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Evil ThoughtsThis article contains some brief thoughts (some serious, some more light-hearted) on
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Christianity in a NutshellAll humans deserve to be burnt alive for all eternity because a stone-age couple in Iraq ate a piece of fruit. 4000 years after the fruit incident, an innocent man got crucified for the crime. So now, a select few who were lucky enough to be told this and believed it will be spared. Everyone else will still burn. *         *         *         *         * PrayerGod has a perfect plan for your life. When you pray, you are telling God that his plan sucks and he should use yours instead. *         *         *         *         * God's GloryThe heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1)
*         *         *         *         * ExorcismExorcists charge for their services. If you don’t pay, you get repossessed. *         *         *         *         * 'Christian' Men with their Right EyesIn Matthew 5:27-29 Jesus says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.”
Matthew 7:21 says: “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Presumably, if Jesus tells us to gouge out our right eye, then that is the will of his father in heaven. So most Christian men should have gouged out their right eye. As they’ve invariably not done so, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Will there be any men there at all? Maybe the gay ones won’t have trouble with this command, but they won’t be there anyway, for a different reason. It seems heaven will be populated by women. Maybe there is method in the madness of the male god. *         *         *         *         * Sat a DayThe sabbath is named Saturday because, after working hard for 6 days creating everything, God sat a day and rested. *         *         *         *         * Jesus' Foreskin and Other Holy RelicsIn 800 CE, Charlemagne, when being crowned emperor, presented Pope Leo III with Jesus' foreskin, which he said had been given to him by an angel while he was praying at the Holy Sepulchre. During the middle ages, the foreskin was kept at Rome so that pilgrims could be blessed by it (for a small fee). Also during the middle ages, Jesus' other foreskins were available for devotion at cathedrals and churches in the European cities of Le Puy-en-Velay, Antwerp, Coulombs, Chartres, Besançon, Metz, Hildesheim, Charroux, Conques, Langres and Fécamp and Auvergne; there were two in Auvergne. Where the truth of spiritual matters is at stake, the Catholic Church is always scruplously honest in its claims. Scattered around Europe are 36 of the original nails that held Jesus to the cross
and 139 thorns from his crown of thorns. Martin Luther once said that “One could build a whole house using all the parts of the True Cross scattered around the world. Frederick III of Saxony collected over 19 000 holy relics. These included some bread from the last supper, a sample of the Virgin Mary’s milk, a piece of hay from Jesus’ manger and part of Jesus’ beard. It has been calculated that if a person offered devotion to each of these 19 000 items, they would earn themselves a reduction of almost two million years off their time in purgatory. *         *         *         *         * God's Protection RacketReligion is a protection racket. Do as God says and you'll get protection from what he's got planned for you.
*         *         *         *         * Is Satan Really the Bad Guy?The bible records God killing or ordering the deaths of over 2 million people. And that's without the great flood. It records Satan killing 10 people - and all of those were with God's consent. God deals in plagues, floods, famines, marauding foreign armies, fire from heaven, hail, ground that opens up and swallows people, snakes and other wild animals summoned to kill and worms that eat people's insides. Satan deals mainly in sex, drugs and rock and roll. We only have God's word for it that Satan is the bad guy.
*         *         *         *         * Thanking GodThanking God because you survived cancer is like thanking a gunman for shooting you in the leg rather than the head. *         *         *         *         * Poor Canaan! Life's not FairAfter the flood, Noah got drunk and fell asleep naked in his tent. His son, Ham, went in unsuspecting and saw him. He came straight back out again and told his brothers, Shem and Japheth, who went and covered him up, without looking at him (or treading on him).
Because Ham saw him naked, Noah put a curse on Canaan, Ham’s son (who was in his own tent at the time, playing with his toy camel and minding his own business). Because Canaan was cursed, God told the Israelites to kill all his descendants, the Canaanites, when they invaded their land. According to Genesis, the Israelites were descended from Shem and were therefore Semites; the Canaanites were descended from Ham and therefore not Semites. Funny thing is that the Hebrew and Canaanite languages were both Semitic and were so similar that they could quite readily understand each other. *         *         *         *         * Why Different Religions?If religion comes from the god of the whole universe, one would think it should be the same all over the world. *         *         *         *         * People of FaithWe build our model of the world from our own sensory input (observations) and from what we are told by others (orally or in writing). Sometimes, these two sources of information conflict. When they do, we have to decide which one we are going to go with. Some people give preference to their own sensory information. Others give preference to what others tell them. The latter are called people of faith and many people see being a person of faith as better and more noble than being a critical thinker. *         *         *         *         * God was Never Meant to be FairIf you are indoctrinated into the right belief system, then you will receive an eternal reward. If you are indoctrinated into the wrong belief system, then you deserve to be tortured for ever. Once you realise you were wrong, there is no hope of forgiveness. That may seem unfair, but then who ever said God was fair?
