Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Things you can do with your money instead of tithing
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
-Malachi 3:8-9
I used to hear this scripture every Sunday before the congregation would erupt into cheering that god allowed them to keep 90% of the money they earned.
Although I don't understand why god needs money if:
The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
-Psalm 24:1
Maybe he has to pay the light bill...nevertheless I have another list.
Things you can do with your money instead of tithing:
1. Get that gym membership you've been wanting
2. Hire a personal trainer
3. Keep it in your pocket
4. Spa day
5. Have an extra beauty shop appointment
6. Purchase tickets to an event you've been wanting to go to
7. Invest in the stock market
8. Go shopping
9. Put it in a high interest bearing savings account
10. Retirement fund
11. Kids college fund
12. Pay off debt
13. Take a vacation
Bonus example: If a person earns $4000 a month, their monthly tithe would equal $400. The extra $400 dollars a month would equal $4800 by the end of the year. Imagine what you could do with an 4800 extra dollars a year.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Things that have a better track record than the gods
People assume that I live my life completely devoid of faith due to my atheist identification. Nothing could be further from the truth. As I stated in another post found here:
http://bit.ly/1u99CYy
I believe in many things. I only lack faith in the supernatural including gods.
Here are things to put your faith in that have a better track record than the gods:
1. that your job will pay you on pay day
2. that your car will start in the morning(if you own a car)
3. that things in your home will be where you left them
4. that the sun will come up in the morning
5. that people are born and die every day
6. that chain restaurant food will taste the same wherever you go
7. that the NFL will play games Sunday
8. that politicians will approve their messages during the campaign season
9. that someone is having sex right now
10. have faith in yourself
The beautiful thing about being an atheist is that I only speak for myself. If another atheist behaves badly, I don't have to speak about it or explain anything.
For example: We are all Americans(or insert your nation here); If a person commits a crime in Omaha, NE(Nebraska), I have no responsibility in explaining or addressing it.
The only thing I and the person who committed the crime have in common is that we are both Americans. Atheists cannot be lumped together because the only thing we share is a lack of belief in gods.
http://bit.ly/1u99CYy
I believe in many things. I only lack faith in the supernatural including gods.
Here are things to put your faith in that have a better track record than the gods:
1. that your job will pay you on pay day
2. that your car will start in the morning(if you own a car)
3. that things in your home will be where you left them
4. that the sun will come up in the morning
5. that people are born and die every day
6. that chain restaurant food will taste the same wherever you go
7. that the NFL will play games Sunday
8. that politicians will approve their messages during the campaign season
9. that someone is having sex right now
10. have faith in yourself
The beautiful thing about being an atheist is that I only speak for myself. If another atheist behaves badly, I don't have to speak about it or explain anything.
For example: We are all Americans(or insert your nation here); If a person commits a crime in Omaha, NE(Nebraska), I have no responsibility in explaining or addressing it.
The only thing I and the person who committed the crime have in common is that we are both Americans. Atheists cannot be lumped together because the only thing we share is a lack of belief in gods.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Pt. 2 The Exodus of My Deconversion
As I began to question my faith in Christ, I started to learn more about the world's major religions without any Christian bias clouding what I discovered.
Here are some of the highlights of what I discovered:
