In
Those Days……..
Within the Jewish community, in 1B.C., for a young woman to be ‘with-child’ out of wedlock, brought shame of the greatest magnitude upon her family. It so happened that a young girl, of a certain highly regarded family, found herself pregnant by a young shepherd boy she had fallen in love with. Upon learning of this, her father was enraged! He knew that if this were found out by the leaders of the community, his daughter would be reviled, and labeled a ‘harlot’. That evening, he paced the floor for hours, trying to figure out a way to cover up this blight upon his house. The old scripture referenced the virgin birth of a savior…so; he decided to create a story of ‘immaculate-conception’ around his daughter. He gathered his family together and in solemn whispers, the plan was laid out... He knew it was a long shot, but he also knew that theirs was a people who were religious zealots, and the tale he would concoct' just might float. It was a desperate situation, which called for desperate measures, right? So through the night, the story began to take shape, and by the light of dawn, it had been finalized. “An angel of the Lord would visit Mary to inform her that she had been chosen to bear a son, who would be the savior of her people”. Being a ‘virgin’, the Holy Spirit would come upon her and impregnate her. It also happened that a family friend named Joseph, (who was a highly respected carpenter), a widower, with sons and daughters to raise, was in need of a wife. Being a descendent of the line of David, he was a prime candidate for becoming Mary’s husband. Mary’s father took him into his confidence and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse~ if he would marry his daughter immediately.
It so happened that Mary’s
father and her newly acquired husband were proud, boastful men, and in a short
time, the story of Mary’s ‘immaculate conception’ was abuzz throughout the
community. Realizing that a girl of Mary’s tender years could easily be
tripped up if questioned by the elder Rabbi’s, he arranged for her to go away
and stay with her kinswoman; Elizabeth, who was also with child at that time.
Not to be outdone by the story of Mary’s conception, Elizabeth too professed
that she had been visited by the same angel of the Lord' and had been told she
would bear a son who would be the forerunner of the coming savior who was being
born of the ‘virgin’ Mary.
Well, the stories soon
spreads like wildfire! That' a savior was to be born in their midst’s. You
all know the story of how Emperor Augustus had sent out a decree that all
must return to their place of birth to register for tax purposes. And you
also know how Herod had all the male babies, 2 years old and under, slaughtered,
in an effort to destroy this so-called Messiah child.
Perhaps it was the shepherd
boy, (who was the true father of Mary’s baby) that heard the tale, and
realizing it was his child, perpetuated the fabricated tale by adding that a
bright star had appeared in the sky to guide the ‘wise-men’ to where his
child was born. You all know the story.
It is my conjecture, that
the reason the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, is because they knew the
truth of his existence. Not to infer that Jesus wasn’t a great man….
he surely was. However, he was born of a woman, and according to the
bible, all of mankind is cursed with ‘original-sin’. So, Jesus was no
less of a sinner then you and I. I also believe that the ‘religious’
men of that time realized that the Old Testament was just too much of a
conglomeration of bazaar fabrications, mixed with concocted myths, and
‘old-wives-tales’, to be believed, (and followed) by intelligent people in
the future. If you read the O. T. with an open mind, and truly absorb what
is found therein, you have to see what a bunch of malarkey it really is.
The god of the O.T. is not a loving and kind god…. he murdered babies…. he
destroyed cities filled with people, regardless of whether there were "those who
were innocent" abiding there. He ordered the slaughter of ten’s of
thousands of people to clear the way for his…”chosen-people”, the Jews.
We are taught to ‘fear-his-wrath”…. his anger is a terrible thing to
behold! Within the first 6 chapters of the book of Genesis, the world is
created and then destroyed! It seems to me that the creation of the world
and mankind should have at least had a complete book devoted to it. That
would hold my interest far more then all of the detailed descriptions throughout
the bible, of wars, mass slaughter, and all manner of debauchery and disgusting
acts, which are so graphically described. I can’t believe that God would
inspire a book to be written which depicts him as such a tyrannical ogre….that
simply doesn’t compute.
I believe in a
‘Higher-Power’, who created, (and lovingly embraces) all of nature and
mankind. He gave us our independence and free will, to be what we choose
to be. Whether we are good or bad, filled with love or possessed by
hatred, is of our own volition. He started the evolutionary process, but
from there on, moved aside so that we human beings would be the masters of our
own fate.
The bible, and Christianity
as a whole, is responsible for most of the prejudicial hatred that prevails
today. Since the beginning of recorded history, religion has been the
basis of more bloodshed and destruction than any other cause. And it is
still ongoing to this day. Churches were instigated early on as a means of
controlling the masses- through fear. They created a god who was
all-powerful. A god who could smite you for the least infraction of any one of
his many, ridiculous laws. A god who demanded obedience or else face
judgment and ultimately end up in a fiery hell, to burn forever. Come on
folks, is that really a choice? Either believe in god and meet all of his
demands, or choose not to believe in him and suffer eternal torment! Of
course they threw in Satan, as a scapegoat' so we could have an excuse for
committing or devious acts. “The-devil-made-me-do-it”! And what
about all those ‘demons’ that men were possessed with in Jesus’ time?
