefs can be preserved.
And that's the main difference between science and religion. We have
far from all the answers to the universe yet, but we sure as hell
won't find them settling with the thought that a big bearded guy made
things this way.
I'm not saying that there isn't anything good with religion, because
it is. I think that the community, the camps and all the fun
activities that brings people together, that's nice. And I do
understand that some people feel that it's good to believe that there
is a mighty force that looks out for you, and can help you when you're
down or make you even happier when you're happy. And people should be
allowed to believe in whatever they want, and people who don't believe
should also be allowed to do that without being pushed into believing
in some God. But to be honest, I don't understand why we need man-made
myths and gods and mysteries to believe in. Isn't the fact that the
chance of exactly YOU being alive is so small and unlikely incredible
enough. Think about it, what are the odds that some bacterias in the
sea evolved and after billions of years of evolution it finally
evolved into humans. And then you're great great great great great
great great great great great great great great great great
grandparents had to meet each other, and all of the relatives all the
way down to your parents had to meet just each other so that you could
be born. And the unlikelihood of all of that to happen, all of those
sperm and egg cells being just right, and leed up to you is so
amazingly, infinitely small that I really can't wrap my head around
it. Isn't that enough, do we really have the need for anything larger
than life? And also think about how infinitely enormous the universe
is, and how tiny and insignificant you really are in the big picture.
And that we all come from stardust! Isn't that beautiful enough? Isn't
that incredible enough? Do we really need a god or other mysteries to
believe in to make our lifes seem exciting and worth living?
We humans have always tried to explain how and why stuff happens
around us. And before we had more modern science, humans often
explained things they didn't understand by making up stories about
Gods or supernatural creatures. But with "modern science" we have
learned stuff like that Thor does not make thunder and lightning, it's
the sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning that
makes thunder and so on. Still some people believe that a god made the
earth and the universe. They don't seem to see that religion started
out as a way to explain things, but then was used as a tool to
maintain control over the people, get power, and to make money, lots
of money. Just look at the Vatican, so much money and power. So kudos
to the Christian leaders for milking that cow for what it's worth.
Even when people started to understand more and got more scientific,
the head of the church still held on to the God theory and everything
that was said in the Bible. They went as far as torturing or even
killing people who came up with new and better theories, just so they
wouldn't fuck up the sweet sweet thing they had going. Luckily for us
the Church grew weaker, science eventually became stronger, and we got
out of the "Christian dark ages". That's why we have the great
scientific advantage we have today. :)
Something that really annoys me is that many of the people who
believes that God made everything, don't believe in evolution! As they
say: "evolution is just a theory"… yeah, well, so what the fuck is the
theory of an Almighty Creator? Evolution is a proven theory, and as
far as I know, throughout history no one of the billions of people who
has ever believed in religion, has ever proven that there is a God.
And many of these people defend their beliefs by saying "well, no one
has proven that a God doesn't exist". To them I say "how the fuck can
you prove that something doesn't exist?". And how is it that of all
the religions, all of the Gods ever believed in, their God is the only
one that's real? The Christians have no more proof of "God" than the
Muslims has of "Allah".
Believing in God is a lot like believing in Santa Claus. When we are
young, we believe in Santa Claus, and that makes us happy because we
know he's gonna come on Christmas Eve and give us presents. But then
we grow up we realize that he doesn't exist, and we're fine with that.
So how come adult people still believe in God when they're grown up?
It's the same exact thing! You believe in something that makes you
happy and then later learn that it doesn't exist. In Santa Claus's
case, we eventually accept that, but when it comes to God many people
don't.
Some might say that I have the same faith in science as a Christian
has in Christianity. Well… Science adjusts its views accordingly to
the observations we make. For example we don't believe that the earth
is flat anymore, but at the time it made sense. Scientists accept that
they were wrong, and when a new and better theory comes along, they
throw away the old one and stick to the new. Religion on the other
hand is the denial of observation so that beliefs can be preserved.
And that's the main difference between science and religion. We have
far from all the answers to the universe yet, but we sure as hell
won't find them settling with the thought that a big bearded guy made
things this way.
