I became obsessed with this question and for over thirty years I’ve clipped magazine and newspaper articles to pile up the truth as much as possible. I’m in my twilight years now but I don’t fear the “big sleep” like I used to, because I don’t believe God is going to waste his/her time judging my soul. The Hubble telescope has humbled me.
I’d like to take you through the Bible one more time and I’ll show you why God isn’t particularly loving, caring, or forgiving. I’ll explain why you aren’t going to Heaven and why you probably wouldn’t want to if you could. I’ll also tell you where you are going and why that’s OK! And, most of all I’ll try to answer Grandma’s question “what’s it all for?”
So bear with this ‘country boy’ and we’ll take a heavy look at reality, we’ll roll back the carpet and see what’s been swept under there by all the religions over time.
I’m going to ask you some “faith” questions along the way. Try to answer the yes and no questions without using the word “but”, because that word is an excuse or an apology. Be honest with yourself.
The Bible - Genesis Chapter 1
Does God exist? We all would like to think so don’t we! He’s our “Big Papa” in Heaven who’s always got our backside and whom you can talk to any time. Trouble is, he never talks back to us, at least not to me or to any of my friends or relatives. Why is that? He used to talk to the ancient Hebrews quite a bit; even wrestled with one and turned one into salt. But you don’t hear much from him lately, especially when the world could use a little “fatherly guidance” in the future.
Perhaps he’s dead, like they claimed in the 1960’s – “Young Almighty God was killed today when an experiment he was conducting in the family garage with energy and matter; exploded with a terrible bang. The explosion destroyed the garage taking Almighty’s existence.” Perhaps, with the next generation of deep space telescopes soon to be launched, we’ll be able to look out far enough and see parts of the garage. But, this can’t be, right? Because everybody knows God lived long enough to have a son, so he can’t be dead. Besides, we need someone to blame all the wrongs on anyway.
He’s everywhere, all powerful, caring, loving, forgiving. He’s more generous than the Tooth Fairy and knows more about you than Santa Claus.
He will allow you to bask in his radiance and glory up in Heaven for all time; if you pass muster at the resurrection.
The basic requirements are, a strong belief in “Our” God; a generous tithing habit and some volunteer religious duties. (If you give of your time in service to the Almighty this is thought of as a bonus.)
You must also believe he sent his only begotten son; to endure one of the most horrible ways a man can die; to atone for our sins, and that the only way to heaven and eternal life is through him. I think this pretty much sums it up if you’re a Christian. “You gotta believe!” You Just Gotta Believe!
But is any of this truth? Is God kind and nice and does Jesus (who seemed powerless on earth) have the power to look inside the souls of men like Plato or Socrates or Einstein and determine whether or not they measure up? None of these men to the best of my knowledge ever used a whip to get their point across.
So my quest for the “Holy Grail” is the truth in all this. Let’s skip through the “Good Book” a little here and there and see how it holds up today with the latest archeological and religious studies by the experts. And don’t say “well, nobody takes very much of the Bible literally anymore.” A majority of religious people believe every word – “these are the thoughts of God written down by his earthly scribes; collected by pious men” (and repeatedly pounded down our throats every Sunday from the pulpit). All the ‘atheists in Heaven’ couldn’t change their minds, because they’ve been “imprinted” early in life. They’ll pass into the hereafter perhaps doubting, but accepting this simple way to Heaven, “All you gotta do is Believe!”
But the truth is very important to me, because I don’t want the “guilt trip” of original sin put on my descendants. They don’t need to tithe or believe at all! They can be free of this “Mental Handicap” all their lives and so can you. I’ll show you why.
Genesis – King James Version
Verse 1. “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth” – he did this in the dark because he didn’t make light till the 3rd verse.
Verse 10. “And God called the dry land earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the seas; and God saw that it was good.”
GOOD? This earth has continuously shifting tectonic plates which cause earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanos. Droughts, tornados, lightening, fire, hurricanes, typhoons, floods with mudslides, record colds and extreme heat are constantly occurring somewhere. Every year these “Acts of God” decimate plant and animal life around the globe. If a tornado destroys your house, the insurance companies don’t call it an “Act of The Devil!” They call it an “Act of God,” which it is!
Now, “science sez” the universe is 13.7 billion years old. It was uninhabitable for life the first 5.7 billion because of radiation. The earth is 5 billion years old so God still had roughly 3 billion years to practice getting this planet stable for life before he busted up a star to make us. So this is the best a loving, caring “Father” can do? Can this be intentional, this indiscriminate destruction of life? Or just a product of evolution and chance?
Verse 25. “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and God saw that it was good.”
I have to disagree with God here. What are these “creations” supposed to eat? The cattle can eat grass of course, but there are those who swear plants can feel pain! And there is no mention anywhere of “Manna from Heaven” for any of those “creepy things” which include lions, and tigers and bears – Oh My! So what were the meat eaters supposed to eat? God had them eat the flesh of lesser animals of course and he called it ‘predatation’. Wouldn’t you think a loving, caring God could find a more “humane” way to supply his creations with nourishment? Why pit species against species, sorta like an earthly Roman coliseum, unless they’ve all sinned, or you derive some pleasure out of it all? It seems to be “Good for God,” doesn’t it?
Verse 28. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them ‘Be fruitful, and multiply,’ and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
God has created man and woman in his image and he now tells them – “be fruitful and multiply.” What loving, caring God, would tell his favorite species to multiply in a finite space? What will happen if we keep on multiplying like God says – go figure? Since God had commanded the rest of nature to be fruitful and multiply also (chapter 22), this kinda makes it a “free for all” down here for all living things. Species against species, individuals against individuals, all for their place in the sun. If God’s looking for peace and harmony, he seems to be going about this all in the wrong way. This “command” is the “Root of all Evil” as I’ll show you as we go on.
Verse 30. “And to every beast of the earth and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life. I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so.”
This verse shows that you vegetarians are out of line. God intended us to be meat eaters before he put us in the garden. Here all along, I thought all Adam and Eve ate were turnips and figs, but it seems we had to have an array of herbs to choke down, scavenged meat? And why would God plan all this “herb tree seed” business if he wasn’t halfway intending to throw them out of the garden in the first place? God doesn’t plant the garden till the 8th verse of the