(ThyBlackMan.com) “If God knows all, and he knows a billion years before Billy is born that Billy is going to end up in Hell, is there anything Billy can do in life to make God wrong?
The above question is designed to point out two things – first, it points out that much of the religious doctrine that we’ve been taught is a myth that can’t stand up to logical examination; and secondly, that we can only know God’s will by what he has done, and he made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think.
Irrefutable evidence of that fact is when God placed man on Earth, he placed us here as necked apes. We weren’t as strong as the elephant, as ferocious as the lion, nor could we fly above danger like the eagle. So the cards were stacked against our ultimate survival – except for one thing. God provided man with a unique tool for survival – the human mind.
Now, as a direct result of the effective use of that resource, we have built machines that can crush any elephant, slaughter the most ferocious lion, and fly high beyond the domain of the most dedicated eagle – in fact, we’ve now flown past the eagle, beyond the clouds, and on to explore other worlds.
That’s a powerful indicator of God’s will. It clearly demonstrates that God intended man to be a logical, thinking, being. God has done absolutely nothing to suggest that he intended to relegate mankind to be ignorant and superstitious victims, cowering in fear of the unknown, and obliged to be reliant upon “faith” in the words so-called “anointed” others to guide his existence. That’s not God’s will; that’s man’s will. Because the fact is, by having more “faith” in what man tells us about God than we do what God has actually done, is a slap in the face of God himself. That’s not faith in God, that’s faith in man.
That’s why we live in so much anger, hatred, and turmoil; we’re living against God’s will. Our attempt to survive on faith rather than the logic and intellect that is our God-given nature is as contrary to the natural scheme of things as a bird who refuses to fly, or a fish who refuses to swim – and the chances of our ultimate survival under the current circumstances are just as slim.
No, I don’t have a problem with the church, per se, but I do have a severe problem with blind faith. So I asked the above question regarding Billy’s ultimate fate in order to demonstrate that, for the most part, religion is not only based on superstition rather than sound logic and common sense, but it’s own dogma is self-contradictory. I also wanted to demonstrate that the only reason that many of us believe what we believe is because we choose to believe it – regardless to whether it makes sense or not. That, in turn, demonstrates why man is plagued with so many, seemingly, intractable problems.
The problem is, instead of adhering to our nature – to be logical and independent thinkers – we insist on worshiping totem poles. And instead of being practical in addressing the issues that plague mankind, we remain fixated on meaningless dogma, superficialities, and rituals. In short, we’re being stupid, and stupidity has nothing to do with God. Our gross stupidity only serves to promote the needs of greedy, evil, and power-hungry men.
Do I believe in God? Yes I do, but that doesn’t mean that I believe in Voodoo, talking snakes, and walking dead men. For me, God is whatever force is responsible for the existence of the universe – or to be more precise, existence itself. So, I can see my God, since, from my point of view, God, Nature, and the Universe are synonymous.
That not only frees me from having to be reliant upon the word of “God-fearing” men, but it also gives me a leg up on atheists. Because while atheists take the position that those of us who believe in God have no evidence to show that God exists, my position is, the existence of the universe gives me more evidence to show that God does exist, than they have to show that he doesn’t.
But the problem that I have with organized religion has nothing to do with the existence of God. My problem with religion begins and ends with the corruption of man. The greed, self-service, and machinations of man have turned what should be a spiritual experience into something that’s ugly, divisive, and malevolent – and all of that starts with the concept of blind “faith.”
Man has a vested interest in controlling other men, so he uses the concept of faith to coerce the masses into accepting man himself as the spokesman for God. He does that by laying out written tablets, then convincing the masses that these tablets represent the “word of God.” He then goes on to convince them that God has appointed him to ensure that “God’s word” is followed to the letter, and any deviation from the word of God, or even a second’s doubt that the book – in this case, the Bible – indeed, represents the word of God, is an act heresy, which will result in the most hideous punishment known to man – and, it will endure throughout eternity. Once demagogues have gotten the masses to accept that, they’ve literally taken control of your minds. So for all intent and purpose, they become your God.
It is precisely because of this ploy that we often hear people using the Bible as a metaphor for God. They don’t ask, “Do you believe in God?” They ask, “Do you believe in the Bible?” Their question implies that it goes without saying that the Bible is the word of God. That’s what allows the social manipulators to come in with the Bible under their arm and set themselves up as the spokesmen for God. That’s also why so many preachers are driving around in big cars – because the people think that by making the preacher rich, they’re gaining favor with the Supreme Being. It’s the biggest scam on the face of the Earth.
