the impact of holy books seems
to have a limited effect on people. No single collection of sacred
words has ever managed to win over most people. This is odd. If one
of these books really is a direct message from a god, then why has it
failed so miserably to convince so many people? The Bible and
Koran, for example, are by far the two most successful holy books
ever, but neither one of them is impressive enough to silence the other
or to convince even half of the world's people that it is the truth.
Although both books have been remarkably successful at impressing
believers, one of them is wrong. They make important claims that are
contradictory and cannot be reconciled. For example, one says Jesus
is a god; the other says Jesus is not a god. This means that, at the very
least, more than a billion believers have been hoodwinked by a book
that is not a message from a real god. The fact that one of these books
must necessarily be false, yet still manages to convince so many
people that it is true, shows how people can be entranced by a book
that is just a book. And if that can be the case for one book, then it
could be the case for all of them. It is possible that all holy books, no
matter how old or popular, are the work of people and not gods.
It is fortunate that we have these holy books that supposedly justify belief because they can be analyzed by anyone to see if they really
do present credible support for the existence of gods. If there is some thing supernatural contained within a sacred book, then believers
would have a strong case for their god. If there is not, however, then
believers may have one less reason to believe.
I have made the effort to read several books that serve as the foundations of popular religions. I was open-minded about finding any hint
of magic within them. But they seemed to me like the words of ancient
believers and nothing more. What I read was just about what one
would expect from people who lived long ago in relatively unenlightened times. The Torah, Bible, and Koran, for example, suggest that
slavery is okay, women are inferior to men, and critical thinking is a
bad thing. After years of hearing about the peace and love that is supposed to be at the core of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, I had not
expected to find so much violence, cruelty, and hatred within the
books that are the foundations of those religions. Overall the Torah,
Bible, and Koran read like instruction manuals for achieving a
divided, angry, and violent world. They do not appear to be a recipe
for peace and love, as many believers claim. Yes, I found beauty in
those books but not enough to forget the disturbing content. I cannot
understand how honest and well-meaning people can pretend the negative and socially destructive content is not there. How can anyone
claim that these books are good and perfect? Have they read them?
Many believers strongly deny that the Torah, Bible, or Koran, for
example, contain any bad advice, errors, or immoral behavior by a
god-until I show it to them. Even then, however, some refuse to
believe it, preferring to think that there must be some explanation for
it that is not easily understood. Most of the world's religious people, I
suspect, do not actually read their holy books or, if they do, they avoid
thinking critically about what they have read. Most Christians, for
example, probably pick around the edges of the Bible, learn a few
verses, but generally skip most of it. Considering what is in it, this
may be for the best. If three billion Christians, Muslims, and Jews read
every word of their books and tried to follow the instructions contained in them to the letter, our world would be even scarier than it is
now. For example, millions of Christians today cite the Bible to justify their prejudice against gay men. Fortunately for gay men, however,
most of these Christians missed the part in the Bible where their god
says we are supposed go
to have a limited effect on people. No single collection of sacred
words has ever managed to win over most people. This is odd. If one
of these books really is a direct message from a god, then why has it
failed so miserably to convince so many people? The Bible and
Koran, for example, are by far the two most successful holy books
ever, but neither one of them is impressive enough to silence the other
or to convince even half of the world's people that it is the truth.
Although both books have been remarkably successful at impressing
believers, one of them is wrong. They make important claims that are
contradictory and cannot be reconciled. For example, one says Jesus
is a god; the other says Jesus is not a god. This means that, at the very
least, more than a billion believers have been hoodwinked by a book
that is not a message from a real god. The fact that one of these books
must necessarily be false, yet still manages to convince so many
people that it is true, shows how people can be entranced by a book
that is just a book. And if that can be the case for one book, then it
could be the case for all of them. It is possible that all holy books, no
matter how old or popular, are the work of people and not gods.
It is fortunate that we have these holy books that supposedly justify belief because they can be analyzed by anyone to see if they really
do present credible support for the existence of gods. If there is some thing supernatural contained within a sacred book, then believers
would have a strong case for their god. If there is not, however, then
believers may have one less reason to believe.
I have made the effort to read several books that serve as the foundations of popular religions. I was open-minded about finding any hint
of magic within them. But they seemed to me like the words of ancient
believers and nothing more. What I read was just about what one
would expect from people who lived long ago in relatively unenlightened times. The Torah, Bible, and Koran, for example, suggest that
slavery is okay, women are inferior to men, and critical thinking is a
bad thing. After years of hearing about the peace and love that is supposed to be at the core of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, I had not
expected to find so much violence, cruelty, and hatred within the
books that are the foundations of those religions. Overall the Torah,
Bible, and Koran read like instruction manuals for achieving a
divided, angry, and violent world. They do not appear to be a recipe
for peace and love, as many believers claim. Yes, I found beauty in
those books but not enough to forget the disturbing content. I cannot
understand how honest and well-meaning people can pretend the negative and socially destructive content is not there. How can anyone
claim that these books are good and perfect? Have they read them?
Many believers strongly deny that the Torah, Bible, or Koran, for
example, contain any bad advice, errors, or immoral behavior by a
god-until I show it to them. Even then, however, some refuse to
believe it, preferring to think that there must be some explanation for
it that is not easily understood. Most of the world's religious people, I
suspect, do not actually read their holy books or, if they do, they avoid
thinking critically about what they have read. Most Christians, for
example, probably pick around the edges of the Bible, learn a few
verses, but generally skip most of it. Considering what is in it, this
may be for the best. If three billion Christians, Muslims, and Jews read
every word of their books and tried to follow the instructions contained in them to the letter, our world would be even scarier than it is
now. For example, millions of Christians today cite the Bible to justify their prejudice against gay men. Fortunately for gay men, however,
most of these Christians missed the part in the Bible where their god
says we are supposed go
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