Sorry its been a while since my last post, it was my intention to blog everyday but those of you that know me know that such a thing is rarely possible. LOL Anyway, the holidays are just around the corner and its got me thinking, about way many things to list at one time but meh, that's just the way my mind works. What I've been thinking the past couple days is, charities.
Now that Atheists are starting to "come out of the closet" why isn't there a national Atheist charity? Why don't we dispel the misconception that Atheists are selfish and uncaring? And would prefer to 'fiddle while Rome burns'. Of course as long as it doesn't interfere with our baby eating activities and sacrificing animals to the sun. What better way than a charity? Compassion is not limited to just those with religious tendencies, what better way to prove that we care and actually have hearts than to give to those who need it? And let's be honest, an Atheist in charge of such a thing would be able to run the thing more efficiently since they won't be relying on 'god' to prove funds or be foolish enough to hire a con-man to be in charge of finances and then wonder later why such a great 'god-loving' man could embezzle a million dollars.
Don't get me wrong I think religious charities are great, they do good work. But let's be honest, some of them are only interested in adding to their numbers. Yeah we'll feed you poor starving slob tonight but you'll have to sit through a church service first. I know not all of them are like that, but really and Atheistic charity wouldn't give a crap where your soul is going to spend eternity. You're hungry? Here eat something. You're cold? Here's a jacket. Need a place to sleep? Here's a cot and blanket, don't worry about anything tonight you're safe here. Get some sleep. No need to sign up for church, no saying a prayer to save your soul, you've got a need? Here we'll do our best to help you.
Currently I actually work for a religious charity, (not that really had much say in the matter) and yes I was concerned that my being an Atheist would cause problems as I decided before I started when the matter of religion came up, I was going to be honest and straight-forward about it. My boss was great about it, yes of course he asked questions but he didn't push the matter, nor did he try to convert me. To tell the absolute truth, I love my job. I love the fact that I help people who need it and what I do makes their lives better. Its fulfilling in a way I didn't think it would be when I started. And the way I look at it, its not labeled any particular religion they just call themselves 'interfaith'. Well, I have faith, just not in any supreme deity who watches me when I'm on the toilet or scratching my butt, so can include myself in there.
Since the charity I work for is on shaky ground this up-coming year, it really got me thinking. So, I have a dream. Why the hell not? Most great ideas start with one person. I have no idea where to start, if anything will actually come of it, but whose to say I can't dream and dream big?
The name would be the first big issue, well at least to how my mind works. LOL We already have The Salvation Army. The Atheist Army sounds militant. Not to say that Salvation Army doesn't, I can picture nuns running around with bibles hoisted like M-16 rifles in their arms. Still, not the kind of image that I want to convey. The Red Cross. The Red um.. well we don't have a rallying symbol per-say. The Red A? Sounds like a punk rock group or some kind of chemical weapon. Or a really bad war movie.
I guess the name can come later. Will I actually do anything with this? Who knows? Its not like I've never done wild and crazy things before. If you know me, you can honestly its hard to say what I'm going to do.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Why not?
When I was thinking about my time teaching Sunday school yesterday I remembered something that still bothers me to this day. It was back when I was helping teach a VBS (Vacation Bible School) and our theme was under the sea. I was teaching about Jonah and the whale. Which now when I think back about it, oy... a guy in a whale for days and lived? I don't even want to think about how I thought it was true.
Anyway... As I said in my previous post I was a pretty neat teacher, so for this lesson I constructed a 'whale belly' out of black plastic garbage bags and a fan at one end to inflate it. So the kids and I crawled into the 'belly' and I talked about Jonah and stuff. Then I asked the kids if there was one question they could ask God what would it be?
This is the part I'll never forget, one boy (who I was very fond of and still miss to this day) asked the very simple and direct question, "Why can't God just save everyone?"
I remembered I stared at him for a bit, I knew the answers I was supposed to say. 'He wants us to choose Him', blah blah blah. But, I just couldn't answer him, nothing would come out of my mouth. I eventually said, 'that's a good question' and moved on to the next kid.
