Okay - my boss challenged me to write a paper proving that god does not exist, WITHOUT making references to the bible.
I tried.
I have 2.5 attempts, trying not to reference bible quotes, to the best of my ability.
1. The SUN of god.
As far back as 10,000 BC, there have been carvings and writings of people's respect for the sun. The sun would bring vision, and warmth, and security, saving human from the cold and the dark and the predators that come out in the night. Ancient civilizations knew that without it, the crops would not grow and life could not survive. Those realities made the sun the most adored object of all times.
They also tracked the stars which helped them to anticipate the events that would happen over time, such as eclipses and full moons. They would catalogue celestial groups into "constellations".
The cross of the zodiac (one of the oldest conceptual images in human history) reflects the sun as it figuratively passes through the 12 major constellations over the course of a year. It reflects the 12 months of the year, the four seasons and the solstices and the equinoxes.
The term "zodiac" refers to the constellations being anthropomorphized, or, personified. In other words, ancient civilizations did not just follow the sun and stars, they personified them with elaborate myths involving their movements and relationships.
The sun, with its life-giving qualities, was representative as an unseen creator, or god. "God's Sun", "The Light of the World", "The Saviour of Humankind". The 12 constellations represented places of travel for "God's Sun". They usually reflect the time that they fall in, for example, Aquarius is the water bearer and brings spring rains.
Horus was an Egyptian sun god in 3000 BC. He is the sun anthropomorphized and his life is a series of myths regarding the sun and its movement in the sky. The solar messiah, Horus (light), had an enemy, Set (the personification of darkness or night). Every morning, Horus would conquer Set, and every night, Set would conquer Horus, and send him into the underworld.
Horus was born on December 25th, of a virgin. His birth was accompanied by a star in the east, and upon his birth, he was adored by three kings. By the age of 12, he was a teacher, he was baptized in the ministry at age 30. He had 12 disciples he traveled about with performing miracles, such as healing the sick and walking on water.
He was known as "The Truth", "The Light", "God's Anointed Sun", "The Lamb of God", and others.
After being betrayed by Typhon, Horus was crucified, dead for three days, and then resurrected.
Attis was a god in Greece in 1200 BC. He was born of a virgin on December 25th, was crucified, placed in a tomb, and then resurrected three days later.
Krishna was a god in India in 900 BC. He was born of a virgin, with the star of the east signaling his coming. He would perform miracles with his disciples, and upon his death, was resurrected.
Dionysus was a god in Greece in 500 BC. He was born of a virgin on December 25th. He was a traveling teacher who performed miracles, such as turning water into wine. He was referred to as "The King of Kings", "God's Only Begotten Sun", "The Alpha and Omega", and upon his death, he was resurrected.
Mithra was a god in Persia in 1200 BC. He was born of a virgin on December 25th. He had 12 disciples and performed miracles. Upon his death, was buried for three days, and thus resurrected. He was referred to as "The Truth" and "The Light". The sacred day of worship of Mithra was SUNday.
There are many others that subscribe to those same characteristics in different places and different times. The most recent of the solar messiahs is Jesus Christ.
He was born of the virgin, Mary, on December 25th, in Bethlehem. His birth was announced by a star in the east, which three kings came to adore. He was a child teacher at the age of 12. He was baptized by the age of 30. Jesus had 12 disciples which he traveled with, performing miracles, such as healing the sick, walking on water, raising the dead.
He was known as "The King of Kings", "The Son of God", "The Light of the World", "The Alpha and Omega", "The Lamb of God". He was betrayed by his disciple, Judas, and sold for 30 pieces of silver. He was crucified, placed in a tomb, and after three days, he was resurrected.
The birth sequence is completely astrological.
The star in the east is Sirius, the brightest star. On December 24th, it aligns with the three brightest stars on Orion's belt. Those three brightest stars are called today what they were called in ancient times: The three kings.
The three kings and Sirius all point to the place of the sunrise on December 25th. This is why the three kings "follow" the star in the east. This is the birth of "God's Sun" in winter solstice. The virgin, Mary, is the constellation, Virgo, also known as "Virgo, the Virgin". Virgo, in Latin, means "Virgin". Virgo was also referred to as "House of Bread". The representation of Virgo is a virgin holding wheat.
It represents August and September, the time of harvest. Bethlehem literally translates to "House of Bread". Bethlehem is a reference to the constellation, Virgo, a place in the sky, not on earth.
From the perspective of the northern hemisphere from the summer to the winter, the sun begins to move south and appears to get smaller. As the sun became more scarce, more crops would die. This symbolized death to the ancient civilizations. The death of the sun.
