Now that the Christian Festival of Christmas is over for another year, I began to think about what it really means to be a Christian. These thoughts were triggered by the words of an Australian Pastor who, at the end of a long Christmas sermon, stated that the second coming of Christ is imminent and people who do not accept Jesus into their lives before this event, will spend all eternity suffering the agonies of the flames of hell. I believe that some other members of the Christian Clergy also preach this message to their congregations.
If this is true, millions of people who are atheists or follow non-Christian religious dogmas or doctrines will spend eternity in the fires of Hell. Why is this so??????
Although I am not religiously inclined, I do not in any way disparage other people’s religious beliefs no matter what dogma or doctrine they believe in. If their vision of ‘God’ works for them fine, but I am very skeptical about God as presented in the Christian Holy Bible.
This is because when one looks into the history of Christianity, we see a religion that was instrumental in decimating the indigenous populations of several countries. This was because of the spread of European contagious diseases and the so-called Christian Soldiers who, in the name of Jesus, slaughtered thousands more. This is not a good track record for a religion that preaches love and forgiveness.
The Christian religion is based on the life of a man called Jesus whose mother, it is written, was a virgin who was impregnated by God so his son would not be born into sin like the rest of us. Why are we born into sin? Human males and females need to copulate in order to procreate and when we do so, it is such a wonderful experience. How on Earth can it be sinful?
When we examine what is written about the life of Jesus, we learn he performed several “miracles” which defy all logic. And, to top it all off, he survived his own execution.
So, let us take a look at some of the “miracles” performed by Jesus. They may not be listed here in the chronological order in which they were performed but for the proposes this post, I don’t think it matters.
Feeding the 5,000
It is written that 5,000 men, plus some women and children, had travelled a long way to the shore of the Sea of Gallilee to hear Jesus speak. Because it was getting late in the afternoon, Jesus realised they must be hungry. Not only were these people scattered over a large area the disciples did not have any food to give to them. But a young boy had two baskets, one basket contained five small loaves of bread and the other contained two fish. So, how did Jesus’ feed 5,000 men plus women and children, with so little food?
Jesus asked his disciples to split the people into groups of about 50 each and ask them to sit down. Jesus then took the two baskets from the boy and looking up to heaven, gave thanks to God and asked the disciples to distribute the food to the people.
It is not written or explained how God responded to Jesus’ prayer, but I assume God duplicated the baskets from two to twenty-four, twelve containing bread the other twelve fish. I have assumed this because Jesus had twelve disciples. I also assume the fish were skinned, filleted and cooked. I have also assumed that, as the disciples handed out the bread and fish to the people, they were miraculously replaced in the basket by God, so the food supply never ran out until everyone had been fed.
I have made these assumptions because the story states that there were 12 baskets of broken pieces that were left over after everyone had been fed and were satisfied. But there is no mention of where these 12 baskets originated.
Also, each disciple would have to serve bread and fish to over 50 people each. This would not have been an easy task and because it was already late afternoon/early evening, so the disciples did not have much daylight left in which to complete their task. This is because, depending on the time of year, sunset on the Sea of Gallilee is between 4.30 and 7.30 pm.
For true believers, this was indeed a miracle. For a person like me, it is a far-fetched story/occurrence which is impossible to believe.
Walking On Water
After providing more than 5,000 plus people with food Jesus went off alone to pray. His disciples boarded a boat and began rowing towards the fishing village of Capernaum. I have to assume by that time the sun had set. After rowing for three or four miles, the wind turned against the disciples’ and their boat was being buffeted by the waves making it difficult to make headway towards Capernaum.
But, just before dawn, the disciples saw Jesus walking on the surface of the sea coming towards them and they became frightened because they thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus said to them “it is I, don’t be afraid.” Peter replied and said, “Lord if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus asked Peter to come.
Peter stepped off the boat into the sea but because he was afraid, Peter began to sink under the water. Peter then cried out to and asked Jesus to save him. Jesus reached out a hand and caught Peter saying, “you of little faith why, why did you doubt me.” Jesus and Peter then walked on the water and climbed into the boat. The wind died down and Jesus and the disciples made their way to Capernaum.
First of all, there is no way the human foot can displace enough water to create buoyancy. This is a simple fact. Also, if Jesus had been walking on the surface of the sea, he would have been bobbing up and down with the swell caused by the wind. So, did Jesus walk on the water, or did he levitate and float towards the boat (like a ghost) above the surface of the water? Unfortunately, we will never know the answer.
