AW! Epistles
From Van: Much about the Bible Makes no Sense
Abstract
Abstract
The real point of the Judaism pages is that the evidence points to the beginning of Judaism being the so-called return from Exodus, meaning the establishment of the Jewish temple state by the Persian Shahs. Regarding Christianity, I agree with a great deal of what you have written, but not the supernatural bit at the end. The teachings Christians have attributed to this mythical man are ethically sound, so there seems no reason to me why anyone should not respect them for what they are. We live on in two ways, obviously through our children if we have any, and their children, but probably more important is that we live on through the good we do in the world, in our societies, and in our symbiosis with Nature. That is the life after death to strive for, and the purpose of our lives.
From Van
Mike, I have the following comments on: The Truth about the Jewish Scriptures
I happened upon your website as one interested in the “real origin” of what is called “the Bible” and especially the Old Testament. Your material is not the first I have read on archaeology having to do with the attempt to “prove” the ancient Bible stories. Your material is very, very interesting.
I am not a historian, archaeologist, scholar or theologian, just an ordinary man. However in my own observations, after a life time of reading the Bible and reading widely from many sources, I have to conclude that there is much about what is called “the Bible”, that makes no sense. Christians have a hard time with a person like myself, because I REJECT the idea of Bible infallibility. On the other hand, and to the amazement of Christians and atheists alike, I chose to believe in Jesus Christ and his teachings.
At the same time, I am of the opinion that there is no earthly way to known that what we read that Jesus said and did is authentic. Another words there is no living human being on earth who is a personal witness to anything from Genesis to Revelation, and that makes “the Bible” 100% hearsay. I personally believe in Jesus Christ, because what He says makes sense. For example “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, “love your neighbor as you love yourself”, “blessed are the peacemakers”, “blessed are the merciful”, “blessed are the meek” and other such teachings. Those teachings make all the war-mongers of the world totally anti-Christ.
I contend that God as portrayed in what is called the Old Testament cannot possibly be the Creator of the universe, or Jesus Christ as God of the OT, as the church world erroneously teaches. No human being can help the fact of their birth, or the religious culture into which they are indoctrinated. The indoctrinated human mind is next to impossible to penetrate, no matter whether the issue is religious, political or otherwise.
I have had many fruitless encounters with Bible apologists and Christians alike, who in general are unreachable with the TRUTH that the Bible is simply not infallible and inerrant.
I have even suggested that the Old Testament be republished and to change every word in the OT that says “Lord, Yahweh, Jehovah, God, Elohim” and all the other names attributed to God—to the name JESUS CHRIST. Then when people read both old and new “testaments”, the contradiction should be so glaring that anyone who still thinks Jesus Christ of the four Gospels is God of the O.T., is a hopeless and completely non-rational human being. And that is literally the state of mind of millions and their “pastors”.
All religions on earth are man-made, including what is termed “Christianity”, which should be relabeled—Churchianity. Churchianity is the clergy/laity system of the church world, which is a parent/child relationship, in which all the common people are treated as mere spiritual infants and children, while the “spiritual leaders” are “mature” having all wisdom, knowledge and understanding of “truth in God/Jesus Christ”.
Many things atheists bring to the table make sense, but on the other hand, I will personally always believe in God Almighty the Creator and in Jesus Christ, but not as portrayed by the Old Testament. I also do not believe the New Testament is infallible and inerrant, but has many highly questionable issues that make no sense. It would be obvious that without the four Gospels, no one would believe in Jesus Christ, so even if the four Gospels have problems with credibility and accuracy, that does not make Christ a myth.
Ultimately we all exit life via the grave, so from my perspective there are no real winners in war or wealth. And without hope of life beyond the flesh, life has no real meaning from my perspective. It would also make absolutely no sense that God would create human beings for such a life as we live on earth (which is a HELL of man's own making) for such a short term existence. There has to be more and something much better than living in anguish, sorrows, war, death and destruction, tug of wars of the mind, sicknesses, diseases, stupid human governments, stupid human religions and endless and perpetual suffering.
Naturally, I am pleased you enjoyed what you read on the AskWhy! website. Maybe we have similar interests because of our similar ages. I am 69 in October.
