Wednesday, December 31, 2008
thought of the day.170
Truth is an idea about reality and is therefore dependent on and limited by mind; whereas reality exists independently of and uncompromised by mind.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
thought of the day.169
Jesus lied. In fact, he told demonstrable lies time and time again. And he didn’t tell little white lies but big black lies that cast dark shadows over countless people’s lives whose unanswered prayers leave them to wonder if perhaps they are being punished for a sin, are not righteous enough, or lack enough faith adding the burden of unwarranted guilt and fear to their suffering. And not only is the Jesus character an habitual liar, his statements are irresponsible and dangerous. What if all Christians took their prayers to Jesus instead of their children to the doctor? Imagine if all Christians actually believed what Jesus said about handling snakes and drinking poison. Sadly, thousands of people have and have suffered countless bites, deformities and death due directly to his ridiculous lies. Glass of poison anyone?
Mt 7:7-8, 18:19, 21:21-2, Mk 11:24, 16:18, Lk 10:19,11:9-13, Jn 14:13-14, 15:7, 15:16, 16:23-24...
Mt 7:7-8, 18:19, 21:21-2, Mk 11:24, 16:18, Lk 10:19,11:9-13, Jn 14:13-14, 15:7, 15:16, 16:23-24...
Monday, December 29, 2008
thought of the day.168
The Bible and Slavery
Much in the Bible is unclear and contradictory. However, God’s attitude about humans owning other humans as work animals is not one of them. God regulated slavery, commanded it, condoned it and never condemned it. He told his people they could buy and sell foreign men, women and children as slaves. He said a father could sell his own daughters into lifelong slavery. He had his people attack city after city and enslave those not slaughtered. He said a slave owner could beat his slave to death with a rod without punishment as long as the slave suffered a day or two before dying.
Jesus spoke often of masters and their slaves — of slaves being “heavily whipped”, “beaten”, “killed”, “stoned” and “cut into pieces” but not once does Jesus suggest it’s immoral to sell your daughters or beat your slaves to death. Never does he encourage others to speak out against the evil of slavery. Never does he encourage the oppressed to work for freedom and justice. Neither do his followers. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Peter and Paul instruct slaves to obey and fear their masters, even the cruel and unjust. And Jesus speaks of people owning slaves until the end of time.
Professor Morton Smith notes that "With all these clear passages, there is no reasonable doubt that the New Testament, like the Old, not only tolerated chattel slavery but helped to perpetuate it by making the slaves' obedience to their masters a religious duty. This biblical morality was one of the great handicaps that the emancipation movement in the United States had to overcome. The opponents of abolition had clear biblical evidence on their side...as one said in 1857:"Slavery is of God". (What the Bible Says 1989 p145/146).
Historian Larry Hise notes in his book “Pro-Slavery” that ministers “wrote almost half of all defenses of slavery published in America” listing 275 men of the cloth who used the Bible to prove that it was God’s will for white people to own black people.
In “The Arrogance of Faith: Christianity and Race in America from the Colonial Era to the Twentieth Century”, forrest G. Woods writes, “In the year before the schism, 25,000 communicants owned 208,000 slaves—over 9 percent of the total slave population—and 1,200 Methodist clergymen were themselves slaveholders. If anyone needed a barometer to measure the southern Methodist’s official commitment to bondage he had only to consider the fact that every minister elevated to the rank of bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, between 1846 and the Civil War was a slaveholder.
Charles Bradlaugh said, “...The heretic Cordorcet pleaded powerfully for freedom whilst Christian France was still slave-holding. For many centuries Christian Spain and Christian Portugal held slaves....It was a Christian King...and a Christian friar who founded in Spanish America the slave trade between the Old World and the New. For some 1800 years Christians kept slaves, bought slaves, sold slaves, bred slaves, stole slaves. Pious Bristol and Godly Liverpool less than 100 years ago openly grew rich on the traffic. During the ninth century Greek Christians sold slaves to the Saracens. In the eleventh century prostitutes were publicly sold as slaves in Rome, and the profit went to the Church.”
