New World Order

Participant

Now let us examine recent history. What are the objectives of the New World Order, as espoused by the Secret Society of the Masters of the Illuminati, in 1776?

Objectives: To abolish:

All ordered, established government.
Private property.
All Inheritance.
Patriotism (nationalism).
The Family and Marriage, plus all morality.
All Religion.
We need to examine these objectives individually to assess the full impact.

Abolishing all ordered, established government. This is nothing more than the call to revolution. Certainly, if the existing authorities of any open society were to know about this objective or take it seriously, they would move to destroy the movement.
Abolishing all private property and inheritance would immediately invite the wrath of all landowners and property owners in society. These people would insist the existing authorities act promptly against the society.
Abolishing national patriotism would incite the wrath of both existing governmental authorities and common man. Patriotism has run deep within the heart of man since the Tower Of Babel.
The foundational stone of any society, and hence, the existing government, is the Family. The Family provides the basic stability for society to reproduce itself and to pass on cultural values. Morality is the glue which binds the Family. Destroying the Family and Morality is the first major step to destruction of the nation.
A call for the abolition of all religion would cause all existing religions to vehemently oppose the secret society. In most countries, the predominate religion exercises great influence upon authorities.
Therefore, you can see that each of these objectives must be hidden from the watchful eyes of existing authorities. This is especially true in Western Society, with its Biblical foundation.

Now, let us look at the philosophies of Modern Secret Societies.

Secret Societies believe:

1. Man is inherently good.

The Bible clearly states that man is inherently evil (Jeremiah 17:9)

2. Restructuring man's environment completely is the only thing which will solve man's problems.

This states that inherently good man is only corrupted because of his evil or bad environment. Once the environment is positively changed, inherently good man will revert to his truly good nature. This un-Biblical belief has contributed mightily to the tragedy of Communism slaughter-ing over 200 million people.

3. Man's reason would solve all his problems

Again, the Bible clearly states that man's reason is permanently corrupted by sin. Only the Truth of the Bible can cure man's ills.

4. The ends justify the means.

Everyone correctly identifies this philosophy with Communism; few understand, however, that the Secret Society of the Masters of the Illuminati originally conceived this principle. This principle simply means that, if the end goal is worthy, adherents of that goal are free to employ any means to achieve it. Murder, bribery, and theft are just a few examples of means which will be deemed worthy once they enable a worthy end to be achieved. This one principle is responsible for the slaughtering of over 200 million people by the forces of Communism since 1917.

5. Nationalism must be abolished, replaced by one- world government.

This principle is self-explanatory. Internationalism must replace patriotism if the New World Order is to be realized.

Certainly, Secret Societies are the only vehicle which could protect and advance these anti-God objectives. If the existing authorities ever understood these objectives, they would immediately destroy the movement.

What are the most important of these Secret Societies? While there are many, there are a few which critically important to the New World Order. The first of these is the Masonic Lodge, or Freemasonry. Adam Weishaupt originally propagated his New World Order concepts through the Masonic Lodge. However, Freemasonry has existed since Antiquity. Alexandar Hislop clearly states in his book, The Two Babylons, “…the secret system of Free Masonry was originally founded on the Mysteries of the Egyptian Isis, the goddess-mother, or wife of Osiris.” Further, Hislop points out, Osiris herself originated as the Babylonian goddess-mother, the mother of Nimrod. Nimrod gained fame as a great hunter and “the god of fortifications” (p. 43). Therefore, the Mysteries of the Masonic Lodge came directly from Nimrod.

Much discussion and disputing have arisen over the years concerning the nature of Freemasonry. Masons claim their organization is not a religion and that members of all religions are welcome. However, many church organizations have decreed that their members could not be both Masons and Christians, that Masonry is Anti-Christian. Who is right?

I have discovered, during my study of this New World Order, that New Age and other occultic writers can sometimes shine the most accurate light on a controversial subject. If the leader of the Satanic New World Order praises a concept or an organization, this praise clearly reveals the Truth. In this vein, let us review what some New Age writers say about the Masonic Lodge.

Alice Bailey states, through the power of her 'guiding spirit', in her book, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy”, “the Masonic Fraternity…is the custodian of the law …the home of the Mysteries, and the seat of the initiation…It is a far more occult organization than can be realized and is intended to be the training school for the coming advanced occultists. In the comprehension of its symbolism will come the power to cooperate with the divine plan. “(p. 511).

Bailey continues her praise of Freemasonry.

“…Mysteries will be restored to outer expression through the medium of the Church and the Masonic Fraternity…When the Great One comes with His disciples and initiates, we shall have the restoration of the Mysteries…” In other words, the Anti-Christ will restore the ancient Mysteries, which the Masonic Lodge has preserved these many centuries, as his New World Order Religion.

Another New Age book, America's Secret Destiny: Spiritual Vision and the Founding of a Nation, speaks very glowingly of Freemasonry. “Noted theosophical and Masonic authority, Charles Leadbeater, reveals how the process of self-transformation is woven into the fabric of Freemasonry's three degrees: 'In each of the previous Degrees…certain currents of etheric force flow through and around the spine of every human being…It is part of the plan of Freemasonry to stimulate the activity of these forces in the human body in order that evolution may be quickened…in the Third Degree, it is the central energy itself, the Sushumna which is aroused, thereby opening the way for the influence of the pure spirit on high.'” (P. 16-17).

Finally, this author credits America's success in the Revolutionary War to the meditations of Freemasons. “A group of Freemasons, experiencing the rituals and initia-tions in an altered state of awareness, provided the internal strength and fortitude…to grasp the importance of the American revolutionary experience, and its meaning for humanity as a whole.”(p. 26-27). This is a perfect des-cription of persons who are demon possessed. I have read many other experiences exactly as this in New Age and Satanic writings.

Now, we know the truth about Freemasonry. It is a Secret Society which has protected the Ancient Mysteries from either destruction or extinction. These Ancient Mysteries will be reinstated as the New World Order religion by the Anti-Christ. Forget every other statement to the con-trary by someone who is a Mason; it is just disinformational lies designed to deceive you.

Shockingly, churches have even allowed members and pastors to participate in Freemasonry!! I am not talking about liberal churches here, but about Fundamental, Evang-elical churches. The Calvary Contender newsletter,
in its Dec 31 issue, states that over 40% of the pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention are members of Freemasonry! No wonder the Southern Baptists are undergoing such a fight for doctrinal purity. We know that no organization which con-dones participation in evil will be allowed to survive by our omnipotent Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus' warning in Revelation 2 to the church at Pergamum, which had allowed false doctrine and practices to infiltrate: “Repent! Or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” (2:12-17).

In conclusion, secret societies generally, and Free-masonry in particular, have conspired for centuries to establish the Satanic New World Order. Further, as we near the climax of this Plan, we are seeing a convergence of many of Satan's organizations. Various secret societies are cooperating as never before. Even the Vatican is involved. Christian author, Bill Cooper, states in his book, “Behold A Pale Horse, “…Freemasonry is one of the most wicked and terrible organizations upon this earth. The Masons are major players in the struggle for world domination…the most notorious Freemason lodge is the P2 lodge in Italy…P2 is directly connected to the Vatican, the Knights of Malta, and the C.I.A…[P2] has succeeded in infiltrating the Vatican and has scored a coup of tremendous significance: the Pope, John Paul II, has lifted the ban against Free-masonry. Many high-level members of the Vatican are now Freemasons.” (p. 78).

Thus, at this time in world history, Satan has joined organizations politically, spiritually, and economically to achieve his One-World Government, Economy, and Religion. This Biblically-prophesied empire now has a name:

New World Order.

Should we believe all of this? I leave it up to you to decide…..Irene

September 3, 2011 at 1:18 am#257554

Participant

Hey Irene,

Please provide me with the documents about Masons in the Vatican. I am very aware of the evils in Freemasonry, and am very vigilant in researching them and their influance. You might have read something misrepresented this time. This is the churches stand on them-

“Finally, the Sacred Congregation declares that «it is not within the competence of local ecclesiastical authorities to give a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations which would imply a derogation from what has been decided above». In this regard, the text also refers to the Declaration of 17 February 1981, which already reserved to the Apostolic See all pronouncements on the nature of these associations which may have implied derogations from the Canon Law then in force (Can. 2335). In the same way, the new document issued by the S.C.D.F. in November 1983 expresses identical intentions of reserve concerning pronouncements which would differ from the judgment expressed here on the irreconcilability of Masonic principles with the Catholic faith, on the gravity of the act of joining a lodge and on the consequences which arise from it for receiving Holy Communion. This disposition points out that, despite the diversity which may exist among Masonic obediences, in particular in their declared attitude towards the Church, the Apostolic See discerns some common principles in them which require the same evaluation by all ecclesiastical authorities.

In making this Declaration, the S.C.D.F. has not intended to disown the efforts made by those who, with the due authorization of this Congregation, have sought to establish a dialogue with representatives of Freemasonry. But since there was the possibility of spreading among the faithful the erroneous opinion that membership in a Masonic lodge was lawful, it felt that it was its duty to make known to them the authentic thought of the Church in this regard and to warn them about a membership incompatible with the Catholic faith.

