I was indoctrinated into Christianity from birth. I was taught how to combat any argument that might put a dent into my beliefs. I was very good at defending the faith.
However, like many these days, I was able to take some steps back to see the bigger picture and finally, at age 55, started to see cracks forming in my rock solid belief system.
It was painful, uncomfortable, heart-breaking and confusing. But it was necessary. As someone who strives to get as close to truth as humanly possible, it was necessary to deconstruct the belief system and see it for what it is.
Many Christians are simply unable to do this. The brainwashing is just too strong and their entire persona is based on their faith in the the god they serve. The fear that comes with questioning is not something they can deal with. This former pastor explains it well.
This blog post is not for the Christians who are rigid, close-minded and will certainly be hateful to me upon reading my thoughts and views.
This article is for those considering Christianity. Perhaps you have already been to a church and have felt the collective energy during the worship part where emotions run high and you can see a sincerity in the worshippers. You might have heard a nice message from the pulpit and some scenarios were presented that you could relate to. The pastor seems nice and the people seem welcoming. It looks great so far!
So what’s the next step? You will be told to read the Bible, right?
Wait, no, not quite. You will be told to read parts of the Bible. You will be told to read the book of John or certain selective segments from here or there. You may also be spoon-fed a few chapters, here and there, from the old testament.
Briefly, here is the distinction between the old and new. The old testament was written by Jewish writers who account for their history and the experiences with their god – Yahweh. The first writings started a couple of thousand years before Christ. The writings span a few thousand years, and was written by approximately 30 writers, all men, who basically all told the same kind of message about their god.
You might be told that this is miraculous. It’s not. It’s just passed down ‘knowledge’ – one writer perhaps piggy-backing concepts from the previous.
The new testament chronicles the history of Jesus and believers after his death.
Instead of following the advice of well-meaning, albeit indoctrinated pastors and Christians, I would instead urge you to read the segments of the bible that you will never, or rarely hear from the pulpit. Some of these stories are too horrific to be told to children in Sunday School. But they exist within the texts and will certainly give you a different view than that of the loving, caring father who you are being told about.
If you’re going to delve into Christianity, please just do so with your eyes wide open and with a healthy degree of skepticism. No Christian will direct you to the parts of the Bible I will show you. Please read it now, while your judgement is still intact and you can still see it for what it is – not for what you want it to be.
Yahweh Chooses Favorites
The god of the old testament clearly chose the Jewish people as his favorite. He had no real love for any other races. In fact, most other races were enemies of the Jews.
Most Christians and Christian pastors will admit this is true, if asked. However, they also won’t volunteer this information to a seeker, unless asked. So go ahead and ask them.
So for thousands of years, while the old testament writings were happening, the god of the old testament did not care about humanity in general. In fact, Genesis 6:6-7, tells us that he actually regretted making humans. So much for being all-knowing.
He cared only for the Jewish people, according to their writings. Here are many verses to substantiate that, if you’re interested.
Think about this for just a moment. Jewish men wrote the Bible speaking of their encounters with their god. The same people who write about the ‘one true god’ also tell you that this god chose them as their favorite.
Adam & Eve
While the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden Of Eden is a common one, I would urge you to read it for yourself the way it is written. This article explains it in detail but does not add anything that is not there.
Briefly, the story from the Bible tells you how the god of the old testament, Yahweh, wanted humans naked and unaware. Their sin was gaining knowledge. Just reading the scriptures as they are with no manipulation or twisting, you will see that Yahweh lied and the serpent told the truth as well as other truths that are twisted when the story is preached from the pulpit.
The Horrors Of Slavery Are Condoned
If you talk to many Christians, they will tell you that just because slavery is recorded in Bible does not mean it is condoned.
That is utter nonsense.
If the book tells you how you can beat a slave with a rod so long as the slave can recover in a few days, and so long as you don’t take out an eye or a tooth, not only is slavery condoned, beating slaves is condoned. If a book tells you that the fate of a non-Jewish slaves or female slaves is that they are a slave for life, it’s condoned. In the New Testament, we learn that it is actually an honour for a slave to take a beating.
The details and references are outlined in this blog post concerning the subject matter.
Animal Sacrifice
Blood sacrifices from animals was a regular practice in the Old Testament that “god’s people” were supposed to partake in.
Once again, Christians will fully admit this. However, again, they’re not going to offer up that information to an unbeliever interested in Christianity.
Leviticus 17:11 states, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.”
I’m not an atheist but I do like the way the atheist Youtuber, Mindshift, articulates this concept. “You have sinned. Now go and find something innocent and kill it”. It’s the stuff of psychological horror movies.