Professor Carl Lofmark in his book “What is the Bible?” writes: “Christians accepted slavery....the Church itself soon became the biggest slave-owner in the Roman Empire. Slavery was approved of by the Church’s teachers, such as St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas and many others....The slave trade flourished with the approval of the Church .... Slaves have been bought and sold by the popes and they continued to keep slaves until the late 18th century. Opponents of slavery including Wilberforce and Paine.... were savagely attacked by the churches for presuming to know better than the Bible, and the anti-slavery attitude of the Quakers made them unpopular with orthodox Christians.…”
And mark Twain writes, “In all the ages the Roman Church has owned slaves, bought and sold slaves, authorized and encouraged her children to trade in them. … There were the texts; there was no mistaking their meaning; [the Church] was right, she was doing in this thing what the Bible had mapped out for her to do.…
“Christian England supported slavery and encouraged it for two hundred and fifty years, and her church's consecrated ministers looked on, sometimes taking an active hand, the rest of the time indifferent. England's interest in the business may be called a Christian interest, a Christian industry. She had her full share in its revival after a long period of inactivity, and his revival was a Christian monopoly; that is to say, it was in the hands of Christian countries exclusively. English parliaments aided the slave traffic and protected it; two English kings held stock in slave-catching companies. The first regular English slave hunter -- John Hawkins, of still revered memory -- made such successful havoc, on his second voyage, in the matter of surprising and burning villages, and maiming, slaughtering, capturing, and selling their unoffending inhabitants, that his delighted queen conferred the chivalric honor of knighthood on him -- a rank which had acquired its chief esteem and distinction in other and earlier fields of Christian effort. The new knight, with characteristic English frankness and brusque simplicity, chose as his device the figure of a negro slave, kneeling and in chains. Sir John's work was the invention of Christians, was to remain a bloody and awful monopoly in the hands of Christians for a quarter of a millennium, was to destroy homes, separate families, enslave friendless men and women, and break a myriad of human hearts, to the end that Christian nations might be prosperous and comfortable, Christian churches be built, and the gospel of the meek and merciful Redeemer be spread abroad in the earth; and so in the name of his ship, unsuspected but eloquent and clear, lay hidden prophecy. She was called The Jesus.…
“Our own conversion came at last. We began to stir against slavery. Hearts grew soft, here, there, and yonder. There was no place in the land where the seeker could not find some small budding sign of pity for the slave. No place in all the land but one -- the pulpit. It yielded at last; it always does. It fought a strong and stubborn fight, and then did what it always does, joined the procession -- at the tail end. Slavery fell. The slavery text remained; the practice changed, that was all.”
Much in the Bible is unclear and contradictory. However, God’s attitude about humans owning other humans as work animals is not one of them. God regulated slavery, commanded it, condoned it and never condemned it. He told his people they could buy and sell foreign men, women and children as slaves. He said a father could sell his own daughters into lifelong slavery. He had his people attack city after city and enslave those not slaughtered. He said a slave owner could beat his slave to death with a rod without punishment as long as the slave suffered a day or two before dying.
Jesus spoke often of masters and their slaves — of slaves being “heavily whipped”, “beaten”, “killed”, “stoned” and “cut into pieces” but not once does Jesus suggest it’s immoral to sell your daughters or beat your slaves to death. Never does he encourage others to speak out against the evil of slavery. Never does he encourage the oppressed to work for freedom and justice. Neither do his followers. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Peter and Paul instruct slaves to obey and fear their masters, even the cruel and unjust. And Jesus speaks of people owning slaves until the end of time.
Professor Morton Smith notes that "With all these clear passages, there is no reasonable doubt that the New Testament, like the Old, not only tolerated chattel slavery but helped to perpetuate it by making the slaves' obedience to their masters a religious duty. This biblical morality was one of the great handicaps that the emancipation movement in the United States had to overcome. The opponents of abolition had clear biblical evidence on their side...as one said in 1857:"Slavery is of God". (What the Bible Says 1989 p145/146).
Historian Larry Hise notes in his book “Pro-Slavery” that ministers “wrote almost half of all defenses of slavery published in America” listing 275 men of the cloth who used the Bible to prove that it was God’s will for white people to own black people.