I couldn't answer him because the pat answers just sounded so lame and quite honestly, they sounded stupid. Why can't God just save everyone? Its his rules that we supposedly are breaking, if he really wanted to why couldn't he just forgive everyone and let them into heaven? Isn't that what we were supposed to be teaching? That God is forgiving, compassionate and is love? If you really love someone enough to die for them, can't you just forgive everything?
Let's face it the god of the bible is petty, mean and violent. In my opinion I think if anyone should ask for forgiveness, God should ask us to forgive him.
I will also never forget when I asked the Children's pastor that I assisted if she really believed if people who had never heard of Jesus would really be sent to hell. Her answer came quick with unwavering belief behind it, "I have to believe what the bible says, and it says yes, they will go to hell."
So through no fault of their own, this kind, loving 'father' would send his 'children' to hell simply because they had never heard of him? I know there some Christians who don't even believe in hell and that no one is going there. But I just could not swallow this blanket belief in everything anymore.
I wish I could go back in time and answer that one boy and say, "God can't save everyone because he isn't real and there's nothing to be 'saved' from." Then maybe I could get the look on his face out of my head. Perhaps one day I'll have a chance to talk to him again and have a grown-up discussion. Until then, at least I have the peace of mind to know that we are responsible for saving ourselves and don't have to ask a deity to do it for us.
Anyway... As I said in my previous post I was a pretty neat teacher, so for this lesson I constructed a 'whale belly' out of black plastic garbage bags and a fan at one end to inflate it. So the kids and I crawled into the 'belly' and I talked about Jonah and stuff. Then I asked the kids if there was one question they could ask God what would it be?
This is the part I'll never forget, one boy (who I was very fond of and still miss to this day) asked the very simple and direct question, "Why can't God just save everyone?"
I remembered I stared at him for a bit, I knew the answers I was supposed to say. 'He wants us to choose Him', blah blah blah. But, I just couldn't answer him, nothing would come out of my mouth. I eventually said, 'that's a good question' and moved on to the next kid.
I couldn't answer him because the pat answers just sounded so lame and quite honestly, they sounded stupid. Why can't God just save everyone? Its his rules that we supposedly are breaking, if he really wanted to why couldn't he just forgive everyone and let them into heaven? Isn't that what we were supposed to be teaching? That God is forgiving, compassionate and is love? If you really love someone enough to die for them, can't you just forgive everything?
Let's face it the god of the bible is petty, mean and violent. In my opinion I think if anyone should ask for forgiveness, God should ask us to forgive him.
I will also never forget when I asked the Children's pastor that I assisted if she really believed if people who had never heard of Jesus would really be sent to hell. Her answer came quick with unwavering belief behind it, "I have to believe what the bible says, and it says yes, they will go to hell."
So through no fault of their own, this kind, loving 'father' would send his 'children' to hell simply because they had never heard of him? I know there some Christians who don't even believe in hell and that no one is going there. But I just could not swallow this blanket belief in everything anymore.
I wish I could go back in time and answer that one boy and say, "God can't save everyone because he isn't real and there's nothing to be 'saved' from." Then maybe I could get the look on his face out of my head. Perhaps one day I'll have a chance to talk to him again and have a grown-up discussion. Until then, at least I have the peace of mind to know that we are responsible for saving ourselves and don't have to ask a deity to do it for us.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sunday School Amusements
Sorry for the late post tonight and its going to be a short one, but I've been on the couch all afternoon after getting home from work. Thinking of how I feel like death warmed over reminded me of a Sunday school amusement. (If you haven't read my blog A bit about me, then you don't know that I used to teach Sunday school. Yes, very scary I agree.)
So this was the Sunday after Easter and our theme was all about Jesus' accession and the "gift" of the "Holy Spirit". We had a great morning planned with games, crafts and a re-enactment led by yours truly. (I was a fun Sunday school teacher if I do say so myself. And so did a lot of the kids. But I digress)
I don't remember the game or the craft, but I will never forget the re-enactment.