What a great racket, this organized religion game – and the people never stop to think for a minute that the “faith” that they worship so intently, is not a faith in God at all. Their putting their faith in man, and what corrupt men are telling them about God. And since the people have been taught, literally from birth, that questioning what they’re being told by these “God-anointed” men is an assault on God himself, these charlatans, and their scam, are completely insulated from the ravages of a sudden plague of common sense.
So, carefully consider the question that I posed above, for it pits the common sense that God gave us against the contrived nonsense that man would have us believe. It both, points out a major flaw in the dogma that’s being forced down the people’s throats, and it clearly demonstrates that many of us can no more substantiate the validity of what we choose to believe than a child can substantiate the existence of Santa Claus.
Our belief system has absolutely nothing to do with either morality, or, our love of God. We believe what we believe for one of two reasons – since organized religion never fails to support the status quo, if you’re a part of the ruling class, it rigs the system in your behalf, and if you’re of the subordinate class, you’re afraid not to believe it, so it doesn’t matter whether it’s factually valid or not.
In addition, one of the first things we learn as we’re being indoctrinated as children is how to avoid the reality of common sense. In order to insulate religion from our common sense seeping through to suggest that snakes can’t talk, and that dead men don’t just get up and walk away, we’ve been taught that any flash of insight isn’t common sense at all. It’s evil. It’s actually the Bogeyman whispering in our ear, trying to steal us away from God. Thus, we’ve literally been threatened not to acknowledge the common sense that God bestowed upon us.
So instead of giving truth priority over ideology, we learn early in life to distort truth in order to make it conform to what we want to believe. That, in turn, is what makes it much easier to indulge in hatred, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and endless wars. Thus, instead of being a part of the solution, organized religion is invariably one of man’s biggest problems.
It’s no accident that the Klan originated in the Bible Belt and the most religious parts of the world are also the most brutally intolerant. Religion is THE most morally efficient form of segregation. It allows one to validate one’s self as part of a special order of human being – or, one of God’s “chosen people” – while invalidating others as flawed. Thus, every since it’s inception, religion has served as a God-approved justification for hating our fellow man – or at the very least, looking down upon them. It allows us to say, “it’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.”
Thus, many of man’s most severe problems will continue to be intractable until we learn to use our intellect – that quality that makes us most human – instead of caving in to our emotions – which coincide with our most primordial and animalistic nature. Unfortunately, too few of us are prepared to recognize that fact. Instead, we insist on whining about how poor we are, even as we continue to buy preachers big cars and lavish homes.
Well, here’s a message from God (common sense) to the Black community, and America as a whole – You will never be free, as long as you continue to allow your minds to be enslaved.
Amen.
Staff Writer; Eric L. Wattree
This brilliant man can be found at; EricLW@ThyBlackMan.com.
There is no such thing as ” Blind Faith in Organized Religion. ” God did not present invisible faith to man,nor did Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Everything done by God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost are perceiveable by the five senses.
“If God knows all, and he knows a billion years before Billy is born that Billy is going to end up in Hell, is there anything Billy can do in life to make God wrong?
This is a complicated question that isn’t specific enough to answer. From a Christian standpoint, There is the father, the son, and the holy ghost. The son doesn’t know when the last day is. Only the father knows. I want to point to the parable of the prodigal son but, there is another that would suffice better. I can’t think of it at the moment but it speaks of people returning who weren’t meant to return. Then, I would also want to point out the part of scripture where it says that his word will not come back void. It will accomplish what he has asked. Yet again, it is more complicated than that as well. It is dependent on all of the things that he has ordered.
The above question is designed to point out two things – first, it points out that much of the religious doctrine that we’ve been taught is a myth that can’t stand up to logical examination; and secondly, that we can only know God’s will by what he has done, and he made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think.
There are hundreds of religions on earth. That’s what ended up happening. Was this designed by God, of course. When we take a look back at Jesus, a man asks him of divorce. Jesus tells him that Moses said as long as there was a certificate, divorce is valid. Yet it was not meant to be so. So I ask you, was this designed to be hard?
This is from the book of Job Chapter 40
1 Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said, 2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. 3 Then Job answered the Lord, and said, 4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. 5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. 6 Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? 9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? 10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. 11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. 12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. 13 Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. 14 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.