1. I learned that the oldest religion in the world is Hinduism.
2. I learned that the religions in the Mesopotamia region and Persia gave us a blueprint for many of the stories that would end up in the Bible.(flood story, Adam and Eve story, Garden of Eden)
3. I learned that the God of the Old Testament was a composite of many of the ancient Canaanite gods(mainly El Shaddai, El Elyon, Adonai, and Yahweh)
4. The OT did not have a concept of hell as eternal damnation or heaven as eternal bliss
5. The Adam and Eve story had a talking snake, but not a Satan
6. Hinduism has many gods which are all a manifestation of Brahma, the ultimate reality
7. Buddhism had its roots in Hinduism, like Christianity did in Judaism
8. Buddhist ideas spread from India into the Hellenic world through interaction with the troops from Alexander the Great
9. Platonic as well as other Greek philosophical ideas influenced Jewish thinkers during this period
10.The oldest vegetation-rising and dying savior god is Asaru(Osiris). His story influenced other stories about vegetation gods and goddesses throughout the Near East, including Jesus
11. The oldest religious cults were based on the divine feminine principle
12. There are only seven Pauline letters that are accepted as genuine, The other letters are thought to be forgeries
13. Generally eastern religions seek god internally and western religions seek god externally
14. There have been people throughout history who have been skeptical of gods and religion
15. I learned that Jesus is a mythical figure based off of various Greek, Egyptian, and Near East gods and goddess
After taking all of this and even more information in, I knew that at best Christianity was a remix of other religions. I also learned that various concepts about god would change to meet the latest scientific discoveries of the day. This lasted until scientists and philosophers had the courage to suggest that god wasn't needed to explain natural phenomenon.
I knew that my freedom and deliverance from Christianity came as a result of me actually thinking, challenging my beliefs and not just blindly following what I had been taught. The deprogramming, dismantling and destruction of my old belief system was in full swing.
Here are some of the highlights of what I discovered:
1. I learned that the oldest religion in the world is Hinduism.
2. I learned that the religions in the Mesopotamia region and Persia gave us a blueprint for many of the stories that would end up in the Bible.(flood story, Adam and Eve story, Garden of Eden)
3. I learned that the God of the Old Testament was a composite of many of the ancient Canaanite gods(mainly El Shaddai, El Elyon, Adonai, and Yahweh)
4. The OT did not have a concept of hell as eternal damnation or heaven as eternal bliss
5. The Adam and Eve story had a talking snake, but not a Satan
6. Hinduism has many gods which are all a manifestation of Brahma, the ultimate reality
7. Buddhism had its roots in Hinduism, like Christianity did in Judaism
8. Buddhist ideas spread from India into the Hellenic world through interaction with the troops from Alexander the Great
9. Platonic as well as other Greek philosophical ideas influenced Jewish thinkers during this period
10.The oldest vegetation-rising and dying savior god is Asaru(Osiris). His story influenced other stories about vegetation gods and goddesses throughout the Near East, including Jesus
11. The oldest religious cults were based on the divine feminine principle
12. There are only seven Pauline letters that are accepted as genuine, The other letters are thought to be forgeries
13. Generally eastern religions seek god internally and western religions seek god externally
14. There have been people throughout history who have been skeptical of gods and religion
15. I learned that Jesus is a mythical figure based off of various Greek, Egyptian, and Near East gods and goddess
After taking all of this and even more information in, I knew that at best Christianity was a remix of other religions. I also learned that various concepts about god would change to meet the latest scientific discoveries of the day. This lasted until scientists and philosophers had the courage to suggest that god wasn't needed to explain natural phenomenon.
I knew that my freedom and deliverance from Christianity came as a result of me actually thinking, challenging my beliefs and not just blindly following what I had been taught. The deprogramming, dismantling and destruction of my old belief system was in full swing.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
The Genesis of My Deconversion Pt.1
My journey away from Christianity toward free thought came in phases as theological concepts that I once held as true began to collapse.
It started off simply with questioning the principle of tithing. I remember the scripture in the book of Malachi in the 3rd chapter..."Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." I took that concept without any questions. I was taught that tithing in the modern era deals with giving 10% of your income. I was never sure if it was gross or net income. As I began going through my process, I decided to investigate tithing for my self. I discovered that the word tithes only appears 21 times in the Bible and in no case does it has to do with money. Tithing deals with produce and farm animals. I felt a great sense of anger, guilt and dread because I was mislead and mislead others. I began to wonder if there were other errors or misinterpretations that I never questioned.
