First, I'm not against the kind, honest people, normally associated with religion. I'm merely attempting to show why I'm not sold on the religion theory itself. My goals are not to destroy the church, or the belief in God, either of which I couldn't do anyway. I'm only attempting to explain why I don't believe in god or any other gods for that matter. On the contrary, I'm glad to see many cars parked outside the local church building on Sunday morning. At least I know the people there won't be breaking into my house while I'm out shopping! This document is solely for the purpose of explaining my personal position on the theory of religion. As for the questions, please try to answer them without hatred and malice. A pleasant debate can be healthy. Enjoy!
Before we begin, consider this, 'Outlandish Claims require even more Outlandish Proof!'
"What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder.
What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that the
Almighty committed debauchery with a woman engaged to be married,
and the belief of this debauchery is called faith."
[Thomas Paine]

Provide proof the bible is actually telling the true account of past events. Using the paradox 'it's true, because the bible tells me so!' doesn't hold water. To create a document, then within the document itself, proclaim all that's written within the document is true, proves nothing! Without outside evidence to substantiate the text, it's still just text. Of course, everything written within 'Convince me there is a god!' is true beyond all doubt. All words written here are fact and actually happened. Will you actually believe everything written within this document just because the document tells you its true? Certainly not, that would be foolish! Isn't it just as foolish to believe all accounts written in the bible because the bible tells you the bible is true?

"If the Bible is true, certainly Adam was the first man; consequently, we know, if the sacred volume be true, just how long man has lived and labored and suffered on this earth. The church cannot and dare not give up the account of the creation of Adam from the dust of the earth, and of Eve from the rib of the man. The church cannot give up the story of the Garden of Eden -- the serpent -- the fall and the expulsion; these must be defended because they are vital. Without these absurdities, the system known as Christianity cannot exist. Without the fall, the atonement is a non sequitur. Facts bearing upon these questions were discovered and discussed by the greatest and most thoughtful of men. Lamarek, Humboldt, Haeckel, and above all, Darwin, not only asserted, but demonstrated, that man is not a special creation. If anything can be established by observation, by reason, then the fact has been established that man is related to all life below him -- that he has been slowly produced through countless years -- that the story of Eden is a childish myth -- that the fall of man is an infinite absurdity."

Robert G. Ingersoll







Do you truly believe the Genesis story of creation? If so, consider this!

Adam

Did Adam have the standard male genitals? Now, I could understand God giving Adam a penis; after all, when you urinate it's handy to be able to aim somewhere convenient. But did he have testicles? Unless I've missed something, the sole purpose of testes is reproduction. My point? Well, god created Eve so that Adam would not be lonely. Why did he give Adam testes at the start unless he already knew he would have to create Eve also? Why not just create the two of them (Adam and Eve) at the same time? What use are male reproductive organs without the complimentary female ones?

Eve

Why did god create Eve from one of Adam's ribs? He created Adam from dust , what's the big deal about creating another one without having to do a bit of surgery on poor old Adam? You'd think an omnipotent being would be a bit more organized'.(and of course there's the story of Lillith ' Eve was not the first woman, she came in second (or maybe even third')).

Death

Was there any form of death before 'the fall'? If there was not, did God intervene to prevent all the flies, bacteria and rabbits from breeding like, well, flies, bacteria and rabbits? If not, the world would have been hundreds of feet deep in ooze. Some people say 'ah ha, but disease is a result of sin, so there were no bacteria then'. Ah ha back, I say, without bacteria the whole ecosystem collapses. Not all bacteria are harmful, many organisms have a symbiotic relationships with bacteria and could not survive without them. This also causes problems for the often quoted scripture 'to the lord a day is a thousand years and a thousand years a day'. Using this logic, the absence of millions of rabbits, flies and bacteria ooze, indicates the 7 days of creation are correct. But, this brings us to the dinosaurs! Where do they fit in? Hmmmmm'

The Apple

So, God creates Adam and Eve, with no knowledge of good or evil, right or wrong - they are truly innocent. He sticks them in a Garden, and for some reason creates a tree whose fruit gives you the Knowledge of Good and Evil (it's not explained how this works, but we'll take their word for it). "DO NOT EAT OF THIS TREE, OR YOU'LL DIE." says God. Adam and Eve hear this and dutifully nod their heads. God goes off somewhere (he's a busy guy) leaving these two alone. Now, as Adam and Eve don't have the faintest idea of right and wrong, they don't know it's a Bad Idea to disobey God ("Hey, God just told us not to eat that fruit!", "So? What's your point?", "Erm... I don't know. Save some for me!") The only way they can gain this knowledge is by.... Eating from the Tree! It's like giving a bottle of bleach to a child who is too young to read the warning labels, and then being surprised when they poison themselves with it. To make matter worse, Adam and Eve were threatened with the punishment of death. How can this be any sort of threat? There was no death in The Garden (see above) - they had never witnessed it, and would probably have a hard time grasping the concept anyway. So, they were told not to do something (and had no way of knowing that disobedience was bad), otherwise something would happen to them (and they had no idea what that was, or whether it was a good or bad thing to happen anyway).. "We'll die? What does that mean? Maybe it's fun!"

