NOTICE TO PEOPLE WHO FINDTHIS PAGE.

I set up this page to publish the complete "Revelation of Jib". This is a long term project that will not frequently be updated. I will edit and revise the first parts soon and reorganize this blog to make it more readable.

I expect to have new material by Halloween.

Part I:The Context

Due to widespread ignorance on the subject of Biblical prophecy I have decided to grace you, dear reader, with instruction and insight into the most mysterious, interesting and controversial book in the Bible; The Apocalypse (also known as The Book of Revelation or The Revelation of Jesus Christ). I offer an interpretation that is true to the text of the bible itself as it would have been understood by the people for whom it was written. The method used here in this series of essays will probably be new and novel to most people who, during the course of religious instruction, have been taught that the prophecy contained The Apocalypse refer to events that are to take place during the last few years of human history just prior to the second coming of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You poor people who have been taught such theories have been deceived and that deceiver is more than likely the Dark Lord Satan himself... as I shall prove to you later. But for now let us turn our attention to the historical context of The Apocalypse in the hopes that by understanding the times and events surrounding the publication of this book we can gain insight into its contents.

After the glorious Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Dark Lord Satan became concerned that his reign as King of the Earth was threatened by the work of the Holy Spirit that had possessed the souls of Christians, giving them miraculous powers. These powers included, but were not limited to, the ability to heal the sick without medicine, cast out demons, speak in tongues and call forth the awesome power of God himself to smite thine enemies. These magical abilities of Christian are clearly and indisputably documented in the Acts of the Apostles and continue into our own time and can be witnessed first hand every Sunday in Houses of Worship. In an attempt to counterbalance this new spiritual force unleashed on the earth the Dark Lord possessed a man called Nero who happened to hold the office of Emperor of Rome. Nero, as a slave of Satan, began a brutal persecution of the People of Christ. Nero's crimes against the holy People of God were limited to the areas in and around Rome itself and many of the Lord's servants fled and settled in a place known as Asia. This Asia is not to be confused with the continent of the same name... Asia, in this context, is the area in and around the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea... also called Asia Minor.

You can see how Satan's plan backfired... Nero's crimes against God only proved the Power of God by spreading the Gospel of Christ to the four corners of the Earth. Now there were Christian communities all over the place and the movement known as Christianity spread and gained strength. After the Lord had Nero killed (about 68A.D.) he judged the Jews who had rejected him by having the armies of Rome lay siege to Jerusalem and eventually destroy the temple (70 A.D.) just as the Lord had predicted.

And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? Mark 13: 1-4

Surely, nobody can honestly doubt that the Lord uttered this warning for the profit of us all so that we can know that truly he is Lord and God in the flesh. There is absolutely no possibility that this was written AFTER the events took place...but anyway, I digress.

After the route of all of God's enemies (the Jews and Nero) a time of relative peace ensued for the next 20 years or so. During this calm the forces of darkness regrouped and begin to plan their next sinister move. Enter Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus... This wicked man dared to lay his hand on the people of God, and unlike Nero, Domitianus did not limit his brutality to the area around Rome but spread his blood lust to every part of the empire. Not only did this wicked sinner persecute the holy saints but he also dared to place himself into the place of God. The practice of emperor worship had fallen out of favor in the proceeding decades however Domitianus revived this evil practice, and required that he be worshiped as a god. Because the followers of the One True God refused to worship the emperor they became targets of his unholy wrath. Many of God's people were martyred, had their property confiscated and were and were generally mistreated. Jesus Christ, seeing this from heaven, decided to reach out to his people in order that they may understand how all of this was really a part of his holy plan, and also to give some words of advice to the struggling Christian communities. To do this the Lord found and old friend called John (there is absolutely no doubt that the Apostle John wrote The Apocalypse) who had been banished to the Island of Patmos and gave him A REVELATION!

