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.
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
God is not Great: How Religion poisons everything
If you haven't bought this book, buy it. It is absolutely amazing! Not only should atheists read it but religious people as well. I lent it to my Christian aunt & uncle. I don't think they'll ever get to reading it.. As soon as I get it back in my hands, I intend on writing a review!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Ezekiel
I saw a quote earlier from Ezekiel 9 and decided to read a little bit about the passage. It seems Ezekial has visions from Yahweh. During Ezekiel 8, a figure of a man appears out of the hand of god. The figure was "like fire" from the waist down and appeared "as bright as glowing metal." The figure grabs Ezekiel by his hair and takes him to a place between heaven and hell where he sees the visions of god. Apparently, god is just jealous of all the other gods the people of Jerusalem are worshiping. The 'angel' takes Ezekiel to a whole in the wall where Ezekiel is to dig. A doorway shortly appears. When he looks through, he sees pictures on the wall of "crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel." [Ezekiel 8:10]
Of course he is! They have forsaken him and must now die without pity.
Following God's vicarious mass murder, Ezekiel has some imaginative visions of the cherubim and their lovely wings and what not flying back to the heavens.
Did this really happen? No, of course not. . . but could Ezekiel [or someone else] have had these visions? It is possible but now, we just send them to the mental institute.
Why did Yahweh create unclean animals?
What is the purpose of creating life
& demanding that human keep away?
Inside the room, 70 elders of Israel stood there burning incense, another one of god's pet peeves. Then, Ezekiel is given another vision where a lady is mourning the god Tammuz*. The 'angel' says, "Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this."
*According to wiki, Tammuz is the Sumerian god of food and vegetation. This is also the only place where Tammuz is mentioned in the Bible.
Did the writers of the Bible see
the worshiping of Tammuz as a problem
in their local town?
Why would an all-powerful, the one & only God
become so jealous of a non-existent one?
How did Yahweh's creation come to worship
other gods before him?
Next, Ezekiel is shown a vision of 25 men praying with their backs to god's temple and their toward the East. Because they are "bowing down to the sun," god refuses to listen to them and instead says that he "will deal with them in anger." [Ezekiel 8:18] The 'angel' then calls forward 6 men, each carrying a weapon. Another man followed carrying a writing kit. God commands the writing man to go through "the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in [the city]." [Ezekiel 9:4] Then, god send the 6 men through Jerusalem to kill everyone without a mark. ...and now a word from god....
Follow him [the writer] through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark.Ezekiel cries out to the Lord and asks if he is "going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?"
Of course he is! They have forsaken him and must now die without pity.
Following God's vicarious mass murder, Ezekiel has some imaginative visions of the cherubim and their lovely wings and what not flying back to the heavens.
Did this really happen? No, of course not. . . but could Ezekiel [or someone else] have had these visions? It is possible but now, we just send them to the mental institute.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Letting my kid watch Veggie Tales
About a year ago, my daughter who was two at the time found Veggie Tales. Fruits and vegetables that tell stories from the Bible using modern twists, including Indiana Jones and The Princess and the Pea. It does mention god and Jesus throughout the entire show. One episode later and my daughter was hooked. She completely fell in love the cucumber. She calls him "Pickle".
A few months ago, Veggie Tales Live! came to my grandmother's "non-denominational" Christian church. She invited us to go and I said that would be awesome. I love any chance to hang out with my grandmother. This particular church is a mega-church. So, we walked into the auditorium's lobby. Immediately, Ivy runs toward the Veggie Tale booth with all of their stuffed animals and toys. She picks out a flashlight toy and a stuffed pickle. We sat down near the front and waited for the show. Most of the other little kids were sitting quietly as if this was a real church service. As the lights dim, men dressed as giant vegetables stumble onto the stage singing their opening song..
Immediately, all of the kids just gasp in awe. My daughters eyes lit up and she couldn't believe she was seeing the real Pickle! Before long, she was jumping in the middle of the isles and dancing her little heart out. Most of the other children were standing by their parents, not sure if they were allowed to move from their spot. Soon, they couldn't stand it and joined my daughter in the isles. They were all having a blast and it was nice to see my daughter getting the party started! In the end, it was a great show and a great way for my daughter to spend precious time with my grandmother.
Why, you may ask, would I let my kid watch something that I believe is utterly false? If asked, Ivy knows Pickle is just a cartoon. She'll also say the same of Elmo, the Iron Giant, and Woody from Toy Story. To be honest, I don't think she even gets the concept of god that is mentioned along the storyline. She sees veggies dancing around, sing songs, and being polite to everyone. I will say that it does teach good values and some of their songs are quite catchy. It leaves out all the gory stuff about hell but hey, it is a kid's show after all.
My daughter also watches science documentaries, The Blue Planet, Planet Earth ect ect... She loves them too. She's fascinated by monkeys and tigers. When asked, she knows these animals real. We can visit a zoo and see, and sometimes even interact, with the animals. She knows that these do exist in reality.
I don't want to keep my child in the dark about the Christian religion. The majority of my family would label themselves as Christians and she will begin to hear about the many religions as she gets older. So, what's the best way to introduce a three year old to religion? In it's basic form, a fairytale.
A few months ago, Veggie Tales Live! came to my grandmother's "non-denominational" Christian church. She invited us to go and I said that would be awesome. I love any chance to hang out with my grandmother. This particular church is a mega-church. So, we walked into the auditorium's lobby. Immediately, Ivy runs toward the Veggie Tale booth with all of their stuffed animals and toys. She picks out a flashlight toy and a stuffed pickle. We sat down near the front and waited for the show. Most of the other little kids were sitting quietly as if this was a real church service. As the lights dim, men dressed as giant vegetables stumble onto the stage singing their opening song..
If you like to talk to tomatoes, If a squash can make you smile, If you like to waltz with potatoes, Up and down the produce aisle... Have we got a show for you!
Immediately, all of the kids just gasp in awe. My daughters eyes lit up and she couldn't believe she was seeing the real Pickle! Before long, she was jumping in the middle of the isles and dancing her little heart out. Most of the other children were standing by their parents, not sure if they were allowed to move from their spot. Soon, they couldn't stand it and joined my daughter in the isles. They were all having a blast and it was nice to see my daughter getting the party started! In the end, it was a great show and a great way for my daughter to spend precious time with my grandmother.
Why, you may ask, would I let my kid watch something that I believe is utterly false? If asked, Ivy knows Pickle is just a cartoon. She'll also say the same of Elmo, the Iron Giant, and Woody from Toy Story. To be honest, I don't think she even gets the concept of god that is mentioned along the storyline. She sees veggies dancing around, sing songs, and being polite to everyone. I will say that it does teach good values and some of their songs are quite catchy. It leaves out all the gory stuff about hell but hey, it is a kid's show after all.
My daughter also watches science documentaries, The Blue Planet, Planet Earth ect ect... She loves them too. She's fascinated by monkeys and tigers. When asked, she knows these animals real. We can visit a zoo and see, and sometimes even interact, with the animals. She knows that these do exist in reality.
I don't want to keep my child in the dark about the Christian religion. The majority of my family would label themselves as Christians and she will begin to hear about the many religions as she gets older. So, what's the best way to introduce a three year old to religion? In it's basic form, a fairytale.
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