I bring this up because I ask you a question. Imagine being born in a world of chaos and everywhere you turn is a lie or something evil lurking. You put your faith in God and fight on and then, he comes down and delivers verse 40 unto you. Was all of the pain and suffering worth it? The trials and tribulations? Is that a moment that you would have wanted for yourself? A test designed by God, and you overcame all with a level of exceptionalism that he himself had to come down and congratulate you.
Irrefutable evidence of that fact is when God placed man on Earth, he placed us here as necked apes. We weren’t as strong as the elephant, as ferocious as the lion, nor could we fly above danger like the eagle. So the cards were stacked against our ultimate survival – except for one thing. God provided man with a unique tool for survival – the human mind.
Not sure how to answer this. Was the first man and woman naked? I believe so, were they apes? I don’t believe that. I am no monkey, nor did I evolve from one. I was handcrafted by God’s will. If you also look back at Genesis, before you even get to the flood, you will see that the people were very intelligent. They were building many things that shocked me personally. Crafters of metals and woods and instruments. They knew what cities were and built those as well. They weren’t ignorant.
Now, as a direct result of the effective use of that resource, we have built machines that can crush any elephant, slaughter the most ferocious lion, and fly high beyond the domain of the most dedicated eagle – in fact, we’ve now flown past the eagle, beyond the clouds, and on to explore other worlds.
Tis true
That’s a powerful indicator of God’s will. It clearly demonstrates that God intended man to be a logical, thinking, being. God has done absolutely nothing to suggest that he intended to relegate mankind to be ignorant and superstitious victims, cowering in fear of the unknown, and obliged to be reliant upon “faith” in the words so-called “anointed” others to guide his existence. That’s not God’s will; that’s man’s will. Because the fact is, by having more “faith” in what man tells us about God than we do what God has actually done, is a slap in the face of God himself. That’s not faith in God, that’s faith in man.
This is a complicated part. I ask you a question, Let’s say you are God, there is a woman whom you love. She goes out everyday and does things pleasing within your eyes. She constantly makes sacrifices within her own life to glorify your name? One day, something tragic is about to happen to her as she is on her way to do something that would truly put a smile on your face. To save her, something miraculous would be required. Do you let her die? Do you save her? I have many questions about what you would do. To bring home those that you care about, do you harden your heart to their cries?
ignorant: lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
Job 39
13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? 14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, 15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. 16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her’s: her labour is in vain without fear; 17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.It is rather apparent to me that some people do lack wisdom in certain categories. I myself am one of them. My knowledge is deep, it is not everlasting.
Fear rules mankind now. It is fear of loss that starts wars. Fear of failure that causes people to lie, steal and defraud others.
faith – complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Without this, how would you know God loves you? How would you know that he will come in your time of need?
The anointed
That’s a complicated matter as very few in scripture are given that. They can’t be killed by man, only themselves or by God. In this day and age, if you found out that you were anointed, would you actually care about ruling these people? Or would you be more concerned about understanding what that means and how far you can personally get with that? You have to choose one man or God.
Matthew 6:24 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
man tells us about God then we do what God has actually done, is a slap in the face of God himself. That’s not faith in God, that’s faith in man.
This is complicated and requires several things to go over. The main point I would tell you is to seek that knowledge out for yourself. That’s what I personally did. The bible speaks of many things that no preacher cares to answer or probably even believe. How many do you think have the faith to move mountains? I assure you if you did meet one, they would ask you why have you come to learn from them? That was built from their relationship with God. If you want that, then you need to work on your relationship with him. Taking the time to learn and find out who this God is.
That’s why we live in so much anger, hatred, and turmoil; we’re living against God’s will. Our attempt to survive on faith rather than the logic and intellect that is our God-given nature is as contrary to the natural scheme of things as a bird who refuses to fly, or a fish who refuses to swim – and the chances of our ultimate survival under the current circumstances are just as slim.
I personally think he wanted it like this. You will notice inside of the bible, it sums up the joyous times rather quickly. Also with the book of Job,
Job Chapter 1
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?God enjoys watching his children follow after his will regardless of what the world does.
What is required to survive through all of this is complicated.
2 Peter Chapter 2 Verse 16
But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
I would cut and paste the definition of madness in here but, I am certain you can look through all of the meanings.
God-given nature is as contrary to the natural scheme of things as a bird who refuses to fly,We still have flightless birds.