As I continued this journey,I saw a documentary on the History Channel about the Banned Books of the Bible. I wondered why I had never heard of these books before in church. These banned books had different ideas about the nature of God and the divinity of Jesus. This piqued my curiosity to investigate these texts for myself.
Most of these books were written before the Bible had it's final canonization. There were different gospels like the gospel of Judas, Peter, Philip, and Thomas. This revelation got me to wondering about an odd passage in the book of Jude:
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
I never remembered Enoch saying this in the book of Genesis. Where did this scripture quote come from? It came from the book of Enoch, a book that did not make into the final 66 books of the Bible.
I started to investigate further and discovered that the canonical gospels were not the oldest books in the New Testament, the writings of Paul were. Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica is the oldest book in the New Testament, written about 30-50 years after supposed crucifixion of Jesus(about 60-80 CE). The dates for the gospels come much later even well into the second century
(80-150 CE). Even the most conservative date estimates put the gospels at least 30 years after the supposed events occurred. The other books in the New Testament fall within the years of 80 CE-150 CE.
How can accuracy be maintained when most of the Roman world was illiterate? This began to bother me. Stories I heard before about God protecting the sanctity of his book throughout history began to ring hallow. I could no longer believe that.
In addition, I started reading books that discussed errors and contradictions in the Bible. I learned that entire passages like Mark 16:9-20 were not included in the oldest manuscripts. Plus there were no original manuscripts of the gospels written in the language that was spoken:Aramaic. There were only copies of copies of copies. The oldest of these copies only dates back to the second century; 100 years after the supposed death of Jesus.
During that same time period, all those countless gospels existed side by side with the ones that would make the final cut. This period of having multiple gospels would go on for another 200 years!
Then I found out that church leaders convened a meeting(4th Century Council of Nicea, in present day Turkey) to decide, among other things, which books would serve as the basis for a codified volume of scripture that would unify the various factions of the churches. So once again, I am supposed to believe that God gave wisdom to the church leaders to pick the books that were divinely inspired. I don't have enough faith for that.
The Gospel of Mark, reported to be the earliest written, did not have a virgin birth narrative. Neither did the Gospel of John the last gospel written among the canonical gospels. Also, Matthew and Luke, which both contained very different virgin birth narratives, borrowed heavily from Mark's Gospel. In addition, the supposed authors of these gospels would have already been dead when these gospels surfaced and they were written in Greek.
I started to ask many questions:How did Matthew know the intimate details of the messiah's birth? Who told him, if only Mary and Joseph were present? Why don't the details of the birth of Jesus match? And why are there four different resurrection account?
For the first time I started reading the Bible through the lens of reason versus the lens of faith. What I saw was a book that were full of stories and accounts that did not always make sense. I learned that the Bible was compiled over many centuries by many different authors, writing to diverse audiences, with various agendas in mind. It was not a cohesive book that came from heaven completed from Genesis to Revelation by the hand of God. It was a very flawed human book, full of errors, fables, and contradictions.
I used to be an avid apologist, defending the word of God and the faith. I knew that I could no longer defend either. My eyes became opened.
It started off simply with questioning the principle of tithing. I remember the scripture in the book of Malachi in the 3rd chapter..."Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." I took that concept without any questions. I was taught that tithing in the modern era deals with giving 10% of your income. I was never sure if it was gross or net income. As I began going through my process, I decided to investigate tithing for my self. I discovered that the word tithes only appears 21 times in the Bible and in no case does it has to do with money. Tithing deals with produce and farm animals. I felt a great sense of anger, guilt and dread because I was mislead and mislead others. I began to wonder if there were other errors or misinterpretations that I never questioned.
As I continued this journey,I saw a documentary on the History Channel about the Banned Books of the Bible. I wondered why I had never heard of these books before in church. These banned books had different ideas about the nature of God and the divinity of Jesus. This piqued my curiosity to investigate these texts for myself.