*         *         *         *         * Some People Will Believe AnythingIn John 20:19-29, Jesus reprimands Thomas for not believing his mates when they told him that they had had a visit from a man who had died a few days earlier. He makes it clear that we should believe whatever we are told, however unlikely it might seem. This is what faith is. Only those who are prepared to believe whatever they are told without question can make it as Christians. This is probably why most Christians are also into every conspiracy theory going and why they tend to believe outrageous claims about rigged elections. *         *         *         *         * Adam and Eve were InnocentUntil they had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve wouldn't have known that disobeying God was wrong. *         *         *         *         * Godly SadismGod made man with far more capacity for pain than for pleasure. As hell is planned for most of us, we can see why he would do that. *         *         *         *         * God Killed his Son so He Wouldn't Have to Kill UsIgor went into town last night and saw some hooligans, drunk, swearing and generally making a nuisance of themselves. This angered him; he felt like killing them. But instead he went home, got his son out of bed and killed him. That appeased his wrath, so now he doesn’t have to kill the hooligans. In his defence Igor said, "I thought that was very godly of me." *         *         *         *         * Our Origin: Evolution or Magic?Man first domesticated wild dogs a few thousand years ago. Because offspring are always slightly different from their parents, man has been able to preferentially breed the ones with the more desirable traits. As a result, we how have Great Danes, Dachshunds and Chihuahuas, all very different from the original wild dogs.
In the wild, the same selected breeding occurs because animals with certain traits are more likely to survive and breed than animals without them. So the same changes occur, albeit a bit more slowly. But over a million generations, populations which are geographically isolated from one another will become sufficiently different to not be able to interbreed: they become different species and they can be quite different in terms of size, appearance, senses, brain structure and intelligence. Over a few billion generations, these changes from one species to something quite different will happen thousands of times, meaning that quite primitive organisms can evolve into quite complex ones, even humans. It takes quite a bit of knowledge of biology, genetics etc. to really understand how these things happen, as well as a reasonable level of intelligence. For those who don’t have these, an easier option is to assume that all species were produced instantly in the recent past by magic (an act not in accordance with the laws of nature). By its very nature, magic isn’t open to explanation, so one automatically understands everything that needs to be understood. *         *         *         *         * Be Sure to SinBe sure to sin. If you don't, Jesus died for nothing. *         *         *         *         * Insurance Against Acts of GodWhy do churches take insurance against 'Acts of God'? *         *         *         *         * We Owe Our Salvation to JudasI don’t understand why Judas Iscariot is so vilified by Christians. Had he not done his bit, Jesus would not have died for our sins, and we would all be going to hell. Gratitude seems to be more in order. Even the bible vilifies him, showing how little thought went into making the story coherent. *         *         *         *         * God Created Us EvilThe knowledge of good and evil showed Adam and Eve that nudity and their reproductive organs were evil. Which means God created them evil.
*         *         *         *         * TortureIf I believe the things a religion tells me, it can give me the comfort of thinking that God won’t torture me after I die. Though others are just as sure that I will still be tortured because I picked the wrong religion. *         *         *         *         * Who was the Apple Meant For?Why did God plant the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Who was the fruit meant for? *         *         *         *         * A Self-defeating GodGod is love. He made mankind with the intention of loving them. He also made the devil, knowing that the devil would get the better of him and cause him instead to subject nearly all of humanity to the worst imaginable horror for all eternity. There seems to be a logical contradiction here which makes the whole story very unlikely.
*         *         *         *         * There are No ChristiansChristianity requires faith (Eph 2:8-9). Faith requires certainty (Heb 11:1, NIV). Many Christians are certain. Many adherents of other religions are certain. They can’t all be right. So it’s possible to be certain and wrong. Once you realise this, you can’t be certain. So you can’t have faith, And you can’t be Christian. Christians can move mountains (Matt 21:22) and drink poison (Mark 16:18). No one can do that. So there are no Christians. Church goers are all in for a big disappointment.