Only Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Teacher of Truth, and only in him can Christians find the light and the strength to live according to God’s plan, working for the true good of their brethren.

[Article from L'Osservatore Romano dated March 11, 1985]

I love the last line. It is what I believe. He is the only true light and guide. Any spirit that tells you that they know the truth, and to believe them and what they say, I run from. I say read the bible and ask Jesus for guidance. Anyone who tells you to keep things secret, leave NOW. I did.
Also, this is from Glen Beck? I'm not judgeing him, but consider- he is mormon. As I have seen, they have deeeep roots in freemasonry, down to thier linen drawers they wear with mason symbols on them, which they say are holy clothing to worship in. Too much for me. Also, the Jehovah's Witnesses creator, is buried under a pyrimid and freemason symbols on it.He belived and taught this-

Pyramidology. Following views first taught by Christian writers such as John Taylor, Charles Piazzi Smyth and Joseph Seiss, he believed the Great Pyramid of Giza was built by the Hebrews (associated to the Hyksos) under God’s direction, but to be understood only in our day. He adopted and used Seiss's phrase referring to it as “the Bible in stone”. He believed that certain biblical texts, including Isaiah 19:19–20 and others, prophesied a future understanding of the Great Pyramid and adopted the view that the various ascending and descending passages represented the fall of man, the provision of the Mosaic Law, the death of Christ, the exultation of the saints in heaven, etc. Calculations were made using the pattern of an inch per year. Dates such as 1874, 1914, and 1948 were purported to have been found through the study of this monument.[54

Also, under his direction using people with his views and beliefs, he translated the “New World Testament”.

Also, as I have stated before, this whole country is full of masonic symbols, and many of the founding fathers were masons. The statue of Liberty is a Roman goddess, built by masons. The Washington Monument is a Phallic masonic symbol. The cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol was laid by George Washington himself, in full masonic regailia, in a masonic ritual. Google “age of enlightenment”, and read about the start of the masons and new age beliefs about everything American. The constitution is modeled after masonic constitutions. The lord in mentioned only one time-in describing the year. Really spooky to me is they will not ask you to join-you have to ask and join of your own free will, and state that when you take your oaths. All the time in the obituaries in the paper, i read where church people are masons in various lodges. I see Jews, Presbertyrians, Episcopals, and alot of baptist and protestants. Just an observation, I have not seen one Catholic.

I believe some of what you state has merit, I just don't believe all of it. I believe every institutuion will be found erred, and will be subject to “The King”-Jesus- and will be judged by him.The sooner the better. All IMO-Love-Mark

September 3, 2011 at 1:38 am#257555

Participant

Quote (mikeangel @ Sep. 03 2011,12:18)

Hey Irene,

Only Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Teacher of Truth, and only in him can Christians find the light and the strength to live according to God’s plan, working for the true good of their brethren.

[Article from L'Osservatore Romano dated March 11, 1985]

Also, under his direction using people with his views and beliefs, he translated the “New World Testament”.

Mark! This is the man, He has a program on Radio I think. you can look it up on the internet too…..that is where i got it from…., time is short, Bible prophecy goes right along with it….. So sad… but America is in for a real bad time…. Just hope that I am dead by then…. but Gods will be done…Peace and Love to you, Irene

THE CUTTING EDGE

This is David Bay, Director of Old Paths Ministries.

September 3, 2011 at 2:45 am#257558

Participant

Oh o.k. You mentioned in the beginning that Glen Beck talked about it too. I did not know how much he was involved in it. don't get me wrong, I like that at least Glen Beck is attempting to wake America up to what is going on and the insane way we are being run as a country. As with any popular figure in the media, I am automaticly vigilant to them. I may be too vigilant, but I think you are right, we are in for huge changes. As God lives, after my dad died in 2007 God made me feel that huge changes were coming, and it is disturbing and comforting that they are. Looking back, it seems to be the result contained in this scripture from this article-
Armageddon
Money and Markets – Feb 22, 2010 excerpt…
Never before in history has a world power like the U.S. been so utterly buried in debt! And never before has that debt been financed so massively by foreign investors!

In the entire world, the United States government and its agencies have, by far, the largest pile-up of interest-bearing debts ($15.6 trillion), the largest accumulation of unsecured obligations (over $60 trillion), the largest yearly deficit ($1.6 trillion), and the greatest indebtedness to the rest of the world ($4.8 trillion).

Full article at: http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/armageddon-10-37926

What they do not know, but regular readers of the COGwriter page do, is that this was predicted in Bible prophecy:

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry…
6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you…” (Habakkuk 2:3,6–8).

We have buried ourselves in debt paying people not to work, and taxing the fool of the ones who do. We also let the most greedy and corrupt politicians swim in the lobbiest money and bribes, and not surprisingly most politicians are lawyers. Like you I do not want to be alive for it. Peace-Mark

September 3, 2011 at 4:28 am#257566

Participant

Mark! Glenn Beck in the past predicted already years before, how our debt will bring us down…. When you look at our President He has spend more money then all Presidents combined…. Georg does all our Grocery shopping, but a couple of weeks ago I went with Him. I couldn't believe how much the groceries had gone up….And this is only the start of all. In order to bring the One World Government, prizes have to go even higher…. Glenn Becks program is not on any longer, He said it all, and went on to get involved in something else….. What that is He didn't say…. When you look at the America today, against what it looked like only a few years ago, it is scary, to say the least….
I feel so bad for the younger generation, they can't effort nothing…. Cars are outrageously high…. the Housing Market is a shamble….and all this is done with a purpose in mind…..
All we can do is pray for peace at least…. take care and may God be with you, Irene

September 3, 2011 at 12:28 pm#257591

Participant

God be with you too Irene.

I remember a few years ago when I really looked into masons and masonry. I had heard of oaths and secrets and rituals that were uncompatable with christianity. I was most surprised when I found a website called “Duncans masonic ritual”, which outlines all of the degrees very explicitly, up to the sixth degree. You can read it yourself. There are many things that I have a major problem with. First and foremost, is in the initiations, you kneel in front of an “altar”, with a Bible on it, that has a square and compass on top of the bible , with a man standing behind it which is termed the worshipful master . All the same time they are giving you an allegory about a man who built the temple in Jerusalem. Also this is the oath they must take, a blood oath-

“All this I most solemnly, sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steady resolution to perform the same, without any hesitation, mental reservation, or secret evasion of mind what-ever, binding myself, under no less penalty than that of having my body severed in two, my bowels taken from thence and burned to ashes, the ashes scattered before the four winds of heaven, that no more remembrance might be had of so vile and wicked a wretch as I would be, should I ever, knowingly, violate this my Master Mason's obligation. So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.”

W. M.–You will detach your hands and kiss the book. In your present condition, what do you most desire?

Candidate (prompted by conductor.)–Further light in Masonry.

W. M.–Let him receive further light.

When you read further, in the other degrees, there is blasphemy after blasphemy. Too much for me to describe. If you are a Bible reading christian, you will instantly know.

I can't say this for sure, but this was told to me by a close relative- he worked with a mason, and this man was constantly reading the bible. He seemed to be looking into the things they were telling him. As I understand it, they consider the named entity “Lucifer” as God, the “light bearer”. He also said this man stated that what they believe is that total chaos will break out, and that when that happens, they will take control of the whole world. I can't say this is true, because I haven't read it by any official mason document. It wouldn't surprise me though. The rumors I have heard about the “New World Order” seems to point in that direction. Also, All of the things I have read concerning the “Illuminati” seems to support that also.

I was in an airport waiting on a flight, and I started to read my passport. It has famous quotes from prominant people on the tops of the pages. I remember being particularly shockes at page 20 and 21. As God lives this is what it says-

“For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed dessert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is unreached and the harvest sleeping in the unplowed ground. Is our world gone? We say “Farewell.” Is the new world coming? We welcome it-and we will bend it to the hopes of man.” Lyndon B. Johnson

I couldn't believe it. This is the new world order stated in our document that we show the whole world traveling. He says that we will bend it to the hopes of MAN, not GOD. That is wickedness and unrightiousness put into words. As Gods children, we are suppose to pray for God's will, not ours. After this, I was reading Isaiah, and this struck me-

New International Version (©1984)
Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.

They have been lied to. They think that the “secrets”, and “power”, and “oaths” that this “enlightenment” will give them the world. They have been warned. Paul writes in the Bible that satan masqarades as an angel of light. If the institution is not telling you to read the bible and follow Jesus and pray for God's will to be done-RUN NOW. Also as the angel in Revalations tells John-“WORSHIP GOD ALONE!” Peace Sister. Thank God he chose us to follow HIM. Love, Mark

September 3, 2011 at 1:31 pm#257592

Participant

Check this out. This is in the seventh degree.

