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Scripture - God's Word or Human Invention? |
Supposedly, God made the world and people. He loves the people and wants the best for them. As he can’t be seen and doesn’t talk with people (most people anyway), he appointed a book to explain to humanity who he is, how he made the world, how it works, what he wants from us, what he’s got planned for us after we die, and how we should act to get the best outcomes. The trouble is that different sections of humanity seemed to get different books with different (and often contradictory) ideas. There’s the Torah, the Bible, the book of Mormon, the Quran, the Avestas etc. as well as all the literature related to the eastern religions. As they are mutually contradictory, most of them must be wrong. One wonders why he couldn’t manage to get the correct book to all of us, or at least make it clear to everyone which book is the right one.
Many say that it is the devil who caused the wrong books to be promulgated. As the majority of humanity has one of the wrong books, it would seem that the devil is more powerful than God. By most religions, God (or the gods) has been responsible for killing millions of people and will be responsible for torturing the majority of humanity by burning or other means for all of eternity bar the seventy years or so of this life. The devil doesn’t do any that sort of stuff. As the devil seems to be more powerful than god and also more benevolent, maybe our allegiance is misplaced. Christians will claim that the bible is God’s actual book and the true one. Although the devil has misled most of humanity, God will be good to his chosen few if they follow him. Of course, Muslims say the same thing about the Quran, as do other religions about their books. But, anyway, let's assume for a moment that the bible is the one. The trouble is that even the bible is unclear, ambiguous or self-contradictory on points that are really crucial for people to understand. Catholics and Protestants maintain quite different theologies. Calvinists consider that God has condemned most people to hell even before they are born and that there is nothing they can do about it. Arminians believe that all people born have the opportunity to be saved if they believe the right thing and do the right thing. From the Calvinist perspective, there is no point in trying, because God has already made the decision. From the Arminian perspective, we have to take the step and believe and work for our salvation. Even Arminians can't really work out, though, whether we are saved by faith alone or by faith and works. So, even if one believes that the bible is God’s word and all other scriptures are wrong, one still doesn’t have the guidance one needs. Is this because God didn’t make us intelligent enough to understand the book he gave us, or is it because his book doesn’t do the job it was supposed to do? Christians will generally say that all non-biblical scripture is just the invention of humans. In the same way, Muslims say that all non-Islamic scripture is just the invention of humans. If one takes a more considered and objective viewpoint rather than the view from within one religion, it would seem to make more sense that all scripture is just the invention of humans and that God has given us nothing to guide us. This is not what one would expect of a god who is all-powerful and who loves us, but it is exactly what one would expect from a god who doesn’t exist. One final point. It does appear that the devil is more powerful than God. Much pro-God literature (like the bible) says that, although the devil is winning at present, in the end God will win and the devil will be banished. We tend to assume without question that that's true. But isn't that just what God would say if he wanted us to be on his side. And, after all, according to Christians etc., we only get God's side of the story. If it's the devil who wins, then Christians, Muslims and most religious people will turn out to be on the wrong side. Does that mean that it's the religious who will burn for ever? Probably not, because Satan seems not to be vindictive and cruel like God. |
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Image Acknowledgements Scribe: Picryl |