,By agnosticator ~ T he Greek word translated as “Sin” in the Bible is “hamartano”, literally meaning "to miss the mark." Just what is the mark that is missed? The New Testament says the first couple “missed the mark” and we all are blamed for it: Romans 5:12 : Image by Secret Pilgrim via Flickr "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— Romans 5:18: Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,..." We can conclude from the first couple’s story that obedience was the mark they missed. Apparently, we are born missing the mark thanks to them. Humanity is born disobedient and also evil. Evil means many things that are considered offensive to God in the Bible. In Mark 10:18 , Jesus said no one is good—except God alone. Ephesians 2:3 also states we are by nature deserving of God's wrath. The concept of "Sin" is tied...

By Agnosticator ~ I t can easily be argued (and I am) that American religious cults owe the New Testament for their existence because it contains a blueprint for the cults. The believer is told to focus upon doing God's will, while surrendering his own will, family, and all worldly possessions to God. Next he must separate himself from the "world" by living in a community of believers (see Mt.19:21, 1Thess.3:14, 1Cor.5:9-13, lCor.6:l). So why are we continually shocked and appalled by Christian cults ? Image by LZ Creations via Flickr The story of Ananias and Sapphira illustrates the importance of this communal life. They sold some of their own land and gave most of the money from its sale to the apostles, to be distributed to anyone who needed it. The married couple made one mistake by lying so as to keep a portion of their own proceeds for themselves. So of course, God struck them dead as an example to anyone who does not obey and give all their possessions to the...

By agnosticator ~ I n October, 1991, two young boys were killed when a tire from a truck driving in the opposite direction flew off, bouncing over the median, and through the front of a school bus full of fourth graders in Miami, Florida. Image via Wikipedia Was this an accident or God's will? Was it coincidence or God's plan? If we believe God intervenes supernaturally to save us from accidents, disease, natural disasters, even crime, what about those who suffer and die? Doesn't this thinking make tornadoes tools of God's whim and criminals his lackeys? By the way, don't blame Satan or God will lose His power! This news story has stayed with me, reminding me of the insanity I once embraced called Christianity. Americans perpetuate the manipulative objectives of the New Testament authors by teaching their children this nonsense. By portraying God as desiring people to be unthinking, submissive, blank slates to write His Will upon, the N.T. writers launched the...

By agnosticator ~ I know a woman who is kind and cheerful, and has never shared her Christian faith with me. I respected her due to this, until recently. I overheard her raise her voice in an unholy manner while repeating the word "atheist", as if it was the dirtiest word in the English language! Her loving-kindness morphed into venomous hatred that shocked me. Christian compassion must have taken a sudden vacation. But I shouldn't have been surprised. Atheists don't love the Truth, and they believe a lie. They are described in the "Good Book" as weeds, chaff, and goats separated and reserved to be charbroiled by Jesus. Never mind that the Biblegod is more petulant and hateful than any human could ever be! Never mind that this god is anthropomorphic, and that his absolute, objective morals cannot be identified by any of his followers...atheists are depraved and deserve to be scorned! To hell with love and compassion! What really bothers me is the comm...

By Agnosticator ~ T he Bible is considered to be the Good Book, and the Gospel Truth. We swear an oath in court with one hand on a Bible, and have as our motto, "In God We Trust". God is agreed to be the God of the Bible, particularly the New Testament. Many Americans also believe the Bible is to be taken literally, even though a story of human sacrifice linked with another story about the first human couple seems mythological rather than historical. Christianity is founded upon these two stories from the Old Testament and the New, forming a religion unlike any other. Though human sacrifice to appease the Gods was a common basis for most ancient religions, the story of Adam and Eve adds a new twist: Genesis Chapter 2: "And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Chapter 3:4: "You will not su...