*         *         *         *         * God Lets Us Be MisguidedMost people in the world believe in God. Surely, so many people couldn’t be misguided. But those people all have quite different ideas about who he is, what he’s like, how he speaks to us, who his messengers are, what he expects of us and what he’s going to do to us if we don’t do what he says. So, maybe they could be misguided. *         *         *         *         * Christians Shouldn't Think Too Much - It Can Lead Them AstrayGod gave us brains so we can think for ourselves. Then told us we should have faith and believe what we are told without question. *         *         *         *         * Who needs hospitals?Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases [Palm 103:2-3] If God heals all our diseases, why don’t ambulances deliver patients to the church instead? *         *         *         *         * ForeskinsAre foreskins a good thing or a bad thing? If they're bad, why did he give us one? If they're good, why did he tell his people to cut them off? *         *         *         *         * Don't Do As I Do - Do As I SayGod says we should forgive any wrong against us, however heinous, and turn the other cheek. But he can't forgive the slightest wrong, like coveting our neighbour's ass, without someone having to die.
*         *         *         *         * Genocide is OK with God - Don't Hold BackThey say the bible is the only reliable and absolute source of morality. So, if slaughtering whole villages because they have a different religion from you and you want their land is good enough for God and his chosen people, then it should be good enough for us. *         *         *         *         * Forgive and Forget - No Way!In 100 years I will be dead and forgotten. In 5 billion years, the Sun will die and the Earth with it In a trillion trillion trillion years, the universe will have suffered heat death. But billions of creatures from one species on one planet will still be being tortured because they were indoctrinated into the wrong belief system a trillion trillion trillion years earlier. One might wonder ‘What is the point? Why couldn’t God just put them out of their misery? Did their crime really deserve more than a trillion trillion trillion years of such inhumane punishment?' *         *         *         *         * Broad is the Path that Leads to DestructionWe are faced with numerous conflicting religious doctrines. Pick the wrong one and we risk being tortured for ever without mercy. It’s an important decision. And, unfortunately, most people on this Earth get it wrong. *         *         *         *         * Atheists Eat Babies?Some people fear atheists because they think they worship the devil, have no morals, kill people and eat babies. Religious people worship the devil and sacrifice children. Religious people torture heretics, burn witches and stone blasphemers. Religious people fly planes into buildings and murder innocents on the street in the name of their god. Atheists don’t do any of those things.
*         *         *         *         * Freedom of ReligionPeople demand the freedom to practice their religion, even if one of the expectations of their religion is that they ignore everyone else's beliefs and force everyone to follow their religion's rules. *         *         *         *         * Lucifer is DemonisedIsaiah and Revelation are interpreted as saying that Lucifer and a third of the angels rebelled against God and became the devil and his followers. They don’t say when or why this rebellion took place. If I were an angel and God said he was going to destroy the whole Earth with a flood and kill almost everyone (including all the small children) and all but an ark-load of the animals, I would probably object. Quite possibly, one third of the angels felt sufficiently strongly about this to withdraw their allegiance from God. After that, heaven would have been divided between the rather evil, murderous and vindictive God with his loyal angels and the more compassionate and peace-loving Lucifer with his angels. Of course, it’s God who got his version of the story into human hands, so he demonised the rebels, claiming that they are the source of all evil and all rebellion against a good god.
*         *         *         *         * Dabbling in ReligionUnfortunately, religions were never meant to be dabbled in; they were meant to be taken seriously and totally. The commandments in Leviticus weren't offered as suggestions. The only two rational approaches in relation to a religion are to be a fundamentalist or to not bother. Dabbling and picking and choosing the bits we like doesn’t come with any rewards. *         *         *         *         * Religion Has a Vested Interest in Keeping us IgnorantWHAT IF . . . every school student studied philosophy – researching all the major world views – like mainstream science, conspiracy thinking, spiritualism, new age ideas, astrology and the various religions, along with the evidence for and against each; and also the various commonly held philosophical views on existence, knowledge, ethics, politics etc. As a culmination of this, over the last couple of years they could decide on their own preferred worldview and provide a detailed account of the view along with the evidence for it, and the reasons why others don't share it. Would people be better thinkers and harder to indoctrinate into spurious ideas? *         *         *         *         * A Small Oversight with Tragic ConsequencesGod made Adam and told him not to eat the fruit. Then he made Eve, but didn’t tell her. Because of that small oversight, everyone will die and most of us will go to hell.
