At age 70 and beyond, one will inevitably begin to question his/her mortality; for many, that process begins 20 to 30 years earlier. Many, if not most people under the age of 25, do not consider religion a driving force in their lives - not unless their environment is steeped in the process and/or they are forced - actively or passively, into the system. However, as one ages, the concept of mortality takes center stage, along with the realization that "we" will not live forever; that is downright scary, even though many will never admit that. For centuries, religion - and for purposes of this text, I will focus primarily on Christianity; has maintained one clear but unstated objective, codified in one word, CONTROL. The creators and proponents of religious dogma have developed and honed their message to drive "Fear of the Unknown" into the hearts of the unsuspecting and ignorant masses and, in so doing, gain control of their lives - stem to stern. The consummate fear of spending eternity in HELL is the supreme motivator for religious conversion. The objective of this narrative is to explore the accuracy of these religious positions, to demonstrate how the established religious dialogue - written and spoken, is completely at odds with - a) the reality of life on earth; b) the human construct; c) any true and accurate knowledge of what follows after the body dies. I will break my narrative into sections to support easy reading over time - no rush to judgement.
For most Christians, the Bible is the anchor of their beliefs - their faith. Complied over centuries, the book has been subjected to several modifications. None of these have been verified but the sense is that changes were made - it seems ludicrous to think otherwise. Later I'll introduce the influence of Constantine the Great.
That said, let's explore the macro tenets of the Bible: God created heaven and earth - did so in 7 days; he molded Adam out of clay and Eve, using a rib from Adam. Adam arrived before Eve, obviously, but nothing is said about how long after Adam was Eve created. However, Adam was obedient; he followed God's laws and was a "good boy" Eve showed up and sometime thereafter fell prey to temptation - Eve, not Adam. And to make it even worse, the symbol of her temptation was visually phallic. So, right from the start - in the first book of the Bible, the woman was portrayed and presented as miscreant, soft of mind and controlled by emotions and her internal desires. Knowing what we know today - 2000 plus years of CE history, doesn't this look/feel a little strange? Something less ordained by God, more contrived by Man. And remember, when the book of Genesis was written - by the Jews, I might add, Adam and Eve, such as they ever existed, were long gone!
That said, let's explore the macro tenets of the Bible: God created heaven and earth - did so in 7 days; he molded Adam out of clay and Eve, using a rib from Adam. Adam arrived before Eve, obviously, but nothing is said about how long after Adam was Eve created. However, Adam was obedient; he followed God's laws and was a "good boy" Eve showed up and sometime thereafter fell prey to temptation - Eve, not Adam. And to make it even worse, the symbol of her temptation was visually phallic. So, right from the start - in the first book of the Bible, the woman was portrayed and presented as miscreant, soft of mind and controlled by emotions and her internal desires. Knowing what we know today - 2000 plus years of CE history, doesn't this look/feel a little strange? Something less ordained by God, more contrived by Man. And remember, when the book of Genesis was written - by the Jews, I might add, Adam and Eve, such as they ever existed, were long gone!
... Continuing to probe - the Christian narrative states that God is omnipotent - all seeing, all knowing, with unfathomable knowledge, power and strength. Keeper of all things, maker of all things - I could go on but the point's been made. He - God, also made humans in HIS image. One has to assume that this was a conscious "decision" We also have to consider that, along with all other aspect of human appearance and behavior, God was meticulous in design, functionality, etc. What then, was God's objective in creating LIFE, in general, human life in particular. Was he seeking to achieve a foundation of harmony among all life but especially among humans; kindness, consideration, empathy, love and understanding - Yes? All these options were available to him - he was, after all, the creator. Make it so it works! In Genesis, as we walk thru the creation, the narrative was constantly punctuated with the phrase "... and God saw that it was good..." so, clearly He was monitoring the progress of his work. Not much is said about the creation of Adam, other than he was made from dirt - hmm, there could be some significance in that fact; but we'll never know; however, let's press on.
Genesis states further that God cautioned Adam, and later Eve to abide by HIS laws. Stay away from the Tree of Knowledge - "... if you partake of its fruit, you will surely die..." This was a directive from GOD! A declarative that should have been followed, without question. Adam was good, apparently; but Eve - aah, the woman. Suddenly we have a serpent - a crafty animal? Now I'm confused! God had just finished creating ALL life on earth - this, one assumes, to include the crafty serpent.