It's the original Catch 22 situation.

The Kids

Adam and Eve had two children that we know of. Cain and Abel. When they grew up, Cain went off and found a wife. Just where exactly did this woman come from? And, for that matter, where did everyone else come from? It's mentioned in the bible, God places a mark upon Cain so any man he meets would see the mark and slap him around! Where were these men to be found? Unless God had been creating loads of people on the sly, the only way for the population to develop from Adam, Eve and the two sons has to involve incestuous relationships. Not a very good example for the rest of us, is it? (The same also applies when God trashed the world and left Noah and his small family to repopulate the world).

Bottom Line: Genesis has more holes in it than a bad New Mexico road!


Legends and Myths
Consider that many 'legends' exist in every culture today. Greek mythology, Egyptian sun gods and Indian folklore. They believed everything in their religion to be true. They have ancient writings that pre-date many biblical references. What makes them so wrong and Christianity so right! Provide a concrete example to explain why the Christian faith is the only 'right' faith. What makes the bible any more believable than the writings of the Greeks, Mayans or Mormons?

Why ridicule something you don't understand?
Why does the Christian faith ridicule and disregard those religions worshipping the same god, but in a different way?

You're an Unbeliever just like me! Read on as I prove it!

- Millions of Hindus pray over status of Shiva's penis. Do you think there's an invisible Shiva who wants his penis prayed over ' or are you a skeptic?
- Mormons say that Jesus came to America after his resurrection. Do you agree ' or are you a doubter?
- Florida's Santeria worshippers sacrifice dogs, goats, chickens, etc. and toss their bodies into waterways. Do you think Santeria gods want animals killed ' or are you skeptical?
- Muslim suicide bombers who blow themselves up in Israel are taught that 'martyrs' go instantly to a paradise full of lovely female houri nymphs. Do you think the bombers now are in heaven with houris ' or are you a doubter?
- Unification Church members think Jesus visited Master Moon and told him to convert all people as 'Moonies.' Do you believe this sacred tenet of the Unification Church?
- Jehovah's Witnesses say that, any day now, Satan will come out of the earth with an army of demons, and Jesus will come out of the sky with an army of angels and the battle of Armageddon will kill everyone on earth except Jehovah's Witnesses. Do you believe this solemn teaching of their church?
- Aztecs skinned maidens and cut out human hearts for a feathered serpent god. What's your stand on invisible feathered serpents?
- Catholics are taught that the communion wafer and wine magically become the actual body and blood of Jesus during chants and bell ringing. Do you believe in the 'real presence' ' or are you a disbeliever?
- Faith healer Ernest Angley says he has the power, described in the bible, to 'discern spirits,' which enables him to see demons inside sick people, and see angels hovering at his revivals. Do you believe this religious assertion?
- The bible says people who work on the sabbath must be killed: 'whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death' (Exodus 31:15). Should we execute Sunday workers ' or do you doubt this scripture?
- At a golden temple in West Virginia, saffron-robed worshippers think they'll become one with Lord Krishna if they chant 'Hare Krishna' enough. Do you agree ' or do you doubt it?
- Members of the Heaven's Gate commune said they could 'shed their containers' (their bodies) and be transported to a UFO behind the Hale-Bopp Comet. Do you think they're now on that UFO ' or are you a skeptic?
- During the witch hunts, inquisitor priests tortured thousands of women into confessing that they blighted crops, had sex with Satan, etc. then burned them for it. Do you think the church was right to enforce the bible's command: 'thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' (Exodus 22:18) ' or do you doubt this scripture?
- In the mountains of West Virginia, some people obey Christ's farewell command that true believers 'shall take up serpents' (Mark 16:18). They pick up rattlesnakes at church services. Do you believe this scripture, or not?

Etc. etc. etc'''..You get the picture.

I'll bet there isn't a church member anywhere who doesn't think all those supernatural beliefs are goofy ' except for the ones he believes.

You see, by going through a laundry list of theologies, I think you can establish that the average Christian doubts 99 percent of the world's holy dogmas. But the 1 percent he believes is really no different than the rest. It's a system of miraculous claims, without any reliable evidence to support it.

So, if I could only show you that some sacred 'truths' are nutty, maybe subconscious logic will seep through, and you'll realize that if some magical beliefs are irrational, all may be.

This progression is rather like a scene in the poignant Peter de Vries novel, The blood of the Lamb. A gushy woman compliments a Jew because 'your people' reduced the many gods of polytheism to just one god. The man replies: 'Which is just a step from the truth.'

Meanwhile, it is encouraging to realize that almost everyone in the world is a skeptic ' at least about other people's religion!<...