My Christian friend is awesome!

I have a very good friend that I consider a diehard Christian. He is a great friend to me and he and I often have friendly debates about God, Jesus and the Bible. At no time are we ever disrespectful toward one another and it is always a wonderful experience. One of the things I respect about him is he is one of those people who doesn’t just talk the talk, he actually walks the walk. Even though he and I do not agree on the topic of religion, after every debate, we both shake hands and we walk away with a genuine love and respect for each other.

I feel that this type of conversation is so important in our wish to improve conversations between theists and non-theists because it helps bridging a gap that separates us a human beings. Well, my friend came up to me last week and told me he had a paper for me to read. The paper turned out to be six pages! I promised him I would read it but to understand that I will be reading it through the eyes of a skeptic. He did warn me that the paper(s) was written by an apologist and was taken from an apologetic website. This didn’t bother me, I am willing to read anything but that doesn’t mean I will agree with everything I read. After all, I am a skeptic at heart.

So my friend gave me a paper(s) titled Are the Biblical Documents Reliable by Jimmy Williams. You can find the article here if you are interested in reading it, although I will give a quick rundown of what was written as well as my personal comments about the material presented.

Are the Biblical Documents Reliable?

One of the first things I noticed was a section titled Three Errors to Avoid.

1. Do not assume inspiration or infallibility of the documents, with the intent of attempting to prove the inspiration or infallibility of the documents (sounds good so far). Do not say the bible is inspired or infallible simply because it claims to be (no complaints so far). This is circular reasoning (Finally some truth from a Christian document).
2. When considering the original documents, forget about the present form of your Bible (hell, I’ve been saying this for years) and regard them as the collection of ancient source documents that they are (sounds reasonable, right?).
3. Do not start with modern “authorities” and then move to the documents to see if the authorities were right (because they never are). Begin with the documents themselves.

The article then presents a question; “Not having any original copies or scraps of the Bible, can we reconstruct them well enough from the oldest manuscript evidence we do have so they give us a true, undistorted view of actual people, places and events?” This has a simple answer…Hell No! According to the article the scribes were devout Jews who BELIEVED they were dealing with the very word of God. I like that the article used the word believe because they have no way of knowing if it was actually delivered by an invisible sky deity or the ramblings of bronze age sheep herder listening to the voices in his head.

The article then turns to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Apparently the Dead Sea Scrolls consisted of a complete copy of the Book of Isaiah, a fragmented copy of Isaiah and fragments of every book in the Old Testament. As a non-theist, I have no problem with agreeing that something was written down. My problem lies with the lack of evidence to show what was written actually happened.

The article continues, a witness to the New Testament text is sourced in the thousands of quotations found throughout the writings of the church fathers who followed the Apostles and gave leadership to the fledgling church, beginning with Clement of Rome. Once again, my problem with this statement; writings are not evidence! What evidence is provided to show the writings are true besides someone saying they are true? Hmm…None!

The article concludes with the statements “Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established” and “We have the Word of God”. Wrong!!! What you have is a book filled with hearsay. You are no documented or testable evidence that God actually inspired the writings. You have a book full of opinion. I close this post with the poem in the article.

The Anvil? God’s Word

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime:
Then looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

“How many anvils have you had,” said I,
“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”
“Just one,” said he, and then, with twinkling eye,
“The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”

And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed . . . the hammer’s gone.
Author unknown

I couldn’t disagree with the unknown author more. The hammer is not gone, it has gotten bigger, stronger and is multiplying in numbers.

Hey Christians! How Are These Statements Wrong?

The Buy-bull Journal

If you are a christian and think these are wrong, then please send me evidence links stating otherwise on @buybulljournal .

If not, then please just submit and give up and realize that you’ve been living a lie.

1) There is no proof the Exodus ever happened and no proof that Moses existed. In fact there is lots of proof the Exodus never happened.

2) Genetic inbreeding as the Adam and Eve story says, is impossible.

3) You were indoctrinated, as a child, or brainwashed to christianity when older by being caught while you were emotionally vulnerable.

4) There is nothing historical about the bible and there is no evidence about anything in the bible being true.

5) The Gaawd of the old testament can be classified as very evil and psychopathic and not at all loving.

6) The authors of the gospels are unknown.

7) Matthew and Luke are…

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Where is the plane?

There are multiple articles flooding the web about the missing plane in Malaysia. You can read the most recent article here. I am a diehard skeptic at heart and when I started hearing about an airplane disappearing out of thin air my thoughts immediately turned to the movie Wag the Dog.