No, I don’t have a problem with the church, per se, but I do have a severe problem with blind faith. So I asked the above question regarding Billy’s ultimate fate in order to demonstrate that, for the most part, religion is not only based on superstition rather than sound logic and common sense, but its own dogma is self-contradictory. I also wanted to demonstrate that the only reason that many of us believe what we believe is because we choose to believe it – regardless of whether it makes sense or not. That, in turn, demonstrates why man is plagued with so many, seemingly, intractable problems.
I don’t have a problem with the church per se either. If the people inside refuse to go home and learn for themselves and end up violating scriptures that they didn’t know was designed to keep them from lies, that’s between them and God.
I sort of explained the other parts earlier. I choose to believe because when I was a child, I heard the story of Elijah and I knew God was God. What man is and isn’t plagued with is complicated to explain. I would rather avoid that to not do a dissertation.
The problem is, instead of adhering to our nature – to be logical and independent thinkers – we insist on worshiping totem poles. And instead of being practical in addressing the issues that plague mankind, we remain fixated on meaningless dogma, superficialities, and rituals. In short, we’re being stupid, and stupidity has nothing to do with God. Our gross stupidity only serves to promote the needs of greedy, evil, and power-hungry men.
I personally can’t live by my own self nature. If I could have 5 wives, I would have 40. Today, I have none. There is nothing wrong with getting married regardless of what title you have. I am preoccupied. If I really wanted that, I assure you, my history proves I go get the woman that I want once I’m interested.
Acts Chapter 10
26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. 27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. 28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Do I believe in God? Yes I do, but that doesn’t mean that I believe in Voodoo, talking snakes, and walking dead men. For me, God is whatever force is responsible for the existence of the universe – or to be more precise, existence itself. So, I can see my God, since, from my point of view, God, Nature, and the Universe are synonymous…..
That not only frees me from having to be reliant upon the word of “God-fearing” men, but it also gives me a leg up on atheists. Because while atheists take the position that those of us who believe in God have no evidence to show that God exists, my position is, the existence of the universe gives me more evidence to show that God does exist, than they have to show that he doesn’t.
They just recently proved that there are oceans underneath the earth. The bible spoke of this in the old testament. How would the people from that time have knowledge of such things?
But the problem that I have with organized religion has nothing to do with the existence of God. My problem with religion begins and ends with the corruption of man. The greed, self-service, and machinations of man have turned what should be a spiritual experience into something that’s ugly, divisive, and malevolent – and all of that starts with the concept of blind “faith.”
I sort of speak on this earlier. They should have read the book for themselves. If they ask, I will tell them but, I will tell them not to go off of me and read for themselves. The entire collection of books work together.
Man has a vested interest in controlling other men, so he uses the concept of faith to coerce the masses into accepting man himself as the spokesman for God. He does that by laying out written tablets, then convincing the masses that these tablets represent the “word of God.” He then goes on to convince them that God has appointed him to ensure that “God’s word” is followed to the letter, and any deviation from the word of God, or even a second’s doubt that the book – in this case, the Bible – indeed, represents the word of God, is an act heresy, which will result in the most hideous punishment known to man – and, it will endure throughout eternity. Once demagogues have gotten the masses to accept that, they’ve literally taken control of your minds. So for all intent and purpose, they become your God.
This makes it all fun. Can you discern the truth when only given one life? The thrill of it all. My advice is to stay away from the people that will lie to you. Good luck and may God be with you.
Actually it’s very easy to answer.
God knows if you are going to Heaven or Hell before you are even born,
because God exists beyond Time and Space,
and every plank-second is like a snapshot in a photo-album,
which the Lord my and does look at, at any time, at all times.
Nothing is beyond His sight.
He knows everything you are going to do,
throughout your life before you are even born.
He knows how you are going to die,
before you are even born.
For He is greater then Time and Space.
God is Good,
Good is God,
the Goodness of God is greater then all things,
all that is Good is God,
and God is all that is Good.
He sees you when you’re sleeping,
He knows when you’re awake,
He knows if you are bad or good,
so be good for goodness sake,
for God is Goodness.
I made that statement based on the fact that the trinity exist. The son is the word. When God speaks, Jesus. Jesus doesn’t know certain things unless the father tells him. Thus, it is possible for the father to know and not the son. Thus, if the father didn’t want the son or holy ghost to know, they won’t. Despite this, the son is still apart of the trinity and must be respected as such. It would be like telling a parent you love them but, don’t listen to anything they tell you.
