Read Each of the Following

I was performing the grueling task of making my son finish his homework today.

He had a language assignment that was designed to train him in discerning an author's purpose. Before reading the directions, the worksheet had a short paragraph explaining the possible purposes of the author.

For instance, if an author gives facts, then his or her purpose is most likely to inform. If the author is writing about how wonderful something is, he or she is probably trying to persuade. And, if the author is writing a story about fictional characters, then the author is probably making an attempt to entertain.

After reviewing that paragraph with my son, we read the directions which were as follows:

Directions: READ EACH OF THE FOLLOWING WRITINGS AND DECIDE WHETHER THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE IS TO:

• persuade
• inform
• entertain

After wrestling with my son over matters of neatness, sloppiness, and coherency, something started to dawn on me.

If the Bible isn't trying to sell you something, then it's not trying to persuade. But, if it's not totally accurate historically, then it's not making a good attempt at informing others.

Ah! So then, it's for entertainment!

Ha! Now I get it!

OK, OK . . . honestly-- it's not that simple in my opinion. But, that notion sure has given me something to think about.

What was the purpose of any given author of any given scripture text?

That's an important question for everyone to explore each and every time we read.

If . . . Then . . .

So, I started thinking to myself . . .

If God does exists, then God endorses a particular scripture text.

After making that statement, I wondered about the validity of it. Particularly, I wondered about whether God's existence necessitates his endorsement of a particular scripture text.

If God does exist and God does endorse a particular scripture text-- then, which text do I need to obey? By what criteria can we tell?

If we use miracles as our criteria, how do we validate these miracles if we were not living when they happened? We cannot exactly disprove them either. But, if we consider that miracles are hard to come by today, we cannot be blamed for thinking that miracles were hard to come by a long time ago.

If our criteria is prophesy, can we test to see if historical accounts of a secular nature also give testimony of the prophecy's outcome? Also, how do we know that the alleged prophesy was not written in hindsight?

What if the alleged prophesy was never written to even be prophetic?

If God does not exist then obviously no scripture text could ever be endorsed by him (or her) at all.

And that is precisely why scripture tends to be non-effective towards most atheists. If God does not exist, then he cannot endorse any religious text at all. Thus, all religion happens to be an anthropic phenomena.

God could exist and not endorse any religious text at all. Perhaps no religious text suits her (or his gender neutral) fancy and therefore inadequately informs us what God really wants out of us. That would then suggest that she (or he) doesn't mind much if we come to the wrong conclusions about religious faith. Or maybe we're all in for one helluva ride!

Hey, can "he" be gender neutral? "She" can't be gender neutral either, right? Not in English anyhow . . . I suppose . . . oh, never mind.


Reminiscent of the Sound-off segments from the Disevangelists blog, any thoughts about the above premises and it's possibilities:

A) God exists and endorses a specific scripture text.

Can we prove or disprove that. If so, how?

B) God exists, but God does not favor the scripture text that you read.

If that is true, can scripture still be inspired of God even if it only partially delivers the correct message to humanity? Do we just get the important lessons and try our best to have a good relationship with God and our fellow man? Or are we all in trouble because no one has been obedient enough to declare God's 'true' words yet?

C) God does not exist and all scripture is just made up.

Can one prove or disprove that scripture is made up? If you can prove that scripture is made up, does that still mean God does not exist? Which scriptures are made up and why isn't the one you favor legitimate?

On what grounds do atheists really say God is non-existent.

By the way, I miss you guys over there at Disevangelists. I know you've all been quite busy in your personal lives. I understand. I'm just sayin' . . .

Church Tradition

And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition . . . Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Mark 7:9 and 7:13

I've realized over these past few years that a disconnect exists between religious beliefs and actual written scripture. I've come to realize that churches simply pass down their religious doctrine to the next generation and mainly study from the passages that reinforce their traditions.

Ironic that Jesus himself makes this same complaint against Jewish leaders within the New Testament text. Yet, generally, Christians do not heed this warning.

If they did, they'd be in for a treat . . . or a shock.