Was this a trap for Adam & Eve? And Eve ate the forbidden fruit and offered it to Adam, but neither Eve nor Adam died - oops? Instead Eve fell for the lure of the phallic, thereby setting in motion the fall of Human Beings, which followed. Before we are done with Genesis - the first book of the Bible, we have a murder - brother killing brother and God's dissatisfaction with the world he JUST created, so great, he felt compelled to "destroy" it - The flood and Noah. All this is amazing! We are not sure of the time elapse between the creation of Adam and the destruction of the world; but it all happened in Genesis. Given that God's human experiment appeared not to be working - I can't believe that murder and mayhem were part of the original construct; but the design was still in its infancy; why not just make some minor modifications? For starters, get rid of FREE WILL. Clearly it was not working, right from the start, Eve, followed by Adam, ignored God's word and FREE WILLED themselves in another direction. Back to the drawing board, GOD; fix the problem! Should not be so difficult, given the level of Your perceived omnipotence. But that did not happen; FREE WILL grew and flourished among humans; and the world, created by God, became a HELL on earth for 70% or more of the people who inhabited it. Later on we find out that the religious intermediaries found a way to lay the blame for this catastrophe, on humans, not God - after all, God was omnipotent! More on that later.
Was this a trap for Adam & Eve? And Eve ate the forbidden fruit and offered it to Adam, but neither Eve nor Adam died - oops? Instead Eve fell for the lure of the phallic, thereby setting in motion the fall of Human Beings, which followed. Before we are done with Genesis - the first book of the Bible, we have a murder - brother killing brother and God's dissatisfaction with the world he JUST created, so great, he felt compelled to "destroy" it - The flood and Noah. All this is amazing! We are not sure of the time elapse between the creation of Adam and the destruction of the world; but it all happened in Genesis. Given that God's human experiment appeared not to be working - I can't believe that murder and mayhem were part of the original construct; but the design was still in its infancy; why not just make some minor modifications? For starters, get rid of FREE WILL. Clearly it was not working, right from the start, Eve, followed by Adam, ignored God's word and FREE WILLED themselves in another direction. Back to the drawing board, GOD; fix the problem! Should not be so difficult, given the level of Your perceived omnipotence. But that did not happen; FREE WILL grew and flourished among humans; and the world, created by God, became a HELL on earth for 70% or more of the people who inhabited it. Later on we find out that the religious intermediaries found a way to lay the blame for this catastrophe, on humans, not God - after all, God was omnipotent! More on that later.
As indicated earlier, for 200 plus years, following the crucifixion, the various factions of Christianity were at war with each other and others. They argued incessantly over whether the deity of Christ - the father, the son and the holy spirit was ONE entity or THREE. Thousands were slaughtered as a result of this conflict. Beginning in approximately 300 CE, formally known as AD, Constantine the Great, in an initiative to consolidate his rule/empire, established mandatory religious requirements. He visibly converted to Christianity to set the stage for a new Religious platform. Many claimed that he exercised editorial privilege with the Bible - removing and/or modifying aspects that did not align with his thinking and objectives. Others - mostly die hard fundamentalists, claim that he did not. However, this is irrelevant. During the period of Constantine - approximately 40 years, and beyond, the fighting among Christians decreased dramatically and three (3) religious factions - Judaism, Christianity and later Muslims were able to exit in relative calm, but not for long...
Approximately 700 years later, all this was upended as Europe, under a religious edict from the Council of Clermont - 1095, launched the Crusade wars, to reclaim the "Holy Land" from the Muslims - and simultaneously, resolve the problem of the Jews. A colossal mayhem, spread over 300+ years, which left the Middle East Region in shambles. The infamous Christians, in their zeal for, whatever, killed anyone they found wearing a turban. A turban was the dress of a region, NOT a symbol of religious affiliation. Thousands of Jews and Muslims, now converted to Christianity were suddenly caught up in this insanity and were summarily butchered - not for what they believed but for how they were dressed. The Catholic church went to great lengths to eradicate this horror from the records. Today, most Christians view the crusaders as heroes in God's war against the infidels - and to clarify, Muslims and Jews.
