Who says...

In this current environment of fact checking and wanting to know if something is true or not before actually taking it in...I did a search asking "who wrote the bible".  I was quite surprised by the answers I found - as I believed the Church would shut down any answer that did not coincide with it's teachings.  That was not the case.  The consistent answer I found was similar to the on found on WikiAnswers 


"A group of bishops in the early years of the Church assembled the Bible. The actual books and chapters are credited to various prophets, apostles and disciples. But, the book as a whole was created by an assembly. They wanted to collect the most important Christian writings and histories into a single book that would be enough for any person to have all that they needed to study and understand God's message. They put together the Bible. They did not write it but they made it. Like an editor putting together a book of short stories or essays. There is no one person that wrote the Bible. Although some people say God wrote it this is untrue."


That group of bishops actually cherry picked the books they wanted to include based on what the message they wanted to convey.  Many books were left out.  Why?  Too controversial?  Would it have changed the course of religion had those books been included?


Why do so many people believe in stories that are unsubstantiated and contain information that has, at best, only sketchy truths?  


The best answer I can come up with is that repeated stories, if repeated often enough, to enough people, will eventually be taken as truth, even if it can be proven unequivocally it is false.  This is what ORGANIZED RELIGION has done for centuries to keep the masses in line and keep those in authority within the organization, well-off.  Think about it - can you belong to a church without being expected to tithe to that church?  No, but you do get a tax deduction for doing so.  


These authority figures have used the cloak of religion to murder non-believers during the Crusades, and even today use the cover of God to suggest how you should vote, who you should patronize as a business or even deny a woman the right to decide what she can do with her body (after all - a woman isn't as important as a man in the eyes of religion).


Why aren't more people asking questions about religion and about the role organized religion is playing in everyday life, in particular the pressure that is being brought down on our government by the so-called Christian community.  It seems to me that this whole community is built on a false premise and has built this industry on a false god, their belief in a supreme being.  I do not begrudge them their belief - just don't force it on the rest of us, or try to legislate based on your stories that haven't been validated.  


Religion needs to stay in the church - that is why it is given a tax-free status.  When it comes out of the church, it should no longer enjoy that tax-free status as it has now entered other realms. 


You can argue that the church does good works.  I will argue that the people who have tithed to the church have enabled the good works to be done.  Not the church.  It is just the vehicle.


You can argue that the church gives you a place to congregate and learn and teach about living "their" right way.   I will argue that "the" right way is innate.  


You know whether hitting someone is right or wrong.  You know whether stealing is right or wrong and I will argue that going to church is only a means for those who have done those things to think they will be forgiven for what they have done.  It's often disingenuous.


Ultimately, you have to live with yourself and what you do to other people.  If you can do that, then you are living your life the way you are meant to.

Things to consider...

It has been a while since I've been out here. Have been observing the world since the election and watching how those who didn't get the power are dealing with those who did. Might I add - not well. They are showing just how much like spoiled children they really are when it comes to wanting to get their way and when they don't; how much of a tantrum they will throw!

It is curious to me how the American public can actually sit back and watch this without wanting to send the tantrum throwers to the corner for a time-out! Everyone must remember that these people who are making these things happen in Washington - are no different than you and I. You and I put them there to represent us. And while I am on this thread of representation, can someone point out to me where in the Constitution it is written that this nation is founded on the principles of Christianity? I believe the framers were Deists, Agnostics and Atheists, but were aware of the issues with focusing on one religion over another. The very purpose of the SEPARATION of church and state was because of the kind of religious fights that are taking place within virtually every major issue currently. If we don't watch out, the voice vote will go to those who are the loudest, not those who are in the majority.

Believe it or not, only 20% of the world population is Christian.

In the U.S. 16% of the population does not either believe in God or subscribe to organized religion.

The situation has reached a tipping point with the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck using the media to organize their followers. The problem is that those "followers" are now repeating what has been told to them, without thinking for themselves. This shouldn't come as a surprise though, according to 2002 Census information, only 27% of Americans hold college degrees. College, where critical thinking skills are honed and discourse is encouraged. It appears that elementary, middle school and high school need to step up and begin the process of teaching critical thinking rather than just the rote learning they have become accustomed to teaching.

If fewer and fewer people are going to be able to afford to go to college or complete a college education, then it becomes incumbent on the community and the schools to promote critical thinking rather than a follower attitude. Teach a student to question not just to accept the status quo.

This country bemoans the fact that we have allowed China and India and other countries take our jobs, yet there is a sizable portion of the population who has become lazy and feels entitled to whatever they can get out of the next guy - whether they have earned it or not.

This attitude has trickled down to the offspring of this population and now there is a second generation of "what are you going to give me?" The work they will do in return is minimal at best and more often than not, unacceptable. At least when a company sends the work overseas, they are only paying pennies on the dollar for bad work versus $20 an hour for the same work over here and that's not including health care, and workers compensation, and unemployment taxes and any other benefits the company might offer. See why a company might want to send the work offshore? I do - especially with the type of workforce it has to deal with currently. Now, I am NOT advocating that workers succumb to pennies on the dollar for their pay. On the contrary. What I am advocating, is that corporations stop focusing solely on the stock-holders and the greed factor and start focusing on the people factor. If you have good people, you will have a good product, if you have a good product, you will have a good stock line...it stands to reason your stock-holders will be happy.

There was ONE thing corporations in the 40's and 50's had right - employee loyalty - company loyalty. It worked it made the companies strong and it made the country strong.

Even with global trade, this model can work.

On a slightly different bent - pharmaceutical companies. You know, those companies that say they are searching for cures for this disease or that disease...They're NOT! There's too much money in research for them to find a cure. The last time a cure was found and shared with the world was Dr. Jonas Saulk with the Polio vaccine. He developed the cure and gave the vaccine to the world. What these companies ARE doing is looking to prolong the life while suffering with the disease.

Africa is a prime example of what pharmaceutical companies are doing. These companies have a captive audience, if you will, a petri dish with which to experiment. "These folks are going to die anyway, let's use them as our testing ground!" (quotes are mine) So they send experimental AIDS drugs over to Africa and try them out on these folks. Think they are not that callous? Bet you didn't think the tobacco companies were either.

Why do you think, after all these years of dealing with the same cancers, there is still no cure? It is far more profitable for the pharmaceutical companies and the hospitals, and the doctors to treat those with cancer and deal with the effects of cancer than it is to find a cure for the disease. If they cured it, where would they find such a cash cow to replace it? They can't cure it - it makes too much money for the healthcare system. It is a collusion that no one talks about.

There seems to be a thread running through this post - subtle, but it's there.

Why are we settling for what we are told? Why are we not asking questions and asking for - no, demanding better? Better from our congress people, from our corporations, from ourselves with respect to production and the products we create, better from our researchers - cures rather than just prolonging life. Why are we not standing up and yelling at the top of our lungs WE DEMAND BETTER!