I'm not saying that there isn't anything good with religion, because
it is. I think that the community, the camps and all the fun
activities that brings people together, that's nice. And I do
understand that some people feel that it's good to believe that there
is a mighty force that looks out for you, and can help you when you're
down or make you even happier when you're happy. And people should be
allowed to believe in whatever they want, and people who don't believe
should also be allowed to do that without being pushed into believing
in some God. But to be honest, I don't understand why we need man-made
myths and gods and mysteries to believe in. Isn't the fact that the
chance of exactly YOU being alive is so small and unlikely incredible
enough. Think about it, what are the odds that some bacterias in the
sea evolved and after billions of years of evolution it finally
evolved into humans. And then you're great great great great great
great great great great great great great great great great
grandparents had to meet each other, and all of the relatives all the
way down to your parents had to meet just each other so that you could
be born. And the unlikelihood of all of that to happen, all of those
sperm and egg cells being just right, and leed up to you is so
amazingly, infinitely small that I really can't wrap my head around
it. Isn't that enough, do we really have the need for anything larger
than life? And also think about how infinitely enormous the universe
is, and how tiny and insignificant you really are in the big picture.
And that we all come from stardust! Isn't that beautiful enough? Isn't
that incredible enough? Do we really need a god or other mysteries to
believe in to make our lifes seem exciting and worth living?
Wednesday 11 July 2012
Why Christianity and God is fake
By nomoregodplease ~
I lost my faith when God wouldn't take away my pain. I was in physical
agony and he just left me there to suffer. I couldn't believe in a God
who hated me so much that he would just ignore me like that. That
feeling was cemented when the Catholic hospital I'd been staying in
refused to treat me - the only medication that cures my condition is
birth control.
And just like that, it was all over.
This idea of a man on a cloud judging me, hating me, punishing me...
It didn't make sense anymore. I figured that if God is truly like
that, then I didn't want to know him.
I'm not an atheist, not yet anyway, but the Christian god is dead to me.
I gave up on the church (though not god) a long time ago. Christians
were just too much for me. So judgmental, hypocritical, spiteful and
nasty. I couldn't stand them forcing their beliefs down my throat.
Same goes for atheists. I was sick of seeing atheists attack
believers, doing the same thing as Christians in the name of "opening
their eyes" and "trying to save them".
Zealous Christians and zealous atheists are two peas in the same pod
to me, trying to make everyone see things their way.
But I'll tell you the truth, I feel lost without my faith. Not that
I'd ever go back to it. I'd rather be lost and know the truth (that
whatever god is, if there is such a thing, it's unlikely to be what
Christians say it is) than lie to myself for some false feeling of
security.
It's difficult to know where to turn. Another religion perhaps? Maybe
Buddhism... I hear they don't have a god, and I don't want a god
anymore. Not a god as careless and as cruel as the one I'm used to,
anyway.
The overwhelming feeling that I have is that I just want the truth,
whatever that is. If the Christians are right after all, and God is an
angry man who loves plagues and turning people into salt (how come
people don't get turned to salt anymore?) then I want to know that. If
God is a flying fruit salad, then I want to know that. If god doesn't
exist, then I want to know that.
But how does one go about finding that truth? Wasn't that what
Christianity was supposed to provide me with? A path to the truth, and
eternal happiness and salvation? Christianity just took me on a
journey of guilt, unworthiness and confusion.
Christianity gave me hope that not only were there answers, but a
clear path to discovering them.
Now that I've found that it was all a lie, I don't know what to do.
Now that I've found that it was all a lie, I don't know what to do.
I do know that I can't go back to praying to a god that doesn't care
about me, that ignores me, that gives people nothing other than
steadfast belief in their own awfulness and an excuse to commit horrid
crimes against humanity,
So many terrible acts are committed in the name of god.
So, now I'm lost, as I'm sure many people are after losing religion.
But I feel free. And I've never felt free before. I hear that people
who spend most of their lives in jail don't know how to function in
the real world and go crazy.
I wonder if I'll be able to handle my new found freedom?
Especially when the idea of hell keeps coming back to haunt me. I'm
going to hell for leaving, I'm going to hell for asking questions, I'm
going to hell because I want god to be more than man.
As a Christian (not a very good Christian) I'd be going to hell
anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I question my beliefs or not,
but in the face of such brainwashing, it offers little consolation.
It's not easy to lose one's faith. It's a real struggle, actually, and
I commend those that have been able to cut ties with their false ideas
about god. I'd love to be able to do the same.
