What “pure” religion is according to the bible: It’s actually quite good

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

Often in my posts I mock the bible (and this one is no exception), but there are some verses with which even militant atheists should agree. These are the verses that eschew supernatural claims and make profound social statements. Jesus, for example, is often cited for his work on behalf of the downtrodden. These verses make it easy to ignore the other verses in which crimes against humanity are justified. But then there’s one verse that takes goodness to a new level by liberating it completely from Christianity. Might I draw your attention to James 1:27:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

I have quoted the Catholic bible because some books (for example, the King James Version) call “God and the Father” two different beings, which makes no sense at all. Anyway, moving on.

“Pure” religion is, essentially, according to this verse, caring for people and not letting the bad things get you down. Although the verse mentions god, notice that it claims this is what god wants without mentioning anything supernatural: Do good things and be happy. “Pure” religion, according to this verse, has nothing to do with eucharist, prayer, liturgy, or any other rites or supernatural claims. “Pure” religion is merely being a good person and looking on the bright side of things.

If this is pure religion, then Christianity is obviously doing it wrong. Although Christian groups are heavily involved in charity, they muddle the purity of their religion by transforming it into a shattered window of opportunity, each shard claiming its own methods, none of which do anything good for the world that can’t be done without god.

In other words, if this is “pure” religion, I’m sure many atheists would be joining the church. In fact, I already have. I have an impressive log of volunteer hours. And just like James says, I didn’t need god to do it.

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book of Ezra can’t do simple addition

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

We learn to add one plus one before we even start our schooling. By time we’re ten we should be able to perform relatively complicated arithmetic. So the following math problem should not be too difficult for anyone:

30 + 1,000 +  29 + 30 + 410 + 1,000 = ?

Everyone got that? There’s no need for a calculator. You don’t have to show your work. I’m not grading this… because everyone should be able to solve this problem in less than five seconds!

The answer is — say it with me — 2,499.

The problem is that the author of the Book of Ezra got this math problem wrong. And I’m not talking that he forgot to carry the one; his answer was off by 2,901, or more than double the correct answer! Let’s look to the hebrew bible (quoted from the Catholic bible: Ezra 1:9-11):

And this was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver basins, one thousand; knives, twenty-nine; gold bowls, thirty; other silver bowls, four hundred ten; other vessels, one thousand; the total of the gold and silver vessels was five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

The Book of Ezra claims the answer is 5,400!

Some might argue that the list is incomplete. They might say that the bible doesn’t specifically mention all the gold and silver they brought with them. But that would make it even more absurd. That would be starting a list and then abandoning the list, knowing full well that the math just doesn’t add up. If they didn’t feel like listing everything, it’s much more likely that they would’ve simply said “it was 5,400” instead of including the partially itemized list.

This appears to be a simple case of uneducated people throwing out big numbers to impress their followers. But if we can’t trust the authors of the bible with the simple task of adding a few numbers together, then how much can we trust the rest of the bible?

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Contradictions in the Hadith #2: Selling gold for silver?

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

contradictions in the hadith 2

Can we trade gold for silver? If we listen to the Prophet Muhammad we won’t know what to do. First, Momo tells us clearly that we must trade gold for gold, which kind of defeats the entire purpose of capitalism. But then he turns around and tells us that it’s ok to trade silver for gold. In fact, they don’t even have to be equal in weight, which is good for the precious metals brokers. Can you imagine getting paid for an ounce of gold with an ounce of silver?

But which Hadith do we listen to? Muhammad made things pretty complicated for his followers.

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

God throws bastard children under the bus

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

A while back I made a post showing a bible contradiction about the number of the sons of Abraham (see link below). After pointing out the contradiction, I argued that when god ordered Abraham to kill his “only” son, Isaac, Abraham should’ve done nothing, because Isaac was born after Ishmael. Therefore, Isaac was one of at least two sons — not the only son. Today I opened my browser to see a comment from a Mr. Andrew Davis. He argues that this is not a bible contradiction — that god did not recognize Ishmael as a legitimate son because Ishmael was born out of wedlock. See Mr. Davis’ comment below:

God uses the words “only son Isaac”, because in God’s eyes, Isaac was the “True” son of Abraham, by Covenant and by Promise.

