Giving God a Bad Name

Is it just me, or has news of crazies doing things in the name of "God" been increasing? Recently, a police officer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was shot at point-blank range by a person citing he did it in the name of Allah. Last year a "pro-life" individual attacked an abortion clinic (which means that the lives of the doctors and patients aren't of value) in Colorado Springs, Colorado (I cite this because the majority of Christians confess to be prolife).

It doesn't seem to matter if it's standing outside of a Planned Parenthood with signs of aborted fetuses on display for children of all ages to view, or if it's someone strapping a bomb to himself and walking into a crowded market. I’m sure God (by whichever name) is really proud of His followers.

In case you missed it, that last sentence was swimming in sarcasm.

For those who have been reading this blog for a while, you are probably aware that me and religion have had a bit of a falling out. Not me and God, mind you, me and religion. Two different things. Completely. (And you don't need to write to me about the bad grammar - it was on purpose.) And the more I hear about wackos doing such heinous things to their fellow human beings, the less interest I have in religion.

Attention: harming people in the name of your religion is NOT an effective recruiting tool. You can't convince me that the God of all things has chosen nut jobs like that as a means to bring more people into His "fold". I don't care if it was Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, or Peter, Paul, and Mary. ANYONE that claims your needing to harm another life is God's way, is a FALSE voice of God.

Since my knowledge of Islam is limited, I'm not going to devote too much time here to it. You can watch the pundits on FOX News for all of that. What I am going to do is focus on Judaism and Christianity.

No one can read the Bible (I'm capitalizing "Bible" after a thoughtful exchange with a friend. "That's for you, Mike!") and not walk away without a mixed understanding of who God is. We see a vengeful God in the Old Testament, and loving, sacrificial God in the New.

There are parts of the Old that make me doubt the validity of it being "of God". Those parts are those specifically where God seems to use individuals to do his "bidding". You know, when He uses the Israelites to wipe out cities (including women and children), or when He uses other nations to "punish" the Israelites. Why do I have trouble believing those are of God? Because elsewhere you find God doing things without other individuals. You know, like the flood that took place in Genesis where He wipes out almost all living creatures (outside of Noah, and his family, and some animals, and the fish in the sea), or raining fire and brimstone down upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

In the New, God sends Jesus to take upon Himself the sins of the world and pay the price that mankind cannot pay. To make a point, you can read where it is emphasized that man cannot do it on his own, that he NEEDS a savior. And if God makes it a point of bringing salvation upon all mankind by His own hand, why did He need The Spanish Inquisition?

If you find yourself following anyone who claims to be the voice of God, RUN!! The God who created all of the universe, things seen and unseen, does NOT need the likes of anyone else to get anything accomplished. Especially if the accomplishment requires harming or taking the life of another.

Quit giving God a bad name. Especially IN His name.

© Emittravel 2016

Ain't It Prophetic?

Back in 2011, I wrote a blog entitled "Why Muslims Should be America's Biggest Supporters", where I give three possibilities as to why the United States does not show up in the "end times" scriptures of the bible. Those three are The Rapture takes place, economic collapse, and massive terrorist attacks beyond the scope of 9/11. For details, please refer to that blog.

There is one other possibility, that previous to my current sabbatical, I didn't even consider: the bible is written entirely concerning a smallish and specific region of the world. This means that the writers did not even consider the possibility of other lands across the oceans that could be inhabited - especially inhabited with people who would be of major impact upon world events.

Why is this significant? IF the bible is without error, containing what has been called "God-breathed" words, how did these prophetic writings, that apparently reflect so much detail of future events, completely miss the existence of the United States? This means either these writings are not as inspired as many Christians (those I would term "bible worshippers") claim, or that they are being given far more weight than intended when written.

Maybe this is due to the elevation of the bible, and other religious books, beyond their initial intentions. As I've stated before, the bible is NOT the Word of God, but it does CONTAIN the Word of God. I find it funny that many Christians elevate the bible to something so inerrant, that it is practically worshipped, but when faced with statements that are difficult to swallow (like women needing to keep silent in church [1 Corinthians 14:34]) they quickly point out that those focus on the "culture of the times" and that they are not relevant for today.

I guess the bible is true and inerrant, except when it is not.

Or, just maybe, the book was not designed to have every little thing made into a doctrine (I'm talking to you, Faith, Word, Healing, and Prosperity preachers).

I am personally appalled at the atrocities against human life that have taken place over slights to the Koran and its content. I say this as a human being. I cannot say that hiding behind my Christianity. I cannot because Christians have used the bible in order to commit similar atrocities in the church's history (e.g., The Spanish Inquisition). Sometimes religion (of any stripe) goes so far away from its inception, to the point where its followers become an embarrassment to the God they claim to follow. Sometimes I think that Islam is simply going through its "Inquisition" stage - not all those following Islam plan on strapping a bomb to themselves . . .

I really wonder what God thinks of us sometimes.

© Emittravel 2015