The real point of the Judaism pages which begin with the ones you mentioned called The Truth about the Jewish Scriptures is that the evidence points to the beginning of Judaism being the so-called return from Exodus, meaning the establishment of the Jewish temple state by the Persian Shahs. The history before that is a fiction to justify the Persian invention. The Shahs were already believers in an ethical religion, Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism, and it was the Persians who set up the Jerusalem temple to collect and store taxes from the satrapy of Abarnahara, and then from the new church being set up for non-Persians as, it seems, a stepping stone to full Zoroastrianism. These people were called “converts”, and the word they used, according to the Reverend Mills, was Juddin which is another way of writing Yehudim—Jews. Before then, the people of Palestine were typical Canaanites who wordhipped Canaanite gods. I have a lot of pages describing before and after in fair detail, but all of it is so long ago that muchof the evidence has been destroyed by the Jews and Christians since. The details of Zoroastrianism were destroyed by Alexander the Great when he burnt down Persepolis. But the bible itself has enough to reveal the true story.
Regarding Christianity, I agree with a great deal of what you have written, but not the supernatural bit at the end. The Christian God, Jesus Christ, seems to me to be based on a real figure, but he was an Essene rebel against the occupying armies of Rome. He died undoubtedly, but the Christians have mythologized his life and resurrection in the gospels. Even so, the teachings they have attributed to this mythical man are ethically sound, so there seems no reason to me why anyone should not respect them for what they are—examples being those that you cite. We are a social animal, and without society we are nothing. Jesus Christ emphasized that every single one of us ought to be treated as if they were God Himself by every other of us. Christ is quite explicit according to what we can read in the bible, that God is the guardian of our relationships with each other. Without the regard and care we owe to others, society would not exist, and then nor would we. So God is society. The Christian God on earth was trying to emphasize that only by helping each other can people survive—be saved if you wish. It is not supernatural, though. We save ourselves by preserving a caring society, not a selfish and murderous one.
We live on in two ways, obviously through our children if we have any, and their children, but probably more important is that we live on through the good we do in the world, in our societies, and in our symbiosis with Nature. That is the life after death to strive for, and the purpose of our lives. The world is a mess, but we have made it like that by not standing up for our corner, letting monstrous patriarchal religions like Judaism, Islam and, to use your word, Churchianity, develop creeds of greed. Some Christians have followed Christ's practical ethics, but most have not, following their own agenda of self aggrandisement and power grabbing. I am glad you have argued and are still arguing. I believe that people are getting wise to the greedy and selfish pastors and their self righteous admirers. Keep showing your face. You cannot be disappointed after death, and you will feel satisfied by what you have contributed to a better world for future generations.
I appreciate your email and your comments. One phrase you said is a powerful statement “Jesus Christ emphasized that every single one of us ought to be treated as if they were God himself by every other of us”. Unfortunately not even Christians for the most part live by that standard.
I have so far read The Truth about the Jewish Scriptures Parts 1,2,3,4 and 5 and find the material and your honest comments about what a true historian and archaeologist should be, quite refreshing. Awhile back I stumbled onto a website which I think was on fake archaeology and I have no doubt that it is true, that some shady characters have even invented fake artifacts in their desire for either $profits or religious or political motives.
Knowing human nature, and being very skeptical as a result of a life time of reading and personal experiences, I have no doubt that human beings must be in general regarded as biased in their approach to “history”, religion and politics. Many of us know that some modern history is untouchable to real historians. On that basis are we to believe that the ancestors of these modern day “guardians of truth” are honest about ancient history or documents? To assassinate the character of whistleblowers, or to imprison, torture or martyr those who have a conscience is proof of the spiritual and moral bankruptcy of those who do such dastardly deeds.
If the points reflected in your essays on being an honest historian were applied to modern history, it would at least give voice to those who have no voice. Censorship and suppression for religious and political motives is as old as dirt. If “truth” is the real objective, then truth will stand on its on, without a gun pointed at the heads of humanity to accept without question. The point is simply that whatever the truth is, it will surface and be known. When open debate is forbidden, then there is no freedom, only tyranny.
It has long been said that “the victors of war write the history books”, and of course that means that the school students will be subjected to that version of “history”. It hardly needs to be said that in the “Civil” war of the United States, the South has a different take on it than the Yankees and the federal government. Is it not true of all wars? We all know that modern day Iraq has been destroyed as a predetermined plot and for motives other than what the public has been led to believe. No doubt the “history” books about Iraq will be rewritten and future generations will be indoctrinated to accept and believe what they are programmed to think.
Wars are for the most part not fought for “freedom and democracy”, but rather for power over others, control, resources, geography and economic reasons. Wars are a gigantic money industry, and the fall out from this death and destruction is just that…DEATH and suicides, famine, homelessness, destruction of families, mutilation of minds and bodies, not to mention property, poverty, insanity and endless sorrows. War is insane and revolves around massive propaganda to the public by the government and the “news” media.