Mr. Davis then argues that:

God agreed with Sarah’s decision of expelling Ishmael and Hagar from their home.

In other words, god sanctioned punishing Ishmael strictly for being Abraham’s illegitimate son. Let us, please, take a moment to consider implications of such a view.

If indeed god did not consider Ishmael to be a legitimate son, worthy of the title of “first,” then god has thrown all children born out of wedlock under the bus. I might add that this is by no fault of Ishmael or any other child born out of wedlock. They had no say in the “crimes” of their father. A quick look to the Catholic bible confirms that god makes children suffer for the sins of the father (Exodus 34:7):

keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
yet by no means clearing the guilty,
but visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
and the children’s children,
to the third and the fourth generation.

In other words, god doesn’t care about the welfare, happiness, or rights of illegitimate children (or any child with a father who sins). If I believed in god, I would steadfastly reject the god of Abraham. I might instead believe this to be a devil. Any god who punishes children or views them as false children because of the sins of the father is neither just nor worthy of worship. Instead, such a being deserves our utmost contempt.

Luckily for the god of Abraham I do not believe in him; contempt is impossible for me. But it’s something for believers to consider. If you have an illegitimate child, do you think he/she doesn’t deserve to be considered the father’s “true” child? Children (especially pre-born children) have no say in the deeds of their fathers. And they all deserve the same recognition as children and human beings as do children born with married parents.

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The case about the Sudanese woman condemned to death should not surprise you; it is the exact response we should expect from Islam

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

ht_meriam_yehya_ibrahim_ishag_kab_140516_16x9_608

Source: ABC News

I’m sure most of you are already familiar with the Sudanese woman facing execution by hanging for the “crime” of apostasy. For anyone unfamiliar, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag, a former Muslim, married a Christian man and is now eight months pregnant. She was convicted of apostasy and adultery (since her marriage was not recognized by the Sudanese Sharia court) and sentenced to 100 lashes and death after she refused to return to Islam. The verdict is not final as it is pending appeal, but that fact is irrelevant to this post. The point is that I’m shocked that so many people are surprised by this case. This is merely an example of everyday Islamic rule; it is not — I repeat NOT — “radical Islam.” It is everyday Islam.

The outrage should not lie merely on the death sentence for “apostasy” (a made up, victimless “crime”). It should lie on any system of belief that allows for the brutalization of people who merely act on love. And Islam is precisely the kind of belief system that allows for this (Christianity too if some “fundamentalist” Americans have their way).

Now some might call me a leftist. That might be true. And leftists have every reason to condemn any and every punishment for “apostasy.” But leftists all too often stand in defense of Islam because (in the West at least) it represents a minority group. Bullshit. I’m calling on all leftists to condemn Islam at its very core. Only when Islam is defenseless can we really hone in on the dangers of Christianity, which, at the moment, pale in comparison to the existential threat humanity faces from Islam.

We should not be surprised that this woman faces capital punishment for the victimless crime of leaving one’s religion in pursuit of love. This is precisely what the “religion of peace” will do when left unchecked. So atheists and leftists, stand with your redneck neighbors and condemn the followers of Muhammad. When Islam is brought to its knees, only then do we have a real chance to successfully condemn the dangers of Christianity.

Usually I don’t post political-social commentary. I hope it didn’t catch you too off guard.

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

An entire book of the bible is a trashy romance novel bordering on pornography

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) is one of the more interesting books of Judeo-Christian-Islamic* canon. It’s pretty much porn. The “song” is allegedly about Mick Jagger’s “Brown Sugar” … ahem. It’s about a black woman … Well, it’s about a woman who’s been in the fields a little too long and has a sunburn. She might be a black woman for all we know. Despite the amount of melanin in her skin, the “song” goes on to tell the story of her search for her lover and what they do after she finds him.

As a “song” much of Song of Songs sings like a duet, the female singing certain verses, with her lover chiming in at opportune moments. For whatever reason, the audience is the “daughters of Jerusalem.” In other words, men should take nothing from Songs.

