ext_21159 ([identity profile] matt-arnold.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] amanda_lodden 2011-12-12 04:56 am (UTC)

Where to start? Rather than going through the atrocities of the Old Testament (Jesus himself said not even one command from the Old Testament would ever cease to apply), I'll begin at the point Christians consider to be most invulnerable: the warm and fuzzy Jesus of Nazareth. Consider what a megalomaniac he was. An astonishing number of his own personal teachings were about his own centrality. No one worthy of admiration would ever say "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." Social proof is the only reason he gets away with it where Martin Applewhite or David Koresh do not. Two thousand years of everybody acting like it's OK would make even Michael Scott from The Office look like his claims are legit.

How many passages are there saying that God does everything for the sake of his own glory? This sums up the most important problem with scripture of any religion: the self-aggrandizement of authority figures on pedestals. Counting the examples from Scripture would be like trying to measure the water in the ocean. Let's start with a few of the most egregious. People try to establish American-style democracy under Moses or Joshua, and the record gets altered to show God killed them, or Joshua just flat out allows the scripture record to admit he killed them directly. God tests Abraham to see if he would sacrifice his own son, Isaac. No matter how monstrous an act, what matters from a Biblical perspective is whether it is sanctioned by authority. I agree we should criticize Christians for not practicing moral reasoning, but why stop short of criticizing the bible for teaching them moral reasoning is wrong? "Lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path."

Freedom of religion established in the First Amendment directly contradicts the First Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me".

Next, consider the central tenet of the entire faith: salvation. According to the biblical doctrine of vicarious atonement, as explained by Paul of Tarsus in his epistles, there is one case in which two wrongs make a right: human sacrifice. I don't know about you, but I can forgive somebody without needing an innocent person to die of torture-- the bible depicts God as unable to do so.

It teaches we are all responsible for the murder of the most perfect person ever. This is the most amazing example of a groundless guilt. It is nothing short of pure, distilled self-hate.

You know what's evil? Telling kids they're responsible for the murder of the most perfect person ever is evil. The bible teaches that. By advocating faith in Christ, that is what your friend is advancing in the world. There is a clear cause-and-effect relationship between your friend and that kind of sick evil.

The basic problem with biblical faith is the sheer quantity of trust it demands. No one worthy of trust ever asks for that much. It's a betrayal. Somebody's going to trust your friend. They'll figure, he's so loving, there must be something to this god thing. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path." I wasted too many decades walking down that primrose path.

I could go on, but there would be no place to stop. I'll leave it at threats, groundless guilt, and being a jack-booted thug for authority figures. This page goes into more detail on other moral problems.

Final thought: ask your friend why he doesn't love people until a book tells him to. Suggest that people do it all the time. Suggest that, perhaps, he shouldn't teach that the reason to love people is that a book tells you to.

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