Let the Opinions Commence

Welp. Let's start out with one thing this'll focus on: religion. My take on it? Utterly retarded. Enjoy this essay I wrote at some point, minus the works cited and title page.

Introduction

            Christianity makes up around 33% of America (Robinson, 2009), and yet, do even half of those that make up the masses even know the other side of the argument? Atheism is steadily spreading throughout the world, and theological arguments are springing up all over. But still, many communities are completely Christian, and only believe in God because they know nothing else. Then there are those who are so thoroughly indoctrinated due to parents, or friends, that they will argue against clear facts, just to continue on with their current belief system. If Christians were shown the facts, and actually opened their minds to these, they’d come to understand that God does not exist in the terms that we think of “Him” today.

Origins

            First, let’s begin with where Christianity originated from, and the similarities between it, and all other religions. One major feature is an apocalypse of some sort. This generally involves a battle between the forces of evil, and the forces of good. There is almost always some indication that an end of days will occur, in which all those that did good will be brought happiness, and those that did evil will suffer eternally. This goes onto another point: nearly all religions not involving reincarnation have a hell, and a heaven. Without fail, if you do badly, you will be put into the “hell” for torment until the end of time, while if you do well, you get sent right up to the “heaven”. This just scratches the surface of the major similarities…

            For a more in depth analysis: one of the first recorded religions belongs to Ancient Egypt, and was recorded via writings in large clay blocks (Gadalla, 2003). Christianity has many, very specific similarities to this. One of these is the concept of three holy spirits, although instead of the Trinity that we have with Christianity, it is Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The word “Amen” is often used throughout many of the major religions we have today. This originated from the Egyptian name for god, which was “Amen”. The Virgin Mary is basically the Christian’s version of Isis. Both were impregnated while still remaining a virgin, and both gave birth to a “holy” figure; one being Jesus, and the other being Horus. Another striking similarity is that of the way in which men were created in each legend. In Ancient Egypt, they had “Khuum”, which means molder. This passage from one of their creation legends, “The mud of the Nile, heated to excess by the Sun, fermented and generated, without seeds, the races of men and animals.” and this passage from Genesis 2:7 in the Bible, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” clearly show a relationship on how the world, and man were created. Now, after all these random facts, you may wonder what the point of all this is. The point here is quite simple: God, as Christians know it, cannot exist, as Christianity is merely a copy of older religions.

Prayer and Miracles

            Who hasn’t heard of some grand miracle occurring, in which a devout Christian prayed to god and received a supposed answer? It states in the bible that God will answer prayers, so maybe they really did receive an answer, and it was a divine act. However, you must consider: what if this would have just happened normally? In example, say somebody was praying that their child would escape from one of the tsunami zones alive. He does this, and the parent praises god for what was supposedly an answer to a prayer. The problem is, this could have easily just been random chance. This applies to many things, all of which can be mistaken for an answer to a prayer.

            But what if a prayer is taken that has no vagueness, such as those above? This was thought through, and a question was made that fit the bill perfectly: why not pray for regeneration of lost limbs? People have posed this question in the past, and quite a bit of information was put down on the subject. The exact question they used was, “Why won’t god heal amputees (Anonymous, 2006)?” Of course, none of those that have prayed for this have received an answer. If God has to answer prayers, then why haven’t any of these amputees received one of these miracles? As seen in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”, Jesus (who is pretty much the same as God, all things considered) will answer prayers, or so says this passage, and yet, in this case, he doesn’t. The reason he does not, of course, is very simple: the miracles that are occur are merely perceived as such, and are in fact just items of random chance that are mistaken as an answer to a prayer, which, in turn, proves that God does not exist.

The Bible

            Sure, most Christians say they’ve read the bible, but have they really read it? What I mean by this, is, do they only memorize those verses that make it seem like a wondrous book, and then ignore those that wouldn’t sit well with them? The Bible contains many horrific things, all apparently allowed, and even condoned by God. A prime example of this is slavery. In many passages throughout the Bible, God shows his approval of slavery, and even goes so far as to put down price tags, and rules on how slaves can be mutilated (Anonymous, 2006). In Exodus Chapter 21, verse 1, we see: “Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.” This quotation shows that it is alright with God to separate slaves from families, and you are perfectly allowed to brand through maiming. As another example, in Colossians, chapter 3, verse 22, “Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task, work heartily...” This shows that God wants slaves to obey their masters, and to work hard. Are Christians okay with this? Do they know that their precious Bible openly advocates slavery?

            If god is all-caring, and loves everybody, why would he care less about slaves? Could it just be that those who wrote the bible merely put this down as a set of rules, meant to make their society less chaotic? Perhaps while they were writing this, they figured that if they were able to spread this religion among slaves, their slaves would be less liable to rebel. So not only would they get people believing whatever they wanted, and would therefore have some control over them if they began preaching in God’s name, but they’d also have a less chaotic society, and controlled slaves. It is not possible for the Bible to have been in the words of God, because if he truly loved everyone equally, he would not agree with slavery. And, since the Bible is supposed to have been written by God, he cannot exist.

In Conclusion

            Three separate subjects have now been gone over. With the origins of Christianity, it becomes clear that it is merely a copy of previous religions, and therefore if any religion is factual, then it is the ones which came first, and not Christianity. Second, there is prayer. Seeing as prayer does not truly work, and only seems to work through pure chance, or physical intervention, God cannot exist as he does not answer the aforementioned prayers. Finally, there is the Bible itself: God loves all, and yet he advocates the mutilation, and mistreatment that slavery involves. This clearly contradicts itself, making it so that even if God were real, we know him falsely. What do all these points come together to say? God does not exist.

Have fun with that? If so, know that this is just the beginning of my opinions on the retardation of religion. I'll also be heading into my opinions on nuclear power (I'm pronuke, BTW), some conspiricies for the humor of it, and shit that needs to be balanced in the game we all know as "Sundered Earth".