This constitutes the living arch under

p. 224

which the Grand Omnific Royal Arch Word must be given, but it must also be given by three times three, as hereafter explained.

The High Priest now whispers in the King's ear the pass-word RABBONI.

The King whispers it to the companion on his right, and he to the next one, and so on until it comes round to the Scribe, who whispers it to the High Priest.

High Priest–The word is right.

The companions now all balance three times three with their arms; that is, they raise their arms and let them fall upon their knees three times in concert–after a short pause, three times more, and after another pause, three times more. They then rise and give all the signs, from the Entered Apprentice up to this Degree, after which they join in squads of three for giving the Grand Omnific Royal Arch Word, as follows:

Each one takes hold with his right hand of the right wrist of his companion on the left, and with his left hand takes hold of the left wrist of his companion on the right. Each one then places his right foot forward with the hollow in front, so that the toe touches the heel of his companion on the right. This is called “three times three;” that is, three right feet forming a triangle, three left hands forming a triangle, and three right hands forming a triangle. In this position each repeats the following:

As we three did agree,
In peace, love, and unity,
The Sacred Word to keep,
So we three do agree,
In peace, love, and unity,
The Sacred Word to search;
Until we three,
Or three such as we, shall agree
To close this Royal Arch.

They then balance three times three, bringing the right band with some violence down upon the left. The right hands are then raised above their heads, and the words, Jah-buh-lun, Jehovah, G-o-d, are given at low breath, each companion pronouncing the syllables or letters alternately, as follows:

p. 225

FIG. 32 THREE TIMES THREE.

1st. 2nd. 3d.
Jah buh lun.
Jah buh
lun
Jah
buh lun.
Je ho vah.
p. 226
Je ho
vah
Je
ho vah.
G o d.
G o
d
G
o d.

After the word is thus given, the High Priest inquires if the word is right.

Jah buh lon is not God. It is the ancient dietys combined. buh is really Bel, or Baal. It would seem to me that anyone with the spiritual discernment of a cow can see this is blasphemy to the nth degree. To think that many preachers and high ranking Politicians have professed and practiced these “mysteries” blows my mind and convinces me about how evil the world has become, and how crafty Satan is in getting people to worship him in place of God. Also, RABBONI is what Judas told Jesus when he betrayed him……………..

September 3, 2011 at 1:33 pm#257593

Participant

……..with a kiss.

September 4, 2011 at 6:32 pm#257663

Participant

Mark! How they took Jehovah apart is interesting to me…. We have a member that because Jesus and His Father believe in the same doctrines, they are a compound unity be the name of Jehovah…. Going directly against the commandment to worship ONE God, the Most High God over all…. Jehovah is the Most High Gods name ALONE……
How all of this runs together with the New World Government is amazing… and sad….
You should put that article under “The Other Writings”-Ancient Syriac Documents….. Irene

October 18, 2011 at 1:32 am#260981

Raziel

Participant

Christianity has a lot of enemies rising up. The time will come soon when the coffee club members and god's people will be separated. I pray that I'm not the Sunday coffee club member.

I think our greatest enemy is not going to be any form of Satanism or any other religion but a false form of Christianity but then it will evolve into direct satanism. That's just my personal believe though.

Here is one enemy
http://www.undojesus.org
20 reasons to abandon Christianity.

1. Christianity is based on fear. While today there are liberal clergy who preach a gospel of love, they ignore the bulk of Christian teachings, not to mention the bulk of Christian history. Throughout almost its entire time on Earth, the motor driving Christianity has been—in addition to the fear of death—fear of the devil and fear of hell. One can only imagine how potent these threats seemed prior to the rise of science and rational thinking, which have largely robbed these bogeys of their power to inspire terror. But even today, the existence of the devil and hell are cardinal doctrinal tenets of almost all Christian creeds, and many fundamentalist preachers still openly resort to terrorizing their followers with lurid, sadistic portraits of the suffering of nonbelievers after death. This is not an attempt to convince through logic and reason; it is not an attempt to appeal to the better nature of individuals; rather, it is an attempt to whip the flock into line through threats, through appeals to a base part of human nature—fear and cowardice.
2. Christianity preys on the innocent. If Christian fear-mongering were directed solely at adults, it would be bad enough, but Christians routinely terrorize helpless children through grisly depictions of the endless horrors and suffering they’ll be subjected to if they don’t live good Christian lives. Christianity has darkened the early years of generation after generation of children, who have lived in terror of dying while in mortal sin and going to endless torment as a result. All of these children were trusting of adults, and they did not have the ability to analyze what they were being told; they were simply helpless victims, who, ironically, victimized following generations in the same manner that they themselves had been victimized. The nearly 2000 years of Christian terrorizing of children ranks as one of its greatest crimes. And it’s one that continues to this day.

As an example of Christianity’s cruel brainwashing of the innocent, consider this quotation from an officially approved, 19th-century Catholic children’s book (Tracts for Spiritual Reading, by Rev. J. Furniss, C.S.S.R.):

Look into this little prison. In the middle of it there is a boy, a young man. He is silent; despair is on him . . . His eyes are burning like two burning coals. Two long flames come out of his ears. His breathing is difficult. Sometimes he opens his mouth and breath of blazing fire rolls out of it. But listen! There is a sound just like that of a kettle boiling. Is it really a kettle which is boiling? No; then what is it? Hear what it is. The blood is boiling in the scalding veins of that boy. The brain is boiling and bubbling in his head. The marrow is boiling in his bones. Ask him why he is thus tormented. His answer is that when he was alive, his blood boiled to do very wicked things.
There are many similar passages in this book. Commenting on it, William Meagher, Vicar-General of Dublin, states in his Approbation:

“I have carefully read over this Little Volume for Children and have found nothing whatever in it contrary to the doctrines of the Holy Faith; but on the contrary, a great deal to charm, instruct and edify the youthful classes for whose benefit it has been written.”
3. Christianity is based on dishonesty. The Christian appeal to fear, to cowardice, is an admission that the evidence supporting Christian beliefs is far from compelling. If the evidence were such that Christianity’s truth was immediately apparent to anyone who considered it, Christians—including those who wrote the Gospels—would feel no need to resort to the cheap tactic of using fear-inducing threats to inspire “belief.” (“Lip service” is a more accurate term.) That the Christian clergy have been more than willing to accept such lip service (plus the dollars and obedience that go with it) in place of genuine belief, is an additional indictment of the basic dishonesty of Christianity.

How deep dishonesty runs in Christianity can be gauged by one of the most popular Christian arguments for belief in God: Pascal’s wager. This “wager” holds that it’s safer to “believe” in God (as if belief were volitional!) than not to believe, because God might exist, and if it does, it will save “believers” and condemn nonbelievers to hell after death. This is an appeal to pure cowardice. It has absolutely nothing to do with the search for truth. Instead, it’s an appeal to abandon honesty and intellectual integrity, and to pretend that lip service is the same thing as actual belief. If the patriarchal God of Christianity really exists, one wonders how it would judge the cowards and hypocrites who advance and bow to this particularly craven “wager.”

4. Christianity is extremely egocentric. The deep egocentrism of Christianity is intimately tied to its reliance on fear. In addition to the fears of the devil and hell, Christianity plays on another of humankind’s most basic fears: death, the dissolution of the individual ego. Perhaps Christianity’s strongest appeal is its promise of eternal life. While there is absolutely no evidence to support this claim, most people are so terrified of death that they cling to this treacly promise insisting, like frightened children, that it must be true. Nietzsche put the matter well: “salvation of the soul—in plain words, the world revolves around me.” It’s difficult to see anything spiritual in this desperate grasping at straws—this desperate grasping at the illusion of personal immortality.

Another manifestation of the extreme egotism of Christianity is the belief that God is intimately concerned with picayune aspects of, and directly intervenes in, the lives of individuals. If God, the creator and controller of the universe, is vitally concerned with your sex life, you must be pretty damned important. Many Christians take this particular form of egotism much further and actually imagine that God has a plan for them, or that God directly talks to, directs, or even does favors for them.(1) If one ignored the frequent and glaring contradictions in this supposed divine guidance, and the dead bodies sometimes left in its wake, one could almost believe that the individuals making such claims are guided by God. But one can’t ignore the contradictions in and the oftentimes horrible results of following such “divine guidance.” As “Agent Mulder” put it (perhaps paraphrasing Thomas Szasz) in a 1998 X-Files episode, “When you talk to God it’s prayer, but when God talks to you it’s schizophrenia. . . . God may have his reasons, but he sure seems to employ a lot of psychotics to carry out his job orders.”

In less extreme cases, the insistence that one is receiving divine guidance or special treatment from God is usually the attempt of those who feel worthless—or helpless, adrift in an uncaring universe—to feel important or cared for. This less sinister form of egotism is commonly found in the expressions of disaster survivors that “God must have had a reason for saving me” (in contrast to their less-worthy-of-life fellow disaster victims, whom God—who controls all things—killed). Again, it’s very difficult to see anything spiritual in such egocentricity.