Here are some common misconceptions that I grew up with due to Church tradition, but are not compatible with scripture:

Sunday is the Sabbath day for Christians

Tithing is required from the Church (Keeping parts of the Law)

Marriage to a new spouse is acceptable among Christians after divorcing the original Christan spouse

Nothing is wrong with Christians taking other Christians to court to settle a legal dispute

Woman are equal to Men in Church (Most don't want to own up to this sexism. But if you take many passages that speak of women being subject to men literally, can you really make an exception?)

The Lord's Supper consisted of crackers and grape juice

The Bible was a complete unit during the early Christians lives (I never would have admitted this verbally, but time had to go by before I could grasp the fact that scripture went through a canonization process where both Jewish and Christian leaders argued over which books would be included. This process happened for Judaism around 3 or 4 B.C. by many sources. For Christians, this happened around the 2nd century or so. That's 200 years after Jesus was crucified!)

The United States is a Christian Nation (First, the Bible doesn't even mention the United States! Next, the Constitution Separates Church and State. Before you disagree with me, read the First Amendment and Article Six of the Constitution. Many Christians want the United States to be a Christian nation because Israel is known as a Jewish nation and God did such a good job of protecting them because of it -- Israel being conquered by the Babylonians, the Romans, the Jews suffering during the Holocaust and the present day military conflicts make great examples of God's wonderful protection! The United States needs God's protection, too! So lets be a Christian nation just like Israel is a Jewish nation! Please!)

I could think of other examples, but I'll stop here. These traditions contradict scripture, but Christians do not want to surrender these ideas for various reasons.

Well, I only have one computer but my immediate family and extended family is waiting in line to use the PC.

I need my own laptop!!

Exactly Where is Heaven, Anyway?

My son has become hypersensitive to how a person uses his or her "middle finger".

He feels that every time someone throws the bird with his or her middle finger, that person is pointing that finger directly at God.

While I'm not eager for my son to become religious, I'm not eager to flood him with my current philosophy.

I can't have him blowing my cover. My son is an all-in-one tape recording blabber mouth machine. My son would blab about my skepticism and force me out of the closet!

But, I couldn't resist when my son persisted to talk about how the bird was a direct insult to god.

I clearly expressed to him that I certainly do not want him to use this gesture. However, I did not want him to obsess over the matter either.

So, I had a little talk with him:

"Son, where is up, anyhow?", I challenged.

"Up is up there, Daddy. Don't you know that"? (yeah, my son is a smarty pants).

"Ah, but son, we live on a globe. From your present location, pointing up is not the same direction as if you were -- for example -- pointing up while at the South Pole".

"Yes it is", he corrected. After all, my son is seven and knows everything.

I showed my son an apple and preceded to further illustrate my point.

"Do you see what I mean, now?" I thought my illustration was definitive, but he still didn't want to give up.

"But, you're still pointing out to heaven . . ."

"How so?" I further challenged. "Where is Heaven, anyhow? It's not in the sky or the clouds. Heaven isn't at the moon or the stars. Where is up? Where is heaven?"

"Well", my son surmised, "Heaven must be in the fourth dimension".

Well, at least I got my son thinking . . .

Then my son really got wacky . . .

"I wish my birthday was on Christmas . . .", he said, out of the blue.

"Why?" -- I thought his mind was still chewing on the Heaven paradox.

"I'd be closer to God because my birthday would be on the same day as God's."

"Son", I replied, "we celebrate Christmas on December 25th only because it's a tradition. No one knows exactly when Jesus was born."

Maybe I should have just let that one go . . . but I didn't want him developing a complex over this idea, either.

"My bible says Jesus was born on December 25th." My son seemed so confident.

"Nope. No date is given. People can only speculate." I could see he didn't agree.

"I read it in the Bible", he proclaimed.

"In which Bible? Where? I can tell you that you did not read such a thing. I dare you to look for a place that says Jesus was born on December 25th within the scripture text. If you find it, show me. I'd like to see it."

But then I added, "Don't just take my word for it. Look it up yourself one day."