I picked one kid to play Jesus and then a bunch to play his followers and the rest of the kids were all the villagers. And I'm telling the story, the kid playing Jesus was standing on a chair, his 'followers' were all around. I get the part about Jesus going up to heaven and the 'Holy Spirit' coming down and I'm excited, the kids are all into it and we're having a grand time.
Then I talk about how the followers started to speak in tongues and the villagers were all calling them crazy and drunk. The village kids are all yelling, the followers are babbling. I finish the story and had them all sit back in their seats. I'm smiling and laughing, they are all smiling and laughing, I'm patting myself on the back for doing such a great job on teaching them a wonderful lesson and how they must have really gotten it.
I asked the kids what they learned.
All the kids replied. "THEY WERE DRUNK!"
So this was the Sunday after Easter and our theme was all about Jesus' accession and the "gift" of the "Holy Spirit". We had a great morning planned with games, crafts and a re-enactment led by yours truly. (I was a fun Sunday school teacher if I do say so myself. And so did a lot of the kids. But I digress)
I don't remember the game or the craft, but I will never forget the re-enactment.
I picked one kid to play Jesus and then a bunch to play his followers and the rest of the kids were all the villagers. And I'm telling the story, the kid playing Jesus was standing on a chair, his 'followers' were all around. I get the part about Jesus going up to heaven and the 'Holy Spirit' coming down and I'm excited, the kids are all into it and we're having a grand time.
Then I talk about how the followers started to speak in tongues and the villagers were all calling them crazy and drunk. The village kids are all yelling, the followers are babbling. I finish the story and had them all sit back in their seats. I'm smiling and laughing, they are all smiling and laughing, I'm patting myself on the back for doing such a great job on teaching them a wonderful lesson and how they must have really gotten it.
I asked the kids what they learned.
All the kids replied. "THEY WERE DRUNK!"
Sunday, October 31, 2010
A bit about me
I thought it might be time for me to write a bit about myself and perhaps you the reader can get a better understanding of why I'm a bit snarky towards American Christianity.
As a child I didn't grow up in a particularly religious household, however my aunt was a very serious Jehovah's Witness. In the summertime when I would go and spend a week or two over at her house with my cousins, I had to make sure I brought something nice to wear as she would drag me to their meetings. I enjoyed reading the stories, but I have to admit that the idea of actually believing in the god that they do pretty much escaped me. When I got a bit older, probably around 13 or so, I realized that I didn't believe a single word of it. Yet, I do have to admit, the concept of 'God' was interesting to me but I didn't really pursue it.
When I got in my early twenties, I met my now ex-husband who was an Evangelical Christian. And to just make a long story short, I swallowed the whole thing hook, line and sinker. A couple of months after meeting him I became "born again". For thirteen years of my life, I was a bible-thumping, tongue-speaking, "holy ghost" filled Charismatic Christian. I'm talking, anointing the opening to my home to keep out demons, the whole weird wacky spiritual bit. If you had met me back then, you'd probably would have walked away very slowly, turned and then ran away as fast as you could. Towards the last couple of years of my Christianity I taught sunday school, sang on the worship team, did various other theatrical programs and was about to go to school to become a full-fledged pastor.
So, what started me on the path towards Atheism? A book. Just a book. Not the bible, but Harry Potter. I have to admit that I was right there on the wagon, with all the other Christians who were screaming that Harry Potter was evil and full of black magic and was leading children to Satan. I can remember reading a letter that the secretary of the church put up on the bulletin board about Harry Potter. Saying it was fully of 'real spells', Satanism and cannibalism. It was probably the cannibalism that caught my attention.
Why would any parent read that to their children if it was as horrible as the author of the letter was claiming? I mean really. It was making Harry Potter sound more like a Stephen King novel than a children's book. And it really got me thinking. I was condemning something I really knew nothing about. I was just taking everyone's word that it was horrible and needed to kept as far away any good Christian as possible.
I realized I had become a blind faith follower, accepting anything I was told without question. I didn't like that one little bit.