But looking at it objectively, it is just another far-fetched story/occurrence which is impossible to believe.
The Resurrection Of Lazarus
This “miracle” defies all logic and medical knowledge.
The story goes something like this.
Jesus receives a message that Lazarus is very ill and may die. But Jesus said the illness of Lazarus will not end in death. Jesus then travels to Bethany to see Lazarus after he died. But before he arrived, Martha, Lazarus’ sister comes to meet Jesus and told him that Lazarus has been dead for four days and if he had arrived sooner Lazarus would still be alive.
Jesus reassured Martha and said that her brother will rise from the dead because I am the resurrection and the life, and he who believes in me will live even though he dies and whoever believes in me will never die. Jesus then asked Martha if she believed him. Martha stated yes, I do believe you are the Messiah and the son of God.
Jesus and Martha then walked the rest of the way to the village of Bethany and are met by Mary and the people who had come to console Martha. Jesus was so moved by their grief he sked to be taken to the place where Lazarus was entombed. When Jesus arrived at the tomb of Lazarus he wept and asked for the stone to be removed from the tomb. Jesus then looked up said, Father thank you for hearing me and in aloud voice called out, Lazarus come out.
The dead man came out of his tomb and Jesus asked the people to remove the burial clothing and let him go.
Even with today’s modern medical technology, doctors would not be able to bring a person back to life after being dead for four days.
As a sceptic, this is just another tall story/occurrence that is impossible to believe.
Jesus Turns Water Into Wine
As a person who enjoys a glass or two of wine, I really love this miracle. But, how on earth did Jesus turn water into wine in an instant?
To produce wine. the fermentation process takes over three weeks to turn grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. Yet, there were no grapes or grape juice to ferment and even if there were, it would still take some time to produce wine.
The story goes that Jesus and his mother had been invited to a wedding at Cana in Galilee along with his disciples. At some time during the festivities, the mother of Jesus told him the host of the party had no more wine left for the guests. Jesus asked why she bothered him with such a matter because his time had not yet come.
However, Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus asked. Jesus noticed there were six stone water jars in the house with a capacity of twenty to thirty gallons each. This is between 120 to 180 gallons of water. Jesus asked the servants to fill each jar with water. Jesus then asked the servants to draw some out and serve it to the host. Lò and behold, the water was now a fine wine.
As we now know, two thirds of planet Earth is made up of salt water and the other third is land. For almost all life forms that live on land, fresh water is their lifeblood. So, I am skeptical regarding whether or not God would allow Jesus to change up to 180 gallons of fresh water into wine for a group of revelers at a wedding reception. That is a lot of booze.
This just another fanciful story/occurrence that is impossible to believe.
The Temptation Of Jesus By Satan
The temptation of Jesus by Satan is not regarded as a miracle but as I see it, it must have been the greatest miracle of them all.
It is written that Jesus was led by the spirit(?) into the wilderness. After 40 days and forty nights fasting in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry. After such a long period in the wilderness, I would have thought Jesus would be thirsty as well and in need water more than food. But it seems Jesus wasn’t thirsty, so when Satan arrived to tempt Jesus, He did not offer Jesus any water.
Satan came to Jesus and said, “if you are the son of God, turn these stones into bread. Jesus replied saying “It is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Satan then took Jesus from the wilderness to the pinnacle of the temple in the Holy city. It is not written how Satan took Jesus from the wilderness to the Holy City, so I assume they “flew.” On arrival Satan said if you are the son of God, throw yourself down for God will send his angels to carry you up lest you dash your foot on a stone. Jesus replied saying, you shall not tempt the Lord thy God,
Then Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the Kingdoms of the Earth and all their glory. Satan then said, all these I shall give to you if you bow down and worship me. Jesus replied saying, away with you Satan, for it is written you shall worship the Lord thy God and him only shall you serve.
Satan then left Jesus and the Angels came to minister to him.
I believe this story was written by someone who believed the world was flat and God was in His Heaven above the world and Satan was in His Hell under the world. I state this because the Earth is round and neither Satan nor Jesus would have been able see what was beyond the horizon. What his means, is Satan would have had to carry Jesus aloft and into a low orbit around the world to show Him “all the Kingdoms of the Earth.”
Where there is one inaccuracy such as this, there are probably other inaccuracies in the Bible stories, so it is very difficult to accept what is written is “The Gospel Truth.”
aquarianmist
aquarianmist 