For the next 1000 years, Christianity - also known as the Catholic Church, strengthened its world position, both as a religious force and government influence, amassing a tremendous fortune along the way. The church became the official intermediary between God and "the people". Prayer was a requirement for all good Christians, made even more meaningful when initiated through a priest. The Church determined what people could and could not do, with drastic penalties for those who dared to disobey. They contrived all manner of charges to extract the meager holdings from the peasants - the most notable of these was Indulgences. One could reduce time spent in purgatory, after death, by paying XX amount to the church. And by the way, these established rules did not apply to the clergy - they were exempt! The Church promulgated the concept of Free Will, and instilled in ALL Christians that THEY - by invoking FREE WILL were responsible for all the evil that befell the world. They, in league with the devil, had disobeyed God and would be punished in the hereafter for their sinful ways. Didn't matter that these Priests - self appointed emissaries of God, were waist deep in corruption, lies, sexual deviancy, theft and coercive manipulation. They plodded forward, unabashedly. Their CONTROL over the people, solidly in place.
All this gets us to where we are - today; we have approximately 2.2 billion Christians, most - 60%, of whom are Catholic. The dialogue has been carefully crafted over the centuries and the narrative is explicit and unquestioned. There is nothing unsaid, that has not already been said. No Christian questions FREE WILL - in fact, they embrace it; no Christian challenges the omnipotence of God or the fact that He allegedly and selectively influences and intervenes in our daily lives, actively or passively - His presence is continuous. Amen!
Christians have been schooled to believe that there is no meaningful challenge to Catholicism, specifically, Christianity in general. This, despite the profusion of data that contradicts just about every aspect. I cannot hope to cover all of these contradictions - no one would read it; as it stands now, I doubt if even this will be read; but no matter. However, Just as many Christians continue to espouse the "goodness" of God on a daily basis, I feel it is also appropriate to demonstrate the contradictions to religious dogma. So let's take a look:
Christians have been schooled to believe that there is no meaningful challenge to Catholicism, specifically, Christianity in general. This, despite the profusion of data that contradicts just about every aspect. I cannot hope to cover all of these contradictions - no one would read it; as it stands now, I doubt if even this will be read; but no matter. However, Just as many Christians continue to espouse the "goodness" of God on a daily basis, I feel it is also appropriate to demonstrate the contradictions to religious dogma. So let's take a look:
We now know that there were flourishing civilizations in other parts of the world, most notably China, but also India, Australia and Africa. The Jews "scribed" the Old Testament - Moses, allegedly was responsible for the first five (5) books, including Genesis, which narrated God's decision to destroy the world by flood. Noah and his ark allegedly contained the only living remnants of life after the flood - which we now know not to be true. The reality of Life is at complete odds with the tenets of the Bible. The Spiritual Geologists will have us believe that planet earth and ALL life forms thereon, magically appeared some 6,000 years ago. Further, and serving only to complicate the situation, other religious advocates state that the 7 days of creation are metaphorical; one day does not necessarily mean 24 hrs, as we know it - it could, in fact, be a million years - less or more as the proponents see fit. However, if we see that perspective as a possibility then it completely obliterates the 6,000 year old claim because the latter is directly tied to our existing timeline - 2,200 years since the crucifixion, etc.
Many Christians reject the Big Bang theory, but reject or not, planet earth is part of a much greater universe and this is not in dispute. The Universe is, by all scientific evaluations, approximately 16 billion years. Within that time frame, there was, supposedly, an explosion which sent huge chunks of geological material in many directions. One of these chunks was planet earth - and that was approximately 4.5 billion years ago. This phenomenon is not at all far fetched; even today we observe explosions occurring in space, some of which occasionally impact earth. Thus began the evolutionary process on planet earth, 4.5 billion years ago - a slow and arduous process.