When the Lord appeared to St. John on the Island of Patmos it was a really big holy deal. It had been about 50 years from the last time Jesus Christ materialized, when he showed himself to St. Paul (then Saul) on the road to Damascus. While this may not of been known by St. John, this would be the last “official” appearance of Jesus so the Lord, in his limitless wisdom, decided to make a show of it.

REV 1:10-17 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

As can be seen from the text quoted above... The Apocalypse was primary opined for the saints in Asia Minor. The fact that the Lord addressed these seven Churches is not to be understood in a manner that excludes all other believers from the truths contained within the text... however those of us who were not chosen to directly receive the good word should take note of how these saints would have interpreted this holy message in order to properly understand its content.

Currently the most popular way of interpreting the Apocalypse is to see it as a book about future events. This method has been widely popularized by the “Left Behind” novels. Most people would be surprised to learn that the futuristic interpretation is a relatively modern invention. This approach also ignores the fact that The Apocalypse is addressed to a particular group of Christians at a particular time. It really make no sense at all for The Lord, in his limitless wisdom, to give his word to a people that concerned events that would not take place for millennia. How would that help them in their times of trials and tribulation?

No, this Revelation is about what was happening to the holy saints at the time... however the message is timeless. And the message is this; no matter what Satan and his minions pull Jesus Christ will always, in the end, be victorious. And truly this prophecy has been fulfilled. When The Apocalypse was written the Church was only a small group of peasants located in and around the boarders of the Roman Empire, but now the Holy Church spreads across the globe and Christianity is the worlds largest religion. Take that Satan!

It is likely that the false interpretation is a trick by Satan to deceive the Saints. By adopting the assumption that the Apocalypse is mostly about the future the Accuser and Father of Lies is trying to blunt the power of this book by warping the imaginations of the mindless hordes who fill the pews of churches across the world. By taking focus off the context of the Apocalypse people have a tendency to find contemporary events in the text and the text in contemporary events. Sadly this had lead to scorn and ridicule by unbelievers, God haters and sinners who point out just how often the predictions of “prophecy experts” are wrong.

Consider the proclamation by Chuck Smith the founder of Calvary Chapel who predicted that Christ would rapture his people “no later than” 1981. Mr. Smith is hardly alone is making false predictions, however he is widely perceived in Christian circles as a solid teacher of the scriptures.. yet he proves that he is subject to the delusions created by the Lord of Darkness. Today in 2011 the world appears to be spinning out of control and again the imaginations of Christians may get them into trouble. This propensity for end time enthusiasm is NOT the fault of the Lord or the Bible but is a trick by Satan to make fools of Christians. At this time he seems to be winning but those of us who understand the Apocalypse know that any ground Satan makes will eventually be handled by Jesus.

This concluded the first part of the Revelation of Jib. I hope that between now and the next installment of this series that you will thank the Lord for his Holy and True word and take the time to READ the first three chapters of the Apocalypse which I will gloss over very quickly in order to get to the really good stuff... Namely the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Peace.

Part II- The Four Horseman.

After Christ appears to St. John on the island of Patmos a door appears before him and he is instructed to check out the heavenly goings on. At this point he is said to be “in the spirit” making it clear that he is indeed physically still on Patmos but has now entered a trance like state... the vision he experiences is indeed awesome. It would be a mistake of the highest order to interpret this vision as anything but a symbol for a heavenly court... it is clear from the scriptures that God is incorporeal and cannot sit. This is therefore a symbolic representation of the order of the Universe. The images employed here would have been familiar to both the Jewish and Gentile Christians.

A note about visions in general. Religious visions and experiences are fairly common in all religious traditions. In the mystery religions of the Greek pagans that were very popular at the time of this writing it was very common to combine opium and a hallucinogenic substance call ergot, a mold that grows on barley and wheat, into a drink. The effect of this drink is not unlike an intense LSD trip with a subtle mellow “glow” and could certainly produce a state of religious euphoria. As one who has experimented with LSD I can testify to the similarities between my own state of tripping balls to that of St. John's vision... but this theory is not proven and I offer it only as an idea to consider.

...there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle...