In “The Arrogance of Faith: Christianity and Race in America from the Colonial Era to the Twentieth Century”, forrest G. Woods writes, “In the year before the schism, 25,000 communicants owned 208,000 slaves—over 9 percent of the total slave population—and 1,200 Methodist clergymen were themselves slaveholders. If anyone needed a barometer to measure the southern Methodist’s official commitment to bondage he had only to consider the fact that every minister elevated to the rank of bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, between 1846 and the Civil War was a slaveholder.
Charles Bradlaugh said, “...The heretic Cordorcet pleaded powerfully for freedom whilst Christian France was still slave-holding. For many centuries Christian Spain and Christian Portugal held slaves....It was a Christian King...and a Christian friar who founded in Spanish America the slave trade between the Old World and the New. For some 1800 years Christians kept slaves, bought slaves, sold slaves, bred slaves, stole slaves. Pious Bristol and Godly Liverpool less than 100 years ago openly grew rich on the traffic. During the ninth century Greek Christians sold slaves to the Saracens. In the eleventh century prostitutes were publicly sold as slaves in Rome, and the profit went to the Church.”
Professor Carl Lofmark in his book “What is the Bible?” writes: “Christians accepted slavery....the Church itself soon became the biggest slave-owner in the Roman Empire. Slavery was approved of by the Church’s teachers, such as St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas and many others....The slave trade flourished with the approval of the Church .... Slaves have been bought and sold by the popes and they continued to keep slaves until the late 18th century. Opponents of slavery including Wilberforce and Paine.... were savagely attacked by the churches for presuming to know better than the Bible, and the anti-slavery attitude of the Quakers made them unpopular with orthodox Christians.…”
And mark Twain writes, “In all the ages the Roman Church has owned slaves, bought and sold slaves, authorized and encouraged her children to trade in them. … There were the texts; there was no mistaking their meaning; [the Church] was right, she was doing in this thing what the Bible had mapped out for her to do.…
“Christian England supported slavery and encouraged it for two hundred and fifty years, and her church's consecrated ministers looked on, sometimes taking an active hand, the rest of the time indifferent. England's interest in the business may be called a Christian interest, a Christian industry. She had her full share in its revival after a long period of inactivity, and his revival was a Christian monopoly; that is to say, it was in the hands of Christian countries exclusively. English parliaments aided the slave traffic and protected it; two English kings held stock in slave-catching companies. The first regular English slave hunter -- John Hawkins, of still revered memory -- made such successful havoc, on his second voyage, in the matter of surprising and burning villages, and maiming, slaughtering, capturing, and selling their unoffending inhabitants, that his delighted queen conferred the chivalric honor of knighthood on him -- a rank which had acquired its chief esteem and distinction in other and earlier fields of Christian effort. The new knight, with characteristic English frankness and brusque simplicity, chose as his device the figure of a negro slave, kneeling and in chains. Sir John's work was the invention of Christians, was to remain a bloody and awful monopoly in the hands of Christians for a quarter of a millennium, was to destroy homes, separate families, enslave friendless men and women, and break a myriad of human hearts, to the end that Christian nations might be prosperous and comfortable, Christian churches be built, and the gospel of the meek and merciful Redeemer be spread abroad in the earth; and so in the name of his ship, unsuspected but eloquent and clear, lay hidden prophecy. She was called The Jesus.…
“Our own conversion came at last. We began to stir against slavery. Hearts grew soft, here, there, and yonder. There was no place in the land where the seeker could not find some small budding sign of pity for the slave. No place in all the land but one -- the pulpit. It yielded at last; it always does. It fought a strong and stubborn fight, and then did what it always does, joined the procession -- at the tail end. Slavery fell. The slavery text remained; the practice changed, that was all.”
Sunday, December 28, 2008
thought of the day.167
Test of Faith.Ezekiel
God said he would make parents eat
A. stale bread
B. their children
God punished people by letting them sacrifice their
A. favorite goats
B. first-born sons
God said he would send
A. angels to protect children
B. armies to burn children alive
Ezekiel 5:9-10, 20:25-26, 23:25
God said he would make parents eat
A. stale bread
B. their children
God punished people by letting them sacrifice their
A. favorite goats
B. first-born sons
God said he would send
A. angels to protect children
B. armies to burn children alive
Ezekiel 5:9-10, 20:25-26, 23:25
Saturday, December 27, 2008
thought of the day.166
Christmas is merrier without Christ. An atheist can enjoy the flavor of the season without the fat—no virgin-birth hogwash to swallow, no guilt for being a dirty sinner, no hell to fear.