There are literally thousands of documents, written by scholars and scientists, people devoted to religion and their faith, speculators and spin artists, etc. Scientists, thru a technique called Radio Metric Dating, have been able to pinpoint the approximate date of geological material - in much the same way that one can tell the age of a tree by counting the number of rings in its core. I am inclined to accept and explore the works of scientists. They are invariably, more objective and usually follow the pathway of science without a predetermined goal. On the religious side, Christians already have a goal - the narratives of the bible, and are merely seeking to create facts to support their beliefs. That, for me is a fool's errant.
Many Christians reject the Big Bang theory, but reject or not, planet earth is part of a much greater universe and this is not in dispute. The Universe is, by all scientific evaluations, approximately 16 billion years. Within that time frame, there was, supposedly, an explosion which sent huge chunks of geological material in many directions. One of these chunks was planet earth - and that was approximately 4.5 billion years ago. This phenomenon is not at all far fetched; even today we observe explosions occurring in space, some of which occasionally impact earth. Thus began the evolutionary process on planet earth, 4.5 billion years ago - a slow and arduous process.
There are literally thousands of documents, written by scholars and scientists, people devoted to religion and their faith, speculators and spin artists, etc. Scientists, thru a technique called Radio Metric Dating, have been able to pinpoint the approximate date of geological material - in much the same way that one can tell the age of a tree by counting the number of rings in its core. I am inclined to accept and explore the works of scientists. They are invariably, more objective and usually follow the pathway of science without a predetermined goal. On the religious side, Christians already have a goal - the narratives of the bible, and are merely seeking to create facts to support their beliefs. That, for me is a fool's errant.
CREATION:
... exploring the alternative, Creationists believe that the world, as we know it, started between 6,000 - 10,000 years ago. That's when the 7 day miracle was enacted. The mound of clay and the rib were set in motion and human beings were created. If God is the creator, such as it is portrayed, what then was his objective? One would think he would want a harmonious world, with people working together for a greater good - a perspective, never really defined anywhere in the Bible. But that did not happen! Right from the outset, the fighting and the strife began, culminating in murder. God, looking on, could not be happy with his creation - unless of course mayhem WAS his intention. Assume for a moment it was not; why then did he not remedy the problem. You made it - FIX IT!! But He did not, allowing instead the situation to fester and become endemic. Church leaders - and remember, these were Jews, not Christians, perplexed at what they faced, found a way to shift the blame, TO US. Through the use of FREE WILL, WE, the people, by cavorting with the devil, were responsible for the disaster that was now earth. The devil - another fictional - God's fallen angel; devised by holy men who could not explain why Man's behavior did not align with God's requirements. God's omnipotence remained untarnished, even as mankind suffered, immeasurably!
... exploring the alternative, Creationists believe that the world, as we know it, started between 6,000 - 10,000 years ago. That's when the 7 day miracle was enacted. The mound of clay and the rib were set in motion and human beings were created. If God is the creator, such as it is portrayed, what then was his objective? One would think he would want a harmonious world, with people working together for a greater good - a perspective, never really defined anywhere in the Bible. But that did not happen! Right from the outset, the fighting and the strife began, culminating in murder. God, looking on, could not be happy with his creation - unless of course mayhem WAS his intention. Assume for a moment it was not; why then did he not remedy the problem. You made it - FIX IT!! But He did not, allowing instead the situation to fester and become endemic. Church leaders - and remember, these were Jews, not Christians, perplexed at what they faced, found a way to shift the blame, TO US. Through the use of FREE WILL, WE, the people, by cavorting with the devil, were responsible for the disaster that was now earth. The devil - another fictional - God's fallen angel; devised by holy men who could not explain why Man's behavior did not align with God's requirements. God's omnipotence remained untarnished, even as mankind suffered, immeasurably!
EVOLUTION:
...conversely, the evolution of human life transcended through millions of years - as indicated above. That has been established and verified. The first driver of life was SURVIVAL - live to see another day. Human life learned to do that over the centuries and continued to improve. But, along with those survival skills came other capabilities - we learned the value of greed, lust, lying, cheating, etc. all, in some way, tied to individual SURVIVAL. "those who can, will". Very quickly it was determined that all human beings were NOT CREATED EQUAL - yet another flaw; not equipped with the same skill sets at similar levels; and the separation began, - between those that could and those that couldn't. Started then - clearly more than 10,000 years ago, and is alive and well today. The Church would have us believe that FREE WILL is some equitably distributed skill set, ordained by God and passed down to humans; allowing us to make rationale and objective decisions - EXERCISE FREE WILL, based on information presented. Fact is, that is a galactic fabrication!