I have long believed that a certain intellectual element within the “Jewish” community of people, are masters of deception and masters of manipulation. That the church world has been massively infiltrated is beyond doubt or question to anyone with eyes to see. Even the common people among those who consider themselves “Jewish” are a very deceived people, and it is the indoctrination from birth that perpetuates the myths. The Scofield Reference Bible has biased millions of church goers and their leaders with the “chosen” myth that is a modern day fanatical obsession. Of course virtually anyone who voices anything about “Israel” or Jews that is not 100% to their liking is branded. That brand called “anti-semitism” is simply a club used against the rest of humanity, which has gained enormous power over the world, through politics, religion and commerce. Some day it will no doubt backfire and be their undoing.
I would be curious to know what your thoughts are on the idea that modern day Ashkenazi Jews are actually converts to Judaism as reflected in The Thirteenth Tribe by Arthur Koestler, and that most Jews of the modern world are in fact Ashkenazi, who are the ones that control modern day “Israel?” The Sephardim are supposedly a different group. I have long believed that the term “Jewish” is not racial but religious, and that being Jewish is no more a race of people than being a Christian is a biological race. How could it be possible that there are supposedly black Jews, Hispanic Jews, Iranian Jews, Chinese Jews, Caucasian Jews and so forth and all those people be one race of people? Impossible!
It is my contention that to teach that “the Bible is infallible and inerrant” is a form of CENSORSHIP. It is an idea that says in affect that if you question “the Bible”, then you are questioning God. NONSENSE! Even the Bible states to “prove all things” and “try the spirits whether they be of God”, and even Jesus said to BEWARE. Men have always placed words in the mouth of God/Jesus Christ that are purely man-made. Such words as “God commanded”, “God said”, “God inspired”, “God anointed” and so forth, in and of themselves are NOT proof of infallibility. The LYING PEN of the scribes can say anything and attribute their words to God. Pastors and preachers to this day place words in the mouth of God, that are nothing more than their own words and thinking. We see this a great deal in the false “prosperity gospel” of the wealthy preachers who prey on the gullible and naive.
As to 9/11, Waco, the Oklahoma Murray Building ordeal and many other orchestrated events the world over, unless the principles of honest investigation and open records are allowed in the public sector, then anyone who wants to understand the truth, has to seek alternative sources, because the government and the “news” media work hand and hand to deceive the public and prevent the real truth from being known. These are called “false flag” operations, to which the world is drowning in. We are not all naive.
So if the “history” books the school students read are written from the perspective of doctored history, then the myths perpetuate endlessly. As in the case of former President John Kennedy, the wild stories of what really happened and the “Warren Commission” are as seemingly always fabricated. It becomes very difficult to know the real truth on many issues because politics is a very dirty business. Governments of men are liars, thieves and murderers. They exist by force and compulsion and not because they love people. I suggest that it is very difficult to know the truth of history.
I hate being deceived, but I have to believe that all human beings are deceived in different ways and on different issues. Some of us seek answers, while others are content to simply let others do their thinking (as those who sit in church pews).
I agree with almost everything you have to say. The only caution I have is that of the danger of tarring everyone with a particular label with the same brush. I agree it seems very often unnecessary to keep on making room for exceptions and I do it only occasionally in respect of Christians, for example. Few of them are moral people at all, but some are, and I always try to remember it even when it is too tedious to have to keep repeating it. Here it applies to the Jews. I agree with you completely that Jews are not a race or nation, though it suits many of them to present themselves that way. Not all, though. In the UK, a substantial minority of Jews disagree with the Israeli government stand on the Palestinians and its disgraceful treatment of Gaza. There are even minorities of Israelis who oppose it. So, I distinguish the Zionists from the rest of Jewry.
I guess that even Zionists are not monolithic in their convictions, but to be Zionists means that it is proper, as far as you are concerned, to take some innocent person’s house and garden and make the rightful owners live in a ramshackle shed in the garden. That cannot be right by any moral standard, yet that is what Zionists think is proper. Zionists treat Jews as if they are a nation not a religion, and that gives them the right to take other people’s land and homes. It is making Judaism into fascism, and thereby generating antisemitism. But that suits the Zionists because they want as many Jews to move to Israel as possible. Though the US is acting menacingly towards Iran simply over its policy to concentrate uranium, as always, it has not raised a peep about the alleged 200 nuclear warheads Israel has illegally accumulated. It is difficult for many of us over here to comprehend why the US citizen accepts the hypocrisy of its government with equanimity, but I guess it is as you say, they are believing the doctored history they are offered.
Not all, though. You cannot be the only exception! I hope you are able to influence more of your compatriots.
