Jesus, it's a blog...

On another morbidly serious front, I am very interested in religion, particularly the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I was brought up to believe in Jesus; I am saved, and His Holy Spirit will always live in my heart, and for that I am truly grateful. In my mind, however, I fear I shall always harbor some doubt as to whether He ever actually existed. The video below will explain some of the reasons why I have become an unwilling skeptic. I believe in the "nice Jesus". I think if he ever encountered a homosexual for instance, he would have treated them with the same compassion and mercy with which he blessed murderers, hookers, tax-collectors, and the like. In fact, he probably did, but the homophobes running the council of Nicea cut those verses out of the canon. I suspect that's actually where a lot of the New Testament was written. They also neglected to mention any major accomplishments by women, other than the virgin birth. Take a deep breath, get a beer, sit down in a very comfortable chair, and watch the videos below. If you are a Christian, prepare to have your world rocked...




















Let me assure you that all of our candidates running for the presidency, both Republican and Democrat, know these things. The chances are pretty good that your rich preacher does too, particularly if he or she is of the "Prosperity Doctrine," TBN-type ilk... No matter what they say for public consumption, they are using these religious myths to continue to keep the masses under control and sending in those checks, cynically manipulating us on an unbelievable scale. George Carlin has a slightly less-reverent, yet more-funny take on the issue below...




Here's another one from Penn and Teller. It's pretty offensive if you're still on the other side of the fence. I find their referring to the Bible as the "damn Bible" as pretty painful myself, but the facts presented are pretty much unimpeachable, except for the implication that Josephus was a reliable reference to Jesus. It saddens me to no end that this seems to be true. I can't share this with my Mom, because she's a true believer if there ever was one. She is near the end of her life, and is the one that taught me to believe, as she was by her well-meaning parents. She is counting on a life after death with her glorious Savior, and I don't intend to deny her that fantasy. But I have to face the truth, because my gut tells me it IS the truth. I shall no longer be manipulated unaware.