Not only were they supposed to kill something innocent, but they were to find the most perfect animal to kill.
Leviticus 22:21-22: “When a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, from the herd or from the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish in it. Whatsoever has a blemish, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you.”
There are hundreds of verses in the old testament speaking of animal sacrifice.
The Human Sacrifice
Most Christians know about the psychological experiment their Old Testament god, Yahweh, performed on Abraham. This god decided to test Abraham’s loyalty. It’s yet another example of where Yahweh is said to be all-knowing, he did not know Abraham’s heart or degree of his loyalty and needed proof.
So what was this test? Yahweh actually demanded that Abraham kill his own son as a sacrifice to him. Yes, you did read that correctly. Read it again. Let it sink in.
The story is documented in Genesis 22. Abraham actually has his son gather the wood for the sacrifice. Abraham goes so far as to binding Isaac to the altar and has the knife in hand ready to kill him. An “angel of the lord” stops him. “Psych!” “Relax. It was just a test”.
A nearby ram was caught up in a thicket. The ram was stabbed and burned up instead of the boy. The story ends “well”.
If this god sounds psychotic, you’re intuition is on point.
Now, while most Christians will tell you of the story of Abraham and Issac, if asked, many do not seem to know of the human sacrifice that did take place, documented in the Bible.
In Judges 11, a man named Jephthah makes a deal with Yahweh in hopes to win a battle against yet another enemy, the Ammomites.
He tells his god that he will sacrifice his daughter if he wins.
In the end, Jephthah wins and makes good on his practice to sacrifice his daughter.
Hell, Curses To All & Murdering Babies,
You’re probably familiar with the concept of hell already but I want you to think about it briefly. The concept of this ‘loving god’, as preached by your Christian friends, is that if you choose not believe in their god, or choose to believe the god is too evil to be worshipped, or if you simply have doubts and do not accept him, you will burn alive forever and ever in hell. You may only live to be 20, but they will tell you that you deserve to burn alive for eternity if you do not accept him.
Does that sound like love to you?
Lamentations 3:22-23 says that “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
There are other verses that say similar things.
On one hand, you’re being told that this god is full of compassion, grace and mercy, while you’re simultaneously told that he will send you to be tortured for eternity if you make the mistake of having doubts about him and not accepting him fully and completely.
This god is being marketed as a ‘god of love’, does this not seem more like coercion? Or manipulation? Mind fuck?
Your Christian friends will also adamantly deny that they are in a fear-based religion. Ask them.
This post delves in deeply to the curses this god sent to all of humanity, based on the ‘sins’ of two people, the murder of babies so that he could show off his powers, striking down a couple dead because they sold a piece of property and did not give the funds to the church and much more. Links to the stories are also provided so that you can read them yourself.
On The Money
Most churches you join are going to expect you to pay every week if you ever want to become a truly accepted member in good standing, getting on a board or voting – if you ever ascribe to that. I myself never did. I ignored that and gave money where I felt it was needed, here and there.
Ask the friends asking you to go to church how much money is normally expected. In an evangelical church, it’s normally 10 percent. Yes indeed, not a misprint – 10 percent. If you never see them putting money in the offering plate, it’s possible they get it taken straight out of their bank account.
On top of the 10 percent, period donations will also be much appreciated.
There’s a scary story from the New Testament where a couple, Ananias and his wife, Sapphira sell a piece of property. He and his wife talk about the donation from some of the proceeds. He takes some of the proceeds of the profits at the apostles feet, as a donation. The writer Paul, says that Peter questions him and accuses him of lying and he falls down dead. He gets carried out and buried. Then his wife come in and she too is accused of lying.
“And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.”
She is also stricken dead.
When it comes to money, not fool with this god. It’s very important to him.
Think or Rethink
Hopefully your eyes have been opened to the truth. It’s good to weigh it all out and know what you’re getting into.
There are many more horrors, contradictions and mixed messages. This just scratches the surface.
And to be fair, there are also some nice stories and verses of encouragement.
I’m not criticizing Jesus in any way either. I do question the Christian narrative and what it says about his mission, but that is another whole future blog post.
If you’re a Christian, I have to also ask, did you know all of this before you walked in and embraced this faith? Had you known, would you still have made the decision you made?
We live in a scary world where we want comfort and peace. I understand the attraction of hearing that there is a god who loves us and can give us eternal peace.
I do not discount the idea. In fact, I lean toward that. But the god of the Bible, particularly the old testament is not that.
Don’t be swept up in smiling faces, warm hugs, comforting music, collective energy and messages of hope and love and the very real need for community. Just open your eyes to also see the bad and the ugly and go beyond what your Christian friends will show you.
See it for what it is, not for what you want it to be.
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