Friday, December 26, 2008
thought of the day.165
Bertrand Russell said, “My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race.” I think it more accurate to say that fear is the disease, religion the symptom. Only when the disease is cured will the symptoms cease.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
thought of the day.164
Reasons for the Season
Long before Jesus was said to be born, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the birth of the sun god, Horus, with eating, drinking and the giving of gifts on Dec. 25th.
In ancient Rome, the holiday season was called the birthday of the Unconquered Sun. Dec. 25th was the holiest day of the year as they celebrated the birth of the god Mithra, who, like Jesus, was visited by shepherds and Magi. The Theodosian decree of 391 established Christianity as the official state religion and banned and persecuted all others. To ease the pagan’s transition to the Christian belief system it was decided that Jesus, like Horus, Mithra and numerous other gods, was born on Dec. 25th as well.
Our Christian traditions, like Christianity itself, evolved from pagan traditions. In Rome, costumed singers and dancers called Mummers went from house to house entertaining their neighbors giving rise to the tradition of Christmas caroling. Northern Europeans gave us the Yule log (burnt in honor of their Sun god); Hollyberries (thought to be a food of the gods); kissing under the mistletoe (begun as a fertility ritual) and Christmas trees (evergreens brought into homes as symbols of life).
No matter which god you may be partial to, Dec. 25th is a great day to celebrate the light’s victory over darkness, the warmth of fireplaces, family and friends and the promise of a brand new year! For those things are the real reasons for the season.
Long before Jesus was said to be born, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the birth of the sun god, Horus, with eating, drinking and the giving of gifts on Dec. 25th.
In ancient Rome, the holiday season was called the birthday of the Unconquered Sun. Dec. 25th was the holiest day of the year as they celebrated the birth of the god Mithra, who, like Jesus, was visited by shepherds and Magi. The Theodosian decree of 391 established Christianity as the official state religion and banned and persecuted all others. To ease the pagan’s transition to the Christian belief system it was decided that Jesus, like Horus, Mithra and numerous other gods, was born on Dec. 25th as well.
Our Christian traditions, like Christianity itself, evolved from pagan traditions. In Rome, costumed singers and dancers called Mummers went from house to house entertaining their neighbors giving rise to the tradition of Christmas caroling. Northern Europeans gave us the Yule log (burnt in honor of their Sun god); Hollyberries (thought to be a food of the gods); kissing under the mistletoe (begun as a fertility ritual) and Christmas trees (evergreens brought into homes as symbols of life).
No matter which god you may be partial to, Dec. 25th is a great day to celebrate the light’s victory over darkness, the warmth of fireplaces, family and friends and the promise of a brand new year! For those things are the real reasons for the season.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
thought of the day.163
Religious leaders empower themselves by proclaiming that “obedience” to God is the greatest good. In contrast, suggesting that “happiness” is the greatest good empowers others.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
thought of the day.162
Truth, justice, mercy, freedom, empathy, peace, and joy are all fine things on their own but sublime when melded as love.
Evangelical pastor, Rick Warren who was recently selected to pray at the Obama inauguration has been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage. His selection set off a firestorm of protests to which he responded saying he “loved” gays. But to truly love someone is to want the very best for them, to have empathy for them, to want them to be justly treated, to be free to be themselves, to find peace and joy. My guess is Rick Warren might want the best for people—gays included—but his “holy” book has twisted his notion of love.
Evangelical pastor, Rick Warren who was recently selected to pray at the Obama inauguration has been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage. His selection set off a firestorm of protests to which he responded saying he “loved” gays. But to truly love someone is to want the very best for them, to have empathy for them, to want them to be justly treated, to be free to be themselves, to find peace and joy. My guess is Rick Warren might want the best for people—gays included—but his “holy” book has twisted his notion of love.
