Friday, 18 July 2014

The root cause of my atheism

Here is a collection of tweets I sent out today. I wanted to collect them because I thought they were pretty good & so did others.

•••

The sheer number & variety of religious claims, all with equally devout believers, was the root cause of my #atheism.

As I learned more & more about the various faiths, I always had more questions than they had answers.

It quickly became apparent that all religions were inventions of the fragile human psyche trying to make sense of a senseless world.
Thanks to @CordieMendoza for the meme

 My expectations are that an omnipotent deity would be able to provide a consistent message to the various tribes of early humans.

Instead, we have fractured myths that always match the local customs, values & moral stance. All which change over time.

Gods almost always look like their creators (Hindu & Egyptian gods are notable exceptions) & they always act like their creators.

Then you dive into the fractured sects of a single religion and the fact can't even agree amongst themselves. Wow!

There is definitely evidence for a creator…a creator of religions & that creators name is Mankind. No, not the Pro-wrestler.

Notice I haven't even touched on science yet? You don't need science to disbelieve in gods.

However, understanding a few basic scientific facts, to me, makes the case against gods pretty air tight.

You ask me why I don't believe in your god? I ask you why you don't believe in that other persons god? I'm only 0.03% more atheist than most

I know it's cliche in the #atheist community now, there is a reason this "atheist trope" gets used so much.

It's a valid point that can be made in a civil manner & applies to any & every theist. 

Fin. (Maybe)

Nope…I had more…

Magic/supernatural explanations have never, ever, let me repeat that louder, NEVER, EVER replaced a scientific one.

On the flip side, how many times has science disproven a magical or supernatural explanation. I've lost count.

Wisdom spent did today.

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Did Jesus really get rid of the OT laws?

A common argument I hear made by Christians is that the Old Testament (OT) no longer applies, that Jesus Christ (JC) "fulfilled" them.  This is usually based off Matthew 5:17:

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Since "fulfill" seems to be the word Christians focus on, let's clarify the definition of the word:

(I have used googles basic definition)

Clearly Christians use the 1st definition "bring to completion", but I'm going to use a trick Christians use often & say they are not using the correct context to figure out the intended definition of "fulfill".  

Context is the idea of using surrounding words & phrases to ascertain the intended meaning of a word that has multiple definitions. If you have the right meaning of the word, the definition should almost be able to replace the word & still make sense.

So in the case of Matt. 5:17, you need to look at the rest of the verse to help figure out the context. JC says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them…". In considering the whole verse, it's obvious JC did not intend to use the "bring to completion" definition since he clearly says he was not abolishing them & you can't complete them & not abolish them at the same time; unless Christians want to admit to yet another contradiction in the Bible.

This brings you to the remaining portion of definition #1, "bring to reality; achieve or realize (something desired, promised, or predicted)." This fits much better into the context, but it's still a bit awkward. So let's look at definition #2, "carry out (a task, duty, or role) as required, pledged, or expected." Let's fit this definition into Matt5:17 instead of the word "Fulfill":

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to carry out as required, pledged, or expected."

It fits perfectly, so it would seem we've found the intended definition, which clearly indicates JC wanted the OT Laws to stand. He was like a cop on patrol, not looking to abolish robbery laws, but to fulfill those Laws.

However, to really cement this in, let's look at the rest of that section just to make certain that we haven't missed something. 

Matt.5:18;
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

It's discussing that not a word is to be removed from they Law, so the chosen context still fits.

19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Here JC says that anyone that does relax them won't be exalted in heaven, so it seems like the chosen context is still applicable.

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Finally, JC takes a classic shot at the Pharisees, indicating you need to live the laws better than the Pharisees do if you want to get into heaven. These passages are the ones that make me like JC because he wasn't afraid to take on the powerful religious leaders of his time; reminds me of modern day atheists.

There are passages in the bible where it appears JC is relaxing the OT Laws himself. In most of these cases though, he is using it as a reminder to the Pharisees that they are being hypocrites because he took every opportunity he could to take a shot at them. No, I'm not going to pull all these verses or this post will be a short novel, in which case I should publish it & sell it instead. 

If you wish to quote some to me in the comments below or on twitter (@Atheist_Eh), feel free & we can discuss how or if they might change the context above. 

Note: All bible verses quoted are from the English Standard Version (ESV), mainly because I have that version on my phone & it's a good app to copy/paste from. The fact I have to state which version of the "Perfect Word of God" is another matter for another post.

On the side, here is one of my favourite attacks JC made against the Pharisees found in Matt.23:1-7:

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,
3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

Perhaps I'll do another post someday relating this attack to modern day Pharisees such as Joyce Meyer, John Hagee, Joel Osteen & others, but that's another subject.