On December 22nd, the sun makes it to its lowest point in the sky. The sun stops moving south, percievably, for three days. During those three days, the sun lies in the vicinity of the Southern Cross (The Crux constellation). Then, on December 25th, the sun moves one degree north, foreshadowing longer days, warmth, and spring.
And, thus, it was said, "The Sun died on the cross, was dead for three days, only to be resurrected, or born again."
They celebrated the resurrection, on "Easter" which is during the spring equinox, as daytime officially conquers nighttime and the revitalizing conditions of spring emerge.
The 12 disciples are the 12 constellations of the zodiac, which Jesus, being the SUN, travels about with. The crosses on steeples are not of Christianity, but, rather, a pagan symbol of the cross of the zodiac. This is why Jesus in art was always shown with his head on the cross. For he is the sun, who can be seen between the clouds, in heaven.
The crown of thorns are actually sun rays.
There is a longer list of similar gods shown on the movie.
2. Human cloning and other abstract views.
Human now has the science to clone another human being. If we can do it, perhaps another natural higher species bred us. And not some omniscient god who monitors our every word and strikes you dead if you let out an expletive when you stub your toe.
If I were to write a novel, and breathe life into the characters I created, or make a film, even with claymation, would I not be god? Having given life to those personified characters?
If I intentionally aimed to create life, like, leaving some yoghurt out to attract mold, there I am, putting natural evolution and attraction in place, and spawning a breeding ground for mold. Or perhaps mold is evidence of life after death.
Is artificial insemination playing god?
People argue that god put us here. Who the fuck put god here?
2.5 (Uses bible quotes).
I just wanted a forum to highlight the idiocy of bible literalists.
Haircuts
Leviticus 19:27 reads, "You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard."
Eating pig
Leviticus 11:8 regarding pigs: "You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses: they are unclean to you."
Fortune Tellers
Leviticus 19:31 reads, "Do not turn to mediums or spiritists: do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God." The penalty: Leviticus 20:6 "As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people."
The pull out method
Genesis 38:9-10: "Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went to his brother's wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. But what he did [the pull out method] was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also."
Tattoos/body peircing
Leviticus: "You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord."
Wearing denim with satin/comingling crops/cross-breeding cattle
Leviticus 19:19: You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, no wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together."
Divorce is a sin
Mark 10:8 (re: divorce): You "are not longer two, but one flesh." Mark 10:9: "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." Mark 10:11-12 "And He said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery."
Any man who is castrated, or perhaps lost a testicle to cancer
Deuteronomy 23:1 reads: "A man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off may never join the assembly of the Lord."
Fatherless children
Deuteronomy 23:2: "No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord."
Women can not wear gold
Timothy 2:9 "Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments."
SHELLFISH
Leviticus 11:10 reads, "But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you."
God Hates Shrimp
A wife can't defend a husband by hitting his offender in the groin
Deuteronomy 25:11-12: "If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity."
11 Things The Bible Bans, But You Do Anyway
The link above highlights just some. Cutting your hair, shaving your beard, playing football, having your tarot cards read, consulting with a psychic medium to help find a missing child, tattoos (even those of a cross or jesus himself), mixed garments, divorce, castration, wearing gold, eating lobster, contraception, homosexuality and your wife coming to your defense are all sins?
A vengeful god does not want you to selectively choose what He views as sins.
And, then, specifically with regards to homosexuality:
Marie Antoinette is quoted, or misquoted, for having said, "Let them eat cake." The legitimacy of this quote is at debate, but the literal translation is that it is a sarcastic or ignorant comment about the impoverished back in her day. They allegedly complained that they could not afford flour to make bread, to which she scoffed, either sarcastically, or ignorantly, saying, "Let them eat cake." Cake is made of flour, where some confusion takes place for her quote.
If I were to come and see a quote today that said, "Let them eat cake.", I would envision some people at a party eating some cake. I would not initially envision the peasants in France from the 1700s asking for food, and being given a really obnoxious answer in return.
You have to read the sentence in the context and history in which it was written/refers to. And then it makes sense.
Marie Antoinette was brought to death by guillotine which brings to mind a common saying, "Heads will roll". Now, what does that mean? Is this some type of dance move? Or a stretch? No, it refers to the times in which people were beheaded as punishment, eons ago.
You have to read the sentence in the context and the history in which it was written/refers to. And then it makes sense.
Abraham Lincoln said, "Four score and seven years ago". Er, what kind of score? Did a hockey player score a goal? Or, did a football player score a touchdown? Or, did someone "settle a score?", or, did someone eat green m&m's and score a girl's phone number?