Anyway, whatever the truth is, however I'm supposed to find it, if
it's even possible to, I hope that putting myself in the position of
being open to it, whatever it is, is a step in the right direction. I
have no way to confirm that, but even when I prayed to God for
guidance he didn't give me any, so nothing has really changed there.
I guess the only thing I know for sure is that Christianity offers me
nothing, and that it seems to cause more harm in the world than good.
That's more truth than I've been aware of my entire life and it's a start.
I lost my faith when God wouldn't take away my pain. I was in physical
agony and he just left me there to suffer. I couldn't believe in a God
who hated me so much that he would just ignore me like that. That
feeling was cemented when the Catholic hospital I'd been staying in
refused to treat me - the only medication that cures my condition is
birth control.
And just like that, it was all over.
This idea of a man on a cloud judging me, hating me, punishing me...
It didn't make sense anymore. I figured that if God is truly like
that, then I didn't want to know him.
I'm not an atheist, not yet anyway, but the Christian god is dead to me.
I gave up on the church (though not god) a long time ago. Christians
were just too much for me. So judgmental, hypocritical, spiteful and
nasty. I couldn't stand them forcing their beliefs down my throat.
Same goes for atheists. I was sick of seeing atheists attack
believers, doing the same thing as Christians in the name of "opening
their eyes" and "trying to save them".
Zealous Christians and zealous atheists are two peas in the same pod
to me, trying to make everyone see things their way.
But I'll tell you the truth, I feel lost without my faith. Not that
I'd ever go back to it. I'd rather be lost and know the truth (that
whatever god is, if there is such a thing, it's unlikely to be what
Christians say it is) than lie to myself for some false feeling of
security.
It's difficult to know where to turn. Another religion perhaps? Maybe
Buddhism... I hear they don't have a god, and I don't want a god
anymore. Not a god as careless and as cruel as the one I'm used to,
anyway.
The overwhelming feeling that I have is that I just want the truth,
whatever that is. If the Christians are right after all, and God is an
angry man who loves plagues and turning people into salt (how come
people don't get turned to salt anymore?) then I want to know that. If
God is a flying fruit salad, then I want to know that. If god doesn't
exist, then I want to know that.
But how does one go about finding that truth? Wasn't that what
Christianity was supposed to provide me with? A path to the truth, and
eternal happiness and salvation? Christianity just took me on a
journey of guilt, unworthiness and confusion.
Christianity gave me hope that not only were there answers, but a
clear path to discovering them.
Now that I've found that it was all a lie, I don't know what to do.
Now that I've found that it was all a lie, I don't know what to do.
I do know that I can't go back to praying to a god that doesn't care
about me, that ignores me, that gives people nothing other than
steadfast belief in their own awfulness and an excuse to commit horrid
crimes against humanity,
So many terrible acts are committed in the name of god.
So, now I'm lost, as I'm sure many people are after losing religion.
But I feel free. And I've never felt free before. I hear that people
who spend most of their lives in jail don't know how to function in
the real world and go crazy.
I wonder if I'll be able to handle my new found freedom?
Especially when the idea of hell keeps coming back to haunt me. I'm
going to hell for leaving, I'm going to hell for asking questions, I'm
going to hell because I want god to be more than man.
As a Christian (not a very good Christian) I'd be going to hell
anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I question my beliefs or not,
but in the face of such brainwashing, it offers little consolation.
It's not easy to lose one's faith. It's a real struggle, actually, and
I commend those that have been able to cut ties with their false ideas
about god. I'd love to be able to do the same.
Anyway, whatever the truth is, however I'm supposed to find it, if
it's even possible to, I hope that putting myself in the position of
being open to it, whatever it is, is a step in the right direction. I
have no way to confirm that, but even when I prayed to God for
guidance he didn't give me any, so nothing has really changed there.
I guess the only thing I know for sure is that Christianity offers me
nothing, and that it seems to cause more harm in the world than good.
That's more truth than I've been aware of my entire life and it's a start.
church goers = bitter human
By unknown
On the brink of my unbelief, I grasped for any hope I could, usually
through local Bible studies.
The last church Bible study I engaged in was presented by a speaker
who was a divorcee and trying to understand why God would allow her to
go through something like that.