With that, he gave up.

I didn't directly tell him that Heaven or Jesus were myths. But, I wanted to remind him to think beyond what he's told by various people and seek out reality for himself.

For Heaven's sake! I sure hope he was listening.

Oh My God . . .

I thought the word holiday was akin to the word vacation.

Somehow the words holiday and vacation seem to only mean busy and work.

Anyhow, I have finally found a moment to post.

Why do theists generally believe in certain gods while excluding other gods from belief?

Christians tend to only believe in Christ.
Muslims generally only believe in Allah.
Jews tend to only believe in YHWH -- minus Jesus.
Cult followers tend to only believe in their wonderful leaders.

Consider the ancients of long ago. They tended to believe in the respective gods of their time -- Thor, Oden, Isis, Dionysus, Zeus, Ra, and so on and so on. Even the polytheistic worshipers had to sort out the rivalry within any given pantheon.

But reason and logic seem well equipped to explain why Jesus, Allah, Thor, Oden, Isis, and the other gods of history are nothing more than characters of mythology. Flawed religious texts and doubtful "eye witness" accounts are all that proclaim the divinity of these mythological beings. Archeology, science, and astronomy sorely contradict the so called truths of scripture and human experience. The earth, solar system, and universe could not have been created in the manner that ancient scripture texts have claimed in the past based on current scientific discoveries.

And just like that -- the weak and flimsy notion that any of the previously mentioned deities serve as Governor of the universe is easily cut down by Reason's razor.

Upon considering this, I've realized that discussing God and his existence becomes murky if we do not pin down a definition for exactly what or who God is.

I've often heard that the idea of God can neither be proven nor disproved. Reason and logic alone may not have enough facts to totally explain why God cannot possibly exist. Nor, can reason and logic seem to explain why God must exist.

I can feel quite sure that none of the mythological figures of the past are true manifestations of God, should he possibly exist. After all, if God should exist -- he wouldn't be a myth, now would he?

And should God exist, what definition might God offer of himself that we might know who he (or she) is? (Remember, we have already discounted the Bible and other religious text for the reasons mentioned above).

Well . . . unless God comes down from the sky and convinces all of us of his (or her) nature, I'm afraid we will only end up with a new myth on our hands.

Perhaps God is frustrated that he (or she) cannot communicate with all of us. Perhaps God is like a tesseract -- a four dimensioned object which can only be expressed as a shadow in our world. In such an event, God would be ill-equipped to communicate with us.

That idea is starting to sound like deism to me.

Agnosticism, anyone?

By the way, why should I bother with being a devout deist if God doesn't even interact with us?

Why hold to theism if we must all conjure the definitions of God and worship him (or her) in those very terms which we create. I might as well make an idol with my own hands and worship it.

So, here I am . . . staring at atheism.

Oh my God! Maybe you can prove God doesn't exist!

Preach the Word!

What if you visited a church and the preacher started saying things like . . . .

Now, you men . . . you listen up! God's got a word for you -- He's got a word. Next time you have your buddies over for a few drinks and you guys are watching the game . . . keep the word of the Lord in mind! If you ever have a gang of gay men start banging on your door 'cause they want your buddies' booty, you remember God's will is for you to give over your daughter or your wife. Homosexuality is so nasty that you should let them rape your daughters and wives before letting those gays get in your buddies' booty holes!

Or, what if you heard something like . . .

God wants us to be fruitful and multiply! Multiply! This is important. If you don't obey God's commands He will be angry with you! If you can't have children, you need to get your sister-in-law, or somebody, and make sure you have yourself a man-child . . . or at least try. God wants us to fill the earth! If your daughters can't get nobody and start havin' babies . . . then daddy . . . you need to do the deed yourself!

Or, how about something like this:

You people goin' round depressed all the time . . . you just ain't praying enough. You don't fast and pray. Done just let the devil get into your homes and your lives. Can't even get a prayer up. You need to fast and pray and break the power of the devil in your home. You don't need no anti-depressants! You don't need none of that stuff. You just ain't trying enough . . . praying enough . . .