No, score meant, "20 years", so the literal translation means 87 years ago, which at that time would have equaled 1776, the dawning of our nation's independence. Back then, people knew that "score" meant 20 years.
Where did green m&m's come in to this? Well, in the early 1990s, there was some urban legend-y kind of ad that if you ate the green m&m's, you would "score" a homerun, or get lucky with a girl.
The thing is, you have to read this text, and conceptualize it during the context and the history of which it was written. And then it makes sense.
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I watched a wonderful documentary featuring V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion. It is called, "For the Bible Tells Me So," and maps out how fundamentalist christians and bible literalists misuse bible quotes to bear, nurture, and promote prejudice and how the church used the bible as an old trick to condition its patrons to support apartheid, segregation, slavery, and the second class citizenship of women. And now its newest target, the homosexuals.
It features commentaries from Anita Bryant (a**hole), Reverand Dr. Lawrence C Keene (Disciples of Christ), Reverand Peter Gomes (Harvard University), Reverand
Steven Kindle (Clergy United), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate), Brian Zachary Mayer, MAHL (Reform Rabbi), Reverand Susan Sparks (American Baptist Church), Reverand Dr. Mel White (founder, Soulforce), Reverand Irene Monroe (Harvard Divinity School), Reverand Dr. Joan Brown Campbell (Chautauquah Institution), Beverly LaHaye (Concerned Women of America), Franklin Graham (son of Reverand Billy Graham), Rabbi Steven Greenberg (Orthodox Rabbi), Dr James Dobson (who hosts his own concentration camp of sorts: "reparative therapy" at Focus On the Family), Reverand Steven Baines (a baptist minister), Paula J Caplan, PHD (Clinical Research Psychologist, Harvard), Jorge Valencia (Trevor Project Suicide Hotline), Cathie Talbert (NH Selection Committee), and many more.
It also features five religious families who embrace their children's homosexuality, in some cases not very easily, and in others, where death results.
A lot of my statements below will be intertwined with quotes taken from the film, which include many biblical quotes that have been deliberately taken out of context to target the homosexual community.
An ordinary Joe Shmoe talks about the "moral fabric" of this nation. Which brings to mind a 9/12'er at the tea parties holding a sign saying, "This is a Christian nation", and several church signs saying, "What happened to Christian America"?
To which I can reply, "What about Native America?" There were "savages" living in this country long before the christian white settlers came here. The christians raped, pillaged, enslaved, and murdered a score (oh, yet another use of the word score) of Native Americans ("American Indians", though we have confirmed this is not India). Today's native americans are living on reservations with no running water.
Is this what a christian nation is? Destroy all of the current inhabitants, and oust them, and let them live in poverty while you build your capitalistic society, using all of their resources? That sure does explain our Iraq-war. Let's kill the inhabitants, force a democracy under god on them, and stake our claims in their oil reserves.
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The fallacy: God made Adam and Eve to procreate, as perpetuated through
Leviticus 20:13 - "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, it is detestable. They must be put to death, their blood will be on their own heads."
Bible literalists will single that one verse out, and completely ignore the historical time in which that particular sextion was written. The time it was written, it was about a nation trying to grow. At that time, the Hebrew Nation knew that the man seed is where life started, and did not know that women played any role in child birth other than incubation.
They knew that homosexual activity would not assist procreation, so they considered it a violation of the social norm.
In the King James version of the bible, it says, "Onan spills his seed on the ground and god strikes him dead." Onan would ejaculate outside of the woman's body, so as not to get her pregnant.
Bible literalists reading this at face value fail to read it within its context of its original culture. This was a developing nation writing this, to fulfill the holiness code, so that its citizens would feel holy, and would create offspring.
It is believed that when a nation is trying to grow and populate, that the word, "f.u.c.k." came about, meaning, "fornicate under the consent of the king."
In just a few verses before "Leviticus 20:13" Moses teaches Leviticus that it is an abomination to eat shrimp.
A few verses below it says, "you should not plant two seeds in the same hole; you shouldn't comingle your crops." Another says, "It is an abomination to eat a rabbit", and another says, "You should not wear linen and wool together."
To just pick out one of the verses in Leviticus, and say, "this is the one we are going to follow" is not the way the bible works. There is no option for selective reading.
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An "abomination" was a "ritual wrong". It meant, "against their tradition" or "against ritual". It has never meant to be used to refer to something as innately immoral.
Eating pork was not innately immoral for a jew, but it is an abomination, because it is a violation of their ritual requirement.
The movie shows an excerpt of "The West Wing", which shows how bible literalists still pick and choose. Responding to someone saying homosexuality is an abomination (because the bible told her so), He satirically makes a statement saying, "I am interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7." and he says, "My chief of staff insists on working on the sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or is it okay to call the police?"