So I went out the very next day and checked out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from the library. I read it cover to cover in a couple of days. Hmm.... there was nothing horrible in it. No "real" spells, black magic, no reference to Satan at all and no cannibalism.
Okay.... maybe its in the movie. I convinced my now ex-husband to rent the movie that weekend. And guess what? We enjoyed it and no demons came screaming out of the tv at us.
From there I realized I needed to question why I was drinking the Kool Aid. As soon as I started to question other teachings that before I just accepted, my eyes began to open to the hypocrisy of the church and the two-sided-ness of those within it. The contradictions and double talking in the bible, the flat out cherry picking of scriptures to fit what the speaker is preaching about. And especially what I like to call the fuzzy bunny slipper wearing, warm fuzzy giving Jesus that Christians embrace today, is not the Jesus of the bible and it certainly is not the god of the old Testament.
After realizing all that, it wasn't to far of a journey to Atheism.
In future blogs I will discuss some of the biblical teachings that led to me to the conclusion that the Christian god is full of hooey. Heh, I said hooey.
Happy Halloween!
Image borrowed from: Atheist Bliss on Facebook
As a child I didn't grow up in a particularly religious household, however my aunt was a very serious Jehovah's Witness. In the summertime when I would go and spend a week or two over at her house with my cousins, I had to make sure I brought something nice to wear as she would drag me to their meetings. I enjoyed reading the stories, but I have to admit that the idea of actually believing in the god that they do pretty much escaped me. When I got a bit older, probably around 13 or so, I realized that I didn't believe a single word of it. Yet, I do have to admit, the concept of 'God' was interesting to me but I didn't really pursue it.
When I got in my early twenties, I met my now ex-husband who was an Evangelical Christian. And to just make a long story short, I swallowed the whole thing hook, line and sinker. A couple of months after meeting him I became "born again". For thirteen years of my life, I was a bible-thumping, tongue-speaking, "holy ghost" filled Charismatic Christian. I'm talking, anointing the opening to my home to keep out demons, the whole weird wacky spiritual bit. If you had met me back then, you'd probably would have walked away very slowly, turned and then ran away as fast as you could. Towards the last couple of years of my Christianity I taught sunday school, sang on the worship team, did various other theatrical programs and was about to go to school to become a full-fledged pastor.
So, what started me on the path towards Atheism? A book. Just a book. Not the bible, but Harry Potter. I have to admit that I was right there on the wagon, with all the other Christians who were screaming that Harry Potter was evil and full of black magic and was leading children to Satan. I can remember reading a letter that the secretary of the church put up on the bulletin board about Harry Potter. Saying it was fully of 'real spells', Satanism and cannibalism. It was probably the cannibalism that caught my attention.
Why would any parent read that to their children if it was as horrible as the author of the letter was claiming? I mean really. It was making Harry Potter sound more like a Stephen King novel than a children's book. And it really got me thinking. I was condemning something I really knew nothing about. I was just taking everyone's word that it was horrible and needed to kept as far away any good Christian as possible.
I realized I had become a blind faith follower, accepting anything I was told without question. I didn't like that one little bit.
So I went out the very next day and checked out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from the library. I read it cover to cover in a couple of days. Hmm.... there was nothing horrible in it. No "real" spells, black magic, no reference to Satan at all and no cannibalism.
Okay.... maybe its in the movie. I convinced my now ex-husband to rent the movie that weekend. And guess what? We enjoyed it and no demons came screaming out of the tv at us.
From there I realized I needed to question why I was drinking the Kool Aid. As soon as I started to question other teachings that before I just accepted, my eyes began to open to the hypocrisy of the church and the two-sided-ness of those within it. The contradictions and double talking in the bible, the flat out cherry picking of scriptures to fit what the speaker is preaching about. And especially what I like to call the fuzzy bunny slipper wearing, warm fuzzy giving Jesus that Christians embrace today, is not the Jesus of the bible and it certainly is not the god of the old Testament.
After realizing all that, it wasn't to far of a journey to Atheism.
In future blogs I will discuss some of the biblical teachings that led to me to the conclusion that the Christian god is full of hooey. Heh, I said hooey.