Monday, December 22, 2008
thought of the day.161
The Rev’s Top 10 Christmas Movies
1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
2. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
3. Christmas Vacation (1989)
4. Trading Places (1983)
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
(Thanksgiving is close enough)
6. Bad Santa (2003)
7. Elf (2003)
8. A Christmas Story (1983)
9. Prancer (1989)
10. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
2. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
3. Christmas Vacation (1989)
4. Trading Places (1983)
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
(Thanksgiving is close enough)
6. Bad Santa (2003)
7. Elf (2003)
8. A Christmas Story (1983)
9. Prancer (1989)
10. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
thought of the day.160
Vegetarian Sharks and the Absurdity of a Deathless Creation
To believe that God’s creation was originally “perfect” and that death only entered the world after the disobedience of Adam and Eve one must then presume God gave the shark its teeth to slice into seaweed not fish, gave the spider its web to catch sunlight not flies and gave the cheetah its speed to chase the wind not antelopes.
According to Genesis, God’s command was for mankind to multiply and fill the earth—an easy task without death to curb the population. Of course if there was no death, birds would darken the sky, fish overflow the seas and animals would eventually be stacked to the moon.
All absolutely absurd. Yet this is what Christian theology is based on. If there was no perfect world to begin with then there could be no “Fall” and if no Fall there is no reason for hell and if no hell there is no need of a saviour to save us from it. And the Christian house of cards collapses.
To believe that God’s creation was originally “perfect” and that death only entered the world after the disobedience of Adam and Eve one must then presume God gave the shark its teeth to slice into seaweed not fish, gave the spider its web to catch sunlight not flies and gave the cheetah its speed to chase the wind not antelopes.
According to Genesis, God’s command was for mankind to multiply and fill the earth—an easy task without death to curb the population. Of course if there was no death, birds would darken the sky, fish overflow the seas and animals would eventually be stacked to the moon.
All absolutely absurd. Yet this is what Christian theology is based on. If there was no perfect world to begin with then there could be no “Fall” and if no Fall there is no reason for hell and if no hell there is no need of a saviour to save us from it. And the Christian house of cards collapses.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
thought of the day.159
“I believe in honesty. I believe that a Church has no right to teach what it does not know. I believe that a clean life and a tender heart are worth more to this world than all the faith and all the gods of Time. I believe that this world needs all our best efforts and earnest endeavors twenty-four hours every day....I believe that fear of a god cripples men’s intellects more than any other influence. I believe that Humanity needs and should have all our time, efforts, love, worship, and tenderness. I believe that one world is all we can deal with at a time. I believe that, if there is a future life, the best possible preparation for it is to do the very best we can here and now. I believe that love for our fellow-men is infinitely nobler, better, and more necessary than love for God. I believe that men, women, and children need our best thoughts, our tenderest consideration, and our earnest sympathy.…I believe that it is better to build one happy home here than to invest in a thousand churches which deal with a hereafter.”
~ Helen H. Gardner, Men, Women, And Gods, 1885
~ Helen H. Gardner, Men, Women, And Gods, 1885
Friday, December 19, 2008
thought of the day.158
Christian apologist: mental gymnast who flips and turns and twists the truth for the glory of God.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
thought of the day.157
Rather than filling our children’s heads with thoughts of ghosts, gods and goblins, it seems the world would be a far better place if we simply taught them to question everything, cause no needless suffering, and be kind.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