At one point in her recorded DVD message, she said something along the
lines of: An ungodly woman is a bitter woman. Most of the women nodded
an amen.
Well, I was hanging on by a thread when this echoed through my ears,
and I recall thinking, I do not want to turn into a bitter woman. My
choice was to remain a Christian and obtain joy (at some point), or
leave the faith and become a bitter, unpleasant woman. At least those
were the options I felt I was given.
After thinking on this longer, I thought of all the Christian women
and men who I saw as bitter. Either they didn't fit the speaker's
formula, or they were not really Christian. I decided the latter fit
the bill best. Presently, I see the bitter church-goers as those who
hang on out of pride, or business reasons, or whatever.
Now I see I didn't have much of choice in becoming an ungodly woman or
not. I just wasn't one, no fault of my own. But I did, however, have
the choice to become a bitter woman.
Since leaving the fold, I am stubbornly passionate to pursue and
demonstrate joy. I don't want to confirm their attitude toward
unbelievers that keeps them clinging to this faith.
On the brink of my unbelief, I grasped for any hope I could, usually
through local Bible studies.
The last church Bible study I engaged in was presented by a speaker
who was a divorcee and trying to understand why God would allow her to
go through something like that.
At one point in her recorded DVD message, she said something along the
lines of: An ungodly woman is a bitter woman. Most of the women nodded
an amen.
Well, I was hanging on by a thread when this echoed through my ears,
and I recall thinking, I do not want to turn into a bitter woman. My
choice was to remain a Christian and obtain joy (at some point), or
leave the faith and become a bitter, unpleasant woman. At least those
were the options I felt I was given.
After thinking on this longer, I thought of all the Christian women
and men who I saw as bitter. Either they didn't fit the speaker's
formula, or they were not really Christian. I decided the latter fit
the bill best. Presently, I see the bitter church-goers as those who
hang on out of pride, or business reasons, or whatever.
Now I see I didn't have much of choice in becoming an ungodly woman or
not. I just wasn't one, no fault of my own. But I did, however, have
the choice to become a bitter woman.
Since leaving the fold, I am stubbornly passionate to pursue and
demonstrate joy. I don't want to confirm their attitude toward
unbelievers that keeps them clinging to this faith.
Tuesday 10 July 2012
letter from a lost sheep
By Andrea ~
Yesterday I read an article about why younger people,and people in
general, are leaving the church.I saw it on Facebook from some
Christians I used to go to church with(they were sharing the link) I
had one of those moments where you're awkwardly staring at the
screen..wanting to find whoever wrote that and talk some sense into
them.I don't know who wrote it but I'm not surprised.It seems to be
this weird attitude that a lot of people in the church have about
''lost sheep.'' .I don't know those kind of people anymore.I'm so far
removed from the church world.But they sure seem to think they know a
lot about ''my type''! In case any of them drop by here ( and since
they think they know so much about me) to see what ''lost sheep'' are
up to ....here is my open letter to them.
Dear Christians of the World,
I've seen your articles...you've been worried about losing people in
general,but mostly it seems to be young people .You seem to be
noticing a drop of people around ages twenty to thirty.Since I'm the
perfect example, of the type of person you're talking about...I'm
going to tell the world what the problem REALLY is.You're trying to
figure it out but,as someone who has been there,I'm telling you why
you're missing something.I was raised in christian church and left
when I was nineteen years old.I was also home schooled and went to a
christian home-school group. I've had a full dose of your world..and
maybe a little more,so I know I had enough experience to say ''This is
not right.''
You might expect that this will be the part where I go into how awful
the church was and how everyone was mean and uptight. I've seen in
some of these article where you say ''People in church are too uptight
and young people don't like it.'' You seem to think I left because
everyone acted like an uptight, strict Amish person.As if it was just
too much. But that's not really what contributed to me leaving.Yes
there were some uptight people. but the majority were pretty laid back
for religious people.And that's just the problem...no matter how much
you try to make it a friendly atmosphere it will always seem too
uptight.Your version of ''laid back'' is not comforting at all.What's
laid back about everyone getting in line to drink grape juice, and
talking about how it represents being a sinner who needs to be covered
in blood?What's laid back about the fact that, no matter what I do,
it's not enough and I still need this blood sacrifice to cover me?So
yes. you actually do have some nice laid back people...but that isn't
enough to make the church feel like a ''safe place.''