5. Christianity breeds arrogance, a chosen-people mentality. It’s only natural that those who believe (or play act at believing) that they have a direct line to the Almighty would feel superior to others. This is so obvious that it needs little elaboration. A brief look at religious termino
logy confirms it. Christians have often called themselves “God’s people,” “the chosen people,” “the elect,” “the righteous,” etc., while nonbelievers have been labeled “heathens,” “infidels,” and “atheistic Communists” (as if atheism and Communism are intimately connected). This sets up a two-tiered division of humanity, in which “God’s people” feel superior to those who are not “God’s people.”

That many competing religions with contradictory beliefs make the same claim seems not to matter at all to the members of the various sects that claim to be the only carriers of “the true faith.” The carnage that results when two competing sects of “God’s people” collide—as in Ireland and Palestine—would be quite amusing but for the suffering it causes.

6. Christianity breeds authoritarianism. Given that Christians claim to have the one true faith, to have a book that is the Word of God, and (in many cases) to receive guidance directly from God, they feel little or no compunction about using force and coercion to enforce “God’s Will” (which they, of course, interpret and understand). Given that they believe (or pretend) that they’re receiving orders from the Almighty (who would cast them into hell should they disobey), it’s little wonder that they feel no reluctance, and in fact are eager, to intrude into the most personal aspects of the lives of nonbelievers. This is most obvious today in the area of sex, with Christians attempting to deny women the right to abortion and to mandate near-useless abstinence-only sex “education” in the public schools. It’s also obvious in the area of education, with Christians attempting to force biology teachers to teach their creation myth (but not those of Hindus, Native Americans, et al.) in place of (or as being equally valid as) the very well established theory of evolution. But the authoritarian tendencies of Christianity reach much further than this.

Up until well into the 20th century in the United States and other Christian countries (notably Ireland), Christian churches pressured governments into passing laws forbidding the sale and distribution of birth control devices, and they also managed to enact laws forbidding even the description of birth control devices. This assault on free speech was part and parcel of Christianity’s shameful history of attempting to suppress “indecent” and “subversive” materials (and to throw their producers in jail or burn them alive). This anti-free speech stance of Christianity dates back centuries, with the cases of Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno (who was burnt alive) being good illustrations of it. Perhaps the most colorful example of this intrusive Christian tendency toward censorship is the Catholic Church’s Index of Prohibited Books, which dates from the 16th century and which was abandoned only in the latter part of the 20th century—not because the church recognized it as a crime against human freedom, but because it could no longer be enforced (not that it was ever systematically enforced—that was too big a job even for the Inquisition).

Christian authoritarianism extends, however, far beyond attempts to suppress free speech; it extends even to attempts to suppress freedom of belief. In the 15th century, under Ferdinand and Isabella at about the time of Columbus’s discovery of the New World, Spain’s Jews were ordered either to convert to Christianity or to flee the country; about half chose exile, while those who remained, the “Conversos,” were favorite targets of the Inquisition. A few years later, Spain’s Muslims were forced to make a similar choice.

This Christian hatred of freedom of belief—and of individual freedom in general—extends to this day. Up until the late 19th century in England, atheists who had the temerity to openly advocate their beliefs were jailed. Even today in many parts of the United States laws still exist that forbid atheists from serving on juries or from holding public office. And it’s no mystery what the driving force is behind laws against victimless “crimes” such as nudity, sodomy, fornication, cohabitation, and prostitution.

If your nonintrusive beliefs or actions are not in accord with Christian “morality,” you can bet that Christians will feel completely justified—not to mention righteous—in poking their noses (often in the form of state police agencies) into your private life.

7. Christianity is cruel. Throughout its history, cruelty—both to self and others—has been one of the most prominent features of Christianity. From its very start, Christianity, with its bleak view of life, its emphasis upon sexual sin, and its almost impossible-to-meet demands for sexual “purity,” encouraged guilt, penance, and self-torture. Today, this self-torture is primarily psychological, in the form of guilt arising from following (or denying, and thus obsessing over) one’s natural sexual desires. In earlier centuries, it was often physical. W.E.H. Lecky relates:

For about two centuries, the hideous maceration of the body was regarded as the highest proof of excellence. . . . The cleanliness of the body was regarded as a pollution of the soul, and the saints who were most admired had become one hideous mass of clotted filth. . . . But of all the evidences of the loathsome excesses to which this spirit was carried, the life of St. Simeon Stylites is probably the most remarkable. . . . He had bound a rope around him so that it became embedded in his flesh, which putrefied around it. A horrible stench, intolerable to the bystanders, exhaled from his body, and worms dropped from him whenever he moved, and they filled his bed. . . . For a whole year, we are told, St. Simeon stood upon one leg, the other being covered with hideous ulcers, while his biographer [St. Anthony] was commissioned to stand by his side, to pick up the worms that fell from his body, and to replace them in the sores, the saint saying to the worms, “Eat what God has given you.” From every quarter pilgrims of every degree thronged to do him homage. A crowd of prelates followed him to the grave. A brilliant star is said to have shone miraculously over his pillar; the general voice of mankind pronounced him to be the highest model of a Christian saint; and several other anchorites [Christian hermits] imitated or emulated his penances.
Given that the Bible nowhere condemns torture and sometimes prescribes shockingly cruel penalties (such as burning alive), and that Christians so wholeheartedly approved of self-torture, it’s not surprising that they thought little of inflicting appallingly cruel treatment upon others. At the height of Christianity’s power and influence, hundreds of thousands of “witches” were brutally tortured and burned alive under the auspices of ecclesiastical witch finders, and the Inquisition visited similarly cruel treatment upon those accused of heresy. Henry Charles Lea records:

Two hundred wretches crowded the filthy gaol and it was requisite to forbid the rest of the Conversos [Jews intimidated into converting to Christianity] from leaving the city [Jaen, Spain] without a license. With Diego’s assistance [Diego de Algeciras, a petty criminal and kept perjurer] and the free use of torture, on both accused and witnesses, it was not difficult to obtain whatever evidence was desired. The notary of the tribunal, Antonio de Barcena, was especially successful in this. On one occasion, he locked a young girl of fifteen in a room, stripped her naked and scourged her until she consented to bear testimony against her mother. A prisoner was carried in a chair to the auto da fe with his feet burnt to the bone; he and his wife were burnt alive . . . The cells in which the unfortunates were confined in heavy chains were narrow, dark, humid, filthy and overrun with vermin, while their sequestrated property was squandered by the officials, so that they nearly starved in prison while their helpless children starved outside.
While the torture and murder of heretics and “witches” is now largely a thing of the past, Christians can still be remarkably
cruel. One current example is provided by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. Its members picket the funerals of victims of AIDS and gay bashings, brandishing signs reading, “God Hates Fags,” “AIDS Cures Fags,” and “Thank God for AIDS.” The pastor of this church reportedly once sent a “condolence” card to the bereaved mother of an AIDS victim, reading “Another Dead Fag.”(2) Christians are also at the forefront of those advocating vicious, life-destroying penalties for those who commit victimless “crimes,” as well as being at the forefront of those who support the death penalty and those who want to make prison conditions even more barbaric than they are now.

But this should not be surprising coming from Christians, members of a religion that teaches that eternal torture is not only justified, but that the “saved” will enjoy seeing the torture of others. As St. Thomas Aquinas put it:

In order that the happiness of the saints may be more delightful and that they may give to God more copious thanks for it, they are permitted perfectly to behold the sufferings of the damned . . . The saints will rejoice in the punishment of the damned.
Thus the vision of heaven of Christianity’s greatest theologian is a vision of the sadistic enjoyment of endless torture.

8. Christianity is anti-intellectual, anti-scientific. For over a millennium Christianity arrested the development of science and scientific thinking. In Christendom, from the time of Augustine until the Renaissance, systematic investigation of the natural world was restricted to theological investigation—the interpretation of biblical passages, the gleaning of clues from the lives of the saints, etc.; there was no direct observation and interpretation of natural processes, because that was considered a useless pursuit, as all knowledge resided in scripture. The results of this are well known: scientific knowledge advanced hardly an inch in the over 1000 years from the rise of orthodox Christianity in the fourth century to the 1500s, and the populace was mired in the deepest squalor and ignorance, living in dire fear of the supernatural—believing in paranormal explanations for the most ordinary natural events. This ignorance had tragic results: it made the populace more than ready to accept witchcraft as an explanation for everything from illness to thunderstorms, and hundreds of thousands of women paid for that ignorance with their lives. One of the commonest charges against witches was that they had raised hailstorms or other weather disturbances to cause misfortune to their neighbors. In an era when supernatural explanations were readily accepted, such charges held weight—and countless innocent people died horrible deaths as a result. Another result was that the fearful populace remained very dependent upon Christianity and its clerical wise men for protection against the supernatural evils which they believed surrounded and constantly menaced them. For men and women of the Middle Ages, the walls veritably crawled with demons and witches; and their only protection from those evils was the church.