Most of these books were written before the Bible had it's final canonization. There were different gospels like the gospel of Judas, Peter, Philip, and Thomas. This revelation got me to wondering about an odd passage in the book of Jude:
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
I never remembered Enoch saying this in the book of Genesis. Where did this scripture quote come from? It came from the book of Enoch, a book that did not make into the final 66 books of the Bible.
I started to investigate further and discovered that the canonical gospels were not the oldest books in the New Testament, the writings of Paul were. Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica is the oldest book in the New Testament, written about 30-50 years after supposed crucifixion of Jesus(about 60-80 CE). The dates for the gospels come much later even well into the second century
(80-150 CE). Even the most conservative date estimates put the gospels at least 30 years after the supposed events occurred. The other books in the New Testament fall within the years of 80 CE-150 CE.
How can accuracy be maintained when most of the Roman world was illiterate? This began to bother me. Stories I heard before about God protecting the sanctity of his book throughout history began to ring hallow. I could no longer believe that.
In addition, I started reading books that discussed errors and contradictions in the Bible. I learned that entire passages like Mark 16:9-20 were not included in the oldest manuscripts. Plus there were no original manuscripts of the gospels written in the language that was spoken:Aramaic. There were only copies of copies of copies. The oldest of these copies only dates back to the second century; 100 years after the supposed death of Jesus.
During that same time period, all those countless gospels existed side by side with the ones that would make the final cut. This period of having multiple gospels would go on for another 200 years!
Then I found out that church leaders convened a meeting(4th Century Council of Nicea, in present day Turkey) to decide, among other things, which books would serve as the basis for a codified volume of scripture that would unify the various factions of the churches. So once again, I am supposed to believe that God gave wisdom to the church leaders to pick the books that were divinely inspired. I don't have enough faith for that.
The Gospel of Mark, reported to be the earliest written, did not have a virgin birth narrative. Neither did the Gospel of John the last gospel written among the canonical gospels. Also, Matthew and Luke, which both contained very different virgin birth narratives, borrowed heavily from Mark's Gospel. In addition, the supposed authors of these gospels would have already been dead when these gospels surfaced and they were written in Greek.
I started to ask many questions:How did Matthew know the intimate details of the messiah's birth? Who told him, if only Mary and Joseph were present? Why don't the details of the birth of Jesus match? And why are there four different resurrection account?
For the first time I started reading the Bible through the lens of reason versus the lens of faith. What I saw was a book that were full of stories and accounts that did not always make sense. I learned that the Bible was compiled over many centuries by many different authors, writing to diverse audiences, with various agendas in mind. It was not a cohesive book that came from heaven completed from Genesis to Revelation by the hand of God. It was a very flawed human book, full of errors, fables, and contradictions.
I used to be an avid apologist, defending the word of God and the faith. I knew that I could no longer defend either. My eyes became opened.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Atheism 101 Pt.3 What I Believe
When I started to embrace the word atheist, I began to notice how describing myself with that controversial label stopped dialogue with others. People easily became silent. I thought that folks would engage me in conversation, but they did not. I guess they thought the worst of me and my stance. Who knows?
What I gleaned from those awkward exchanges taught me how important a god concept remains to a large number of people in society. I used those situations to think about what I actually do believe in. My lack of belief in god does not make me an empty person, contrary to popular ideas. I believe in lots of things, just not god or the supernatural.
Here is a list of things I believe in:
1. I believe in the potential of all human beings.
2. I believe in freedom.
3. I believe in regular exercise and maintaining a healthy diet for good health.
4. I believe in now and living in the moment.
5. I believe in democracy.
6. Even after all of the atrocities committed by this country against its citizens and others, I still believe in the ideals of the United States of America.
7. I believe in my family.
8. I believe in having healthy relationships: familial, platonic, romantic.
9. I believe in mutual monogamy.
10. I believe in the Detroit Lions. It may take more faith to believe in them than in jesus.
11. I believe in the resurgence of my hometown, Detroit.
12. I believe that education can open doors for people.
13. I believe that power, authority, wealth, and influence should be used to help improve the lives of others.
14. I believe the arts can touch the psyche of people in a way that allows us to experience the sublime.
15. I believe that my life will have meaning.
16. I believe that when I die, I will simply cease to exist.
These three ideas describe me:
Atheist describes my lack of belief in the supernatural.