Well this is weird, I came back here and found most of my comments gone,
and through,
dud the host remove them?
So I started writing improved versions again,
but the first draft had typos and I accidently sent it,
but tried to stop it by hitting the X to stop the page from loading it,
then I fixed the types and sent the new one,
but then when the page loaded my old ones loaded too,
and the one with types made it too.
Sorry for the reposting, and double posting.
As for your reply,
yes, that is correct.
I only replied to the first part,
the question about knowing their end before the beginning.
As for everything else,
it’s near a copy-paste of the host’s post.
So I didn’t reply to any of it.
It’s like that.
Not trying to over complicate things further but let’s look at two more parts of history. The first being the rich man and Lazarus the second being Jesus and the Jews. The rich man asked Abraham that he would go down and tell his family the truth so they don’t end up in a place like where he was. Abraham told him, they won’t listen to the prophets, they won’t listen to a dead man. When Jesus was crucified, the miracles wasn’t enough, his high understanding wasn’t enough. The people’s hearts were harden and they saw everything and still wanted him dead. I say this because God knows what is required to change a heart. He knew sending the Jesus wouldn’t be enough to change the hearts of the people. It would have been enough for the two cities that was destroyed. So, he knows what is enough to move a person here or there, rather he puts that in their life is of his choosing. So, if he says this person won’t make it, it’s because he knew what was required and didn’t give it of his own free will.
The Lord my God knows if one is going to Heaven or Hell before they are born,
becouse He sees their entire life before it has even happend.
Every plank-second is like a picture on God’s photo-album.
Which He can and does look at offten.
He knows what Sins you will do before you do them,
before you are even born.
Jogn 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
For those who God sees as deastend for Hell,
He gave the world His son Jesus,
so they had a way to Him.
Jesus is the Door,
the Door is open,
anyone who tried to force,
or prevent others,
from going through the door,
aare manipulated by the devil.
The Lord my God knows if one is going to Heaven or Hell before they are born,
because He sees their entire life before it has even happened.
Every plank-second is like a picture on God’s photo-album.
Which He can and does look at often.
He knows what Sins you will do before you do them,
before you are even born.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
For those who God sees as destind for Hell,
He gave the world His son Jesus,
so they had a way to Him.
Jesus is the Door,
the Door is open,
anyone who tried to force,
or prevent others,
from going through the door,
are manipulated by the devil.
The point you are making is not that is God omniscient, but that can you a mere man understand God? NO! God is separate from His creation. He is the unfathomable God and a self-revealing God. He has chosen to make man to reveal Himself through those who are faithfully obedient to His will, that will, is to be conformed to the image of Christ. There was in the past some of the greatest thinkers we called them theologians. God created man to think and reason, but that thinking must also be in conjunction with the Holy Scriptures.
Indeed!
This was the better explanations of organized religion that I have ever read. I have always believed in an eternal God or “universal over soul” created along with the big bang that created the cosmos, ever expanding with the speed of light. When you die your soul or being is incorporated into that eternal oneness. Religion is the result of man’s fear of that unknown that lies beyond our own singular existence. In many of the comments from readers, I see that fear personified. All religions start with God and then Man becomes involved, and the god part is soon forgotten. As a 78-year-old white male, I can only hold to my belief that my soul will soon join that great oneness, not that I will stand for all eternity gathered around the golden throne of some eternal egotist singing His praises. May God bless you all.
God existed before existence,
He caused the Big Bang,
first creations, Time and Space.
Read the Bible before judging the Bible.
A White man here.
GREAT Essay. Would love to have it with some black references taken out to share with some of my friends and family. I don’t think they could hear the Great message otherwise. Will be trying to incorporate this in my life.
Thanks for having the courage and wisdom to write this great truth. We have witnessed the reality of what you say play out in our history (the so-called “evangelical” takeover of government}. Religion which captures and subordinates the human will against reason about any matter is an affront to my concept of God and humanity. I can only hope at my ripe old age that there are many other ears listening to your words.
If you had read the Bible which is the Lord our God’s Word and Law,
then you’d know in what ways the poster is wrong.
Sure, there are evil people,
there shall always be evil people,
but saying all of anything is evil,
is evil itself.
The Bible even warns about false prophets,
that they will come,
and they will use worldly logic.
But if you pay attention to the Bible,
you’ll know that it tells of things,
no-mam back then should have been able to know.
