Monday, May 25, 2020

Calling All Fools


I saw this bit of non-wisdom yesterday. It is purportedly from the social media page of KPYN, a radio station out of Atlanta, Texas that broadcasts the unusual format of sports, news, and Christian talk. First of all, I take no offense from the fact that they did not capitalize the title of their most holy book, the Bible. But I would think that reverence and respect would demand that it be capitalized. The part of the sentence that comes before the comma indicates that they are attempting to reach those who believe everything they read. Everything they read. Consider that for a moment. They wish to exclude anyone who is a critical thinker. We don't need any smart people here, just sheep. No questioners, no ponderers, no seekers, only those who believe everything they read. Now that they have the most gullible audience possible, these sheeple are encouraged to do what? Anyone? Read their bible. So. Once intelligent, questioning, critical thinking humans are eliminated, they can begin indoctrinating the foolish and desperate into literally believing what is contained between the covers of the Bible. Which then sets up the us vs them mentality. Which divides people rather than bringing them together. The thing is, I have read the Bible. More than once in two different editions of the book. Which is precisely why I cannot be a Christian. I do believe that the Bible has historical significance. But as far as being a holy book that must be taken as the word of God from his lips to your ears, I can't take it seriously. It's been too heavily edited for political and religious reasons. It was originally written in three different languages, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The earliest of the passages were written nearly eight hundred years after any of the events described, with the first of the gospels being written forty years after the death of Jesus. Ten scholars who might take a stab at sorting out such a mess are going to come up with ten different interpretations, which is probably why there are five separate divisions of Christianity, the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism. I grew up in the Lutheran church, which is a flavor Protestantism, of which there are forty distinct denominations in this country. Then there are the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, and the Episcopals, which are further subdivided into their own denominations. Then there are individual startups and mega-churches with their own rules and regulations. I don't know about you, but I don't believe everything I read. Especially the Bible. Read it yourself and see what you think.

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