Decision making is a process - along with thousands of other processes, all built into the genome of every person; and it is unique (to that person) as well as varied. It is a rare event when two (2) different people, faced with the exact situation, will FREE WILL to the same conclusion - no lies, spin or positioning for hidden agenda reasons. And if/when it does occur - well, a broken clock displays the correct time twice, daily. We are predisposed to do what we do, be who we are, because of genetic coding - a product of the conception and birthing process. A person inclined to extreme rage and mayhem cannot be expected to remain calm when faced with events that gets him/her excited. The reverse is also true; yet we consciously live in denial, clinging steadfastly to the FREE WILL deception. The pundits will say that individuals, thru coaching and psychotherapy can be weaned away from the maniac behavior. But understand that the external influences of therapy an counseling can only stimulate chemical and electrical impulses that are present, to be stimulated. If absent or at significantly reduced levels, external stimulation will fail.
FREE WILL, such as it has been portrayed, IS NOT a direct dispensation from God; on the contrary, it is the result of thousands of years of honing the human genome - trial and error; retain that which makes you strong and accomplished; discard that which makes you weak. That process is still at work, today - there are a lot of "bad" genes out there. Maybe one day, evolution will eventually purge human life of all malcontent genes but for now we are stuck with them. However, it is inconceivable to me that an omnipotent God could be responsible for the direct creation of so flawed a product. Religion simply cannot have it both ways. God either does not exist OR he is not as Omnipotent as the Bible makes him out to be. I prefer to accept the latter. Having started the process which launched Creation, God left all other aspects - with no intervention, to the slow plodding process of evolution.
...conversely, the evolution of human life transcended through millions of years - as indicated above. That has been established and verified. The first driver of life was SURVIVAL - live to see another day. Human life learned to do that over the centuries and continued to improve. But, along with those survival skills came other capabilities - we learned the value of greed, lust, lying, cheating, etc. all, in some way, tied to individual SURVIVAL. "those who can, will". Very quickly it was determined that all human beings were NOT CREATED EQUAL - yet another flaw; not equipped with the same skill sets at similar levels; and the separation began, - between those that could and those that couldn't. Started then - clearly more than 10,000 years ago, and is alive and well today. The Church would have us believe that FREE WILL is some equitably distributed skill set, ordained by God and passed down to humans; allowing us to make rationale and objective decisions - EXERCISE FREE WILL, based on information presented. Fact is, that is a galactic fabrication!
Decision making is a process - along with thousands of other processes, all built into the genome of every person; and it is unique (to that person) as well as varied. It is a rare event when two (2) different people, faced with the exact situation, will FREE WILL to the same conclusion - no lies, spin or positioning for hidden agenda reasons. And if/when it does occur - well, a broken clock displays the correct time twice, daily. We are predisposed to do what we do, be who we are, because of genetic coding - a product of the conception and birthing process. A person inclined to extreme rage and mayhem cannot be expected to remain calm when faced with events that gets him/her excited. The reverse is also true; yet we consciously live in denial, clinging steadfastly to the FREE WILL deception. The pundits will say that individuals, thru coaching and psychotherapy can be weaned away from the maniac behavior. But understand that the external influences of therapy an counseling can only stimulate chemical and electrical impulses that are present, to be stimulated. If absent or at significantly reduced levels, external stimulation will fail.
FREE WILL, such as it has been portrayed, IS NOT a direct dispensation from God; on the contrary, it is the result of thousands of years of honing the human genome - trial and error; retain that which makes you strong and accomplished; discard that which makes you weak. That process is still at work, today - there are a lot of "bad" genes out there. Maybe one day, evolution will eventually purge human life of all malcontent genes but for now we are stuck with them. However, it is inconceivable to me that an omnipotent God could be responsible for the direct creation of so flawed a product. Religion simply cannot have it both ways. God either does not exist OR he is not as Omnipotent as the Bible makes him out to be. I prefer to accept the latter. Having started the process which launched Creation, God left all other aspects - with no intervention, to the slow plodding process of evolution.