Things that modern day Science is only just understanding.
Amen
All I have to say about this is – you need to find Jesus and invite Him into your heart. Get Saved by accepting what He did for you at the Cross. After that, the Holy Spirit will take over and everything else will be revealed to you and fall right into place. It’s not about religion at all – it’s about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. My prayer is that you will spend your time sharing the Truth about God instead of questioning him. As for your question – God is all knowing. He knew Billy’s life before Billy was ever born, so, No – there is nothing Billy could do to make God wrong. Our Faith is in Jesus Christ, not the Bible, but what God teaches us through the Bible. It’s His lamp unto our feet and a light unto out path – it’s there for guidance. To spend eternity with God it is to know His Son, Jesus Christ – He is the new covenant, not the Bible. He came to fulfill the Word.
May God bless you and teach you – may the Holy Spirit prick your heart so that you will come to know and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.
Well said!
This is the best article I have ever read about organized religion. I discovered I had alot of questions about religion when I attended college. It was there that after reading and researching religion I became somewhat disillusioned. So now I think more instead of following the masses. I do have faith and I do believe in God but believing in one man or woman in the church of God is something else. Humans lie, Science does not. Human beings have a tendency to be easily corrupted by power and money, even in the church…any church. The Bible for me is a guide for the most part to lead a better life. Humans on the other hand use the Bible to control people and make the masses feel guilty. We have to be very careful who we listen to in the church or house of worship of your choice. Most importantly be especially careful with your donation to your house of worship.
Science lies all the time.
Like,
about the Komodo Dragon.
For most of my life,
they said their bite was deadly,
because of rotten meat between it’s teeth.
Then, in the past couple years,
someone actually did an autopsy,
and found they where venomous.
Science starts as a guess,
then they try to prove themselves right,
and if they prove themselves wrong,
they make another guess.
History, Math, and Science,
where my favorite subjects in School.
You describe humanistic, pagan religion and label it Christianity or “organized” Christianity. Read the Bible and you’ll discover that most of your criticism against fear-mongering and superstition is rebuked in the Scripture as well. God has not given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a reasoning mind. God invites us, including Billy, to come and reason with Him and discover how He has made the provision to be forgiven of sin. Sure, God knows if Billy will reject this free offer, but that’s not God’s fault. And yes, Billy can do something that pleases God, confess Jesus as Lord. God did not “will” Billy to reject him. Billy chooses to reject God.
Lastly, God’s will is that all submit to Jesus the Messiah. God’s will is going to be accomplished when every knee bows and confesses Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. Some will be cast into eternal torment and others will enjoy the presence of God for eternity.
Prove that “God’s will is that all submit to Jesus the Messiah”. Man wrote the bible. God did not.
Physically,
Man write the Bible,
Spiritually,
The Lord our God was the writer.
There are things in the Bible no man could have know about,
and through Science,
did not learn about till the past thousand years.
Thank you for the most cogent description I have read or heard, of the current status of my faith, my perception of organized religion and my opinion of the problems facing mankind. After 79 years of study, observation, careful thought, and church attendance, I have come to believe that organized religion has been more about controlling the populace and increasing the power and wealth of those holding the Bible high, than about improving our relationships with God. It is with deep regret that I have reached a conclusion that the content of the Bible has been so modified and manipulated as a political tool, since shortly after the time of Jesus Christ, that much of it is of little help in seeking God’s will and presence.
So is it just organized religion you are opposed to, or is the bible too? The bible said 3500 years ago in Job 27:7 that the earth is “suspended upon nothing:, but yet men didnt believe or accept that fact until Sir Isaac Newton “discovered” gravity in 800 c.e. some 2300 year later. The bible says that “all scripture is inspired of God, and beneficial for teaching, reproving, setting things straight…. The bible teaches that God does in fact have an orderly, unified organization, with an invisible part in heaven, and a visible part here on earth. In Hebrews we are counseled not to forsake gathering ourselves together, and Paul set up ONE unified organization consisting of several satellite churches throughout the then known world. The bible also teaches that MOST organized religion would be and is controlled by God’s cheif adversary, Satan. Unfortunately, because Satan controls it, and its works are rotten, men have decided that ALL organized religion must be bad. That’s exactly what Satan purposed. You are suppose to decide that it’s all bad and reject ALL of it. But didnt Jesus instruct his followers to “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all nations, and then the end would come? How could this possibly be accomplished without a worldwide, unified organization? Paul said that ALL TRUE christians were to be of the same mind, same line of thought, same faith, same beliefs. What if you were unknowingly being used by God’s cheif adversary to promote the lie that ALL organized religion is bad? Could this be a possibility? The bible says that MANY would be taking in knowledge from the bible, but would lack ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE” Ten people can have the same map, but all can end up going in different directions. Pray to God and ask Him to show you his TRUE ONE UNIFIED ORGANIZATION, and if you are truely sincere, watch what happens. Ask more than once, and be as sincere as you can be, and see. You might be surprised. Notice that I am not mentioning any particular group. Why not? Because all who truely seek it, find it.