Happy Halloween!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
But.....
I had a completely different topic I was going to write about this morning, but as usual reading and researching things on the interwebz has led my brain down a rabbit trail. And what is on my easily distractable brain this morning is the concept of 'I love you ....but....." "God loves you.... but....".
Religion of varies types seems to enjoy putting restrictions on people, the major acceptation being perhaps Pagans/Wiccans whose only major rule seems to be "An it harm none, do what thou wilt.". (A great website for an unbiased overview of religions is: Religious Tolerance ) Back to my train of thought here, there seems to be an awful lot of restrictions based on gender and of course sexual preference. And it seems to come back to "I love you.... but... you're gay." "I love you... but... you're a woman and I'm the man so you have to do what I say."
But American Christians are sooooo very fond of "God's love is unconditional. He loves us no matter how horrible a sinner we are." They are proud to say that even a murdering child molester can find forgiveness with Jesus.
"God loves a homosexual as long as they repent of it, ask for forgiveness, be born again and then deny that part of their nature for the rest of their life." (Obviously a generalization, not all Christians or other religious people feel that way. Just the majority. And don't you just hate it when the majority speaks for all?)
Wait... but you just said... God's love is unconditional.
"God loves women, but the head of the household is the man. And a wife should be subservient to her husband."
Oh wait, yeah that's just from "the Old Testament" it doesn't apply today. Along with its okay to offer up your daughters to be ganged raped to save all powerful God's wimpy little angels who couldn't fend for themselves. Its alright to force your daughter to marry her rapist as long as the rapist pays you for her.
Okay, that's all Old Testament stuff and doesn't apply, so why cling to ONE old "rule" and say it applies today. I forgot, today's Jesus is all fluffy bunny slippers and warm fuzzies. He's just a hippie dippy dude, in a hippie dippy world. Peace, love and potlucks. He just "hates fags". (Why is it no one ever says anything about Jesus traveling around with a group of men and just not hanging around with many women? And the disciple "whom he loved", the "beloved" disciple. There is a lot of debate about just which disciple Jesus loved, but its there none the less. Things that make you go hmmm.... I'm not going to finish that thought, I'll just let you the reader draw your own conclusion.)
Really? Have you even read the bible? Beyond what a church tells you to read? Jesus said the Old Testament law doesn't apply anymore?
“For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:18-19 RSV)
"It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away than for the smallest part of the letter of the law to become invalid." (Luke 16:17 NAB)
I really have no idea how this became Christian orientated, but I guess there's no way around that. I specifically wanted to look at a varity of religions that act this way.
Anyway, to sum it all up.
There is no 'but' at the end of "I love you", if you really mean it.
Religion of varies types seems to enjoy putting restrictions on people, the major acceptation being perhaps Pagans/Wiccans whose only major rule seems to be "An it harm none, do what thou wilt.". (A great website for an unbiased overview of religions is: Religious Tolerance ) Back to my train of thought here, there seems to be an awful lot of restrictions based on gender and of course sexual preference. And it seems to come back to "I love you.... but... you're gay." "I love you... but... you're a woman and I'm the man so you have to do what I say."
But American Christians are sooooo very fond of "God's love is unconditional. He loves us no matter how horrible a sinner we are." They are proud to say that even a murdering child molester can find forgiveness with Jesus.
"God loves a homosexual as long as they repent of it, ask for forgiveness, be born again and then deny that part of their nature for the rest of their life." (Obviously a generalization, not all Christians or other religious people feel that way. Just the majority. And don't you just hate it when the majority speaks for all?)
Wait... but you just said... God's love is unconditional.
"God loves women, but the head of the household is the man. And a wife should be subservient to her husband."
Oh wait, yeah that's just from "the Old Testament" it doesn't apply today. Along with its okay to offer up your daughters to be ganged raped to save all powerful God's wimpy little angels who couldn't fend for themselves. Its alright to force your daughter to marry her rapist as long as the rapist pays you for her.