PRAYER:
The Bible and the Church tells us that prayer is almost compulsory, if we are to effectively commune with God. "... No one gets to my Father but through me, in prayer..." The Bible also teaches us that we are ALL God's children; that he loves us dearly, has our best interests at "heart" and wants us to live a wholesome life while on earth. Great! However, the reality of our existence is in direct opposite of that statement. Since the recording of human history on planet earth, 10% of the population, at any date and time, have always ruled the residual 90%. This was true when the earth's population was but a few million people. Today, world population is approximately eight (8) billion; and conservatively, 60 - 70% of that 8 billion live absolutely horrible and despicable lives, from the day of birth until they die - and for a sub set of that %, the situation for them is 100 fold worse. Many of these people pray; but even worse, many are but babies - 5 years old and younger. What did they do to deserve the horrible lives they were handed; and all too often, even more horrific deaths, at the hands of some dysfunctional human being. Just curious - was the latter exercising FREE WILL when he raped and murdered some hapless 5 yr old. And where was God, when this horror was in motion?
Consider the following real event - two soldiers are in battle; one gets killed, the other survives. When questioned by reporters, the latter's response will invariably be "... I knew I would survive because I prayed to God and I knew he would protect me...". This is an every day occurrence. We hear it ever time there's a tragedy - tornado, earthquake, covid-19; there's no end. Those who are spared, thank God for their good fortune. My question is - who do the victims thank; what did they do or not, that committed them to their fate, versus those who were spared. The mere thought that there could be some differentiation in treatment makes God into something other than as portrayed. Prayer is a process conceived by MAN - the differentiating factor that makes ME good and YOU bad. It becomes a retrospective process. After the results are known, the reason for success or failure pivots on prayer. I was successful because I prayed; your failure means you did not pray. This is so Bizarre but totally in keeping with the mindset of human beings. And this was designed by GOD??? Emphatically NO - it was designed by Humans - the self described emissaries of God, for their own selfish reasons.
The Bible and the Church tells us that prayer is almost compulsory, if we are to effectively commune with God. "... No one gets to my Father but through me, in prayer..." The Bible also teaches us that we are ALL God's children; that he loves us dearly, has our best interests at "heart" and wants us to live a wholesome life while on earth. Great! However, the reality of our existence is in direct opposite of that statement. Since the recording of human history on planet earth, 10% of the population, at any date and time, have always ruled the residual 90%. This was true when the earth's population was but a few million people. Today, world population is approximately eight (8) billion; and conservatively, 60 - 70% of that 8 billion live absolutely horrible and despicable lives, from the day of birth until they die - and for a sub set of that %, the situation for them is 100 fold worse. Many of these people pray; but even worse, many are but babies - 5 years old and younger. What did they do to deserve the horrible lives they were handed; and all too often, even more horrific deaths, at the hands of some dysfunctional human being. Just curious - was the latter exercising FREE WILL when he raped and murdered some hapless 5 yr old. And where was God, when this horror was in motion?
Consider the following real event - two soldiers are in battle; one gets killed, the other survives. When questioned by reporters, the latter's response will invariably be "... I knew I would survive because I prayed to God and I knew he would protect me...". This is an every day occurrence. We hear it ever time there's a tragedy - tornado, earthquake, covid-19; there's no end. Those who are spared, thank God for their good fortune. My question is - who do the victims thank; what did they do or not, that committed them to their fate, versus those who were spared. The mere thought that there could be some differentiation in treatment makes God into something other than as portrayed. Prayer is a process conceived by MAN - the differentiating factor that makes ME good and YOU bad. It becomes a retrospective process. After the results are known, the reason for success or failure pivots on prayer. I was successful because I prayed; your failure means you did not pray. This is so Bizarre but totally in keeping with the mindset of human beings. And this was designed by GOD??? Emphatically NO - it was designed by Humans - the self described emissaries of God, for their own selfish reasons.