You've also mentioned things being outdated in the church,and that it
makes my ''technology loving generation'' back away.You seem to think
that if you can only make the church look like an Apple store..I'll
come running back to be a member again.That's somewhat true...I'm
twenty two years old and I would rather be buying something on Itunes
than reading a Bible.But let me tell you...it doesn't matter if you
buy Ipads for everyone in your young adult group or buy them new
Iphones to take on a mission trip.There is and always will be an
outdated feeling in the atmosphere of a church who follows Bible
teaching.I'm still going to be reading about ideas that just don't
work in the modern world.If I read about why woman should stay silent
in church...how will reading that on an Ipad make it any more
''modern''?
Do you realize that you are reading a book from a time when woman were
stoned to death for being pregnant outside of marriage?Sexuality is a
huge problem within the church.You mention that you need to offer
better solutions to this problem. That if you could somehow make
christian sexuality more relatable, and less judgmental, that more
young people would stick with the plan. I sat in one your Bible
studies, and witnessed you trying to do this.You told me that saving
sex for marriage wasn't easy but I could do it with God's help.You
didn't judge me..and I thank you for that...but you also didn't offer
a solution.I can't fault you for that though..because there is no
solution when it comes to your teaching.Say I have a long time
boyfriend.We've been together for ten years but don't want to marry
until I'm older.I'm sorry but there is no ''softer'' way to to teach
me that I still can't have sex with him.There is no reason why you
HAVE to be married first and everyone in the modern world knows
that.Overall the problem with the sexuality is that your holy book is
always demanding it be changed.Ask any gay/lesbian person out there
will tell you that prayer doesn't change them..and they are fine and
happy as they are. As long as you try to fix what doesn't need to be
fixed there will be problems.
It's been mentioned also that a boring setting may drive people
away.Oh yes...you're right about that.Maybe you're planning to ditch
the youth room and build a giant amusement park outside.Sure..maybe a
roller coaster would wake me up a little bit more than a mundane get
together with hot dogs and water balloon games.(and yes that is a
little childish at eighteen) Save your money though...I can deal with
a crowded class room,or a mundane game,if something exciting is being
taught. But as far as I've seen...nothing exciting was going on in
there.I thought meeting your God(yes a GOD!) was going to be a
thrill.Or at least a little...interesting.I was always learning about
what he did,or was going to do,but he never actually seemed to be
there in THAT time.Oh I tried to ''meet him'' ....I really did.And I
really wanted to!I didn't mean to end up always feel like I was
sitting in a boring setting where I was singing worship songs to no
one...but I did.Don't even worry about your building ...if I can't
find your God then you could meet in a palace of crystal and it would
still be lacking everything.You insist he's there...well he hasn't
shown me that.
Lastly...please stop acting like certain parts of your Bible don't
exist.That's really really annoying.I think it's why you lose
intelligent people.Most atheists I've come across are careful in
looking for the truth and if you tell them ''Umm no sorry I don't read
that half of the Bible.I don't know what your talking about'' it won't
help anything.You've just shown intelligent people that you have no
clue what you're talking about.But,like other problems,I can't totally
blame you for this.If someone brings up a gruesome Old Testament story
about infants being slaughtered at God's order...what you are really
going to say?There isn't anything to say is there?Yes people have
problems with accepting a horror scene as truth...but as long as you
follow the Bible...I don't think there is any solution to it.It
presents it as truth so,as a christian,you are also forced to
represent that to the world.There is no way to make a story about God
drowning everyone more ''presentable'' to the world.
So what am I getting at here?Do you see it now?Do you see the pattern
in all these problems?I understand your effort to make church a good
place,cause I was there once.But if you're holding onto a dead
horse..nothing is ever going be right. The problem is THE BIBLE.The
teachings don't help anyone or offer anything(except what I found to
be an empty promise).What me,and a lot of other people,are finding out
is that it's a dead book with God who isn't living .The best thing to
do is stop chasing after people my age and go do something more worth
your time.And I know that would be a shock for any christian to
hear.But once you let it sink... in it starts to feel right.Life isn't
so bad elsewhere.I'm not crying! I'm trying to stay open minded but I
can tell you...in my own life I see no sign of your God chasing after
me. I was seeking..but I didn't find.Lots of people seek but don't
find.So my question to all this is...if your God isn't chasing after
people my age...why are you?Think about it...and maybe one day you
won't all feel the need for a christian church anymore.