When scientific investigation into the natural world resumed in the Renaissance—after a 1000-year-plus hiatus—organized Christianity did everything it could to stamp it out. The cases of Copernicus and Galileo are particularly relevant here, because when the Catholic Church banned the Copernican theory (that the Earth revolves around the sun) and banned Galileo from teaching it, it did not consider the evidence for that theory: it was enough that it contradicted scripture. Given that the Copernican theory directly contradicted the Word of God, the Catholic hierarchy reasoned that it must be false. Protestants shared this view. John Calvin rhetorically asked, “Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?”

More lately, the Catholic Church and the more liberal Protestant congregations have realized that fighting against science is a losing battle, and they’ve taken to claiming that there is no contradiction between science and religion. This is disingenuous at best. As long as Christian sects continue to claim as fact—without offering a shred of evidence beyond the anecdotal—that physically impossible events occurred (or are still occurring), the conflict between science and religion will remain. That many churchmen and many scientists seem content to let this conflict lie doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

Today, however, the conflict between religion and science is largely being played out in the area of public school biology education, with Christian fundamentalists demanding that their creation myth be taught in place of (or along with) the theory of evolution in the public schools. Their tactics rely heavily on public misunderstanding of science. They nitpick the fossil record for its gaps (hardly surprising given that we inhabit a geologically and meteorologically very active planet), while offering absurd interpretations of their own which we’re supposed to accept at face value—such as that dinosaur fossils were placed in the earth by Satan to confuse humankind, or that Noah took baby dinosaurs on the ark.

They also attempt to take advantage of public ignorance of the nature of scientific theories. In popular use, “theory” is employed as a synonym for “hypothesis,” “conjecture,” or even “wild guess,” that is, it signifies an idea with no special merit or backing. The use of the term in science is quite different. There, “theory” refers to a well-developed, logically consistent explanation of a phenomenon, and an explanation that is consistent with observed facts. This is very different than a wild guess. But fundamentalists deliberately confuse the two uses of the term in an attempt to make their religious myth appear as valid as a well-supported scientific theory.

They also attempt to confuse the issue by claiming that those nonspecialists who accept the theory of evolution have no more reason to do so than they have in accepting their religious creation myth, or even that those who accept evolution do so on “faith.” Again, this is more than a bit dishonest.

Thanks to scientific investigation, human knowledge has advanced to the point where no one can know more than a tiny fraction of the whole. Even the most knowledgeable scientists often know little beyond their specialty areas. But because of the structure of science, they (and everyone else) can feel reasonably secure in accepting the theories developed by scientists in other disciplines as the best possible current explanations of the areas of nature those disciplines cover. They (and we) can feel secure doing this because of the structure of science, and more particularly, because of the scientific method. That method basically consists of gathering as much information about a phenomenon (both in nature and in the laboratory) as possible, then developing explanations for it (hypotheses), and then testing the hypotheses to see how well they explain the observed facts, and whether or not any of those observed facts are inconsistent with the hypotheses. Those hypotheses that are inconsistent with observed facts are discarded or modified, while those that are consistent are retained, and those that survive repeated testing are often labeled “theories,” as in “the theory of relativity” and “the theory of evolution.”

This is the reason that nonspecialists are justified in accepting scientific theories outside their disciplines as the best current explanations of observed phenomena: those who developed the theories were following standard scientific practice and reasoning—and if they deviate from that, other scientists will quickly call them to task.

No matter how much fundamentalists might protest to the contrary, there is a world of difference between “faith” in scientific theories (produced using the scientific method, and subject to near-continual testing and scrutiny) and faith in the entirely unsupported myths recorded 3000 years
ago by slave-holding goat herders.

Nearly 500 years ago Martin Luther, in his Table Talk, stated: “Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has.” The opposite is also true.

9. Christianity has a morbid, unhealthy preoccupation with sex. For centuries, Christianity has had an exceptionally unhealthy fixation on sex, to the exclusion of almost everything else (except power, money, and the infliction of cruelty). This stems from the numerous “thou shalt nots” relating to sex in the Bible. That the Ten Commandments contain a commandment forbidding the coveting of one’s neighbor’s wife, but do not even mention slavery, torture, or cruelty—which were abundantly common in the time the Commandments were written— speaks volumes about their writer’s preoccupation with sex (and women as property).

Today, judging from the pronouncements of many Christian leaders, one would think that “morality” consists solely of what one does in one’s bedroom. The Catholic Church is the prime example here, with its moral pronouncements rarely going beyond the matters of birth control and abortion (and with its moral emphasis seemingly entirely on those matters). Also note that the official Catholic view of sex—that it’s for the purpose of procreation only—reduces human sexual relations to those of brood animals. For more than a century the Catholic Church has also been the driving force behind efforts to prohibit access to birth control devices and information—to everyone, not just Catholics.

The Catholic Church, however, is far from alone in its sick obsession with sex. The current Christian hate campaign against homosexuals is another prominent manifestation of this perverse preoccupation. Even at this writing, condemnation of “sodomites” from church pulpits is still very, very common—with Christian clergymen wringing their hands as they piously proclaim that their words of hate have nothing to do with gay bashings and the murder of gays.

10. Christianity produces sexual misery. In addition to the misery produced by authoritarian Christian intrusions into the sex lives of non-Christians, Christianity produces great misery among its own adherents through its insistence that sex (except the very narrow variety it sanctions) is evil, against God’s law. Christianity proscribes sex between unmarried people, sex outside of marriage, homosexual relations, bestiality, (3) and even “impure” sexual thoughts. Indulging in such things can and will, in the conventional Christian view, lead straight to hell.

Given that human beings are by nature highly sexual beings, and that their urges very often do not fit into the only officially sanctioned Christian form of sexuality (monogamous, heterosexual marriage), it’s inevitable that those who attempt to follow Christian “morality” in this area are often miserable, as their strongest urges run smack dab into the wall of religious belief. This is inevitable in Christian adolescents and unmarried young people in that the only “pure” way for them to behave is celibately—in the strict Christian view, even masturbation is prohibited. Phillip Roth has well described the dilemma of the religiously/sexually repressed young in Portnoy’s Complaint as “being torn between desires that are repugnant to my conscience and a conscience repugnant to my desires.” Thus the years of adolescence and young adulthood for many Christians are poisoned by “sinful” urges, unfulfilled longings, and intense guilt (after the urges become too much to bear and are acted upon).

Even after Christian young people receive a license from church and state to have sex, they often discover that the sexual release promised by marriage is not all that it’s cracked up to be. One gathers that in marriages between those who have followed Christian rules up until marriage—that is, no sex at all—sexual ineptitude and lack of fulfillment are all too common. Even when Christian married people do have good sexual relations, the problems do not end. Sexual attractions ebb and flow, and new attractions inevitably arise. In conventional Christian relationships, one is not allowed to act on these new attractions. One is often not even permitted to admit that such attractions exist. As Sten Linnander puts it, “with traditional [Christian] morality, you have to choose between being unfaithful to yourself or to another.”

The dilemma is even worse for gay teens and young people in that Christianity never offers them release from their unrequited urges. They are simply condemned to lifelong celibacy. If they indulge their natural desires, they become “sodomites” subject not only to Earthly persecution (due to Christian-inspired laws), but to being roasted alive forever in the pit. Given the internalized homophobia Christian teachings inspire, not to mention the very real discrimination gay people face, it’s not surprising that a great many homosexually oriented Christians choose to live a lie. In most cases, this leads to lifelong personal torture, but it can have even more tragic results.

A prime example is Marshall Applewhite, “John Do,” the guru of the Heaven’s Gate religious cult. Applewhite grew up in the South in a repressive Christian fundamentalist family. Horrified by his homosexual urges, he began to think of sexuality itself as evil, and eventually underwent castration to curb his sexual urges.(4) Several of his followers took his anti-sexual teachings to heart and likewise underwent castration before, at “Do’s” direction, killing themselves.

11. Christianity has an exceedingly narrow, legalistic view of morality. Christianity not only reduces, for all practical purposes, the question of morality to that of sexual behavior, but by listing its prohibitions, it encourages an “everything not prohibited is permitted” mentality. So, for instance, medieval inquisitors tortured their victims, while at the same time they went to lengths to avoid spilling the blood of those they tortured—though they thought nothing of burning them alive. Another very relevant example is that until the latter part of the 19th century Christians engaged in the slave trade, and Christian preachers defended it, citing biblical passages, from the pulpit. Today, with the exception of a relatively few liberal churchgoers, Christians ignore the very real evils plaguing our society—poverty; homelessness; hunger; militarism; a grossly unfair distribution of wealth and income; ecological despoliation exacerbated by corporate greed; overpopulation; sexism; racism; homophobia; freedom-denying, invasive drug laws; an inadequate educational system; etc., etc.—unless they’re actively working to worsen those evils in the name of Christian morality or “family values.”

