Bible update

Plowed through the Bible up to Job.  42 chapters of fun.  Actually, since the Bible is not recycling the naughty Jew crap for the upteenth time, it is an interesting read…and Satan is introduced.  Stay tuned for the next commentary in the Engineer’s Bible Study.

 

 

Assume

Assumptions

I have noticed that because I am a 41 year old, middle class, heterosexual, married, father, white guy, I should be some sort of conservative that listens to Rush Limbaugh, loves Donald Trump, and goes to church every Sunday. Guess what? I am not. Fair warning, this a long and disjointed rant. If you are a religious conservative or Republican, it will piss you off.

Religiously I am an Atheist. I have not been in a church in at least 15 years. I have not believed in a god (or magic sky man, etc.) in over 25 years. In many cases, religion is worse than useless. When faith and belief in the supernatural goes toe to toe with science and empiricism, science wins…every time. It works. Abortion? That is a difficult to make choice for a woman. It is her choice. My only caveat is that the fetus should not be viable, unless it threatens the life of the mother. Rush Limbaugh? I would rather have bamboo shoots stuck under my fingernails. I listen to The Scathing Atheist and Cognitive Dissonance

The current Republican party is a bunch of losers. Donald Trump is a misogynist, racist xenophobe. I want universal health care for everyone. I know how much I pay into health insurance, who cares if taxes are higher? Doubt it would be any higher, percentage wise. Taxation? Even more progressive taxes with elimination of loopholes for the rich and reducing or eliminating taxes on the working poor is great. Yes, I care about those less fortunate than I and I know they are not the source of the problem and they deserve a living wage and health care. The rich should not get richer on the backs of the poor.

I believe I live in a great country, but I know it is lacking socially. I got to where I am using my brain and hardship and sweat. I paid for all of college education and used student loans and paid it back (at absurd interest rates). With illegal immigration, I think there should a clear path to making those willing to work hard, pay taxes, and not break other laws to gain legal status and eventual citizenship. I think making English the official language of the United States is a moot point. Any children born to immigrant parents are most likely going to learn English anyway to get ahead in life. If they want to retain part of their native culture, who cares?

Gay marriage? How about we just call it marriage and be done with it. The supreme court legalized it, so just deal with it. As long as it is two consenting adults, I really don’t give a rat’s ass and I had no idea why it was even an issue. I have been to a same sex civil union reception, and it was a blast. The two men truly love each other and I am very happy their union is now recognized as a marriage.

Culturally, I listen to pop music and enjoy the changes to music and television. (Thank goodness scripted television has made a comeback.) I use the Internet every day and believe it is an awesome tool for equality and the transmission of ideas. I am looking forward to see the changes in technology. When I was a kid, people still listened to records and 8-tracks (not like we had a choice), television had 7 channels, all telephones were corded, and computers were toys compared to what we have now. It is fascinating watching how all of these advances are integrated into society. I am not afraid of what is to come. I am an engineer, so I am a source of all this change. Learn it or get left behind. I am sure the youth of today will do just fine, as long as they learn to use the tools presented to them and realize us soon to be middle aged white guys design those tools and know more than you think.

So, yes, I am a generation X, college educated, white male, who is a liberal, hates racism, misogyny, xenophobes, and listens to music less than 1 year old who gets his news from the Internet, not Fox News. Sorry GOP. I hope I am not alone. I just want people treated fairly and make life better for all Americans. Is that too much to ask? So, don’t assume what I believe or listen to just by external appearances.

Made it through Kings

Finished up the Bible though second Kings.  I thought the first five books of the Bible were bad.  Anyone who says the Bible is beautiful literature is full of it and has a very twisted view of what great literature is…or has never read this doorstopper of boring and repetitive.  I have heard that Chronicles is ever worse.  Wow…I didn’t even know that was possible after plowing through Numbers and Kings.

I never thought it would be this bad, but, on a high note, you can skim a lot and not miss anything.  Same passage over and over and over with just a few names changed.

Make some sense

I haven’t gotten to the New Testament yet, but I have a rough understanding of what Christianity means.  I was raised nominally Lutheran, but my parents are, I suspect, deists.

So, here is what does not make sense to me, and correct me if I am wrong:

God sacrificed himself, to himself, to forgive the sins that were a violation of the rules he made up, that fallible, mortal creatures he made mortal and fallible, made?

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

That makes no fucking sense, but, as far as I can tell, is what Christianity is all about.  Why can’t god just forgive?  Why does it need worship and belief?  God makes the rules, why can’t it change them?  Why did it not make us perfect and eternal in the first place?  It shows regret in the Bible:

And the LORD repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was angry to His heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. For I repent that I have made them. Genesis 6:4

For that matter, why is the LORD a he?  A god would not need a gender.  It is part of sexual reproduction.  God does not need to have sex or reproduce.  How can it have a son?  How can it mate with a human?  None of this makes sense, and the more you think about it, the worse it gets.