The four living creatures are mentioned in the prophecy of Ezekiel, however the origins are not Jewish. Please note that the Prophet Ezekiel wrote during the time of the Jewish captivity in Babylon and would have been familiar with the Babylonian zodiac. The four faces: a lion, an ox, a man and an eagle were the symbols used for the astrological signs Leo, Taurus, Aquarius and Scorpio respectively (the symbol for Scorpio has changes from ancient time from an eagle to a scorpion). These signs were the middle signs in the four quarters of the zodiac and were representative of the four directions; north, south, east and west and also the four basic elements; earth, air, water and fire. A sea of glass represents the power of God, at the time glass was very expensive and only the very rich and powerful could afford it. That God's throne was on a sea of glass calls to mind the majesty of the One Who Sits On The Throne.

Note also the arraignment of this heavenly scene and how it resembles the arrangement of the zodiac. In the center is God sitting on a throne surrounded by 24 elders. 24 is 12+12 which would be the 12 signs and the 12 houses this also calls to mind the 12 patriarchs and the 12 apostles. Also the seven lamps recall the seven planets that rule the zodiac... In the Revelation the seven planets are represented as lamps (because the 7 planets are lamps in the sky) and called the Seven Spirits of God. (at the time only seven planets were known) Both the elders and the four living creatures endlessly praise the one who sits on the throne which is meant to show that the one who sits on the throne has dominion over all of creation. The thunder and lightning recall Mt. Sinai where Moses received the law of God. This vision is of the heavenly court room and what St. John is about to witness is judgment being handed down by the judge. The sentence is written in a scroll with seven seals that the Judge hold in his right hand... Yet nobody is worthy to open the scroll and execute the holy will of the judge.

This causes St. John some distress and he weeps at the prospect that the will of God may be thwarted... but alas! There is ONE who is worthy to break the seals and execute God's will... this one is represented in the vision as a Lamb that had been slain and it is clearly a reference to Christ. Also this description of Christ as a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes lends credence to the proposition that this entire scene is a symbolic vision and not the literal dwelling of God for Christ is not to be understood as a literal lamb...that is just stupid. Note that the lamb is located on the throne with God signifying his unity with God.

At this time the lamb begins to break the seals one at a time...

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Now, we are getting to the action... various interpretations of the four horseman have been given but I think that here we can see that St. John interprets the symbols for us. The first rider is sometimes taken to be Christ but I think that this understanding breaks the unity of the vision and so I dismiss such an understanding. I think that there is no reason to take these riders to be anything other than what they are called here... namely: The first rider represents military conquest, the second rider chaos and disorder or social breakdown the third rider economic hardship the the forth rider, death. These things which happen ALL THE TIME are judgments from God... I think this is clear from the passage.

These judgments were being specifically fulfilled at the time of this writing and the Churches who read these words would of instantly understood this to refer to the events of their own time that had transpired not more than 25 years in the past ... namely the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Compare these judgments with the words of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew 24. Note that the Lord Jesus Christ says of the events described that “...this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34). If these judgments refer to events that take place at the end of human history as most (false) teachers claim then the Lord is a liar because he promised that THAT generation would see its fulfillment. However, it is often the case that a prophetic utterance is not limited to the specific fulfillment but a general one also. The four horseman specifically rode out to judge the Jews who had rejected Christ but are always riding forth throughout all of history doing the will of the One Who Sits On The Throne and the Lamb That Has Been Slain.

Notice that the third rider is instructed “not to harm the oil and wine.” Oil and wine would have been luxury items that only the very wealthy could afford. Here we are given insight, the wrath of God is primarily for the poor. The rich it seems always escape the terrible mess that the Lord pours on humankind. Why he chooses this is unknown... however we can take comfort in knowing that “The Lord's ways are higher than our ways.” Why God punishes the poor and blesses the rich is a mystery known only to him.