Agnostic describes my lack of knowledge in objectively measuring the supernatural.
Humanist describes my faith in humanity solving its problems without the need for perceived supernatural intervention. If we wait on god to fix the problems in the world, they will never get fixed. It is up to us to make the world a better place.
What I gleaned from those awkward exchanges taught me how important a god concept remains to a large number of people in society. I used those situations to think about what I actually do believe in. My lack of belief in god does not make me an empty person, contrary to popular ideas. I believe in lots of things, just not god or the supernatural.
Here is a list of things I believe in:
1. I believe in the potential of all human beings.
2. I believe in freedom.
3. I believe in regular exercise and maintaining a healthy diet for good health.
4. I believe in now and living in the moment.
5. I believe in democracy.
6. Even after all of the atrocities committed by this country against its citizens and others, I still believe in the ideals of the United States of America.
7. I believe in my family.
8. I believe in having healthy relationships: familial, platonic, romantic.
9. I believe in mutual monogamy.
10. I believe in the Detroit Lions. It may take more faith to believe in them than in jesus.
11. I believe in the resurgence of my hometown, Detroit.
12. I believe that education can open doors for people.
13. I believe that power, authority, wealth, and influence should be used to help improve the lives of others.
14. I believe the arts can touch the psyche of people in a way that allows us to experience the sublime.
15. I believe that my life will have meaning.
16. I believe that when I die, I will simply cease to exist.
These three ideas describe me:
Atheist describes my lack of belief in the supernatural.
Agnostic describes my lack of knowledge in objectively measuring the supernatural.
Humanist describes my faith in humanity solving its problems without the need for perceived supernatural intervention. If we wait on god to fix the problems in the world, they will never get fixed. It is up to us to make the world a better place.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Atheism 101 Pt.2 What is Atheism?
Here are my simple definitions for atheism and agnosticism:
Atheism is a lack of belief in all things supernatural including gods and goddesses.
This definition answers the questions of belief and faith not of knowledge.
Example: Do you believe in god or a higher power?
Agnosticism is a lack of knowledge on whether the supernatural, including gods and goddesses, can be objectively known.
This definition answers the question of if god or other supernatural beings can actually be objectively known.
Example: Do you know if there is a god?
Faith communities who believe that their religion holds the absolute truth are atheistic toward other faith communities. They lack belief in a competing communities religious ideas.
Example: Christians lack belief in the teachings of Islam because their doctrine denies the divinity of Jesus. Christians believe in the divinity of Jesus.
Example two: Muslims lack belief in the teaching of Christianity because their doctrine teaches God as a triune being. Muslims believe in the singleness of God.
However, Christianity and Islam both lack belief in the many gods and goddess of the Hindu religion, personified as Brahma.
Ergo, when folks ask the question, "Do you believe in god? My answer is, I don't know what god you are talking about. People have believed in countless numbers of gods since time immemorial. Which one created the universe?
I believe in now and making the most out of this opportunity in front of me.
Atheism is a lack of belief in all things supernatural including gods and goddesses.
This definition answers the questions of belief and faith not of knowledge.
Example: Do you believe in god or a higher power?
Agnosticism is a lack of knowledge on whether the supernatural, including gods and goddesses, can be objectively known.
This definition answers the question of if god or other supernatural beings can actually be objectively known.
Example: Do you know if there is a god?
Faith communities who believe that their religion holds the absolute truth are atheistic toward other faith communities. They lack belief in a competing communities religious ideas.
Example: Christians lack belief in the teachings of Islam because their doctrine denies the divinity of Jesus. Christians believe in the divinity of Jesus.