12. Christianity encourages acceptance of real evils while focusing on imaginary evils. Organized Christianity is a skillful apologist for the status quo and all the evils that go along with it. It diverts attention from real problems by focusing attention on sexual issues, and when confronted with social evils such as poverty glibly dismisses them with platitudes such as, “The poor ye have always with you.” When confronted with the problems of militarism and war, most Christians shrug and say, “That’s human nature. It’s always been that way, and it always will.” One suspects that 200 years ago their forebears would have said exactly the same thing about slavery.

This regressive, conservative tendency of Christianity has been present from its very start. The Bible is quite explicit in its instructions to accept the status quo: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” (Romans 13:1–2)

13. Christianity depreciates the natural world. In addition to its morbid preoccupation with sex, Christianity creates social myopia through its emphasis on the supposed afterlife
—encouraging Christians not to be concerned with “the things of this world” (except, of course, their neighbors’ sexual practices). In the conventional Christian view, life in this “vale of tears” is not important—what matters is preparing for the next life. (Of course it follows from this that the “vale of tears” itself is quite unimportant—it’s merely the backdrop to the testing of the faithful.)

The Christian belief in the unimportance of happiness and well-being in this world is well illustrated by a statement by St. Alphonsus:

It would be a great advantage to suffer during all our lives all the torments of the martyrs in exchange for one moment of heaven. Sufferings in this world are a sign that God loves us and intends to save us.
This focus on the afterlife often leads to a distinct lack of concern for the natural world, and sometimes to outright anti-ecological attitudes. Ronald Reagan’s fundamentalist Secretary of the Interior, James Watt, went so far as to actively encourage the strip mining and clear cutting of the American West, reasoning that ecological damage didn’t matter because the “rapture” was at hand.

14. Christianity models hierarchical, authoritarian organization. Christianity is perhaps the ultimate top-down enterprise. In its simplest form, it consists of God on top, its “servants,” the clergy, next down, and the great unwashed masses at the bottom, with those above issuing, in turn, thou-shalts and thou-shalt-nots backed by the threat of eternal damnation. But a great many Christian sects go far beyond this, having several layers of management and bureaucracy. Catholicism is perhaps the most extreme example of this with its laity, monks, nuns, priests, monsignors, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and popes, all giving and taking orders in an almost military manner. This type of organization cannot but accustom those in its sway—especially those who have been indoctrinated and attending its ceremonies since birth—into accepting hierarchical, authoritarian organization as the natural, if not the only, form of organization. Those who find such organization natural will see nothing wrong with hierarchical, authoritarian organization in other forms, be they corporations, with their multiple layers of brown-nosing management, or governments, with their judges, legislators, presidents, and politburos. The indoctrination by example that Christianity provides in the area of organization is almost surely a powerful influence against social change toward freer, more egalitarian forms of organization.

15. Christianity sanctions slavery. The African slave trade was almost entirely conducted by Christians. They transported their victims to the New World in slave ships with names such as “Mercy” and “Jesus,” where they were bought by Christians, both Catholic and Protestant. Organized Christianity was not silent on this horror: it actively encouraged it and engaged in it. From the friars who enslaved Native Americans in the Southwest and Mexico to the Protestant preachers who defended slavery from the pulpit in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, the record of Christianity as regards slavery is quite shameful. While many abolitionists were Christians, they were a very small group, well hated by most of their fellow Christians.

The Christians who supported and engaged in slavery were amply supported by the Bible, in which slavery is accepted as a given, as simply a part of the social landscape. There are numerous biblical passages that implicitly or explicitly endorse slavery, such as Exodus 21:20–21: “And if a man smite his servant, or his maid with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.” Other passages that support slavery include Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22, Titus 2:9–10, Exodus 21:2–6, Leviticus 25:44–46, 1 Peter 2:18, and 1 Timothy 6:1. Christian slave owners in colonial America were well acquainted with these passages.

16. Christianity is misogynistic. Misogyny is fundamental to the basic writings of Christianity. In passage after passage, women are encouraged—no, commanded—to accept an inferior role, and to be ashamed of themselves for the simple fact that they are women. Misogynistic biblical passages are so common that it’s difficult to know which to cite. From the New Testament we find “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. . . .” (Ephesians 5:22–23) and “These [redeemed] are they which were not defiled with women; . . .” (Revelation 14:4); and from the Old Testament we find “How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?” (Job 25:4) Other relevant New Testament passages include Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 Corinthians 11:3, 11:9, and 14:34; and 1 Timothy 2:11–12 and 5:5–6. Other Old Testament passages include Numbers 5:20–22 and Leviticus 12:2–5 and 15:17–33.

Later Christian writers extended the misogynistic themes in the Bible with a vengeance. Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, wrote:

In pain shall you bring forth children, woman, and you shall turn to your husband and he shall rule over you. And do you not know that you are Eve? God’s sentence hangs still over all your sex and His punishment weighs down upon you. You are the devil’s gateway; you are she who first violated the forbidden tree and broke the law of God. It was you who coaxed your way around him whom the devil had not the force to attack. With what ease you shattered that image of God: Man! Because of the death you merited, even the Son of God had to die. . . . Woman, you are the gate to hell.
One can find similarly misogynistic—though sometimes less venomous—statements in the writings of many other church fathers and theologians, including St. Ambrose, St. Anthony, Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nazianzum, and St. Jerome.

This misogynistic bias in Christianity’s basic texts has long been translated into misogyny in practice. Throughout almost the entire time that Christianity had Europe and America in its lock grip, women were treated as chattel—they had essentially no political rights, and their right to own property was severely restricted. Perhaps the clearest illustration of the status of women in the ages when Christianity was at its most powerful is the prevalence of wife beating. This degrading, disgusting practice was very common throughout Christendom well up into the 19th century, and under English Common Law husbands who beat their wives were specifically exempted from prosecution. (While wife beating is still common in Christian lands, at least in some countries abusers are at least sometimes prosecuted.)

At about the same time that English Common Law (with its wife-beating exemption) was being formulated and codified, Christians all across Europe were engaging in a half-millennium-long orgy of torture and murder of “witches”—at the direct behest and under the direction of the highest church authorities. The watchword of the time was Exodus 22:18, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” and at the very minimum hundreds of thousands of women were brutally murdered as a result of this divine injunction, and the papal bulls amplifying it (e.g., Spondit Pariter, by John XXII, and Summis Desiderantes, by Innocent VIII). Andrew Dickson White notes:

On the 7th of December, 1484, Pope Innocent VIII sent forth the bull Summis Desiderantes. Of all documents ever issued from Rome, imperial or papal, this has doubtless, first and last, cost the greatest shedding of innocent blood. Yet no document was ever more clearly dictated by conscience. Inspired by the scriptural command, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” Pope Innocent exhorted the clergy of Germany to leave no means untried to detect sorcerers . . . [W]itch-finding inquisitors were authorized by the Pope to scour E
urope, especially Germany, and a manual was prepared for their use [by the Dominicans Heinrich Krämer and Jacob Sprenger]—”The Witch Hammer”, Malleus Maleficarum. . . . With the application of torture to thousands of women, in accordance with the precepts laid down in the Malleus, it was not difficult to extract masses of proof . . . The poor creatures writhing on the rack, held in horror by those who had been nearest and dearest to them, anxious only for death to relieve their sufferings, confessed to anything and everything that would satisfy the inquisitors and judges. . . . Under the doctrine of “excepted cases,” there was no limit to torture for persons accused of heresy or witchcraft.
Given this bloody, hateful history, it’s not surprising that women have always held very subservient positions in Christian churches. In fact, there appear to have been no female clergy in any Christian church prior to the 20th century (with the exception of those who posed as men, such as Pope Joan), and even today a great many Christian sects (most notably the Catholic Church) continue to resist ordaining female clergy. While a few liberal Protestant churches have ordained women in recent years, it’s difficult to see this as a great step forward for women; it’s easier to see it as analogous to the Ku Klux Klan’s appointing a few token blacks as Klaxons.

As for the improvements in the status of women over the last two centuries, the Christian churches either did nothing to support them or actively opposed them. This is most obvious as regards women’s control over their own bodies. Organized Christianity has opposed this from the start, and as late as the 1960s the Catholic Church was still putting its energies into the imposition of laws prohibiting access to contraceptives. Having lost that battle, Christianity has more recently put its energies into attempts to outlaw the right of women to abortion.

Many of those leading the fight for women’s rights have had no illusions about the misogynistic nature of Christianity. These women included Mary Wollstonecraft, Victoria Woodhull, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Margaret Sanger (whose slogan, “No God. No master,” remains relevant to this day).

