Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Picking things out of the Bible


I was told that if you read the word of Yahweh in the Bible, he will speak to you and you will see him as Lord and Jesus as your savior. I have taken it upon myself to read some of the Bible and accept this challenge. Yet, I can’t seem to get out of Genesis. Skipping the whole creation story, [There is no possible way that that story ever took place. It should only be taken metaphorical.] I began to look at the story of Noah. This is widely regarded in the Christian community as being a literally true story. However, the fairy tale stops as Noah is unloading the animals. No children’s book would even dare to include the real ending of Noah.


Genesis 6:
9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
Genesis continues with the story of the ark and the “Great Flood”. As soon as the family stepped off the boat, Noah builds an altar to sacrifice the animals. This means that the animals Noah chose to sacrifice who have become extinct. Maybe this is what happened to the dinosaurs? …
Genesis 8:
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.[e] 21 And theLord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrificeand said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”
So, God needed to sacrifice all humans and animals (except for Noah and the contents of the Ark) in order to forgive himself for creating such an awful species? Why did a god create a species that would be “bent toward evil since childhood” and then, when they fail, get mad enough to commit genocide? Why must the animals suffer for our own disobedience?
After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard. 21 One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked.
Noah is such a party animal! It must have been one hell of a night to pass out naked in your tent! But..oh no! Can’t it be? Ham saw his father naked! Heaven forbid you accidentally walk in on your drunk, naked father. Will a simple apology and a little bit of forgiveness suffice for Noah and Yahweh?

When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. 25 Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham:
   “May Canaan be cursed!
      May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.”
 26 Then Noah said,
   “May the Lord, the God of Shem, be blessed,
      and may Canaan be his servant!
 27 May God expand the territory of Japheth!
   May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem,[b]
      and may Canaan be his servant.”
No forgiveness today, my friend. You’ll just have wait for Jesus to come around before Yahweh starts to forgive people. This particular passage created some confusion in my measly ape-brain. Does God believe that slavery is immoral? From this passage (and others), I think not. How does Noah have to power to sentence his son AND all of his decedents to slavery? Does God think that paying for your great-grandfather’s crime is the moral thing to do?

If you are a Christian reading this post, I challenge you to ask youself these questions:
1. Do you believe that slavery is moral?
2. Do you believe it is okay to punish all animals for the sins of humans?
3. Do you believe it is moral to suffer for the sins of others? 

Think about this scenario: Fifty years ago, your great-grandfather committed a mass murder in which twenty five people were killed. He served his remaining time alive in a prison labor camp for his crimes. Shortly after his death, your grandfather took his place at the camp. Now, after the death of your grandfather, your father has now taken up the position. You are next in line to fill the spot. Is this the way a society should be ran? How would you feel if you forced to suffer for a crime you had no hand in?

Yahweh is an immoral being created in the minds of the illiterate. 

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