Normally my blogs have been about experiences for the week ( or whatever span of time comes between the blog post ). However today I am taking a slightly different approach as well. I'll be focusing on the bible for this blog, something most people know that I despise. I've also learned how to post pictures in this, so yay bible with warning label picture.
So I should probably mention why I hate the bible so much. The bible condemns me. Not only does it condemn me as a person, but it encourages people to stone me to death. Did you hear me right? Yes, that's right... I did in fact say STONE ME TO DEATH. Now, I consistently hear the response "Oh well that's all in the old testament you can't hold that against anyone that was a different time". Well my response to that would be "Why the hell do people bring up Leviticus consistently then, and why the hell do we follow the new testament when half the crap in that version of the bible is ancient as hell too?". Now that's obviously not my only reason, however that is the biggest reason. I also dislike how it encourages slavery, bigotry, hate, discrimination, segregation, and so many other horrible things. I hate the bible to an extent that if I wasn't worried about being blatantly uncaring and rude to 90% of the countries population, I would burn it. But I realize it's importance in the world to so many people and therefor I somehow manage to restrain myself, though at times It becomes a very probable choice to make myself feel better.
Another thing I really dislike about the bible is how people will call it the 'Word of God'. I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure we can all agree that a human being wrote this. Yes, a homosapien. Well I'm sorry that you seem to think that they were blessed and the holy spirit helped them write it, however I've seen people talking with the holy spirit and what not and even they make mistakes and even they allow their own pre-existing opinions interfere with what they are conveying. So while they may have all that jazz under their belt as they are writing it, they are still human beings and as such can obviously place their own opinions into a book. You can tell me every 5 seconds for the rest of my life that they were holy men and it's not going to change how I feel about this, no one is above being human when they are human.
Translation and interpretation are also two horrible things I hate about the bible. Not only can the bible be mis-translated, which it has been, but it is also interpreted in so many ways. Which is why christianity has so many different denomination and so many of the people in each denomination can be so different in the way they believe things. So, not only can it look bad just from the text, but if someone takes the whole stoning to death thing seriously, well... that's where we get a lot of gay bashing from.
Now I realize that this blog seems to be really anti-christian this time around. Well, it's not exactly anti-christian. I'm fine with christians and christianity. I'm not fine with a book that is stated to be the word of an apparently omnipotent being who took control over people to write a story, that very well could be a story, to command people to do some horrible things. All in the name of this omnipotent being. It's like being a slave to a dictator. It's terrible. It's North Korea for books. Who wants to follow North Korea? North Koreans and that's about it, and even some of them don't want to follow North Korea.
I really cannot off the top of my head think of one good thing that comes from the bible. No morals come from the bible, I'm an atheist/pagan and have perfectly normal and fine morals. People kill in the name of the Bible. Wars have been fought, because of the bible. I mean, it's literally a walking hit list and people just don't seem to care. I really would like to call bull shit on this one, I honostly can't see any reason to follow such a horrible horrible piece of literature.
Feel free to comment and leave this up for discussion, because I'd be fine with it. I can think of a couple people who I already know will argue over it. But untill they are told they should be killed because they aren't loved enough by their omnipotent being to be allowed to exist, I really don't give two poops. You can never know that feeling. To know that people who are just like you were stoned to death, burned at steaks, and are now beat to death occasionally in your own country. In third world countries, people are still stoned to death. It's complete and utter lack of human morality and it's the exact definition of discrimination and prejudice.
I also strongly strongly suggest you watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q9u81yhIXI&feature=player_embedded
Warning: The video WILL probably make you cry.
No culture has ever took really kindly to homosexuals, like ever honestly. So saying the Bible is the caues of it is just wrong. Even in ancient Greece it was something old guys did at times to take advantage of young boys. Aversion to homesexuals is just ignorance, and Leviticus is old Hebrew law. Honestly there is a lot of stuff in Leviticus that most Jews don't even follow. But what they do follow is that God is love, and that through even there darkess hours in escaping oppression from Egpyt he was with them.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible is meant to teach lessons, but to learn the lessons you got to go in with an open mind and willing to learn. Honestly the parts of the Bible you refer to are like never really covered in any sermon, because it is not very productive to the spirit of the faith. Also the book is more a collection of independent scrolls joined together in one piece. It has its short comings and its hypocrosy, but Christians should know in the end that the shortcmings you list are not all that important.
The book is really more of a guide with some basic lessons reinforced through the stories. Even Bible Scholars are like litteral translation is just stupid at times.
If you really want to learn about the bible take a Bible study class, because there are tons of helpful scriptures and passages that have offered light to a dark world. But then again there are tons of people who forget the teachings of Christ to chastize others. "Any fool in error can find a piece of scripture to back him up".
Actually, in ancient egypt and greece homosexuals were revered above heterosexuals. They were beleived to be blessed by the gods because they were both female and male in spirit. Just like many of their gods were hermaphrodites. So many homosexuals ended up as high priests or priestesses and were highly revered in their culture.
ReplyDeleteAnd the thought that you take each piece in the bible piece by piece is so widely debated that it doesn't even matter. People will use what they want to use to justify their fears and violence towards things they do not understand.