Example two: Muslims lack belief in the teaching of Christianity because their doctrine teaches God as a triune being. Muslims believe in the singleness of God.
However, Christianity and Islam both lack belief in the many gods and goddess of the Hindu religion, personified as Brahma.
Ergo, when folks ask the question, "Do you believe in god? My answer is, I don't know what god you are talking about. People have believed in countless numbers of gods since time immemorial. Which one created the universe?
I believe in now and making the most out of this opportunity in front of me.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Atheism 101 Pt.1 Definitions
I would like to inform you of what atheism is and what it is not along with other useful definitions. Please pay attention the bolded words.
Let's start with some basic definitions:(All definitions from the New American Oxford Dictionary unless otherwise noted)
Belief: an acceptance(emphasis added) that a statement is true or that something exists; something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion(emphasis added) or conviction
Faith: complete trust(emphasis added) or confidence in someone or something; strong belief(emphasis added) in God or in the doctrines of a religion(emphasis added), based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof
Trust: firm belief(emphasis added) in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something; acceptance(emphasis added) of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation(emphasis added)
Religion: belief in and worship(emphasis added) of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods: ideas about the relationship between science and religion
Theism: belief(emphasis added) in the existence of a God or gods, esp. belief in one god as creator of the universe, intervening in it(emphasis added) and sustaining a personal relation to his creatures
Monotheism: the doctrine or belief(emphasis added) that there is only one God
Polytheism: the belief(emphasis added) in or worship of more than one god
Deism: belief(emphasis added) in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene(emphasis added) in the universe
Pantheism: a doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God
Agnostic: a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable(emphasis added), or that human knowledge is limited to experience(Dictionary.com)
Skeptic: a person who questions(emphasis added) the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual(Dictionary.com)
Unbelief: the state or quality of not believing(emphasis added); incredulity or skepticism, especially in matters of doctrine or religious faith(Dictionary.com)
Atheism: disbelief or lack of belief(emphasis added) in the existence of God or gods
Humanism: an outlook or system of thought(emphasis added) attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters
Theists make a claim of ultimate supernatural authority based on belief without evidence or investigation, atheists deny the claim of supernatural authority based on belief. Atheists require investigation and evidence of supernatural claims because belief is not enough.
Thanks for bearing with me through all of these definitions! I will refer to them in future Atheism 101 posts.
Let's start with some basic definitions:(All definitions from the New American Oxford Dictionary unless otherwise noted)
Belief: an acceptance(emphasis added) that a statement is true or that something exists; something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion(emphasis added) or conviction
Faith: complete trust(emphasis added) or confidence in someone or something; strong belief(emphasis added) in God or in the doctrines of a religion(emphasis added), based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof
Trust: firm belief(emphasis added) in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something; acceptance(emphasis added) of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation(emphasis added)
Religion: belief in and worship(emphasis added) of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods: ideas about the relationship between science and religion
Theism: belief(emphasis added) in the existence of a God or gods, esp. belief in one god as creator of the universe, intervening in it(emphasis added) and sustaining a personal relation to his creatures
Monotheism: the doctrine or belief(emphasis added) that there is only one God
Polytheism: the belief(emphasis added) in or worship of more than one god
Deism: belief(emphasis added) in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene(emphasis added) in the universe
Pantheism: a doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God
Skeptic: a person who questions(emphasis added) the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual(Dictionary.com)
Unbelief: the state or quality of not believing(emphasis added); incredulity or skepticism, especially in matters of doctrine or religious faith(Dictionary.com)
Atheism: disbelief or lack of belief(emphasis added) in the existence of God or gods
Humanism: an outlook or system of thought(emphasis added) attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters
Theists make a claim of ultimate supernatural authority based on belief without evidence or investigation, atheists deny the claim of supernatural authority based on belief. Atheists require investigation and evidence of supernatural claims because belief is not enough.
Thanks for bearing with me through all of these definitions! I will refer to them in future Atheism 101 posts.
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