thought of the day.156
3 obstacles to truth
1. Arrogance. We often believe we already possess the truth.
2. Narcissism. We’re often more concerned with being heard than hearing.
3. Fear. Intellectual comfort—not truth—is too often our goal.
1. Arrogance. We often believe we already possess the truth.
2. Narcissism. We’re often more concerned with being heard than hearing.
3. Fear. Intellectual comfort—not truth—is too often our goal.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
thought of the day.155
test of faith. 2 Kings
God sent bears to
A. lay down in the manger
B. tear children to pieces
God sent an angel upon 185,000 soldiers to
A. instill peace in their hearts
B. kill them all
Jesus’ own ancestor, Manasseh,
A. spread the good news about Christ
B. sacrificed his son as a burnt offering
2 Kings 2:24, 19:35, 21:6
God sent bears to
A. lay down in the manger
B. tear children to pieces
God sent an angel upon 185,000 soldiers to
A. instill peace in their hearts
B. kill them all
Jesus’ own ancestor, Manasseh,
A. spread the good news about Christ
B. sacrificed his son as a burnt offering
2 Kings 2:24, 19:35, 21:6
Saturday, December 13, 2008
thought of the day.154
Jesus says that as inherently “bad” as human fathers are, they would not give their children a snake when they ask for a fish and yet snakes—deadly poisonous snakes— are exactly what Jesus’ “Father in Heaven” gave his children when they cried out in hunger. Mt 7:7-11, Nu 21:4-6
Friday, December 12, 2008
thought of the day.153
The Wisdom of Famous Christians
“I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot...I think the world is much helped by the suffering of the poor people.”
~Mother Teresa
“I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot...I think the world is much helped by the suffering of the poor people.”
~Mother Teresa
Thursday, December 11, 2008
thought of the day.152
Jesus starved people to the point of eating their own babies, afterbirth and all. He sent armies to kill, rape, and enslave his own chosen ones. He blessed those that slaughtered their friends and family. He rained fire and brimstone upon the young and the old. He sent poisonous snakes to bite them and wild animals to devour them. Jesus made laws that demanded all the men of a city stone brides on their wedding night who couldn’t prove their virginity. He permitted a father to sell his daughters into lifelong slavery. He commanded the genocide of entire nations and drowned every child in the world. If Jesus is understood to be God then Jesus committed these atrocities and if we define this God as “Good” is there any wonder why humans can justify their atrocities as being “God’s will”?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
thought of the day.151
Hitler was a saint and Auschwitz a playground compared to Jesus and his fiery furnace.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
thought of the day.150
"At this time of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
~ Freedom from Religion Foundation
~ Freedom from Religion Foundation
Sunday, December 7, 2008
thought of the day.149
Test of Faith.Revelation
Jesus promised to throw Jezebel
A. a party
B. on a bed and make her suffer terribly
Jesus’ angels will
A. bless all of mankind
B. kill a third of mankind
Jesus will rule the world with
A. love and wisdom
B. an iron rod
Rev 2:22-23, 9:15, 19:12-16
Jesus promised to throw Jezebel
A. a party
B. on a bed and make her suffer terribly
Jesus’ angels will
A. bless all of mankind
B. kill a third of mankind
Jesus will rule the world with
A. love and wisdom
B. an iron rod
Rev 2:22-23, 9:15, 19:12-16
Thursday, December 4, 2008
thought of the day.148
The Angel Myth
Most people think of angels as being, well, angelic. But the bible shows them to be winged killing machines that make the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz seem down right cuddly. Their body count includes untold numbers of first-born males in Egypt, 185,000 soldiers, 70,000 Israelites and Revelation tells us that four especially blood-thirsty angels of the Lord will slaughter a third of mankind upon Jesus’ return. And of course Jesus warmed all our hearts by promising that his angels would cast our unbelieving friends and family into a fiery furnace to roast forever.
In the movie, The Prophecy, Thomas Daggett asks, “Did you ever notice how in the Bible, whenever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel?”
Most people think of angels as being, well, angelic. But the bible shows them to be winged killing machines that make the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz seem down right cuddly. Their body count includes untold numbers of first-born males in Egypt, 185,000 soldiers, 70,000 Israelites and Revelation tells us that four especially blood-thirsty angels of the Lord will slaughter a third of mankind upon Jesus’ return. And of course Jesus warmed all our hearts by promising that his angels would cast our unbelieving friends and family into a fiery furnace to roast forever.
In the movie, The Prophecy, Thomas Daggett asks, “Did you ever notice how in the Bible, whenever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel?”
thought of the day.147
Jesus, Peter and the Legacy of Battering
If we are to believe the bible, Peter was one of a select few specially chosen by Jesus to accompany him throughout his ministry. One would think he would have been profoundly enlightened by such an experience. That he would have become a defender of justice, a friend of the downtrodden, a light in the darkness. Instead he was the darkness.