I clearly recognize the possible existence of a higher power - a Supreme Being. I am not an atheist. That said - however and whenever this force manifested itself, it had to fall within the boundaries that have been proven to be real - not over 7 days, 6,000 years ago. The universe is 15+ billion years old, so that would be a starting point. This Supreme Being did whatever he had to do to ignite the creation of the Universe - We see a lot of images of finger pointing and touching; maybe that was the initial step - though I seriously doubt that. Nonetheless, events progressed from that point, without intervention from HIM.
Life evolved over this humongous timeline - starting, stopping, changing direction, destroying itself and subsequently being reformed. All of this, a constant evolution of life - ALL LIFE and matter, that has gotten us to where we are today. The trials and challenges faced daily by those early humans and other life forms - the cave dwellers/the hunter gatherers, were the tools that shaped the world and all therein. Reptiles were fish before they became alligators, after being forced to live on land. The Supreme Being had no input in the design construct of the universe and later planet earth. All were products of a continual trial and error process over billions of years. And, all this with no intervention, whatsoever! Our job, as the highest form of intelligence on Earth, was to work with each other to manage and secure the planet, on a platform of continuous improvement. However, this was simply NOT possible! Evolution was focused initially on Survival and crafted humans to do just that. Comradery and consensus appeared only out of extreme necessity and were fleeting - the continual fight for survival and self promotion did not facilitate a harmonious existence. Did not, 6,000 years ago - and I mark that time slot to indicate the first records of human existence, NOT the creation of Planet Earth; currently improved, at some level but still clearly lacking, today!
Life evolved over this humongous timeline - starting, stopping, changing direction, destroying itself and subsequently being reformed. All of this, a constant evolution of life - ALL LIFE and matter, that has gotten us to where we are today. The trials and challenges faced daily by those early humans and other life forms - the cave dwellers/the hunter gatherers, were the tools that shaped the world and all therein. Reptiles were fish before they became alligators, after being forced to live on land. The Supreme Being had no input in the design construct of the universe and later planet earth. All were products of a continual trial and error process over billions of years. And, all this with no intervention, whatsoever! Our job, as the highest form of intelligence on Earth, was to work with each other to manage and secure the planet, on a platform of continuous improvement. However, this was simply NOT possible! Evolution was focused initially on Survival and crafted humans to do just that. Comradery and consensus appeared only out of extreme necessity and were fleeting - the continual fight for survival and self promotion did not facilitate a harmonious existence. Did not, 6,000 years ago - and I mark that time slot to indicate the first records of human existence, NOT the creation of Planet Earth; currently improved, at some level but still clearly lacking, today!
... If fighting, killing and clawing through life to achieve individual success was the objective, the human race has been exceedingly successful - in the 20th century, there were, conservatively 231 million people killed or allowed to die, due to conflict and other horrors. BUT we failed, MISERABLY, if the goal was to achieve a harmonious and productive life, enjoyed by most human beings - simply put, people helping other people succeed on a macro level - the norm, not the exception! There were numerous contributing factors to that failure but THREE stand out significantly, as follows:
- Evolution and the need to survive, developed skill sets in humans that were unabashedly SELFISH.
- Humans, who determined that "they" were better - as in more intelligent, stronger, etc. than others, initiated a process of manipulation in order to achieve control of those not as skilled.
- The birth of Religion - think about it, that concept was the single best narration to use in order to achieve control. The Supreme Being was invisible to all; but the smart ones could contrive a story which would fill the ignorant with fear. That fear became the controlling factor - in the hands of the manipulators, there were no boundaries to what they could achieve.
The question posed in the beginning is again center stage. Two questions: 1) Why does God need to be continually reassured of his power and omnipotence? 2) What exactly is the culminating objective for all this devotion to God. It seems so strange, that a Supreme Being would need to be constantly applauded for his supremacy. I do not believe it and will not accept the dogma - it is clearly contrived.
For human beings who have "given their lives to Christ" - whatever that means; what is the ultimate goal - the reward? Is it that you will earn a seat in God's heavenly temple, after death, doing and participating in the myriad of activities, as spelled out in the Bible? OR, on the negative side, is it to ensure, as much as is possible, that "we" don't end up in hell - fire and brimstone for eternity. And if it turned out that, by whatever means, we were to be assured that those religious presumptions were FALSE, would "we" still be as devoted (to God).
