4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of the ancient texts with which we were indoctrinated.
"Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand."
— Mark Twain
In my first 18 years of life, I went to a liberal catholic church almost every week. Although typically glazed over through most of the services, I remember the stories of kindness, like the good Samaritan and feeding the poor (i.e. loaves and fishes.) I also recall the miraculous stories about walking on water and rising from the dead.
Perhaps it was because it was coming from the liberal end of the denomination, but we weren't read the verses about how it is better to offer you virgin daughter and your guest’s concubine to the mob of angry rapists instead of your Levite guest (they took the concubine.) Or, how after “they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning” the noble Levite chopped her up into twelve pieces, bones and all, and “sent her into all the coasts of Israel.” This charming story is from Judges 19:22-29.
I didn’t hear about how, if God has killed both you and your sister’s husbands, and you have no children, you should, in order to continue you genetic line, get your father drunk and have your way with him. Not once, but two nights in a row, once for each sister.
Lucky for me, my parents aren’t bible literalists; otherwise I would probably not have survived my teenage years as I did my fair share of cursing them.
Fortunately for my sister in law, my brother does not actually believe that she should have been stoned to death on her father’s doorstep for not being a virgin on their wedding night. (I only know this for sure because my nephew was at their wedding. [Unless of course there is something extra special about him I don’t know…])
Any version of the bible is rife with brutality, cruelty, murder, and general nastiness. This includes the Book of Mormon, which is simply yet another re-write of the ancient myths, and the texts of the Jehovah’s Witness’, a wildly non-traditional bible interpretation. Jehovah’s Witness are not even allowed to read the bible on their own since they are deemed incapable of proper interpretation without help from their “betters.”
Don’t let another human tell you what god wants. How the hell do they know? As Susan B. Anthony said: "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."
Every major religion has ancient texts that are regarded holy. Even cursory scrutiny will reveal a deity that is vicious, intolerant, and petty. The oft-repeated mantra of a loving benevolent supreme being is just that, mantra. It is not evident in ‘sacred’ texts. Don’t believe me? Take a look at Skeptic’s Annotated Bible. They deconstruct not only the Bible, but also the Q’uran and the Book Of Mormon.
Think Well,
LV
Showing posts with label rational inquiry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rational inquiry. Show all posts
09 November 2008
24 September 2008
Just a Little Thought (please?) (step 2.)
2. Came to realize that rational inquiry could restore us to sanity.
I can hear it now... "Are you saying I'm insane?" No, just that you may hold ideas that I think are insane. There is a large segment of the population that thinks I'm crazy for not believing in a higher power, I'm simply returning the favor.
Almost every major theology promises its followers life after death, yet still loved ones gather to mourn. Why all the sadness if the funeral's guest of honor is "in a better place," "no longer suffering," or "watching over us from above?" Because most people, even if religious, realize in the rational part of their mind that death is the end.
It is frightening. Death is the worst thing that can happen to you. Convincing yourself you can survive it may be comforting, but reality is not here to make us feel good. (I'll go into more detail on how atheism has helped me deal with death in a later post.)
There is a loud segment of religious fundamentalists and phony scientists trying to convince the masses that the entire universe is 6-10,000 years old. They claim that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time and that the Grand Canyon was caused by the biblical flood. Anyone who has graduated 8th grade knows the dinosaurs died out long before humans arrived on the planet and that the Grand Canyon is the product 6 million years of erosion.
Yet more than half of Americans believe this "creationism" nonsense is valid science. Perhaps the dwindling science education in the US is to partially to blame. The massive propaganda machine from the creationist (re-branded "Intelligent Design" or ID) movement and their high profile lawsuits certainly play a part. I'm guessing most haven't given it much thought. A cursory look at the claims and credentials of the ID supporters is enough for a rational person to dismiss them outright. For example, there are more legitimate scientists named Steve that accept (not believe in) evolution than there are total illegitimate scientists in support of ID.
Believing two contradictory things (i.e. "I'll be in a better place when I die" and "death terrifies me" or "the planet is 6,000 years old" and "the earth has been around for 4.5 billion years.") is know as cognitive dissonance and causes mental stress. Discarding one of the contradictions, or altering existing beliefs is the way to reduce this stress.
If you discard the irrational belief, you can reduce mental stress and restore a measure of sanity.
Think well.
LV
I can hear it now... "Are you saying I'm insane?" No, just that you may hold ideas that I think are insane. There is a large segment of the population that thinks I'm crazy for not believing in a higher power, I'm simply returning the favor.
Almost every major theology promises its followers life after death, yet still loved ones gather to mourn. Why all the sadness if the funeral's guest of honor is "in a better place," "no longer suffering," or "watching over us from above?" Because most people, even if religious, realize in the rational part of their mind that death is the end.
It is frightening. Death is the worst thing that can happen to you. Convincing yourself you can survive it may be comforting, but reality is not here to make us feel good. (I'll go into more detail on how atheism has helped me deal with death in a later post.)
There is a loud segment of religious fundamentalists and phony scientists trying to convince the masses that the entire universe is 6-10,000 years old. They claim that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time and that the Grand Canyon was caused by the biblical flood. Anyone who has graduated 8th grade knows the dinosaurs died out long before humans arrived on the planet and that the Grand Canyon is the product 6 million years of erosion.
Yet more than half of Americans believe this "creationism" nonsense is valid science. Perhaps the dwindling science education in the US is to partially to blame. The massive propaganda machine from the creationist (re-branded "Intelligent Design" or ID) movement and their high profile lawsuits certainly play a part. I'm guessing most haven't given it much thought. A cursory look at the claims and credentials of the ID supporters is enough for a rational person to dismiss them outright. For example, there are more legitimate scientists named Steve that accept (not believe in) evolution than there are total illegitimate scientists in support of ID.
Believing two contradictory things (i.e. "I'll be in a better place when I die" and "death terrifies me" or "the planet is 6,000 years old" and "the earth has been around for 4.5 billion years.") is know as cognitive dissonance and causes mental stress. Discarding one of the contradictions, or altering existing beliefs is the way to reduce this stress.
If you discard the irrational belief, you can reduce mental stress and restore a measure of sanity.
Think well.
LV
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