I’m reading the Bible now (on 1 Samuel,) and yeah, unless you’re already a believer, there’s nothing in there that will make you believe. I found Leviticus fascinating as a look into an ancient religious society, but when it describes in detail how the fat around the intestines and kidneys should be burned in the various types of animal sacrifices, of which Deuteronomy demands thousands per year, it’s clear that this is very foreign and very old.
Problem is that believers are taught to ignore the uncomfortable bits: “Jesus fulfilled the Old Law so we don’t have to do that.” Ok. But why before Jesus did God care about the order in which a sheep’s organs were burned? Why did he find the aroma of burning fat pleasing? Believers won’t answer that, they’ll handwave it as something necessary in old Jewish society but that no longer applies.
Even if you ignore all that, though, the whole thing reads like a giant Skywalker saga. Every tribe and group of people traces their lineage back to someone in Genesis. Every town and site has an origin story: “And then Bob farted on the hill, so they named that hill Smeltit, with means scented wind.” Enemies cower in fear because they hear how awesome the Israelite’s god is and how much better he is than their gods. People freely give out blessings and curses (both of which work), and roll dice as a form of divination, and believers still insist the blessings work today while sweeping the rest under the rug.
It’s obviously all myth meant to explain the world in which the ancient Israelites lived, but you’re only going to see that if you’re not already blindly believing that God orchestrated all of it.
All of that, but also “These poorly translated parts of the old testament which let me hate others can stay, though.”
Something I find interesting about other religions in the world is that most of them commit to the whole thing, or at least a lot of it, even when it’s inconvenient. Islam has so many things happening all the time, a lot of which involves fasting or not eating certain things, or praying at annoying times in specific ways. Then there’s Christianity, a religion where the most you really have to do is have an annoying bumper sticker and go to church where someone tells you to hate other people but that you can ignore all the bothersome stuff like no tattoos, no mixing fabrics, or any of that other stuff.
It’s a joke religion for lazy people who want excuses.
I’m reading the Bible now (on 1 Samuel,) and yeah, unless you’re already a believer, there’s nothing in there that will make you believe. I found Leviticus fascinating as a look into an ancient religious society, but when it describes in detail how the fat around the intestines and kidneys should be burned in the various types of animal sacrifices, of which Deuteronomy demands thousands per year, it’s clear that this is very foreign and very old.
Problem is that believers are taught to ignore the uncomfortable bits: “Jesus fulfilled the Old Law so we don’t have to do that.” Ok. But why before Jesus did God care about the order in which a sheep’s organs were burned? Why did he find the aroma of burning fat pleasing? Believers won’t answer that, they’ll handwave it as something necessary in old Jewish society but that no longer applies.
Even if you ignore all that, though, the whole thing reads like a giant Skywalker saga. Every tribe and group of people traces their lineage back to someone in Genesis. Every town and site has an origin story: “And then Bob farted on the hill, so they named that hill Smeltit, with means scented wind.” Enemies cower in fear because they hear how awesome the Israelite’s god is and how much better he is than their gods. People freely give out blessings and curses (both of which work), and roll dice as a form of divination, and believers still insist the blessings work today while sweeping the rest under the rug.
It’s obviously all myth meant to explain the world in which the ancient Israelites lived, but you’re only going to see that if you’re not already blindly believing that God orchestrated all of it.
All of that, but also “These poorly translated parts of the old testament which let me hate others can stay, though.”
Something I find interesting about other religions in the world is that most of them commit to the whole thing, or at least a lot of it, even when it’s inconvenient. Islam has so many things happening all the time, a lot of which involves fasting or not eating certain things, or praying at annoying times in specific ways. Then there’s Christianity, a religion where the most you really have to do is have an annoying bumper sticker and go to church where someone tells you to hate other people but that you can ignore all the bothersome stuff like no tattoos, no mixing fabrics, or any of that other stuff.
It’s a joke religion for lazy people who want excuses.