Yea, that’s probably what happened.

It has always confused me that there is such a strong correlation between some of the most Christian folks and Conservatism. My reading of the Bible has led me to the conclusion that Jesus was most likely what today most people would consider a liberal. Think about it. I’m not trying to ‘claim him’ for my party or something like that when you consider I highly doubt his actual existence, just making a point.

Here’s Wikipedia‘s definition of liberal:

“Liberalism (from the Latin liberalis, “of freedom”^[1]) is the belief in the importance of liberty and equality.”

Doesn’t Jesus frequently preach equality and defense of fellow human beings’ rights? He seems to care for the poor and argues against an obsession with worldly possessions. In fact this behavior would cause me to label Jesus as a bleeding heart liberal. Yet today’s Right seems to be very concerned with protecting the wealthy and generally ignoring the needs of the poor. Jesus didn’t seem to really hate anybody either. When I look at the Radical Right I see tons of hate, especially hate directed toward the LGBT community.

As I mentioned above, I have major doubts about the actual existence of this miracle man but if he did exist as the Bible portrays him, he was a liberal by today’s standards. This post is all by no means all encompassing, just something I’ve been musing recently. What do you think? Why do the most Conservative people think they represent Jesus when their actions are the exact opposite?

Have a spare Bible laying around?

Here are some ways to extract some measure of usefulness from it:

• Rolling paper
• Toilet Paper
• Origami
• Kindling
• Confetti(Paper shredder fodder)
• Paper Mache
• Trade it for porn
• Slapping people

Anybody know any other ways to better use one? These are just some I thought of and my friends suggested. If you have another idea, post it in the comments.

While looking through my Bible the other day, I ran across a phrase I had seen before and questioned. I questioned it so because of how ambiguous it was and the fact that one could very easily see it two separate ways. I’m not saying contradictions and confusion aren’t common in the Bible, but this section in particular made me wonder.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:6 NIV)

Now I see this as being read in two different ways. One from a Christian view and one from a Jewish view. I would guess most(if not al) Christians would read this as a prophecy for the coming birth of Christ. Couldn’t somebody just as easily interpret this as simply a new king of Israel to unite and deliver them? This type of thing was pretty common in the surrounding text. I guess my point is that a work like the Bible is so open to interpretation because of the way it is written. Guess that happens when you have a story written by many different authors across different continents over a long period of time though. Some people would assert that I am grasping at straws here, but I disagree. It is all too common for small things like this to cause great disputes among the believers. There are people blowing each other up due to a disagreement in the meaning of phrases in a collection of stories written long ago. If there was a God, why won’t He just pop in and straighten things out? Throughout the Bible, God has no problem talking with people and making His will crystal clear. Sure it destroys that whole faith principle, but wouldn’t it be worth it to help His people? How do you feel this passage reads? Doesn’t it seem weird that so many things in the Bible seem so prone to easy distortion? I guess I’ll conclude with another fun little bit from the Book of Isaiah:

¹⁵ Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword.

¹⁶ Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives ravished.

(Isaiah 13:15-16 NIV)

I just find it strange that such a loving God is also such a malevolent dictator. There are plenty of good passages you can find about baby killing, looting, pillaging and the raping of wives. Damn this is beginning to sound like a tale of piracy.

Finally, I’ve had the opportunity to read God Hates You Hate Him Back. Essentially it is a full deconstruction and explanation of the Bible, or as CJ Werleman describes it “The Greatest Story Never Read”. I’ll admit that is true too. Just from personal experience, most Christians have not read their Bible and are clueless.

This book aims to explain the Bible chapter-by-chapter and it is spelled out pretty clearly. From what he says, by the end you will either realize that God hates you or does not exist.  Overall, it is one of the better atheist books I’ve read recently. Werleman is funny, but is also intelligent enough to be witty without being overpowering. Many books are guilty of this and it detracts from the experience.It also isn’t too overtly offensive that it would instantly turn away a religious person. Sure his jokes can be offensive, but I think most people wouldn’t be completely turned off by them.

I personally found it fun to take my copy of The Bible and read along with this novel. God Hates You frequently has excerpts from the Bible and it is a simple matter to find them, read them and verify they aren’t taken out of context. From what I saw, he is always accurate in his descriptions and analysis. If you haven’t ever taken the time to fully read and comprehend the Bible, this book provides a great chance to do so. By the end, you will have a good understanding of it and you will have had fun. This book is one that could actually change people’s minds, something that has become somewhat of a rarity. But as Asimov said “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived”.  CJ Werleman definately provides both a proper reading and a potent force for atheism in his writing. All I could hope for next are disections of other religious texts like the Koran or the Book of Mormon. I highly reccomend giving God Hates You a chance, I sincerely doubt you will be disappointed in the slightest.

This type of thinking gets us absolutely nowhere.