Some questions about Christianity and other organized religions:Organized religions all over the world:
Why did Jesus, Jehovah, other so called religious authorities not contribute to a better, scientific understanding of the Universe and its Laws? Why did not the Bible and other religious scriptures do this? Could not this knowledge have helped alleviate a lot of suffering over the years? Why did scientific development take so long when the All- Knowing Gods should have easily been able to initiate this development to help mankind?
The Greek atomists seem to know more about the world than Jesus, God; or other gods of other religions. No information on DNA and the close relationship of animals and man and evolution. This could have helped immensely in understanding and alleviating human suffering using molecular biology (DNA).
Christianity (some applies to Judaism and Islam):Why did Jesus not return in his generation as he claimed he would?
Why eternal suffering by any unbeliever (skeptic of the scriptures)? Why emphasis on eternal damnation by Jesus. The New Testament is worse than the Old Testament -- unbelievers (in Christianity this means any person that does not believe Jesus is God) suffer in hellfire forever after they die -- in the Old Testament the punishment is only death and that's it.Why eternal bliss for the perfect believer (he must not doubt too much -- he must have complete faith -- must always come up with the RIGHT conclusion if he does critically think about his faith)?
Why hatred of unbelievers and of enemies for a God of Love? Believe or Be Damned.
Is this the kind of God that I would want to be with or to consult with now and for all eternity?
Why worship Jesus rather than God directly? 2 Gods? Trinity? Jesus was not perfect, people are not perfect.
Why did Jesus not contribute to a better understanding of the Universe. e.g. ScienceWhy did Jesus not call people clearly to the "Light" or "Truth" by divine power instead of by ambiguous, controversial parables? Jesus' massage was often fuzzy and contradicted his disciple's message later in the New testament. Why is faith more important than reason? Common sense less important than faith? Why anti-intellectual? -- Is this a power trip?
Morality concerns behavior, not unquestionable acceptance.
Bible -- very controversial reading unless very strictly censored -- pessimistic, guilt producing, contradictory and inhumane.
(The censorship mentioned above probably applies to anyone, especially a believer -- ministers, etc. tend to do a lot of censoring, not having their faithful read the Bible objectively, leaving out many parts of it, or in the order it is written.) -- occultic, magical, mystical rather than free, sane, practical, ordinary goodness and humanity.
Drink his blood and eat his flesh -- cannibalistic?
Must one give up everything for God as stated in the New Testament? e.g. human feelings, family, friends, all possessions.
Old Testament -- God of the Bible was angry, destructive, against equality of races and sexes, segregationist, contradictory. e.g. Thou Shalt Not Murder -- Bible says God was behind the murder of Israel's enemies and others that work against God's varying desires. In the New Testament it says that Jesus is this God.Was the Bible written to control people and keep them subordinate (slave mentality) -- The Bible is not against slavery. -- The Bible seems to be a book that could be used to justify and uphold any ambitious persons actions.
Blood and suffering and dying a martyr seems important? -- Pain, suffering, and misery are good? Slave mentality?
Obedience to authority no matter what? Anyone with authority, no matter how corrupt, has it God-given? Is this a good God -- this God of the Bible? -- slave mentality?Servants, obey your masters, without reservations.
Mass control of people for certain ends?
If the Bible religion is absolute truth, why must it be defended by large organizations -- wars are fought over it? During the reformation battles were fought between Christian groups.Why do you need large institutions (or small ones) with clergy (experts), etc. to promote and protect God and truth -- can't God and truth stand on their own?
Believers seem to have a Superiority feeling over others. They are the Chosen People. Some even claim to be more intimate with God than others -- possibly possessing supernatural knowledge. e.g. heads of religious groups, pope.
The good fruit that seems to come from Christianity seem to come in spite of Christianity (and Church) . It is produced by people's innate humanity and their ability to focus only on their positive interpretation of what they think Christianity should be -- not what the Bible and Jesus actually say. Often people interpret and look at only parts of their religion that agree with their own philosophy. e.g. social reformers, REFormation leaders, especially ordinary people.
God The Father -- Mary becomes the Mother of "God the Father", since Jesus is God?
God converses directly with people readily during bible times. -- Why not since then -- by T.V.,etc.?
Why has God allowed so much suffering of innocent (believers and non-believers) men, women, children, animals in the past and present -- by God created viruses, bacteria, genetic diseases, floods, earthquakes, etc.?
Comment: I do not pretend to believe that these pages will change society, but they may help give personal freedom to 1 or 2 people.Actually, indications are that traditional religious influence will become greater in the future than it has been in the past. The potential for financial, social, and political control of people by organized religious beliefs is too great to allow this influence on people to decrease.
Difficulties and Questions:
Difficulties with Christianity that is based on the Bible:
1. Some believe there is no Devil as described in the Bible. If there is no Devil then there is no Hell. Therefore there is nothing to save. Most NT miracles are impossible even if one believes in the supernatural because they have to do with evil spirits. There was therefore no tempter in the Garden of Eden -- therefore the atonement is unnecessary -- therefore there is no gospel necessary. The Christianity of the Bible is not viable without the Devil.
2. A preacher can do more for a fellow here than God can after he dies. If the preacher did not save him on earth he is condemned forever, according to the Bible -- God cannot change this.
3. It is better to love our fellow men than to love God. We can help our fellows, but we cannot help Him. Help others, not God. God doesn't need help -- he is all powerful.
4. God of the Bible so loved the world that he is going to damn almost everybody to everlasting hell -- the following are damned because they did not believe Jesus was God or that the Bible was inspired by God -- Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson; the author of the Declaration of Independence; Thomas Edison; George Washington; Abe Lincoln; Thomas Paine; Wagner; Beethhoven; Shakespeare; Shelley; Goethe; Schiller; Robert Burns; Longfellow; Einstein and most other Scientists and many, many others that contributed greatly to the well-being of humanity.