Sincerely,
A Lost Sheep
Yesterday I read an article about why younger people,and people in
general, are leaving the church.I saw it on Facebook from some
Christians I used to go to church with(they were sharing the link) I
had one of those moments where you're awkwardly staring at the
screen..wanting to find whoever wrote that and talk some sense into
them.I don't know who wrote it but I'm not surprised.It seems to be
this weird attitude that a lot of people in the church have about
''lost sheep.'' .I don't know those kind of people anymore.I'm so far
removed from the church world.But they sure seem to think they know a
lot about ''my type''! In case any of them drop by here ( and since
they think they know so much about me) to see what ''lost sheep'' are
up to ....here is my open letter to them.
Dear Christians of the World,
I've seen your articles...you've been worried about losing people in
general,but mostly it seems to be young people .You seem to be
noticing a drop of people around ages twenty to thirty.Since I'm the
perfect example, of the type of person you're talking about...I'm
going to tell the world what the problem REALLY is.You're trying to
figure it out but,as someone who has been there,I'm telling you why
you're missing something.I was raised in christian church and left
when I was nineteen years old.I was also home schooled and went to a
christian home-school group. I've had a full dose of your world..and
maybe a little more,so I know I had enough experience to say ''This is
not right.''
You might expect that this will be the part where I go into how awful
the church was and how everyone was mean and uptight. I've seen in
some of these article where you say ''People in church are too uptight
and young people don't like it.'' You seem to think I left because
everyone acted like an uptight, strict Amish person.As if it was just
too much. But that's not really what contributed to me leaving.Yes
there were some uptight people. but the majority were pretty laid back
for religious people.And that's just the problem...no matter how much
you try to make it a friendly atmosphere it will always seem too
uptight.Your version of ''laid back'' is not comforting at all.What's
laid back about everyone getting in line to drink grape juice, and
talking about how it represents being a sinner who needs to be covered
in blood?What's laid back about the fact that, no matter what I do,
it's not enough and I still need this blood sacrifice to cover me?So
yes. you actually do have some nice laid back people...but that isn't
enough to make the church feel like a ''safe place.''
You've also mentioned things being outdated in the church,and that it
makes my ''technology loving generation'' back away.You seem to think
that if you can only make the church look like an Apple store..I'll
come running back to be a member again.That's somewhat true...I'm
twenty two years old and I would rather be buying something on Itunes
than reading a Bible.But let me tell you...it doesn't matter if you
buy Ipads for everyone in your young adult group or buy them new
Iphones to take on a mission trip.There is and always will be an
outdated feeling in the atmosphere of a church who follows Bible
teaching.I'm still going to be reading about ideas that just don't
work in the modern world.If I read about why woman should stay silent
in church...how will reading that on an Ipad make it any more
''modern''?
Do you realize that you are reading a book from a time when woman were
stoned to death for being pregnant outside of marriage?Sexuality is a
huge problem within the church.You mention that you need to offer
better solutions to this problem. That if you could somehow make
christian sexuality more relatable, and less judgmental, that more
young people would stick with the plan. I sat in one your Bible
studies, and witnessed you trying to do this.You told me that saving
sex for marriage wasn't easy but I could do it with God's help.You
didn't judge me..and I thank you for that...but you also didn't offer
a solution.I can't fault you for that though..because there is no
solution when it comes to your teaching.Say I have a long time
boyfriend.We've been together for ten years but don't want to marry
until I'm older.I'm sorry but there is no ''softer'' way to to teach
me that I still can't have sex with him.There is no reason why you
HAVE to be married first and everyone in the modern world knows
that.Overall the problem with the sexuality is that your holy book is
always demanding it be changed.Ask any gay/lesbian person out there
will tell you that prayer doesn't change them..and they are fine and
happy as they are. As long as you try to fix what doesn't need to be
fixed there will be problems.