It is often thought that it is the Dark Lord Satan who is responsible for the suffering of mankind do to war, social breakdown, economic hardship and death... and perhaps, as we read in the Book of Job, the Ancient of Days employes the Dark Lord in bringing about hardship and pain... but ultimately it is only from God that these evils flow. It is still not clear to humankind why the Holy God of the Universe pours out such suffering when he could do otherwise... but the fact remains that he does and we all need to get used to the idea.

Contrast this truth with the feel good messages Christians in the west are subjected to weekly when they gather together. Contrast this truth with the preaching of the evangelist on Television that promise health and wealth... truly these pastors and TV stars are false prophets who have failed to grasp the Word of the Lord. Next time you are fired from your job, or robbed at gun point, or a loved one unexpectedly dies, or any great loss is experienced... give thanks and praise to He Who Sits On The Throne for your misfortune. In doing so you will demonstrate that you are submissive to the will of God and will earn your reward in the next life. Also, when any happy events takes place, lament, for your reward in the next life will be diminished.

After the four horseman are sent forth the fifth seal is then broken and behold, the souls of the martyrs cry out for vengeance.... which is where we will take off from next time. Until then...Peace...or rather War!

In Preparation for Next weeks lesson Read chapters 3-7.

For one reason or another people have convoluted morality with religion. This tendency is illustrated by the contemporary gay marriage debate. Fag haters argue that gay marriage is immoral, and threatens “good” institutions (family, church, society). While the more sophisticated gay bashers avoid directly quoting the Bible if you look carefully at the arguments that they make they are always based on the assumption that a god has forbidden homos from getting hitched. I am bringing up gay marriage not because I want to debate it but rather because it exemplifies the problem that I have on my mind. What I want to explore is this....Are the commandments of God good because he commanded them or are they commanded by God because they are good? OR ,to put in more concretely, using the example of gay marriage.... Is gay marriage wrong because god has forbidden it OR has god forbidden it because it is wrong?

If you answer that God commands only what is good (that the goodness comes first) then it appears that god gets a whole lot smaller than traditional theological descriptions of his attributes allow. In the major monotheistic religions god is always described as sovereign, infinite and prior to EVERYTHING yet if the almighty is subject the laws of morality then it seems that he is not so great after all. This also means that the Lord is not really a law giver at all but just a transmitter who plays no important role in the foundations of morality and for the purposes of moral reasoning is completely unnecessary. I imagine that the vast majority of god fearing mortals would reject such a description of The Almighty.

However the second option, that gay marriage is wrong because god has forbidden it, doesn’t work out so well either. Taking the position that there are NO moral standards other than the commands of god makes the Ancient of Days look arbitrary and unreasonable. It means that no argument for or against a moral position has any meaning unless the argument is “da Bible/Koran/Torah/my pastor sez so...” which is hardly an argument. This position also seems to suggest that there really is no objective morality... ANYTHING could be moral and good if God chooses to command it. God could decree that slavery is right and genocide is good and by virtue of his commandments it would be so. Also, what are we to make of the goodness of god then? If goodness is just a matter of gods commands does that not imply that God is good just because he obeys his own commandments? The idea that goodness is dependent on god seems to destroy the very concept of goodness.

A few people have tried to get around this problem by hypothesizing that it is not God's will that make an action good or bad but it is God's nature. However this is easily refuted by re framing the original question. Is God's nature good because of it properties or are his properties good because of it is His nature?.. and you are right back where you started.

I propose an answer to this question that does away with the dilemma altogether. Supernatural gods have absolutely nothing to do with morality. This does not tell you what is good or bad or even how to find out... but it does allow you to proceed without tip toeing though a logical midfield. Religion has NOTHING AT ALL to do with morality in fact, if one takes religion seriously then that person can have no morality and if one takes morality seriously then they can have no religion.

Is God Dead?