Is demon-possession a reality? I think not.
I realize now that the bible
is merely a book- written and put together by men who had their own agendas to
promote. The god represented within its pages, is in no way a depiction of
the true ‘Higher-Power’ that is responsible for our existence. The man
Jesus was real; however, he was as mortal as you and I. People of
‘religion’ have been perpetrating horrific acts upon their fellow man, all
in the name of ‘god’s-will’, for centuries! The ‘pedophilic’
Catholic priests are a prime example. What about the billions of dollars
that are collected world wide by churches in the name of ‘tithing’ and where
do all of those billions really go? If churches were taxed the same as all
others, the Federal Reserve would be bursting-at-the-seams!!
It doesn’t matter whether
a person believes in the bible and all it stands for or not when it comes to
their being good or bad. Some people are simply inherently evil which is
why we need laws and law enforcement to control them. The church tells us
that if he isn’t punished in this life, he will be punished in the next.
"I think Not!" He committed the crime in this life, so he must be
punished in this life!!! We have too long allowed religion to over-rule our
civil laws……..the laws of the bible were written to fit the times 'back then.'
The church and its followers can blindly be led down a primrose path of
so-called, “righteousness”….but as for me, I choose to obey the laws of
our government.
Having been enlightened as
to the truth of what the bible is and what it stands for, I am appalled, and
yes, angry to have been ‘duped’ all these years by those pious,
self-righteous’ bigots who put it all together. I feel somewhat like the
child who has just been told that Santa Clause isn’t real. Contrary to
what the bible teaches, I believe we are all Gods~ in our own right. And,
that my Higher-Power who placed us in existence, gave us that divinity.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”…..it’s as simple as
that. Love one another as we love ourselves.
I am in no way perfect, and
never will be, but I do try to live a good life' and be kind and loving to those
around me. I get frustrated and angry at all of the evil in the world, but
I also realize that we are ‘human-beings’ who stumble often- on life’s
pathway. If someone falls, rush to help him up! As you would hope, he would
do the same for you. If we spent as much time embracing our neighbor as we
do on our knees praying, too a god who doesn’t exist, we would all be so much better
off.
I am no theologian, nor a
religious scholar, but I have been involved with churches and have taken
part in extensive bible-study for over half a century, so I do have a working
knowledge of bible religion. The Jerry Farwell's and the Pat Robertson's of
the world, are directly responsible for despicable acts perpetrated in the
name of ‘religion’! I cite ‘gay-bashing’ as a prime example. Tel-evangelists
and ‘faith-healers’ Milk millions- of dollars each year from poor, desperate
folks, who have been brainwashed into believing that if they ‘donate’ enough
money to these shysters, they will be assured of a place in heaven and/or healed
of there maladies... The only thing these leeches relieve a person of is the
contents of their purses. Thousands of children have suffered and died
because their parents ‘religion’ didn’t believe in doctors, or such things
as blood-transfusions. In the dark recesses of certain ‘religious’ cults,
human sacrifices are still performed today. One small portion of the New
Testament was taken as a basis for the cult religion of handling poisonous
snakes' and consuming poisons without harm, if the person was of the "true faith."
Dozens die every year in those sicko ceremonies.
When I think of all the
years I was controlled by the guilt that churches had instilled in me because I
was a ‘SINNER’….Infuriates me! The only sin I committed was
believing in all of that- - - Biblical Falderal! Insted, we should be helping to preserve the earth
and it’s environment. I am doing my part to ensure the survival of those creatures~
who are endangered, and I'm generally being the best person I can be pleases the
God I believe in. He asks nothing more from me then to love his creations,
and to bask in his eternal goodness. "My God" would never destroy that which
He created……he gave me, and those who feel as I do, the intelligence to
improve on His creation that which needs to be improved. Due to scientific
technology, our world is changing at a rapid rate. If we don’t destroy
ourselves through greed and the lust for power, we will be traveling soon to
other planets to colonize them, and begin new civilizations beyond our wildest
dreams. However, as long as religion is allowed to control man’s
thoughts with its narrow, uncompromising dogma, the world will continue to be in
a state of chaos.
The bible is simply a book
written by men' whom expressed their ideas and thoughts that were pertinent at the
time, (for them). I’m not saying that the bible should be discounted
altogether, for there are many good moral lessons to be learned within its
pages…..I am saying' that it should be read objectively, and with the knowledge
that it was written by men who were not necessarily ‘inspired’.
I have found the truth, and
I shall live by that truth from now on. You of course, must make your own
evaluation and come to your own conclusions. We have that freedom~ in this
country. Without reprisal from our government, or fear of "Holy"
Retribution...
Love is the answer.
Rex D.
P.O. Box 2343
Lompoc, CA
93438