Okay, that's all Old Testament stuff and doesn't apply, so why cling to ONE old "rule" and say it applies today. I forgot, today's Jesus is all fluffy bunny slippers and warm fuzzies. He's just a hippie dippy dude, in a hippie dippy world. Peace, love and potlucks. He just "hates fags". (Why is it no one ever says anything about Jesus traveling around with a group of men and just not hanging around with many women? And the disciple "whom he loved", the "beloved" disciple. There is a lot of debate about just which disciple Jesus loved, but its there none the less. Things that make you go hmmm.... I'm not going to finish that thought, I'll just let you the reader draw your own conclusion.)
Really? Have you even read the bible? Beyond what a church tells you to read? Jesus said the Old Testament law doesn't apply anymore?
“For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:18-19 RSV)
"It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away than for the smallest part of the letter of the law to become invalid." (Luke 16:17 NAB)
I really have no idea how this became Christian orientated, but I guess there's no way around that. I specifically wanted to look at a varity of religions that act this way.
Anyway, to sum it all up.
There is no 'but' at the end of "I love you", if you really mean it.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Blind Faith
When does blind faith go too far? I read a story this morning about a man in Indonesia whose village rested on the slopes of a volcano. He was the "spiritual caretaker" of the volcano, he made offerings into the volcano to keep the spirits appeased so his village would be kept safe. His dead body was found Wednesday Oct. 27th covered in white ash from the volcano's recent eruption. Right next to his body was the body of a Red Cross worker who had been trying to get him to leave.
I have nothing to say about his beliefs, there were his and I can respect that. Where I stop respecting someones blind faith in any spiritual path and it goes too far is when it impacts other people. Others in his village stayed because they believed that he could keep them safe and when the eruption started they fled in a panic. Now, after all is said and done, some of the other villagers are calling him a "hero". He's a hero who got himself and an innocent Red Cross worker killed because of that blind faith.
In the USA once again coming to the forefront of the news are religious people following blind faith that leads to the death of the innocent. You have parents killing their babies so they can "go to heaven and be with Jesus" and letting their children die without doctor's care because the parents choose to pray instead. Or a religious ceremony inflicts harm on another, babies drowning during baptisms and children dying during 'excorisms'. And let's not even touch on the Catholic Church and its record with keeping innocent children "safe".
If you are an adult, you have the right to live or die in a way you see fit. If you want to pray for yourself instead of seeking a doctor's care that is your right, or kill yourself so you can "go home and be with with god", again that is your right as an adult.
But if you are making that decision for a child, or it effects another innocent life. NO ONE has the right to force their religious beliefs on another person, or allow harm to come to someone else because of what you think is the "truth".
Spiritual Caretaker of Volcano Dies
I have nothing to say about his beliefs, there were his and I can respect that. Where I stop respecting someones blind faith in any spiritual path and it goes too far is when it impacts other people. Others in his village stayed because they believed that he could keep them safe and when the eruption started they fled in a panic. Now, after all is said and done, some of the other villagers are calling him a "hero". He's a hero who got himself and an innocent Red Cross worker killed because of that blind faith.
In the USA once again coming to the forefront of the news are religious people following blind faith that leads to the death of the innocent. You have parents killing their babies so they can "go to heaven and be with Jesus" and letting their children die without doctor's care because the parents choose to pray instead. Or a religious ceremony inflicts harm on another, babies drowning during baptisms and children dying during 'excorisms'. And let's not even touch on the Catholic Church and its record with keeping innocent children "safe".
If you are an adult, you have the right to live or die in a way you see fit. If you want to pray for yourself instead of seeking a doctor's care that is your right, or kill yourself so you can "go home and be with with god", again that is your right as an adult.
But if you are making that decision for a child, or it effects another innocent life. NO ONE has the right to force their religious beliefs on another person, or allow harm to come to someone else because of what you think is the "truth".
Spiritual Caretaker of Volcano Dies
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Apples... who can resist one?
The other day I was having a conversation with a friend who just happens to be a Christian, about why I'm an Atheist. We had a civil, pleasant conversation. I explained how I viewed the Christian god as an abusive parent. "Love me or I'll punish you!"