Well done.
You exceed.
If you sincerely seek it, you may find it in the Bahai Faith.
God’s word tells us: 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
If you have a Pastor that you can’t directly go up to and have a question about the message he gave. Then you need to find a new church with a pastor that will.
We are each responsible in our own right to understand and find the truth of God.
Seek God, so that He can show you the truth through his Word.
Saying all pastors are scam-artists is just as ignorant and evil,
as like that time Trump said all Mexicans are rapists.
Sure, some are evil, and do evil things,
the Bible even warns about it,
but not all Pastors live in mansions with fancy cars and jets.
The Bible says that Pastors should live in the Church they work from,
and not leave the area that they’ve been planted.
Meaning no personal jets to travel the world.
It is the prophet’s job and mission,
to travel the world,
but they are to do so by foot,
or while riding a donkey.
Yes, Nature is a part of God,
for God is the Laws of Nature.
This is why camping, and walking in nature,
can be forms of worship.
Yes, existence exists because God wills it.
God can do anything,
and the dead have walked.
There have been many stories about people diagnosed as dead,
getting back up.
I remember one where they where about to do an autopsy,
and the guy screamed in pain when they cut into him.
Some places even had a pully system attached to their graves,
that the one in the grave could pull to ring a bell,
if they woke up, and it happened.
Time and Space where the first creations by God,
He is beyond Time and Space.
He is the fastest fast, and the slowest slow,
everywhere at all times, at the same time,
but also always stationary, sitting on His throne,
He is the biggest big, and the smallest small,
so big the whole of Heaven cannot hold Him,
so small He can move between grains of sand effortlessly,
and live inside your heart.
Heaven is amongst the stars.
The Astral-plane is where souls live.
A plane is a area of existence.
Astral means, starry field.
The Universe, aka physical existence,
is physical Heaven.
And Heaven on Earth,
is any place wild fruit trees grow.
Like the Heaven of Eden.
So why is it so hard to think God can make an animal speech?
Or raise the dead?
Remember,
the plumed serpent,
aka the talking snake from the Garden of Eden that tricked Eve,
was Lucifer,
a silver tongued, charming rebellious Angel.
So, regardless,
of it being an actual snake,
or a figurative snake like an evil businessman,
you should read the Bible again.
The Old testament was written 2100-4000 years ago.
The New Testament was written at least 2000 years ago.
There are things in the Bible,
people have only figured out through Science in the past 1000 years.
Earth started as a water world.
And the land rose out of the water,
like say, tectonic plate activity.
Earth had a ring like Saturn which collapsed.
In Noah’s time,
the world was circled with water,
and it collapsing is part of why it flooded the whole Earth.
The Universe is more of a cylinder then a sphere.
The reason light was not the first creation for Earth,
is likely because Earth was surrounded by so much dust light could not reach it.
God can do anything.
Because God is beyond everything.
God is like a master painter,
Jesus is the brush,
the Holy spirit is the paint,
and existence is the painting.
Great essay that gets right to the root of my issue with modern religion – men and women who profess to speak for God. Free will is humanity’s greatest gift, yet many choose to follow charlatans who are further from God than most. Combine our nation’s decreasing focus on education with government inaction on rampant inequality, and it’s no wonder people are turning to ignorant fearmongers promising a conduit to the divine. When people feel helpless, they’re more likely to turn to those who prey on fear.
Glad you enjoyed the article. With that, consider yourself to be a Christian?
What a great post. I’ve have always followed “disorganized religion”, even though I’ve been a pastor for 39 years. Thankfully, my denomination is open to this. How reassuring it was to read your reflections on God, which I share. I don’t worry much for Billy, by the way, as I don’t believe eternal damnation is possible. In a universe where the very life-breath and substance of everything is a loving God, it seems to me there’s just isn’t room for it.