In days gone by it is recorded that the Lord took an active role in shaping history and the lives of individuals. In the Bible we read about the exploits of Moses leading the Jews from captivity in Egypt into the promised land. The Bible tells a tale of an active god who spoke audibly from the sky, parted the waters, made bread rain from the sky and sent plagues to inflict the enemies of his people. These things, so it says, were done right out in the open so that everyone could see. Much later the Bible records the story of Jesus and again we see divine action, such as walking on water, turning water into wine and the grandaddy of them all... rising from the dead. It is written that the miracles of Jesus were done for the benefit of those who witnessed them so that they would believe in him. (John 10:25). Certainly, if you take the Bible seriously you cannot claim that putting on a production is beneath the Lord. Just read about the showdown between the prophet of God and the priests of Baal.

1 Kings 18:21-40

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”

Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

So what has happened? Why has God, whose ways we are told are unchanging, gone silent on us? Certainly the world could use a sign. Recent trends suggest that religion is starting to fall out of favor... in western Europe the majority of people claim to be atheist, and according to recent pew poll 25% of young people (18-29) in the USA are certified unbelievers... which is quite remarkable considering that less than 10% of all Americans share this unbelief. If God would only show himself in a clear and irrefutable way I bet these trends would be reversed. Imagine what a fools we unbelievers would feel like if one night the stars in the sky rearranged themselves to read JESUS IS LORD.

You see, the problem (for me at least) with all the religious stuff is that I don't believe it. I cannot force my brain to accept things that it rejects. I do not believe that Joesph Smith ever had golden plates nor do I believe that Mohammed spoke with angles or that Jesus rose from the dead. I don't believe it because it appears that these types of things NEVER happen... ever. Even in the holy roll'en, faith healing, pentecostal churches where people give testimonies to the healing power of GAWD you never hear of GAWD healing an amputee...it is always really unimpressive stuff like healing back pain.

The God believed in by Christians could, if he wanted, revel himself and put an end once and for all to religious controversy. Controversy that leads to violent conflict and suffering all over the world though out all of human history right up to today. In the modern age of cell phone recorders and youtube a true blue miracle would go viral in no time and honest doubters would convert on the spot. But for one reason or another it doesn’t happen. You already know why I think it doesn’t happen but I am curious of your reasoning... Christians, where is God?

The Bible

Evangelicals and other Christians claim that the Bible is the very word of God. They claim that the Bible writers wrote under the inspiration of a god who is perfectly good and wise and therefore every word is infallible (completely trustworthy) and inerrant (incapable of error).

“The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.” Southern Baptist Convention

“We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.” National Association of Evangelicals

“We believe the Bible (i.e., the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, comprises the totality of Holy Scripture, is verbally inspired and inerrant in the original text, remains inerrant and infallible in all its substance, and is sufficient for salvation and sanctification. Therefore, it is the supreme, final, and authoritative standard for faith, theology, and life. We seek to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual’s life, leading that person to greater maturity in Christ. ” Calvary Chapel

These are bold statements that pretty much sum up the view of most “born again” evangelical, conservative christian types....can such a view be defended rationally? It seems that if only ONE mistake or contradiction is found then the whole religion will need to be rethought. Also, it raises...in at least my mind... a question; if it is true that the bible is “ the supreme, final, and authoritative standard for faith, theology, and life.” Then how do believers know if the people who compiled the cannon of scripture got it right? I do not think that the table of contents is considered infallible. Maybe some books were left out and perhaps a few of the books that were put into the bible were not meant to be in. The reformer Martin Luther removed the Book of James and Revelation from his bible. The Mormons and Catholics have numerous other books that they claim are Holy Scripture. It appears that no appeal to the Bible itself could settle this type of theological dispute and that a higher authority than the Bible is needed.

While evangelicals do not claim that the Bible is a book of science they do claim that it is perfect in its MORAL teachings. The Bible itself claims to be a moral authority.

2 Timothy 3:6

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

But does the bible teach “good morality?” Well if you consider genocide, child killing, slavery, the subjugation of women, theocracy, incest, and religious intolerance good morality then YEAH. Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHQoxeIdg4w&feature=player_embedded#at=149 are some of my favorite passages (caution extreme violence). From my perspective, the Bible is NOT a book that teaches good morals...but rather it teaches the morality of the primitive and superstitious people who wrote it and for whom it was written...and not even the most committed christian follows the morality of the Bible (or they would be in jail) but I guess everyone will have to judge for themselves.