No . . . I've never heard these exact words in a sermon before. I've never heard a preacher utter words quite like the ones above. (well, I have with the depression bit)

But, I have read in the Bible on two occasions where men visited someone's home and a mob came to the house demanding to have intercourse with guests inside. And on both occasions, either daughters were offered up or a concubine. In the first story, the daughters were spared. But in the second case, the concubine was ravaged all night long and died from the punishment. This was more acceptable than the male guest being ravaged. Granted, neither the guests nor the concubine should have been threatened. But somehow, pushing the concubine into the mob was the lesser evil.

On several occasions, women felt so pressured to have children that they tricked people into having sex with them. Before you get excited at the idea, Judah was tricked into having sex with his daughter-in-law and Lot with his two daughters! And Onan was ordered to sleep with his deceased bother's wife and impregnate her so that his brother's name could live on. Onan didn't follow through and was killed by God.

If sex is so taboo, why was Onan killed for not impregnating his sister-in-law?

If continuing one's name is so important, why doesn't God strike down everyone that uses birth control?

If the rape of a woman is less heinous that homosexuality, why do we punish rapists over homosexuals?

What would your wife do if you pushed her out of the front door and into a mob that was trying to break into your home for sex?

What if God told you that you were not fit to serve him if you took time to tend to your own father's funeral before leaving home for good?

What if you have a real, legitimate biological condition that needs medical treatment, but the church made you feel guiltily for accepting it? They guilt you into believing that you simply are not praying enough and you avoid the treatment that you really need.

Before you get defensive . . . before you give into that urge and say that I'm taking these scripture passages out of their context, put yourself into the shoes of all the people in these passages.

Do you think like any of them, today?

Do you think you are worshiping the same God that they were? Are you really holding to the same ideals as the characters in the example stories above?

Do you still think that the events I've just mentioned happened for real?

You know something I don't?

I always had trouble understanding why the skeptics that I personally knew were so confident in their disbelief of Christianity. Why couldn't they see the power of God? Why couldn't they seem to hear him knocking on their hearts? Some unbelievers I knew were cool and calm about their disbelief. They had this quietness with nothing to prove. They were settled. I felt like they knew some secret that I didn't really know.

Then, there are others who are vehement. They aren't just unbelievers but they have a strong dislike for Christianity. Seething anger about the influence of Christendom throughout world history and more specifically, in their lives as individuals pours out when they talk about church and Jesus. Yes, many unbelievers like this were Christians or at least went through the motions and practiced Christianity because their parents raised them so. Often many hurtful things and unnecessary sacrifices were forced upon these people during their time as practicing Christians. But, they too, seemed to know some secret that reached beyond their hurt and anger. Almost as if the hurtful events they endured under Christendom were only a catalyst to their unbelief – not the cause in and of itself.

Either way, I still puzzled over how they could be this way when the Bible was so plain and so true concerning Christ. He was so real in my life. The excitement and power I felt during worship and prayer times. Being free and being cleansed from sin! Why couldn't they feel it, too? Maybe their hearts were too cold or maybe God finally decided to leave them alone to become reprobate.

That's what I thought, anyway.

But, they were the “Lost” . . . and shouldn't we try to reach them? So now my endeavor had a goal higher than the dismantlement of any “evidence” that could disprove my faith. Now, I needed to understand the skeptic. That way, I could better witness to him or her.

I had already learned one thing about skeptics really, really quickly. You cannot come to them with scripture to prove a point. I couldn't figure out why at the time. So, I hoped that understanding why skeptics didn't accept the Bible as authority would be the key to reaching the skeptic – a group of people I often felt powerless around when trying to be a witness to them.

More than my “pride” was at stake in this fateful triple dog dare. More was at play here than proving my faith and saving face. Now, I wanted to overcome the obstacle that kept Christians from being a powerful witness to the skeptic . . . that person who will flatly tell you that they just don't accept the Bible as the Word of God.

How ironic that in trying to understand them, I became one of them!