Godless (30 page)
“And Moses was wroth with the officers… And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. [How would they know this?] But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”
It gets worse. As they were dividing up the “booty” they counted all the animals, gold, jewels “and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him” and “the Lord’s tribute was thirty and two persons.” It does not say exactly what happened to these 32 lucky girls, but after watching their fathers, sisters, brothers and mothers butchered by the Israelite marauders, they may have preferred to honor their own families and become burnt offerings rather than serve as “booty” for the priests of Jehovah.
Who will dare claim that this is moral? This is God himself, acting like a god. Listen to these threats of the loving God from Leviticus 26:14-38:
• “If ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments…I will appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it…and ye shall be slain before your enemies.
• I will punish you seven times more…for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits… I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle…and I will bring a sword upon you,…
• I will send the pestilence among you…ten women shall bake your bread in one oven…and ye shall eat and not be satisfied… And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters…and I will make your cities waste…and I will bring the land into desolation: And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you… Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate…even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths…and ye shall perish among the heathen.”
So, the Sabbath will be observed, even if God has to kill everyone to make it happen. Does this string of threats spew from a stable or loving mind?
Deuteronomy repeats many of these threats, including the appetizing, “And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, …so that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave.” You bet. All you tender-meated people should look over your shoulders!
The biblical God punishes children and grandchildren for things they did not do, and calls this “mercy.” Exodus 34:6-7: “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Who thinks
this
is moral?
this
is moral?
If your great-grandfather was a horse thief, should you be thrown in jail? (And to those American believers of European descent who do think reparations are due to the descendants of victims, I would ask them to give me their houses and property, if they are serious. It was their ancestors, after all, who stole the land from my ancestors.)
A moral and wise adult knows that children are sometimes ornery—kids will be kids. But God seems not to understand this. In II Kings 2:23-24, he massacred 42 loud-mouthed children: “And he [Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.” This sounds like an R-rated version of
Little Red Riding Hood
or the
Three Little Pigs
, but true bible believers are forced to pretend that this nonsense is historical as well as moral.
Little Red Riding Hood
or the
Three Little Pigs
, but true bible believers are forced to pretend that this nonsense is historical as well as moral.
God’s thirst for blood sacrifice is unparalleled, starting with Cain and Abel. Millions of animals were slaughtered to appease the anger and vanity of the Israelite deity. God even accepted a
human
sacrifice: Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:30-40). In II Samuel 21:1-14 the sacrifice of seven of Saul’s sons, who were hanged, caused God to be appeased.
human
sacrifice: Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:30-40). In II Samuel 21:1-14 the sacrifice of seven of Saul’s sons, who were hanged, caused God to be appeased.
In Leviticus 27:28-29, God orders that “devoted” (sacrificed) humans must be put to death: “No devoted thing…both of man and beast…shall be sold or redeemed…but shall surely be put to death.” This is human sacrifice, pure and simple. (I suppose believers better not have any devoted pets, either.)
God sold the Israelites to the king of Mesopotamia for eight years (Judges 3:8). It doesn’t say what God did with the money. He also sold them to the Moabites for 18 years (3:14), to Canaan for 20 years (4:2-3), to the Midianites for seven years (6:1), to the Philistines for 40 years (13:1) and to the Babylonians for 70 years. That’s more than a century and a half of slavery—more than twice as long as slavery existed in the United States. Is
this
moral?
this
moral?
In Exodus 21, right after the Ten Commandments, God gives us laws for dealing with slaves. “If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve…his master shall bore his ear through with an aul…and if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the manservants do…” and so on. Not only is this unabashed slavery, it is
sexist
slavery, treating women as less valuable property. God never denounces the institution of slavery. He encourages it.
sexist
slavery, treating women as less valuable property. God never denounces the institution of slavery. He encourages it.
God discriminated against the disabled: “For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous. Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones [testicles] broken…that he profane not my sanctuaries.” (Leviticus 21:18-23) Whose fault is it if you are born a dwarf? I’ve seen some priests with flat noses approaching the altar—why are they disobeying scripture? Don’t they know God is prejudiced against the disabled?
God engages in deliberate deceit. Ezekiel 14:9 says, “And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet.” II Thessalonians 2:11 reports: “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”
God uses language that would never be allowed in church: “Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts.” (Malachi 2:3) “The Lord commanded: And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.” (Ezekiel 4:12) In other words, God said, “Eat shit.” Is this proper language for a moral example? Also:
• “I will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall.” (I Kings 14:10)
• “I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness and thy kingdoms thy shame.” (Nahum 3:5,6)
And the following misogynist verse celebrates sexual molestation: “Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover (“lay bare”—
NRSV
) their secret parts.” (Isaiah 3:17) “Secret parts” is a euphemistic translation of the Hebrew word
poth,
which refers to the vagina, literally “hinged opening.” Some pseudo-translations, such as the
NIV
, have tried to cover up this embarrassing image of a molesting deity by dishonestly translating
poth
as “scalp.”
NRSV
) their secret parts.” (Isaiah 3:17) “Secret parts” is a euphemistic translation of the Hebrew word
poth,
which refers to the vagina, literally “hinged opening.” Some pseudo-translations, such as the
NIV
, have tried to cover up this embarrassing image of a molesting deity by dishonestly translating
poth
as “scalp.”
God created evil (Isaiah 45:7) and hell. God blames everyone for Adam’s sin. God is partial to one race of people, which is racism. He gets jealous (Exodus 20:5) and, in fact, he says that his
name
is Jealousy: “For the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14) The Israelites can perhaps be forgiven for referring to their deity by the generic name for “God” (“El” or “Elohim”) or by the unpronounceable “YHWH” rather than by his real name. It just doesn’t sound right to begin a prayer with “Dear Jealous.”
name
is Jealousy: “For the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14) The Israelites can perhaps be forgiven for referring to their deity by the generic name for “God” (“El” or “Elohim”) or by the unpronounceable “YHWH” rather than by his real name. It just doesn’t sound right to begin a prayer with “Dear Jealous.”