If you have not seen this movie, you are really missing out! In the movie, Robert Di Nero along with Dustin Hoffman, create a fake war in a studio to take America’s attention from a sex scandal involving  the president. You must watch this movie, it will change everything for you. This missing plane seems like a textbook case of attention diversion. I have a very hard time believing that a massive 777 could just disappear without anyone on the planet seeing or hearing this airplane. So, I am left wondering, what is being covered up by diverting everyone’s attention to an invisible airplane? I know there will be those people who will label me another conspiracy theorist and I’m cool with that. I think it is a huge disservice to anyone to not be skeptical in all things.

I am a humanist at heart, so to the families that have a loved one on the plane, my heart goes out to you. I can’t imagine the feeling one must feel when a loved one is missing. The not knowing would drive me crazy so you have my sympathies.

Folks, I know there will be people who have a problem with this post and I really don’t care, but there must be something the public isn’t being told. We are left to speculate at this point and I would encourage everyone to take a look behind the curtain. You may be surprised by what you find.

When beauty becomes a curse

Earlier today I was doing what every good skeptic should be doing; I was reading my Bible. I came across some verses that stopped me in my tracks. It’s not too often that I have to re-read a verse but these I had to re-read just to make sure they actually said what I thought they said and of course they did. After years of reading the Bible, there really isn’t much that shocks me anymore. I think I am more shocked by what people actually say than by what I read, but the verses I’m about to share with you had me shaking my head in disbelief.

 Have I peeked your interest yet? Good! Here are the verses…

When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her. (Deuteronomy 21:10-14 NIV)

Are you shaking your head? If not, you should be, because once again we see that women have little to no value in the mind of God. Let’s break this down verse by verse to help you grasp the extent of the ridiculousness. (V10) This appears to be the God ordained rules of war. God delivers the captives. I guess these people didn’t deserve God’s mercy or his compassion…figures! He is such a loving and caring God! (V11) I have a question; what if she is already married? What if she has children, will you take them in as well? Okay, I know I said ‘a’ question but I can never ask just one. Apparently it doesn’t matter how she feels. If you find a beautiful woman you can just take her. No big deal, just take her. Sounds like kidnapping to me, what do you think? (V12) Why of course she would have to shave her head and cut her nails, we can’t have her looking like the lady in the missing person’s poster now can we?

Isn’t it nice of her captor to give her thirty days to mourn for her mom and dad? The captors were so kind back then…NOT! So, kidnap her, shave her head, cut her nails, hide her clothes, then after a month of mourning, you can then rape your captive. I can hear the Christians now…it doesn’t say her raped her. I can’t imagine her giving it up willingly, can you? To me, that is considered rape. Then after raping her you can force her to marry you. Geesh, is that it? NOPE! We come to verse 14; then, only having changed her identity, raping her and forcing her to marry you, if you  aren’t pleased with her, let her go because after all kidnapping and rape are okay in the eyes of God so you don’t have to worry about any consequences. You can’t sell her (well that’s nice) or treat her like a slave because you have dishonored her. Really??? God calls what happens to the woman DISHONORING her! Isn’t that some shit?

How can women call themselves a Christian and claim to love the invisible sky deity after reading how he allows women to be treated? I will never understand.

 

Bible Contradictions #10: Where is the devil?

I saw this post and wanted to share it with my readers. Great job Rayan!

The Atheist Papers

Where is the “devil”? The bible’s not certain. 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6 both clearly state that the devil and his angels have been thrown into darkness, where they shall remain in chains until judgement day. Job 1:7, Job 2:2, and 1 Peter 5:8 show the devil loose from these chains, walking about on earth, tempting human beings. Indeed, in 1 Peter, he might actually take the form of a hungry lion, chasing down drunk people for snacks. Go ahead, click the link and see for yourself.

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This blog is now a .com!

This post is to let everyone who follows this blog that this blog now has a .com address. This is the first of several changes coming in the following month as I prepare for the new No Religion Required Podcast. You should be able to find this blog at http://www.noreligionrequired.com.

Does God reward good deads?

This is one of those stories that leave me scratching my perfectly shaped bald head. As a child I remember being told that God rewards all good deeds, but does he? Let’s see.

“When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.“(2 Samuel 6:6-7 NIV)

Well, well, well, look at how gracious God was for Uzzah’s loving attempt to keep the ark from falling to the ground. Does it surprise you that God killed Uzzah for trying to do a good dead? It doesn’t surprise me one bit because I’ve come to see God for what he really is; a hateful,  unforgiving tyrant with no appreciation for his own creation.