Bible literalists are not able to engage in conversations, they can only engage in pronouncements.
There is a text that says, "You must take all that you have and give it to the poor." How many bible literalists go out and say, "I believe that to be god's word, I am going to close my bank accounts and give all of it to the poor."?
Most of the bible literalists are capitalists, even though the bible condemns such investments. Jerry Falwell banks $8.9 million per year, James Dobson banks $138 million per year, and Pat Robertson banks $459 million per year.
As bible literalists, the bible says that Robertsons' nearly half a billion dollars should be going to the poor.
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Dobson claims to hold a degree in psychology and has no theological training. Yet, he has 200 million followers worldwide and he claims that homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be cured, and, in fact, has a training program that berates and frightens homosexuals back into the closet, despite being refuted by the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Pyschological Association, the American Psychoanalytical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Association of social workers.
These accredited medical groups go on record as saying, "Homosexuality should not be treated as a medical disorder," and they oppose any attempts at reparitive or conversion therapy. They also state that "sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be changed."
Dobson tells parents of children who say they are gay that it is not okay, and that you should get them changed. That is the exact opposited of what a parent should do. As to "The tens of thousands" of homosexuals that got converted back to being straight, if you instill fear and shame into a person, you can get them to suppress any feeling they have. Suppression is worlds away from changing one's orientation, and comes with grave consequences.
Gays and lesbians are 3-7 times more like to attempt suicide than heteros. 1 gay or lesbian or bi or trans-gender/trans-sexual teen kills themselves every five hours, and for everyone that succeeds, 20 more will try.
One in the top five reasons they attempt, according to the suicide hotline, is due to religious reasons.
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Nature has seen homosexuality in up to 450 species, including elephants, zebras, babboons, penguins, the common housecat, and many more.
The fundamentalist christian will reply, "Well, we are not animals, we have free will."
It is scientifically untrue that homosexuality is a choice.
Sexual orientation is determined by genes, hormones, and birth order.
If one twin is gay, the other is too, up to 70% of the time, which is far higher than what would occur if genes played no role. Genes play a higher role in determining your orientation than they do in determining your dominant hand.
Having older brothers increases the chance of a younger brother being a homosexual. The reason for that is because when a female is pregnant with a male fetus, her body recognizes it as a foreign object, creating antigens and antibodies. The more boys a woman has, the more adept her body is at feminizing the fetus.
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Genesis 19 - It is claimed that god burned the citizens of sodom and gomorrah because of homosexuality. Of course, the literalists choose to ignore that in chapter 18, god says he is going to destroy the citizens because they are increasingly evil.
God sends two angels in the form of men to accompany Abraham to Lot's house. Lot entertains their visit, and lodges and feeds them, as it would be a social breech if you did not entertain a stranger.
Sodom was incredibly wealthy, and the citizens canceled the law of "welcoming travelers" because they were afraid they would take their wealth. Lot violated the law of sodom by welcoming the strangers, and the police at that time paid him a visit.
They threatened Lot and the guests he was hosting.
Two translations of this event then followed in the bible:
One says, "Let those men come out so we can know them."
Another says, "Let those men come out so we can have sex with them."
An interpretation is that these men wanted to gang rape these two men as an act of humiliation. Anal rape was a great way in the ancient mind to humiliate the mean and to punish them.
In ancient times, when armies were defeated, their soldiers would often be anal raped. Demasculinization seems to work wonders: In present day, when a coach wants to humiliate his team, he calls them a bunch of girls. Why does that work?
It is the hatred of women that is the fuel of homophobia - for a man to allow himself to be treated like a woman.
This is all a matter of people not reading the words in the context and history of the time they were written.
Sodom and Gomorrah was not about promiscuity, or perversity. It was about cruelty, and inhospitability.
Having a "whites only" sign was akin to sodom and gomorrah.
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Romans 1:26 - "God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned their natural relationships with women and were inflamed with lust for one another."
Bible literalists refuse to place that in the context and history of when it was written. "Natural" and "Unnatural" actually mean, "Customary" and "Uncustomary".
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The easiest way to create a family of "us" is to create a scapegoat, or an "other", which, now that blacks, women, and jews, and other minorities, have their equal rights, is now targeting the homosexuals.
The documentarian interviewed people on the street, and some said, "Jesus always embraced the outcast, so how a church can make an outcast out of someone does not make any sense."
Someone else said, "Not many people read the bible. Not even many christians. So, how are they basing their beliefs on that? Someone told them. How powerful of a weapon, or a tool is that?"
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