Revised with intro: SEP 17 2018
Religion was the Primary means of social control during the times when so much of the natural world was truely mysterious to us. In those days the supernatural would have been the only way to understand nature. Back then it appears that ideology alone was enough to achieve the goal of being the controlling institution of most societies. Later control was engineered through social institutions (beurocratic stonewalling through primary finace, information and social influencers such as media and Political institutions with the legal sanctioning of the state and the clout of the police and military backing it. Using labels of collective identity is the first step towards the weaponizing of demographics and nothing screams beurocracy louder than a good old fashioned Roman survey (Census). I consider part 1 the most important post I've ever written because all the information consists of information in the public domain, there is nothing new in it, quite the opposite I left out many "facts" because I'm skeptical that thousand year old texts could survive until today still representing the truth as it was told back then when the MSM news still can't even get it right TODAY!
Websites or contacts and even friends who've helped me look at these issues correctly have been hugely helpful. BUT.. there has not been enough public appetite to draw the political, economic, historical and ethical parallels. This is actually sonething that surprises me. I won't cover it all again, here is the post.
http://dwahts.blogspot.com/2018/06/how-to-defeat-most-effective-social.html?m=1
I consider religion to be the direct POLITICAL (not philosophical, spiritual or socio-economic) genesis of the above post. This will give a sense of my regard for religion so that you don't consider my perspective on it something more that.
The Bible. (Citations for murder and genocide in bold text for those looking for the highlights package to cross check)
This exercise is simply a reality check, and a way to make the "moral guidance" argument something empirical rather that a futile interpretation lottery. We are getting better at faulting other religions and calling them out but if we dont apply the same critical eye to our own we end up perpetuating the same "Divide and Rule" premise that religion sought to create in the first place.
Unless one is boundlessly naive, we should realise that its simply a myth that the teachings are there for moral purposes, there is no argument for this whichever way you slice it. They are all there for social control and all dont just lack moral fortitude, they are utterly bankrupt of it.
Deconstruct every premise and logic reveals this time and time again. Even the cherry pick approah fails the logical litmus test, IE the afterlife:
Logically if you need to get into heaven, you need to obey God. Obedience by selfish incentive for reward is not the same as moral. The correct word for this is OBEDIENCE, it's being conflated with moral. It's not logically possible to be moral and religious if you want to get petty. I only mention that because I hear so often the reverse from the religious. Every premise once you parse it out fosters control yet fails to reconcile the stated pupose with its suggested rationale.
Either this supreme being is petty and an insecure control freak, or its written by men that seek control by the act of invoking of brutal and powerful god and passing him off as love.
Love? It always amazes me how many times this God orders the killing of innocent people even after the Ten Commandments said Thou shall not kill. For example, God kills 70,000 innocent people because David ordered a census of the people (1 Chronicles 21).
God also orders the destruction of 60 cities so that the Israelites can live there. He orders the killing of all the men, women, and children of each city, and the looting of all of value (Deuteronomy 3). He orders another attack and the killing of all the living creatures of the city: men and women, young, and old, as well as oxen sheep, and asses (Joshua 6). In Judges 21 He orders the murder of all the people of Jabesh-gilead, except for the virgin girls who were taken to be forcibly raped and married. When they wanted more virgins, God told them to hide alongside the road and when they saw a girl they liked, kidnap her and forcibly rape her and make her your wife!
Just about every other page in the Old Testament has God killing somebody! In 2 Kings 10:18-27, God orders the murder of all the worshipers of a different god in their very own church! In total God kills 371,186 people directly and orders another 1,862,265 people murdered
The God of the Bible also allows slavery, including selling your own daughter as a sex slave (Exodus 21:1-11), child abuse (Judges 11:29-40 & Isaiah 13:16), and bashing babies against rocks (Hosea 13:16 & Psalms 137:9). This type of criminal behavior should shock any moral person.
Murder, rape, pillage, plunder, slavery, and child abuse can not be justified by saying that some god says it’s OK. If more people would actually sit down and read the Bible there would be a lot more atheists like myself. Jesus also promoted the idea that all men should castrate themselves to go to heaven: For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it (Matthew 19:12). I don’t know why anyone would follow the teachings of someone who literally tells all men to cut off their privates.
The God of the Bible also was a big fan of ritual human sacrifice and animal sacrifice.
New Testament.
And just in case you are thinking that the evil and immoral laws of the Old Testament are no longer in effect, perhaps you should read where Jesus makes it perfectly clear: It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away than for the smallest part of the letter of the law to become invalid (Luke 16:17). There are many more quotes on this topic Here Do Not Ignore the Old Testament web page.
I know that most Christians believe that God is a good and loving god, and wants people to do good things. I believe that most people want to do good things and behave morally. I also believe that many Christians haven’t really read the Bible, or just read certain passages in church. This is understandable, as the Bible is hard to read due to its archaic language and obscure references. Also many priests and preachers don’t like to read certain passages in the Bible because they present a message of hate not love.
When I cover the Talmud next you will be even more shocked.
Here is a great documentary that explains the true origins of religion. It has to do with the transition of civilization from hunter-gatherers, agrerian to farming.