17. Christianity is homophobic. Christianity from its beginnings has been markedly homophobic. The biblical basis for this homophobia lies in the story of Sodom in Genesis, and in Leviticus. Leviticus 18:22 reads: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination,” and Leviticus 20:13 reads: “If a man lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

This sounds remarkably harsh, yet Leviticus proscribes a great many other things, declares many of them “abominations,” and prescribes the death penalty for several other acts, some of which are shockingly picayune. Leviticus 17:10–13 prohibits the eating of blood sausage; Leviticus 11:6–7 prohibits the eating of “unclean” hares and swine; Leviticus 11:10 declares shellfish “abominations”; Leviticus 20:9 prescribes the death penalty for cursing one’s father or mother; Leviticus 20:10 prescribes the death penalty for adultery; Leviticus 20:14 prescribes the penalty of being burnt alive for having a three-way with one’s wife and mother-in-law; and Leviticus 20:15 declares, “And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast” (which seems rather unfair to the poor beast). (One suspects that American Christians have never attempted to pass laws enforcing Leviticus 20:15, because if passed and enforced such laws would decimate both the rural, Bible-Belt population and the cattle industry.)

Curiously, given the multitude of prohibitions in Leviticus, the vast majority of present-day Christians have chosen to focus only upon Leviticus 20:13, the verse calling for the death penalty for homosexual acts. And at least some of them haven’t been averse to acting on it. (To be fair, some Christian “reconstructionists” are currently calling for institution of the death penalty for adultery and atheism as well as for “sodomy.”)

Throughout history, homosexuality has been illegal in Christian lands, and the penalties have been severe. In the Middle Ages, strangled gay men were sometimes placed on the wood piles at the burning of witches (hence the term “faggot”). One member of the British royalty caught having homosexual relations suffered an even more grisly fate: Edward II’s penalty was being held down while a red hot poker was jammed through his rectum and intestines. In more modern times, countless gay people have been jailed for years for the victimless “crime” of having consensual sex. It was only in 2003 that the Supreme Court struck down the felony laws on the books in many American states prescribing lengthy prison terms for consensual “sodomy.” And many Christians would love to reinstate those laws.

Thus the current wave of gay bashings and murders of gay people should come as no surprise. Christians can find justification for such violence in the Bible and also in the hate-filled sermons issuing from all too many pulpits in this country. If history is any indication, the homophobic messages in those sermons will continue to be issued for many years to come.

18. The Bible is not a reliable guide to Christ’s teachings. Mark, the oldest of the Gospels, was written at least 30 years after Christ’s death, and the newest of them might have been written more than 200 years after his death. These texts have been amended, translated, and re-translated so often that it’s extremely difficult to gauge the accuracy of current editions—even aside from the matter of the accuracy of texts written decades or centuries after the death of their subject. This is such a problem that the Jesus Seminar, a colloquium of over 200 Protestant Gospel scholars mostly employed at religious colleges and seminaries, undertook in 1985 a multi-year investigation into the historicity of the statements and deeds attributed to Jesus in the New Testament. They concluded that only 18% of the statements and 16% of the deeds attributed to Jesus had a high likelihood of being historically accurate. So, in a very real sense fundamentalists—who claim to believe in the literal truth of the Bible—are not followers of Jesus Christ; rather, they are followers of those who, decades or centuries later, put words in his mouth.

19. The Bible, Christianity’s basic text, is riddled with contradictions. There are a number of glaring contradictions in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, and including some within the same books. A few examples:

“. . . God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
(James:1:13)
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham.”
(Genesis 22:1)

“. . . for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever.”
(Jeremiah 3:12)
“Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever. Thus saith the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 17:4)

“If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.”
(John 5:31, J.C. speaking)
“I am one that bear witness of myself . . .”
(John 8:18, J.C. speaking)

and last but not least:

“I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
(Genesis 32:30)
“No man hath seen God at any time.”
(John 1:18)
“And I [God] will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts . . .”
(Exodus 33:23)

Christian apologists typically attempt to explain away such contradictions by claiming that the fault lies in the translation, and that there were no contradictions in the original text. It’s difficult to see how this could be so, given how direct many biblical contradictions are; but even if these Christian apologetics held water, it would follow that every part of the Bible should be as suspect as the contradictory sections, thus reinforcing the previous point: that the Bible is not a reliable guide to Chr
ist’s words.

20. Christianity borrowed its central myths and ceremonies from other ancient religions. The ancient world was rife with tales of virgin births, miracle-working saviors, tripartite gods, gods taking human form, gods arising from the dead, heavens and hells, and days of judgment. In addition to the myths, many of the ceremonies of ancient religions also match those of that syncretic latecomer, Christianity. To cite but one example (there are many others), consider Mithraism, a Persian religion predating Christianity by centuries. Mithra, the savior of the Mithraic religion and a god who took human form, was born of a virgin; he belonged to the holy trinity and was a link between heaven and Earth; and he ascended into heaven after his death. His followers believed in heaven and hell, looked forward to a day of judgment, and referred to Mithra as “the Light of the World.” They also practiced baptism (for purification purposes) and ritual cannibalism—the eating of bread and the drinking of wine to symbolize the eating and drinking of the god’s body and blood. Given all this, Mithra’s birthday should come as no surprise: December 25th; this event was, of course, celebrated by Mithra’s followers at midnight.

Mithraism is but the most striking example of the appearance of these myths and ceremonies prior to the advent of Christianity. They appear—in more scattered form—in many other pre-Christian religions.

A Final Word: These are but some of the major problems attending Christianity, and they provide overwhelming reasons for its abandon-ment. (Even if you discount half, two-thirds, or even three-quarters of these arguments, the conclusion is still irresistible.) For further discussion of these issues, and for consideration of many others not even mentioned here, please see the following books and pamphlets:

October 19, 2011 at 10:39 am#261007

Participant

Many so called “Christians” stir up trouble, destruction, violence, killing, hate, fear, and every thing Jesus was opposed to and then sign off by saying, pray for peace? You might just try saying pray for peace instead of going out of the way to dig up dirt and destruction and projecting it off to the near future for mankind. If you believe God is sending the destruction, why pray for peace? Typical religious views!! TK

October 19, 2011 at 12:43 pm#261011

Participant

Quote (Raziel @ Oct. 18 2011,12:32)

Christianity has a lot of enemies rising up. The time will come soon when the coffee club members and god's people will be separated. I pray that I'm not the Sunday coffee club member.

Here is one enemy
http://www.undojesus.org
20 reasons to abandon Christianity.

5. Christianity breeds arrogance, a chosen-people mentality. It’s only na
tural that those who believe (or play act at believing) that they have a direct line to the Almighty would feel superior to others. This is so obvious that it needs little elaboration. A brief look at religious terminology confirms it. Christians have often called themselves “God’s people,” “the chosen people,” “the elect,” “the righteous,” etc., while nonbelievers have been labeled “heathens,” “infidels,” and “atheistic Communists” (as if atheism and Communism are intimately connected). This sets up a two-tiered division of humanity, in which “God’s people” feel superior to those who are not “God’s people.”

Two hundred wretches crowded the filthy gaol and it was requisite to forbid the rest of the Conversos [Jews intimidated into converting to Christianity] from leaving the city [Jaen, Spain] without a license. With Diego’s assistance [Diego de Algeciras, a petty criminal and kept perjurer] and the free use of torture, on both accused and witnesses, it was not difficult to obtain whatever evidence was desired. The notary of the tribunal, Antonio de Barcena, was especially successful in this. On one occasion, he locked a young girl of fifteen in a room, stripped her naked and scourged her until she consented to bear testimony against her mother. A prisoner was carried in a chair to the auto da fe with his feet burnt to the bone; he and his wife were burnt alive . . . The cells in which the unfortunates were confined in heavy chains were narrow, dark, humid, filthy and overrun with vermin, while their sequestrated property was squandered by the officia
ls, so that they nearly starved in prison while their helpless children starved outside.
While the torture and murder of heretics and “witches” is now largely a thing of the past, Christians can still be remarkably cruel. One current example is provided by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. Its members picket the funerals of victims of AIDS and gay bashings, brandishing signs reading, “God Hates Fags,” “AIDS Cures Fags,” and “Thank God for AIDS.” The pastor of this church reportedly once sent a “condolence” card to the bereaved mother of an AIDS victim, reading “Another Dead Fag.”(2) Christians are also at the forefront of those advocating vicious, life-destroying penalties for those who commit victimless “crimes,” as well as being at the forefront of those who support the death penalty and those who want to make prison conditions even more barbaric than they are now.

No matter how much fundamentalists might protest to the contrary, there is a
world of difference between “faith” in scientific theories (produced using the scientific method, and subject to near-continual testing and scrutiny) and faith in the entirely unsupported myths recorded 3000 years ago by slave-holding goat herders.

Nearly 500 years ago Martin Luther, in his Table Talk, stated: “Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has.” The opposite is also true.

13. Christianity depreciates the natural world. In addition to its morbid preoccupation with sex, Christianity creates social myopia through its emphasis on the supposed afterlife—encouraging Christians not to be concerned with “the things of this world” (except, of course, their neighbors’ sexual practices). In the conventional Christian view, life in this “vale of tears” is not important—what matters is preparing for the next life. (Of course it follows from this that the “vale of tears” itself is quite unimportant—it’s merely the backdrop to the testing of the faithful.)