5. You never hear of the people who had been healed or raised from the dead after the event in the Bible -- why not? Their life after the miracle would be most interesting. Especially the people raised from the dead -- it would be interesting to know how they approached their second and final death -- what did they experience on the other side of the first death? -- nothing about any of this in the Bible!! -- Why not??
6. How can a man believe unless the evidence is overwhelming. If someone tells me that God told him something, I have only his word. He may have been deceived. If God wants to tell me something he ought to tell me and not somebody who has been dead 1000's of years in another language.
7. Evil spirits are now considered diseases (example: epileptic fits) or conditions (example: deaf and dumb). But in the Bible Jesus talks to these evil spirits (devils). These epileptic fits, etc. even admitted Jesus was God. And, did epileptic fits tempt Jesus, etc.? Something is not quite right in the Bible.
8. Why do religions persist? Tell a Protestant that Catholicism dies hard -- What does this prove? -- the Protestant will say people are ignorant and priests are cunning. Tell a Catholic that Protestantism dies hard -- What does this prove? -- the Catholic will say people are superstitious and that preachers are stupid. Tell a Muslim that Christianity dies hard -- What does this prove? -- the Muslim will say all infidels will eventually see the Truth and be converted to Islam, etc., etc.
9. There is nothing in the Bible about North America.
10. Till 1821, the infallible Catholic Church said Copernicus was wrong -- the Catholic Church maintained that the Sun went around the Earth. All churches accept new scientific discoveries only after many years -- at first they always condemn these new discoveries. If God of the Universe was involved in any church, why did the church not come up with these discoveries first instead of condemning them as from the devil??
11. By painstaking measurements (by other people at first) and analysis (this all took 38 years) Kepler discovered the 3 Laws of Planetary Motion -- really the key to the heavens. The infinite book of the heavens he discovered was only 3 lines long. Since then the old Heaven of the Bible has died away -- the heaven of the Bible was completely wrong!
12. The Bible knows nothing about evolution, geology, astronomy, physics, nature. It knows very little about medicine -- nothing about the brain -- the Bible knows only evil spirits in terms of medicine. The Bible cannot be relied upon for important knowledge that can help people.
13. What bothers me -- who made everything?? Since God was supposed to have made everything -- did he make psychopaths, volcanoes, earthquakes, diseases such as cancer, hell where there is infinite suffering -- infinite revenge by a good God?? And many other things that are considered evil.
14. The Old Testament is better than the New Testament. In the OT when God had a man dead, that was it -- the man was no more. In the NT God of the Bible who says "Love your enemies" wreaks his revenge forever and ever after a man dies. NT is worse than the OT as hell is worse than sleep.
15. In Heaven you can enjoy watching the people in Hell, according to the Bible -- one of the pastimes. An example: A man that is murdered and does not believe Jesus goes straight to Hell. -- his Murderer can repent just before he is hanged (or whatever) and go straight to Heaven and watch the person he murdered suffer for all eternity in Hell.
16. If an almighty God wanted to communicate an urgent message to all people using a book (bible. koran, etc.) why didn't God have it written in a clear, straight-forward way, unflawed, understandable by everone, so that there is no doubt about its meaning? You would think it would have been given to all of humanity right at the start of humanities existance, so that the message would be clear and fair to all.
Questions:1. How do you know the Bible is divine (God's Word)? This can also be asked of the Koran, Book of Mormon or any other book considered divine.
Some answers: -- you were told it was. -- it says so in the Bible. -- it read like it is divine. -- everybody else believes it.Who wrote it?
2. How do you know Jesus is divine (God)? This can be asked about any personality.
Some answers: -- you were told he was. -- the Bible says so. -- he sounds divine. -- most other people believe he is.3. Why is a given religion good for you??
Religious groups do not have any less criminal activity than non-religious groups -- some studies even show there is less crime by non-religious people than by religious people. Morals or ethics seem natural, rather than supernatural.
4. Just because a majority of people over a long period believe something does not mean it is true. This has been amply shown by the beliefs people had before the scientific era showed they were wrong. Talented people, including eminent scientists can be fooled into believing without evidence. A fraud can last a long time if there is no evidence to disprove it.
5. Why does the Bible produce such a variety of beliefs?? Why is it so unclear?? Why is more than half the Bible filled with obscene stories of cruelty, killing, torture, executions, etc. -- a history of cruelty, the opposite of a history of love that most people think it is.
6. 4 gospels -- not a history of Jesus -- just detached anecdotes of Jesus. Why??
7. God's creation -- Why does the Bible nowhere explain the Universe -- stars, microbes -- none in the Bible! It would have impressed even the infidels much more. The church rejected Science until recent times. Why??
8. (a) Revelations to that person only -- 2nd hand knowledge to anyone else -- you are not obliged to believe it. You have only his word, it is not a revelation to you.
(b) If someone describes someone else and that someone else wrote nothing, then it is hearsay -- therefore it is not necessary to believe it. Examples: Jesus, Mary .
9. Why is the Bible a book of riddles and large organizations are needed to uphold the Truth -- can the Truth not stand on its own?? -- You would think a God-inspired book would make rational sense -- was it produced for the amusement and control of people??
10. Why is the Bible so bloody? Sacrifices galore -- even God was supposed to be sacrificed! Blood everywhere. "Blood of the Lamb". It sounds like the Bible is based on savagery and not on civilization. Isn't nature cruel enough without all this?
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