My skepticism regarding religion hit me pretty early in life. Like most boys in first grade in th 70's, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. And the more I read about them and about geology, none of the Bible stuff seemed to make any sense. The next big thing that got me wondering was how the God of the Bible used to make personal appearances all the time; whether it be the burning bush or any other numerous times where God personally spoke to people. I wondered, why doesn't this happen anymore? If someone said that God showed up while they were in the shower or stopped by for dinner on taco night, they're considered certifiably nuts. That's why I loved this one by Nick Paccione over at Smirking Chimp: Oh God, Where art Thou? It brings up these questions, as well as the larger point that people who believe in religious literalism really have it screwed up.
If the Bible is the literal truth then we must ask, “What happened”? Did God die? Did he abandon us? Or is he actually speaking to us through Pat Robertson? (Wouldn’t that be the ultimate kick in the head?) I don’t have the answer. And I believe to my core that anyone who thinks he or she has the answer (a fundamentalist of any stripe) is deluded.
I refuse to believe that God, once so meddlesome in people’s lives according to Bible accounts, has changed his to-do list so drastically. No more walks in the garden. No more sleuth-like pursuits of brother-killing criminals like Cain. No parting of seas. No direct instruction of where and why to move like Jacob and Moses received. And how long has it been since anyone has been turned into a pillar of salt for disobedience?
Has God changed his ways? Or is this more compelling evidence that the Bible stories about God’s interaction with mankind are not literal truth?...
But quite sadly, history continues to tell us that as long as people believe that their religion or “holy book” is the literal truth we will never make progress toward a peaceful world. The “holy” books of each and every world religion were never meant to be read as literal prose. They are poetic. Strip away the tales and myths and you’ll discover that they all offer the same guidance for living: love one another.
Great article, check it out.
7 comments:
That was interesting.
I think his views of what Christians teach their children was pretty narrow, though.
He said: "Wouldn’t it be healthier to teach our children that Christ came to earth to teach us how to live?"
Ummm, yeah. That pretty much sums up what they teach at the evangelical Protestant church I go to. (You know, those fundie wackos.)
Today's evangelicals are different than even our parent's generation. Young Christians are much more interested in trying to live a Christ-like life than worrying about who is going to Hell.
From the part you posted: "No direct instruction of where and why to move like Jacob and Moses received. "
Funny, I posted yesterday on my homeschool blog about another homeschool blogger who quit her blog because God told her to and my neighbors who moved here from Texas because God told them to. God still speaks. You just don't hear about it because we all don't want to be medicated!
Ok, good, I can pick your brain on this one. What exactly hapens when they say 'God speaks'? Do they actually hear a voice coming from somewhere else outside of their head? Or is it in their head, like a thought? If it's the latter, who's to say it's 'God' and not just their own thought processes?
I've been doing a lot of reading lately about the possible biochemical origins of spiritual experience... the idea that profound spiritual experiences and feelings people have are just another section of the brain working, like mathematics or being hungry. They find that spiritual people have a lot of electrical activity present in that area, where people like myself have very little. Have you heard anything about that.
From reading your writings, you don't give me the impression of being a Biblical literalist, and the only kind of fundamentalist you seem like you would be is the free-market variety.
"The only kind of fundamentalist you seem like you would be is the free-market variety."
Oh, you are just too funny.
Actually, people would be shocked to learn that I actually am a Biblical literalist, although, I realize that some things in the Bible are allegorical. Actually, every one realizes that; it is just a matter of how much is viewed as allegorical.
Not everyone that believes in the Bible is anti-intellectual. I think the reason that I don't come off as "one of those" Christians is that I was not raised that way and I approached God with a great deal of skepticism.
Everyone hears God differently. It is impossible to know whether or not someone is actually hearing something "outside" their head, since the processing of sound is done inside our heads anyway. You know?
Some people do hear a voice outside their heads. Some people just get a feeling. Some people see visions. Sometimes other people are part of God's way of communicating. Every one is different, so God communicates with each person differently.
Here's a great quote, from that blogger who just quit blogging "in obedience to the Lord."
"But just as a newborn baby can zero in on his mother’s voice because he has walked so closely with her, a Christian can know the voice of the Lord who leads her."
Where the Bible really comes in is as a way to get to know God and in turn know whether or not it is Him whose voice we hear.
So you really believe in the Biblical creation and all that jazz? I'm shocked...I hope you don't eat shellfish. Do you own slaves?
And there's still the issue of that little voice in your head. Ii get it too, but I don't see any evidence that it's coming from anyplace else.
Yes, I do believe in creation, but there is not nearly enough information in the Bible to tell us exactly how it went down, so I'm not exactly a Hovind groupie or anything.
I just respect God as our Creator.
In our homeschool, where I do expose the kids to secular science materials, I just remind them that science concerns things that can be observed and measured and since God cannot be observed and measured, He is left out of the equation. I still respect the discipline of science. I did major in physics in college before I changed my major to math in my junior year.
I do not eat shellfish because I don't like it. And I do not own slaves, unless you ask my kids. They will tell you that I treat them like slaves because I - gasp! - make them do housework. Heaven forbid.
Seriously, though, let me clear up a could of things. First, we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by following the Old Testament law. We are under a new covenant.
Second, some of the rules in the OT were written to apply only to certain groups. And third, the books should be viewed in context. Some of what is in there is not command from God, but rather customs of the time.
Jesus gave two commandments: Love the Lord with all of your heart, mind, and soul; and love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets (books of the OT) hang on these two commandments. So there is really no need to be legalistic about following commandments given to Jewish priests thousands of years ago. They call that legalism.
Loving the Lord with all of your heart, mind, and soul is really hard to do. It means being willing to give up other things we care about if the Lord so commands. When you walk with the Lord, you know what he wants from you, whether it is a voice, or whatever.
I never actually said I hear a voice. I actually don't. I don't really like to get into specifics about my experiences. Especially with someone who will probably only mock me! :)
I don't doubt that everyone hears a voice inside their head sometimes. I have only been a Christian for two-and-a-half years, so I know what it is like to not believe in God.
You don't sound too much like a literalist to me...
As you've probably figured out by poking around on my blog, I don't exactly have the highest amount of respect for the true believers, particularly those of a fundamentalist mindset... but I wouldn't mock you.
I could debate this stuff all day, but, once again you're breaking down my stereotypes in that I suspect you view religion is a personal matter, not to be thrust on anyone else. Always up for a debate on the big questions if you feel the urge. And I'll be nice, I swear.
Jeez, at the rate we're going here, we should just have a counterpoint blog together or something.
"I suspect you view religion is a personal matter, not to be thrust on anyone else."
This is true.
"Jeez, at the rate we're going here, we should just have a counterpoint blog together or something."
That's funny. I wanted my husband to so a he said/she said blog with me, but the problem is that we agree on everything. I think it would be more interesting with people who actually debate.
Maybe sometime we can have a religion debate. I used to debate all of the time on the History of Christianity message board of the History Channel, but it gets old after a while. This was like a year ago.
If I ever feel the urge, you'll be the first to know.
Okay, I have to go watch "The Boondock Saints" with Bob. Have a good night.
Post a Comment