When I got home that night I thought more about this as I was cutting up an apple. That got me to thinking about apples, well one apple in particular. (Yes I know 'techincally it necessarily wasn't an apple, it was just called a fruit.) Anyway..... Why would a parent give their child such a temptation? If you were a parent would you tell your child "Hey I just put this magic apple on the kitchen table and you can't have it. But I'm going to leave it right here on the kitchen table where you can easily reach it but you can't touch it. Alright I'm leaving now. Leave the magic apple alone."
It doesn't take a genius to figure out what would happen the moment you left and that door closed. Even if you have a perfect child who always does what they are told, lets throw in the kid from across the street who causes trouble and they tell your child, "It would be awesome to eat that magic apple, maybe it will grant you wishes! Go for it!" So they eat the apple and you come home to an obviously eaten apple and a guilty feeling child hiding from you.
So do you then kick them out of your house? Drive them down to the desert and leave them there to fend for themselves? Do you then tell them that they are being punished for eating your apple and not only them, but you'll punish their children and their children's children for all of time because they ate your apple?
On top of that, if you as parent know what will happen if they do eat the apple and know for a fact that they will eat it, why do you leave it out for them to be tempted by it in the first place? No parent I know of would let such a thing happen to their child.
Why then did the Christian god put that fruit tree in the garden of Eden? To my way of thinking, its cruel and abusive. "I'm punishing you for something I knew you would do in the first place. I know that it will bring a lot of pain and misery into the world. But I did it so that you will have free will to choose to love me. But if you don't love me I'm going to punish you some more and for all of eternity. But its free will, its your choice. Just choose wisely or you'll be sorry."
Really? We have to "choose" to "love" him or be punished, but we're being punished anyway with sickness and death because two people ate a fruit left out in the open? Not only that, but god knew they would eat it and the horrible things that would come about from that one act?
Lets say that you the parent know that if your child ate the apple YOU left out in easy reach, it would not grant them wishes but give them terminal cancer, would YOU leave it out for your child to eat?
When I got home that night I thought more about this as I was cutting up an apple. That got me to thinking about apples, well one apple in particular. (Yes I know 'techincally it necessarily wasn't an apple, it was just called a fruit.) Anyway..... Why would a parent give their child such a temptation? If you were a parent would you tell your child "Hey I just put this magic apple on the kitchen table and you can't have it. But I'm going to leave it right here on the kitchen table where you can easily reach it but you can't touch it. Alright I'm leaving now. Leave the magic apple alone."
It doesn't take a genius to figure out what would happen the moment you left and that door closed. Even if you have a perfect child who always does what they are told, lets throw in the kid from across the street who causes trouble and they tell your child, "It would be awesome to eat that magic apple, maybe it will grant you wishes! Go for it!" So they eat the apple and you come home to an obviously eaten apple and a guilty feeling child hiding from you.
So do you then kick them out of your house? Drive them down to the desert and leave them there to fend for themselves? Do you then tell them that they are being punished for eating your apple and not only them, but you'll punish their children and their children's children for all of time because they ate your apple?
On top of that, if you as parent know what will happen if they do eat the apple and know for a fact that they will eat it, why do you leave it out for them to be tempted by it in the first place? No parent I know of would let such a thing happen to their child.
Why then did the Christian god put that fruit tree in the garden of Eden? To my way of thinking, its cruel and abusive. "I'm punishing you for something I knew you would do in the first place. I know that it will bring a lot of pain and misery into the world. But I did it so that you will have free will to choose to love me. But if you don't love me I'm going to punish you some more and for all of eternity. But its free will, its your choice. Just choose wisely or you'll be sorry."
Really? We have to "choose" to "love" him or be punished, but we're being punished anyway with sickness and death because two people ate a fruit left out in the open? Not only that, but god knew they would eat it and the horrible things that would come about from that one act?
Lets say that you the parent know that if your child ate the apple YOU left out in easy reach, it would not grant them wishes but give them terminal cancer, would YOU leave it out for your child to eat?
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