August 5, 2009, 5:37 pm by dc-agape.

Once again the Usual Suspects have made an appearance.  This time, I must admit, my Christian commenter has at least read more than one post!  It is obvious that he has not read all the pertinent posts, but at least he tried.  Unfortunately, he has used the same old arguments that have little meaning or effect.

To begin with he does claim that my linking petty vandalism to Christianity is weak.  In this comment:

What does someone breaking into your car have to do with the Christian faith? You are missing a few steps in your argument. Like were the people who broke into your car born again? I think not.

Of course he uses the “born again” distinction.  He uses to imply that a “Real” Christian would not do such a thing.  To the non-Christian point of view, this is a red herring.  What is the difference between calling yourself a Christian and being a Christian?  When 82% of US citizens claim to be Christian, the vandalism I reported was most likely done by a Christian!  When you consider that Tennessee is in the Bible Belt and is a religiously conservative state, the likelihood of the criminal being a Christian becomes nearly 100%.  Two questions become apparent at this point.  First, why does YHWH do nothing about the “false” Christians?  In the OT he killed those you angered him.  Now days he is much more forgiving.  How can you not say that YHWH has changed?  Second, why are TrueChristians^TM attempting to force their perceived religion on the US?  This will only create more “false” Christians.  Shouldn’t the TrueChristians^TM be more active in removing the “false” Christians?  That is what Paul tells Timothy in 1^st Timothy 1:3-11.

My Usual Suspect continues with the Atheism is a faith argument:

You conclusions are received by faith and therefore your atheism is based on faith not reason.

Many Atheists have refuted this non-sense.  Notice also that even though I respectfully capitalize Christianity, Atheism is not given the same respect!  Even though my commenter wants Atheism to be a faith, he cannot bring himself to show the respect that a religion is given.  But that is beside the point, can you have faith in nothing?  Do adults have faith that Santa Claus does not exist?  Or the Invisible Pink Unicorn does not exist?  Of course not!  Yet for some reason these TrueChristians^TM believe that knowing that YHWH is a human creation must be based on faith.  This is similar to claiming that believing that little green men do not live on Mars is based on faith, instead of the knowledge that no proof of life has been discovered on Mars.

My Usual Suspect’s latest argument is that I was never a TrueChristian^TM and so could not fall away. 

You cannot have a de-conversion You either are or you are not. You either receive or do not receive. I respectfully disagree with your thought that Atheism is not a faith. If is was not then (on emotional level) you would not be offended when someone does not capitalize it out of respect. It is most certainly a belief system and belief systems are based in faith.

This of course is easily refuted by referring to the Word of God:

Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

The author of this Book (either Barnabas or Apollos) makes it quite clear that if Christianity is true, followers can be lost.  The author also makes it clear that once this occurs there is no turning back.  Jesus also makes it clear that one “sin” cannot be forgiven:

Matt 12:31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age of in the age to come.

So the Word of God makes it quite clear that even those who did believe at one time can “fall away”.  This of course brings up a very good question.  Why does one “fall away”?  The Christian apologist will claim the “sinful heart of man”.  But is this the only reason?  Of course not!  When YHWH fails to provide the promises that he has made in the Word of God, it becomes clear that the cornerstone of the entire religion is false.  When the Word of God, itself, contradicts either itself or the observable world, can the Bible be taken seriously?  Would an all-powerful, all-knowing supernatural being lie about himself and the world he created just to test how gullible we puny humans are?

Posted in Contradictions, The Usual Suspects, Inerrancy - My Ass, Becoming an atheist | Print | 39 Comments »

August 5, 2009, 3:58 pm by dc-agape.

Exodus 29

This entire chapter is about preparing Aaron and his sons to be the high priests of the Israelite people forever.  And I do mean forever…

Exodus 29:9 …The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. …

Yet YHWH has obviously changed his mind since this was written.  As a result, this means that YHWH is not consistent, he is not unchangeable, and he is influenced by the Traditions of Men.  This chapter, more than any I have read yet, proves that YHWH is a fabrication of Man and not the “Supreme Being” that for some bizarre reason the Traditions of Man have made him.

Most of the chapter is about the sacrifices that must be made to sanctify and ordain Aaron and his sons.  But it clearly indicates that every generation after Aaron will be treated in the exact same manner:

Exodus 29:29-30 Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.  The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear those seven days.

This does not occur in our time, either for Christians or for Jews.  No one can claim direct descent from Aaron.  Yet the position of High Priest was to be hereditary.  Why has an all-powerful, all-knowing YHWH allowed his own “lasting ordinance” to decay into nothing?  Why would the Word of God say that it was to be Aaron’s bloodline that ruled Israel if YHWH knew that in the future things would change?  If Christians are right (and Jesus has replaced Aaron), why has Judaism lasted?  But even before this, why does Jesus not come from Aaron’s bloodline?  Did YHWH change or did man change YHWH?

Two burnt offerings were to be made daily for “the generations to come”.  In the morning a year old lamb with 2 quarts (1.8L) of flour, 1 quart (0.9L) of fine olive oil, and 1 quart of wine (0.9L).  This was to be repeated in the evening.  Now this brings future events into question.  Soon the Israelites will piss YHWH off and he will make them wander in the desert for 40 years (Num 14:30).  Now this would mean that Aaron would have to have 29,200 year old lambs to obey this “lasting ordinance”.  This would mean that the number of adult sheep was well in to the 1,000’s at least.  Which creates another problem, in Num 20:1-13, the Israelites had no water.  How could they keep thousands of sheep alive and breeding without water?  There would have been nothing to feed the adult sheep.  And anyone with a biology major or trained in the upkeep of livestock knows that without water and food the young die first!  There is something more difficult for the Israelites to obtain, for those forty years is the flour, oil, and wine.  Remember, they ate manna during this time (Exodus 16:35).  Why were they eating manna if they had access to 60,000 quarts of flour?  Or is this why they had to eat manna, because YHWH demanded they use their flour for sacrifices?

Even though Christians do not like to think about these questions, the questions remain.  The story of the Exodus just does not line up.  What YHWH required and the resources available are in conflict.  What is reported in the Word of God as the complaints by the Israelites and the sacrifices required to satisfy YHWH bloodlust cannot be justified.  I will continue posting on this topic as I read through the Pentateuch, since it is repeated in almost every chapter of the first five Books of the Old Testament.  I hope that someone can give me a rational explanation of how YHWH’s requirements and the documented struggles of the Israelites can be justified.  But do not expect me to believe that “YHWH just did it” explains away this problem!  It is impossible for shepherds to have livestock and not have meat to eat (Num 11:4).  It is impossible for shepherds to have livestock and no water to drink (Exodus 15:22, 17:1).  Remember that there were more than 600,000 men over the age of 20 in the Israelite assembly.  Water and food (both meat and vegetable) would be required for more than 2,000,000 people plus the food stocks for the livestock!

Posted in Contradictions, Exodus, Inerrancy - My Ass, Readings | Print | 2 Comments »