The Christian belief in the unimportance of happiness and well-being in this world is well illustrated by a statement by St. Alphonsus:

Later Christian writers extended the misogynistic themes in the Bible with a vengeance. Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, wrote:

On the 7th of December, 1484, Pope Innocent VIII sent forth the bull Summis Desiderantes. Of all documents ever issued from Rome, imperial or papal, this has doubtless, first and last, cost the greatest shedding of innocent blood. Yet no document was ever more clearly dictated by conscience. Inspired by the script
ural command, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” Pope Innocent exhorted the clergy of Germany to leave no means untried to detect sorcerers . . . [W]itch-finding inquisitors were authorized by the Pope to scour Europe, especially Germany, and a manual was prepared for their use [by the Dominicans Heinrich Krämer and Jacob Sprenger]—”The Witch Hammer”, Malleus Maleficarum. . . . With the application of torture to thousands of women, in accordance with the precepts laid down in the Malleus, it was not difficult to extract masses of proof . . . The poor creatures writhing on the rack, held in horror by those who had been nearest and dearest to them, anxious only for death to relieve their sufferings, confessed to anything and everything that would satisfy the inquisitors and judges. . . . Under the doctrine of “excepted cases,” there was no limit to torture for persons accused of heresy or witchcraft.
Given this bloody, hateful history, it’s not surprising that women have always held very subservient positions in Christian churches. In fact, there appear to have been no female clergy in any Christian church prior to the 20th century (with the exception of those who posed as men, such as Pope Joan), and even today a great many Christian sects (most notably the Catholic Church) continue to resist ordaining female clergy. While a few liberal Protestant churches have ordained women in recent years, it’s difficult to see this as a great step forward for women; it’s easier to see it as analogous to the Ku Klux Klan’s appointing a few token blacks as Klaxons.

“. . . God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
(James:1:13)
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham.”
(Genesis 22:1)

“If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.”
(John 5:31, J.C. speaking)
“I am one that bear witness of myself . . .”
(John 8:18, J.C. speaking)

and last but not least:

Christian apologists typically attempt to explain away such contradictions by claiming that the fault lies in the translation, and that there were no contradictions in the original text. It’s difficult to see how this could be so, given how direct many biblical contradictions are; but even if t
hese Christian apologetics held water, it would follow that every part of the Bible should be as suspect as the contradictory sections, thus reinforcing the previous point: that the Bible is not a reliable guide to Christ’s words.

Greetings Raziel ….. Only twenty? I would have thought there would be many more…. The fundamental problem that church going so called christians are mired in …. is their lack of knowledge, and the principal problem is, they do not realize that christianity is a way of life ….. it is not a church or churches …..Jesus came to us preaching about the kingdom of God and his government and during his ministry he taught by example and held to the law (Torah) and was very clear that his purpose was not to change either a dot or a titl of it…His sacrafice afforded access to the mercy of the Eternal through his advocacy we are able to beg forgivness and be empowered to repent or change our ways with the help of his Holy Spirit….The confusion today is a result of the hubris of man and his attempt to understand a book that by design was intended to confound and confuse the wise and the learned ….. It is those who are as children that can realize the truth of the bible and a good understanding have those who keep my commandments….

October 19, 2011 at 12:57 pm#261012

Participant

Quote (ftk @ Oct. 19 2011,21:39)

Greetings ….. Good Point !! God is in control and the havoc that man experiences is a direct result of his disobedience and stuborness ….. War is the product of mans inhumanity to his fellow man …. God allows war to happen and he determines the outcome ….. this is a manestfestation of his judgement…. our prayers should be for mercy and repentance..

October 20, 2011 at 10:29 am#261026

Participant

Genesis 1:26…..And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:….LET THEM HAVE DOMINION OVER THE FISH OF THE SEA, AND OVER THE FOWL OF THE AIR, AND OVER THE CATTLE, AND OVER….[ALL THE EARTH]….AND OVER EVERY CREEPING THING THAT CREEPETH UPON THE EARTH!

…V29…..AND GOD SAID, BEHOLD I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERY HERB BEARING SEED, WHICH IS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH AND EVERY TREE, IN THE WHICH IS THE FRUIT OF A TREE YIELDING SEED, TO YOU IT SHALL BE MEAT….AND EVERY FOWL OF THE AIR AND TO EVERY THING THAT CREEPETH UPON THE EARTH WHERE IN THERE IS LIFE AND EVERY GREEN HERB FOR MEAT…..!!

Now could I ask anyone or all how they could possibly say God is in control of the Earth? Maybe you could re-read what God created and “gave” to mankind. Its not just that people ignore the fact that if God was controlling the earth by some physical force of government it would not be in the mess it is in!! But how anyone can read the first two pages of Genesis and not see that God “gave” the Earth to man to live and multiply in. EVERY PART OF IT…..EVERY LIVING THING…..HERBS, FRUIT, AND MEAT!! Man has been in charge of the earth from the beginning of man.

In the New Covenant God is trying to show mankind the perfect way to live in the earth. God has placed his (spiritual kingdom) built with spiritual words from Jesus inside of the new purified man to rule each individual persons world in love. Love never controls. Man must decide to walk in Gods love. Love cannot usurp mans rights of control of his personal life on earth. We are made perfect and purified by the words of Jesus from God, IF WE CHOOSE TO READ THE WORD LOOKING FOR LIFE, PEACE, JOY, LONGSUFFERING, MEEKNESS, KINDNESS AND GENTLENESS, the fruit of the spirit of God that is what we will find! Total perfection and salvation in Jesus by faith.

Choose life and peace in the scriptures or you can choose death and destruction, both are by faith. Life and death! TK

October 20, 2011 at 11:16 am#261027

Participant

Quote (ftk @ Oct. 20 2011,21:29)

Choose life and peace in the scriptures or you can choose death and destruction, both are by faith. Life and death! TK

Greetings ftk …. yes he did create everything that is and it was GOOD ….. And yes he gave man dominion over every thing in the sea and that creepeth and so on ….And yes he made man in his image …… All this changed when the man acquired the knowledge of good and evil and rejected Gods government and statutes ….. At that point the man was kept from the sight of God and forced to earn his keep by the sweat of his brow … This earth is Gods' creation and not mans' and it is HIS perogative to enrich it or destroy it, Not Mans… To me that is a clear indication of control …. We must not underestimate Gods infinite mercy and patience while allowing our hubris to convince us that we can make a difference without the approval or disapproval of the eternal…. The only thing that man can do is destroy this planet with nuclear nonsense ….. We should thank God that he is not going to allow that to happen …..That to me is control… The warning of the tribulation period is plain … If God doesn't get involved there would be no flesh left alive…

October 20, 2011 at 11:21 am#261028

Participant

In addition ….. let me conclude God is not trying to do anything…. simply because all things are possible with him and if he was trying to save mankind he JUST Would … he is God… He doesn't try anything , he just does as he wills…. man tries and fails as we all know..

October 20, 2011 at 3:13 pm#261030

Participant

Theodore: You have stated…… All this changed when the man acquired the knowledge of good and evil and rejected Gods government and statutes ….. At that point the man was kept from the sight of God and forced to earn his keep by the sweat of his brow …..! I respect your opinion but I don't see any such thing as “Gods government” or statutes at that time and not for a long time! God had given everything including the naming of the animals to Adam, which to me indicated an absolutely free individual living in his new home. This free individual was “warned” by God not to believe “evil”. Adam was to believe any and all knowledge from the trees in the garden except the tree that gave knowledge of good and evil. Life and death, same thing. All were trees of life giving knowledge but one which had both life and death knowledge. Adam chose life and death. God is only life! There is no “death/evil” in God. Adam believed in another god. An illusion of truth. Not the truth. Adam believed a lie…apart from the truth. Now in Adams mind is two gods, the God of good/life and his illusion of truth, a god of death/evil/lies/deception, untruth!

You then say…..At that point the man was…..[ kept from the sight of God]…. and forced to earn his keep by the sweat of his brow …!

Who do you say “kept” Adam from the sight of God? Wrong thinking kept him from seeing God! Errant lies against the truth. The new testament says NOTHING can separate man from God….except believing the lie of evil! Only in a mans mind/heart can he turn or fall away from God. If he believes he is separated, then as a man believeth in his heart so he is!!

Yes God told Adam,… because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and eaten of the tree…..cursed is the ground for your(Adams) sake(or because of you or on your behalf)…in sorrow shalt thou(Adam)eat of it all the days of thy(Adams) life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee(Adam)….all the rest is written to Adam. What makes anyone think that Adams choice somehow condemns the rest of the world? Its not that way now nor has it ever been that one mans sin brings penalty to another. Why do we choose to think this way?

I just want truth. I care not what anyone else thinks. What does it say to me, personally. I strongly sense that you are the same. Thanks for looking at another way. IMO, TK

October 20, 2011 at 4:48 pm#261032

terraricca

Participant

truth is Gods will ,and this means the way he has said it will be done ,and the world will e saved trough Christ and so it is up to men to come to Christ on the way to God ,if not they will die,

Pierre

October 20, 2011 at 5:45 pm#261034