For human beings who have "given their lives to Christ" - whatever that means; what is the ultimate goal - the reward? Is it that you will earn a seat in God's heavenly temple, after death, doing and participating in the myriad of activities, as spelled out in the Bible? OR, on the negative side, is it to ensure, as much as is possible, that "we" don't end up in hell - fire and brimstone for eternity. And if it turned out that, by whatever means, we were to be assured that those religious presumptions were FALSE, would "we" still be as devoted (to God).
Faith says - no questions asked; accept as is and behave, as directed. Obviously, many have done just that. But it does not make it unequivocal; because no one really knows - conjecture at best, with a strong dose of persuasiveness built in. Strangely enough - Donald Trump expected the exact same thing - and was able to persuade/convince 60 plus million people that the 2020 election was fraudulent and stolen from him; that, despite all evidence to the contrary. Religion is the macro version of what Donald Trump accomplished, both, with clearly the same objective. And, in many ways, Trump considers himself "A God" or at the very least, a critical emissary. Too many of "us" fail to see the threads of similarity in behavior, stretched out across the platform of life. We don't connect the dots and miss the cues. Unfortunate but true!
My final position is, as follows:
There is a monstrous disconnect between life/suffering on earth, for human beings - as we know it, and the narrative presented in the Bible. Religious Organizations are immensely wealthy, yet hunger and starvation persists on a global scale.
Any literal interpretation of Creation is a zero sum game - simply doesn't work! God, in his omnipotence, failed in his design and creation of Human Beings and made no attempt to rectify. And I am fully aware of all the religious justifications, presented - that Human Beings are exactly as God intended. However, the concept of evolution, with all its misses and re-works, fits in with life on earth - human, animals and vegetation; a jig saw puzzle with all the pieces coming together to present and support who we are. Know that it is not even close to being perfect - and never will be; but it's what we have and it makes sense.
There is a monstrous disconnect between life/suffering on earth, for human beings - as we know it, and the narrative presented in the Bible. Religious Organizations are immensely wealthy, yet hunger and starvation persists on a global scale.
Any literal interpretation of Creation is a zero sum game - simply doesn't work! God, in his omnipotence, failed in his design and creation of Human Beings and made no attempt to rectify. And I am fully aware of all the religious justifications, presented - that Human Beings are exactly as God intended. However, the concept of evolution, with all its misses and re-works, fits in with life on earth - human, animals and vegetation; a jig saw puzzle with all the pieces coming together to present and support who we are. Know that it is not even close to being perfect - and never will be; but it's what we have and it makes sense.
At the end of life, the physical body comes to and end and deteriorates - no challenge there. The presumption is that the Spirit or Soul attached to that body, if it continues, does so independent of the body from whence it came. The religious declarative is that the spirit retains cognitive knowledge of the life to which it was attached, taking that information forward. My hope/conclusion is that the spirit - such as it is, floats free - giving credence to the phrase "Free Spirit" There is no heaven or hell; if that were true, then hell would be over crowded and heaven would be empty - we are all sinners, so saith the Bible. Catholicism would have you believe that, having lived an absolutely corrupt life, if in 5 minutes before dying you confessed your "sins" to a priest and receive "Last Rites", all is forgiven and you'd be on your way to heaven - yeah! The Jehovah Witness sect believe that only 140,000 souls will be selected for entry into heaven, all from their clan. And on and on; each group with their own private nuance and interpretation. Wow!
Despite the billions of words written on this subject, no one knows for sure what actually occurs on the other side. There has been no credible communications from that other dimension, despite all the dramatized dialogue to the contrary. Each of us has our own hopes and expectations - none more credible than the other. The intent of this blog is to get people thinking. The hard core fundamentalists will dismiss every word as heresy. Typical and expected. Hopefully, many will see this for what it is - a provocative insertion; something for consideration.
Despite the billions of words written on this subject, no one knows for sure what actually occurs on the other side. There has been no credible communications from that other dimension, despite all the dramatized dialogue to the contrary. Each of us has our own hopes and expectations - none more credible than the other. The intent of this blog is to get people thinking. The hard core fundamentalists will dismiss every word as heresy. Typical and expected. Hopefully, many will see this for what it is - a provocative insertion; something for consideration.
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