I can hear the rebuttal ‘s now as I type out this post, “you know nothing of God’s mercy”, “God’s ways are higher then our ways”, it’s the same old dribble, over and over again. The bottom line is this, there is no justification for God killing an innocent man for trying to save the ark. Where is God’s appreciation? I would think that God would award Uzzah, not kill him!

My Christian friends would tell you that his death WAS the reward because now he is living for all eternity with God in heaven, give me break!

So much for God rewarding good deeds. This is just another example of God’s lack of love of humanity and his deep love for killing.

This blog supports Kalei Wilson!

As the moderator of this blog, I want to take a moment and take a stand FOR Kalei Wilson. Kalei is the beacon that this country and the world desperately needs. This young lady has the strength of a mighty army. Her courage is like non other! This brilliant young lady has stood and faced the worse opposition any person should ever have to face simply because she had the desire to start a club based on Humanitarianism. Kalei and her family has received MANY death threats from Christians all over her community.

A special note to Kalei:

Kalei, I think you are an amazing young lady and many teenagers and adults can learn something from you. Your strength and willingness to stand up for what you feel is right serves as an amazing example for others all over the world. I want you to know that you have an amazing community behind you that support your efforts and we stand shoulder to shoulder with you as you face the brutality that region has dished out to you. I know it is real easy to tell someone say hang in there especially when they aren’t facing threats to themselves and their family, but I hope that you are able to draw strength from those of us who stand behind you in FULL SUPPORT!

Note to my Christian readers:

If you are a Christian and reading this post, please take a moment to consider the good that this young lady is trying to accomplish. I know she may not hold your particular beliefs but this young lady DOES NOT deserve the multitude of death threats she has received from Christians. Please take a moment and give this young lady some encouraging words. You can post them right here in the comment section and I will do everything in my power to make sure she receives them. Keep in mind that I WILL NOT approve any negative comments so if you have nothing nice to say, do not waste your time!

THIS BLOG SUPPORTS KALEI WILSON!!!!

After Long Battle to Form High School Atheist Group, Student Bows Out After ‘Numerous Threats’ and ‘Verbal Attacks’

After Long Battle to Form High School Atheist Group, Student Bows Out After ‘Numerous Threats’ and ‘Verbal Attacks’.

How can anyone say that Christianity is a religion of Love when this young girl received NUMEROUS death threats to her and her family??? It is absolute bullshit that those people who consider themselves Christians would verbally attack a young girl simply because she does not share your beliefs.

I do not know Kalei Wilson personally but I did get the wonderful opportunity to meet her father and if Kalei is anything like her dad she is an awesome person who wants only the very best for everyone but leave it up to Christians to belittle, threaten and verbally abuse her for doing something she believed in. What a shame!

Was Hitler doing God’s work?

I knew the title of this post would get your attention but this is the question I intend to answer in this post. One of the most horrific events in world history was the Holocaust. Millions of Jews in Germany lost their lives under the iron fist of Adolf Hitler. Most people would probably admit that Adolf Hitler was the worst human to ever walk this earth with Stalin being the second and he is currently burning in hell or is he?

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum “The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.”  According to Hitler and his writings, he truly believed he was doing the will of God. I am sad to admit that as a Christian I can remember thinking that the Jews were reaping their just reward for crucifying Jesus. It didn’t seem to bother me that 6 MILLION Jews including women and children were being brutally murdered because after all look at what they did to Jesus. Looking back now, I can clearly see how deeply indoctrinated I was into the Christian faith and I am truly ashamed of myself.

 

How sick must one person be to actually think that these children deserved this type of treatment? Well, to answer that question let’s look at what Adolf Hitler had to say,  “My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter.  It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God’s truth!  was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter.  In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders.  How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison.  To-day, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed His blood upon the Cross.  As a Christian I have no duty to allow my self to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice…  And if there is anything which could demonstrate that we are acting rightly it is the distress that daily grows . For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people.”  –Adolf Hitler, in a speech on 12 April 1922 (Norman H. Baynes, ed.  The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939, Vol. 1 of 2, pp. 19-20, Oxford University Press, 1942).

According to Hitler he was going God’s will. Well, lets look at God’s will for a moment: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” 1 Samuel 15:2-3). Isn’t that interesting? God had Saul kill EVERY man, woman, CHILD, INFANT and all the livestock. There is no telling what those EVIL livestock did to deserve death, but we do have to keep our eyes open for all deadly sheep out there! 

So, I will leave it up to you to make your own assumption about whether Hitler, the Christian that he claimed to be, was doing God’s work and following in God’s footsteps OR was he simply using his religion to justify the killing of millions? I wonder if someone tried to stop he if he would claim that they are infringing on his religious rights?