*         *         *         *         * Violent Video GamesWhen European society was torturing heretics and burning witches, there were no violent TV shows or video games to blame it on. It was inspired solely by fervent loyalty to the church. *         *         *         *         * God Wants Us to Disbelieve so He Can Send Us to HellAs far as I can tell, everything that happens in this world is in accordance with the laws of physics. Nothing reliably attested happens otherwise. What happens in the world is exactly what one would expect to happen if God wasn’t there. So God acts exactly like he’s not there. Then he sends us to hell for thinking that he’s not there. *         *         *         *         * God Knows Everything - Or Does He?There are 8 billion people in the world and the omniscient God knows exactly what each of them is doing. But, when there was just Adam and Eve, he didn't realise they had eaten the forbidden fruit until he noticed them hiding and asked them why. *         *         *         *         * What's the Most Evil Thing One Could Do?They say that molesting a child is bad, that torturing prisoners is a breach of human rights. But they are nothing compared to holding someone in a fire and letting them feel their skin burn for ever and ever. God is so evil! *         *         *         *         * It's All Your FaultIt’s your fault that God created you and let you be misled, and you deserve the consequences. *         *         *         *         * Our Religion Depends on Who Gets to Us FirstThe trouble with faith is that it can be placed in anything anyone tells us. It just depends on who gets to us first. Critical assessment of what we are told is not allowed. *         *         *         *         * Promises and ThreatsYou can promise people anything and threaten them with anything for after they're dead, knowing they'll never prove you wrong. *         *         *         *         * Playing it SafeGod and his threat of hell might be imaginary. But, not being sure, people don't like to take the chance. *         *         *         *         * FuneralAt a Catholic funeral I attended recently, we prayed that God would accept the soul of the deceased. Presumably, if we hadn't prayed that, then he wouldn't have accepted it. *         *         *         *         * LiarThe Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.” [Gen 2:16-17 NASB] The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! [Gen 3:4 NASB] she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. [Gen 3:6 NASB] When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. Then the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years, and he fathered other sons and daughters. [Gen 5:3-4 NASB] Who was the liar? *         *         *         *         * If They Hadn't Eaten the AppleSuppose that Adam and Eve hadn’t eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Would things have turned out better? They would have had no idea what was a good way to live and act and what was a bad way. They wouldn’t have known that feeding their kids was right and starving them was wrong. They wouldn’t have known that defecating in each other’s food was wrong, that inflicting pain on each other and seeing them scream was wrong, or that killing and eating each other was wrong. Things probably wouldn’t have turned out well at all. What's more, they wouldn't have known that ignoring and disobeying God was wrong. And that talking snake would still have been there to persuade them to do the worst possible things. It's hard to imagine that this is what God wanted. So, really, the whole story doesn't make a lot of sense. *         *         *         *         * Science
Science is God's way of telling us that he doesn't exist. *         *         *         *         * God Doesn't Change His MindGod is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. [Numbers 23:19] So why bother praying? *         *         *         *         * What Does It Mean to be Born Again?Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. [John 3:3] People who have just been born are little children. Is this what Jesus meant by being born again? – becoming little children? Yes. And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [Mathew 18:3] In what way are we expected to become like little children? Not in stature obviously, not in dependence on our mother. No, it is believing what we are told without question, reducing our critical thinking to that of a small child and being willing to accept any story without resistance. This is, after all, exactly what faith is. Just as Jesus expected Thomas to believe what his mates told him, totally and without question, we, born again as small children, are expected to believe whatever anyone tells us without question. And, if we can’t do this, we don’t have faith and so cannot be saved. *         *         *         *         * SatanGod created Satan because he wanted someone to stop him from doing what he wanted to do. *         *         *         *         * AtheismQ. What's it like not believing in God? A. Very similar to not believing in Zeus. *         *         *         *         * Being Dead"I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it". Mark Twain *         *         *         *         * For a few short bible passages which seem to be at odds with the Christian view of things, click here. |
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Image Acknowledgements
Satan: Devil-307138.svg, Wikimedia Commons
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