Whatever gave you the impression that I want to be a Christian? I have read the Bible properly, not starting from near the end. I have read it in sequence mindful of who wrote it as much as we can tell, and why they wrote it. This reading allows me to see exactly what it is and what value it has. It is a source for literary allusions. It is worth reading because of the impact it has had on the language. What it does not help with is morality as it is a thoroughly nasty book full of accounts of nasty events and nasty people, and I am not talking about the enemies of Israel here. The Old Testament is an anthology of pieces mostly designed to encourage the continuation of a racist and misogynist theocracy. The New Testament is a collection of pieces edited by the organs of a politically neutered cult used to help knit together a struggling empire. It failed, and a civilization that had been a beacon of light and leadership for a thousand years collapsed within a single human lifetime and plunged Europe into a thousand years of brutal and ugly times in which all the great achievements of civilization were thrown away and Europe became a place devoid of learning about anything except a bastardized version of stolen myths from a foreign tribe. Explain to me what faith is for. Why is the truth with a capital T defined by the myths of one tribe? Why was the creator of billions of galaxies interested in only one tribe? Why have those people who have conversed with this creator god always known who he was? Why has nobody else who has dedicated their lives to tuning in to the ultimate reality of the universe ever managed to do so yet it happens instantly to a man on death row with a room temperature IQ, or even a failed wannabe cheerleader, once they know what to expect God to say? Why would the truth need an act of will to believe in? Who benefits from religion being incredible to those who use their brains for more than warming the inside of their hat? Why is so much hatred done in the name of Jesus? Do you wear sandals, sport long hair and a beard?* Do you support the sacrificing of animals but oppose the making of profit? Have you given up your worldly wealth to live the life of a wandering cult leader? * I can't work out if you're male or female, the usual technique of putting the name into Google Image Search suggests you're most likely to be a dog, possibly a cat and as an outside bet a horse. Sorry. What proportion of Christians are actually Christians? Or does the answer to that depend upon whether you are attacking or defending? Many Protestants will count Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons when it suits them (when they need big numbers in the "Eat Joe's Pies: 30 million Flies Can't Be Wrong" way) and when it doesn't "True Christians" are limited to the back three pews at their local church and their Pastor, except when he gets carried away. If humanity is designed to have a relationship with God why do so many billions fail to have one yet still seem to have just as enjoyable a life, and in many cases a more enjoyable life than so many dour, cheerless and fearful Christians? Is being happy a proof that a person is believing in the right thing or does that depend upon whether or not you agree with them? Is it better to be right and miserable or happy even if you're wrong? -- Martin Willett http://mwillett.org/
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