Peter used the idea of God to justify oppression. According to him, the wife suffering beneath the blows of a cruel husband or the slave suffering beneath the blows of a cruel master shouldn’t try to change their situation but accept it. Peter says God is in fact pleased when people endure the pain of undeserved beatings. Their suffering is actually God’s plan for them. (1 P 2:19-20) (1 P 4:19) He said wives make themselves beautiful by submitting themselves to their husbands like Sarah did by obeying her husband and calling him master. (1 P 3:5-6) Peter had such low regard for females he described Lot (who offered his two virgin daughters to an angry mob of sexually depraved men to do with as they pleased (Gn 19:6-8)) as a “good” man. (2 P 2:7-8)
An example of how these toxic texts poison life is seen here in Protestant reformer, John Calvin’s response to a battered woman pleading for help:
“We have a special sympathy for poor women who are evilly and roughly treated by their husbands, because of the roughness and cruelty of the tyranny and captivity which is their lot. We do not find ourselves permitted by the Word of God, however, to advise a woman to leave her husband, except by force of necessity, and we do not understand this force to be operative when a husband behaves roughly and uses threats to his wife, nor even when he beat her.…We exhort her to bear with patience the cross which God has been seen fit to place upon her; and meanwhile not to deviate from the duty which she has before God to please her husband, but to be faithful whatever happens.”
If we are to believe the bible, Peter was one of a select few specially chosen by Jesus to accompany him throughout his ministry. One would think he would have been profoundly enlightened by such an experience. That he would have become a defender of justice, a friend of the downtrodden, a light in the darkness. Instead he was the darkness.
Peter used the idea of God to justify oppression. According to him, the wife suffering beneath the blows of a cruel husband or the slave suffering beneath the blows of a cruel master shouldn’t try to change their situation but accept it. Peter says God is in fact pleased when people endure the pain of undeserved beatings. Their suffering is actually God’s plan for them. (1 P 2:19-20) (1 P 4:19) He said wives make themselves beautiful by submitting themselves to their husbands like Sarah did by obeying her husband and calling him master. (1 P 3:5-6) Peter had such low regard for females he described Lot (who offered his two virgin daughters to an angry mob of sexually depraved men to do with as they pleased (Gn 19:6-8)) as a “good” man. (2 P 2:7-8)
An example of how these toxic texts poison life is seen here in Protestant reformer, John Calvin’s response to a battered woman pleading for help:
“We have a special sympathy for poor women who are evilly and roughly treated by their husbands, because of the roughness and cruelty of the tyranny and captivity which is their lot. We do not find ourselves permitted by the Word of God, however, to advise a woman to leave her husband, except by force of necessity, and we do not understand this force to be operative when a husband behaves roughly and uses threats to his wife, nor even when he beat her.…We exhort her to bear with patience the cross which God has been seen fit to place upon her; and meanwhile not to deviate from the duty which she has before God to please her husband, but to be faithful whatever happens.”
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
thought of the day.146
The Wisdom of Famous Christians
“Women should not be enlightened or educated in any way.
They should, in fact, be segregated as they are the cause of hideous and involuntary erections in holy men.”
~ Saint Augustine
“Women should not be enlightened or educated in any way.
They should, in fact, be segregated as they are the cause of hideous and involuntary erections in holy men.”
~ Saint Augustine
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
thought of the day.144
Test of Faith.Matthew
Jesus said he came to bring
A. peace
B. a sword
Jesus
A. blessed a tree with life
B. cursed a tree to death
Jesus’ angels will gather people to
A. shower them with love
B. throw them into a fiery furnace
Jesus called a mother and daughter
A. God’s children
B. dogs
Jesus said to fear
A. nothing—for he will protect you
B. God—for he can burn you in hell
Matthew 10:34, 21:18-21, 13:40-42, 15:21-28, 10:28
Jesus said he came to bring
A. peace
B. a sword
Jesus
A. blessed a tree with life
B. cursed a tree to death
Jesus’ angels will gather people to
A. shower them with love
B. throw them into a fiery furnace
Jesus called a mother and daughter
A. God’s children
B. dogs
Jesus said to fear
A. nothing—for he will protect you
B. God—for he can burn you in hell
Matthew 10:34, 21:18-21, 13:40-42, 15:21-28, 10:28
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