There is not enough space to mention all of the places in the bible where God committed, commanded or condoned murder. In Ruth Green’s
Born Again Skeptic’s Guide to the Bible,
it takes 10 tightly typeset pages just to list briefly the killings of Jehovah. Is this the kind of character we would let our kids spend the day with? This sounds more like the stuff of a violent, X-rated movie than a guide for moral behavior.
Born Again Skeptic’s Guide to the Bible,
it takes 10 tightly typeset pages just to list briefly the killings of Jehovah. Is this the kind of character we would let our kids spend the day with? This sounds more like the stuff of a violent, X-rated movie than a guide for moral behavior.
Hearing these indictments, some Christians might ask, “Why are you attacking God?” I would respond, “Why are you looking the other way?” Christian apologists can dig up bible verses that say or demonstrate that “God is love,” but how does this help? The most that can be proved with oppositional verses is that the bible is contradictory. Hitler’s love for his wife, dog and close followers did not excuse the Holocaust.
Some Christians will complain that we should not be concerned with the Old Testament deity because Jesus has superseded all of that. The words and actions of Jesus Christ are the perfect role model, they claim. Let’s see if that is true.
In Luke 12:47,48, Jesus said: “And that servant [Greek
doulos
= slave] which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.” Jesus encouraged the beating of slaves! Is this an example of moral superiority? Some Christians will argue that this is just a parable based on the culture of the day, and that Jesus did not mean it to be taken literally. But an examination of the context proves otherwise. Jesus had just given a parable about servants a few verses earlier, and Peter had asked for an elaboration (12:41). The quote about beating slaves is in the explanation, not the parable. Besides, what an ugly thing to say! Even if it were a metaphor, it is a poor choice of words. It would be like a politician making an anti-Semitic or black joke and then saying, “I wasn’t serious.”
doulos
= slave] which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.” Jesus encouraged the beating of slaves! Is this an example of moral superiority? Some Christians will argue that this is just a parable based on the culture of the day, and that Jesus did not mean it to be taken literally. But an examination of the context proves otherwise. Jesus had just given a parable about servants a few verses earlier, and Peter had asked for an elaboration (12:41). The quote about beating slaves is in the explanation, not the parable. Besides, what an ugly thing to say! Even if it were a metaphor, it is a poor choice of words. It would be like a politician making an anti-Semitic or black joke and then saying, “I wasn’t serious.”
Why did Jesus, the unrivaled moral example, never once speak out against slavery? Why did the loving, wise Son of God forget to mention that human bondage is a brutal institution? Why did he incorporate it into his teachings, as if it were the most natural thing in the world? I’ll tell you why: because he supported it. The Old Testament endorses and encourages slavery, and Jesus, being equal to God, supposedly wrote the old laws, so he
had
to support slavery. This is not to concede that a man named Jesus actually uttered these words in history. It merely demonstrates that the Gospels were written by human beings who were locked into their culture. Not only did they refuse to denounce slavery, they could not conceive that there was anything wrong with it.
had
to support slavery. This is not to concede that a man named Jesus actually uttered these words in history. It merely demonstrates that the Gospels were written by human beings who were locked into their culture. Not only did they refuse to denounce slavery, they could not conceive that there was anything wrong with it.
Jesus never spoke out against poverty or did anything to eliminate it. In fact, like Mother Teresa, he taught that the poor should accept their lot in life. In Mark 14:3-9
,
some of Christ’s disciples objected to the waste of a costly ointment used to anoint Jesus’ head, “for it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor.” Jesus responded, “Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.” This is selfish and callous. He offers no plan or hope for eliminating poverty and treats feeding the poor as an optional activity that is not as important as worshipping
him
—like many modern evangelists who squander contributions from the faithful on lavish lifestyles. Or like the pope, who lives in opulence. Where were the wise words of Jesus regarding waste and inequality? Where were the social programs that would lessen poverty?
,
some of Christ’s disciples objected to the waste of a costly ointment used to anoint Jesus’ head, “for it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor.” Jesus responded, “Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.” This is selfish and callous. He offers no plan or hope for eliminating poverty and treats feeding the poor as an optional activity that is not as important as worshipping
him
—like many modern evangelists who squander contributions from the faithful on lavish lifestyles. Or like the pope, who lives in opulence. Where were the wise words of Jesus regarding waste and inequality? Where were the social programs that would lessen poverty?
Jesus indicated that he and his followers were a special class, above the rest, free to take liberally from the property and work of others. In Mark 2:23 he and his disciples roamed through cornfields, taking what they wanted, which was doubly unlawful since it was the Sabbath. In Matthew 21, Jesus instructed his disciples to take a horse without first asking the owner. This is the kind of attitude that a landlord or king might have adopted toward the peasants.
Jesus upheld the Old Testament view of women. Not a single woman was chosen to be among the 12 disciples or to sit at the Last Supper. This is cited as one of the reasons the pope does not approve of ordaining women. But does he forget that the disciples, besides being male, were also all Jews? How can there be an Italian, Polish or German pope, an Irish bishop or a Mexican priest?
Jesus was violent. He cast some devils into swine and “the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.” (Matthew 8:32) Why not show a little more respect for life? He also made a whip and threatened to harm the money changers, driving them out of the temple. (John 2:15) These were people who were practicing free enterprise, most likely using their profits to provide for their families. More than that, they were offering a service to worshippers who would otherwise be unable to donate to the temple devoted to Jesus’ father, hence to Jesus himself! Was he totally nuts?
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