Here is a great moral passage where the LORD get angry because his people were too merciful.

Number 31: 7-18

They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.

“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the LORD in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the LORD’s people.Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

What about contradictions? Are there any parts of the Bible that contradict other parts? Yeah, a lot... in fact there are so many I wonder how anyone can take the doctrine of inerrancy seriously. A few of these can probably be explained away but ALL of them? I doubt it.. it appears that the Bible is unremarkable when it come to reporting events and that mistakes were made JUST AS ONE WOULD EXPECT from any book that was not written by a god.

A few of my favorite outright contradictions....

With God all things are possible.

- Matthew 29:26

And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of

the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the

valley, because they had chariots of iron.

- Judges 1:19

______________________________

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, even the Son of man which

is in heaven.

- John 3:13

... and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

- 2 Kings 2:11

_______________________________

If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

- John 5:31

I am one that bear witness of myself...

- John 8:18

[Jesus was the speaker in both of these quotes]

________________________________

Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign.

- 2 Kings 8:26

Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign.

- 2 Chronicles 22:2

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Thou shalt not kill

- Exodus 20:13

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his

side... and slay every man his brother...

- Exodus 32:27

My advice to all is to ignore the bible, just think for yourself and use your senses and rational faculties. Read books about philosophy and science and stop going to church.

Thank you.

The Law of Attraction… thinking for dummies.A word about pseudo philosophical ideas and magical thinking.

A word about pseudo philosophical ideas and magical thinking.

I wish I could say that I’d hate to burst your bubble but the truth is that I actually love to. If it offends you to have your beliefs destroyed, mocked, and ridiculed then I recommend that you close this window and cease reading anymore because I intend to show no respect for unrespectable ideas.

As of late I have been hearing WAY to much about the supposedly new “secret” known as the law of attraction. The Law of attraction is basically the proposition that whatever one thinks about will manifest itself in reality, therefore if one wishes to be successful, wealthy, and healthy then all one must do is ask the universe for it and then believe and act as if it has all ready happened and be open to receiving it. On the flip side, those who do not know of or understand this “law” will, with “negative” thinking attract failure, poverty and sickness.

Now, let us put aside for a moment the fact that these claims are made without ANY evidence to back them up (just like religion) and that these claims are not falsifiable (also like religion)… it would be impossible to devise an experiment that put these claims to the test… how could anyone know if the thoughts of a test subject were really “positive?” I can already hear the bitching, whining and moaning of proponents claiming that “it wasn’t done right” when a scientific inquiry fails to produce the desired results. Instead lets turn our attention to the logical implications of such a theory.

Imagine with me for a moment that instead of being a well fed American suburbanite sitting on your (probably) fat ass in front of a computer screen that instead you were born in in Afghanistan to a couple of middle aged camel herders. Your life is fraught with disaster. On a regular basis your town is bombed by American jets, and the Taliban enforces the social norms. Do you honestly mean to tell me that these unfortunate people attracted such misery because they failed to adopt the positive thinking gospel? Or what of a little girl who is regularly abused by her alcoholic stepfather… is this because she had negative thoughts? Get fucking real. She can think all the happy thoughts in the universe and still be the victim of a drunk asshole. The thoughts and desires of these imagined people would have absolutely zero impact on the reality that they happen to find themselves in.

This appears to me to be to be a pretty simple refutation of the positive thinking bullshit that has saturated the minds of far to many otherwise intelligent people, but consider further the fact that ever last person on earth will eventually die, and vast majority will first become sick and suffer, not only with the disease that is slowly killing them, but with the knowledge of how it will all end. The alternative to the slow and painful death most of us will suffer is a quick but violent death, such as that at the hand of a murderer or in an tragic accident. That, my friend will be the end of each and everyone of us, no matter how much money you spend on self help books or seminars.

Keep it real.