It's been mentioned also that a boring setting may drive people
away.Oh yes...you're right about that.Maybe you're planning to ditch
the youth room and build a giant amusement park outside.Sure..maybe a
roller coaster would wake me up a little bit more than a mundane get
together with hot dogs and water balloon games.(and yes that is a
little childish at eighteen) Save your money though...I can deal with
a crowded class room,or a mundane game,if something exciting is being
taught. But as far as I've seen...nothing exciting was going on in
there.I thought meeting your God(yes a GOD!) was going to be a
thrill.Or at least a little...interesting.I was always learning about
what he did,or was going to do,but he never actually seemed to be
there in THAT time.Oh I tried to ''meet him'' ....I really did.And I
really wanted to!I didn't mean to end up always feel like I was
sitting in a boring setting where I was singing worship songs to no
one...but I did.Don't even worry about your building ...if I can't
find your God then you could meet in a palace of crystal and it would
still be lacking everything.You insist he's there...well he hasn't
shown me that.
Lastly...please stop acting like certain parts of your Bible don't
exist.That's really really annoying.I think it's why you lose
intelligent people.Most atheists I've come across are careful in
looking for the truth and if you tell them ''Umm no sorry I don't read
that half of the Bible.I don't know what your talking about'' it won't
help anything.You've just shown intelligent people that you have no
clue what you're talking about.But,like other problems,I can't totally
blame you for this.If someone brings up a gruesome Old Testament story
about infants being slaughtered at God's order...what you are really
going to say?There isn't anything to say is there?Yes people have
problems with accepting a horror scene as truth...but as long as you
follow the Bible...I don't think there is any solution to it.It
presents it as truth so,as a christian,you are also forced to
represent that to the world.There is no way to make a story about God
drowning everyone more ''presentable'' to the world.
So what am I getting at here?Do you see it now?Do you see the pattern
in all these problems?I understand your effort to make church a good
place,cause I was there once.But if you're holding onto a dead
horse..nothing is ever going be right. The problem is THE BIBLE.The
teachings don't help anyone or offer anything(except what I found to
be an empty promise).What me,and a lot of other people,are finding out
is that it's a dead book with God who isn't living .The best thing to
do is stop chasing after people my age and go do something more worth
your time.And I know that would be a shock for any christian to
hear.But once you let it sink... in it starts to feel right.Life isn't
so bad elsewhere.I'm not crying! I'm trying to stay open minded but I
can tell you...in my own life I see no sign of your God chasing after
me. I was seeking..but I didn't find.Lots of people seek but don't
find.So my question to all this is...if your God isn't chasing after
people my age...why are you?Think about it...and maybe one day you
won't all feel the need for a christian church anymore.
Sincerely,
A Lost Sheep
God condemn himself
Let's take a look at the Abraham Isaac fiasco. If we were to judge this event by new testament standards Abraham would be guilty of human sacrifice. Jesus tells us that if we just consider committing a sin in our mind we are guilty of it (Mat 5:28). Unfulfilled intention is as damnable as the intent fulfilling outward act itself. So, in short, we have god tempting Abraham causing Abraham to commit human sacrifice. Whether Abraham actually followed through on his intent to perform the heinous act motivated by god of sacrificing his son Isaac doesn't matter according to Jesus who is proclaimed the son of and equal to god in the new testament.
Now, the christian god does not change (Mal 3:6). Therefore what learn of god in the NT must also be true of him in the OT. As we have already seen, unfulfilled intention is as damnable as the intent fulfilling outward act itself (Mat 5:28; 1Jo 3:15). The christian god also decrees that human sacrifice is evil (Deut 12:31, 18:10; 2Ki 21:6). The bible says the christian god cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone with evil (James 1:13). By the christian god's own inspired words he judges himself guilty of tempting Abraham to commit a vile sin and thereby is complicit in Abraham's sin of sacrificing his son Isaac.
Does the christian god stand self condemned? The only way to partially wiggle out of this textual conundrum, in my humble opinion, is to admit the obvious, that the bible is not infallible. Careful though as once you start out on this road paved by intellectual reprobates its a slippery slope all the way down to delusion free thought.
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| English: Abraham embraces his son Isaac after receiving him back from God (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Does the christian god stand self condemned? The only way to partially wiggle out of this textual conundrum, in my humble opinion, is to admit the obvious, that the bible is not infallible. Careful though as once you start out on this road paved by intellectual reprobates its a slippery slope all the way down to delusion free thought.
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