Song of Songs is worth the read, however, because it is filled with sexual imagery bordering on pornography. With lines such as:

  • “My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh that lies between my breasts” (verse 1:13),
  • “his fruit was sweet to my taste” (oral sex) (verse 2:3),
  • “My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.” (he performs oral sex on her) (verse 2:16),
  • “Your neck is like the tower of David, built in courses; on it hang a thousand bucklers, all of them shields of warriors” (classic romance novel line) (verse 4:4),
  • “Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies” (verse 4:5),
  • “Your lips distill nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon” (verse 4:11),
  • “Blow upon my garden that its fragrance may be wafted abroad. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits” (she is asking him for more oral sex) (verse 4:16),
  • “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night” (apparently, the woman and the man are brother and sister) (verse 5:2),
  • “My beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost being yearned for him” (in this verse he’s actually putting his hand through the hole of a door, but still, the imagery is extremely sexual) (verse 5:4),
  • “Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies” (more oral sex) (verse 7:2),
  • “Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle” (Um… not exactly sexy, but ok) (verse 7:3),
  • “You are stately as a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters” (verse 7:7),
  • “Come, my beloved let us go forth into the fields, and lodge in the villages; let us go out early to the vineyards, and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom There I will give you my love” (sexy time in the fields!) (verses 7:11-12),
  • “I would give you spiced wine to drink, the juice of my pomegranates” (oral sex) (verse 8:2),
  • “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready!” (Swallow, don’t spit) (verse 8:4),
  • “We have a little sister, and she has no breasts … my breasts were like towers” (HAHA!) (verses 8:8-10).

This is — hands down — the most awesome book of the bible. There’s really not much to criticize here. It doesn’t make a single religious statement. There’s basically no mention of god or anything supernatural. It’s just a fun pornographic short story. I’m glad it was included in the bible.

*Several muslims have argued that verse 5:16 mentions Muhammad by name. This is, of course, false.

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bible Contradictions #36: Does everyone have to die?

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

Bible contradictions 36

Death is an absolute. There’s nothing we can do to stop our march towards the grave. What happens after that is unknown (and therefore not worthy of debate). But when we look to the bible we see an apparent uncertainty that would baffle the mind of any reasonable person.

What the bible means (by way of interpretations) and what the bible says are two different things. Verses claiming that everyone will die are often interpreted as meaning everyone will have a physical death. Those verses can be found at Romans 5:12 and Hebrews 9:27. Of course everyone will have a physical death (except for Enoch, whose physical body was taken to heaven, so he alone can contradict these two verses, but I’ll focus elsewhere for now).

Then we have the other verses about death. John 8:51, John 11:26, Hebrews 7:1-3, and Hebrews 11:5 show us that not everyone will see death. Indeed, one king from thousands of years ago is still alive and walking around the earth. These verses are interpreted as dealing more with spirituality than physicality. This is what the apologists will tell you. Of course, they can’t prove it because the bible doesn’t explain death in any terms other than the physical.

But besides, the ancient king and Enoch had no physical death. Even if we agree that John is about spiritual death and not physical death, what about the verses in Hebrews and Genesis? There is no way to interpret those as physical deaths because one man had his physical body taken to heaven, and the other man is still alive.

In other words, this contradiction is actually several contradictions in one.

Posted in Atheism, Bible Contradictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Contradictions in the Hadith: Evil Omens?

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

contradictions in the hadith 1

The Quran is not the only textual authority in Islam. There also exist the hadith, a collection Muhammad’s sayings. Here I present to you two of these that contradict one another. That is, do evil omens exist?

Thankfully, the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement at the University of South Carolina has provided for us the translated hadith.

First, in this linked hadith, Muhammad is credited with saying no, evil omens do not exist. (Also of interest is his denial of the germ theory).

But then we look at this linked hadith and see that evil omens indeed exist (I mean, it is hadith number 666, by the way). This hadith was wedged in with several ahadith* about diseased cows. To be honest I’m not quite sure how this one fits in with sick bovines.

While we should not trust the authenticity of the hadith (they were collected in a most haphazard way, sometimes hundreds of years after Muhammad died), they do paint a funny picture of Allah’s prophet. He appears to get his lies mixed up.

*”ahadith” is the plural of hadith.

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Quran Contradictions #3: Could Allah have a son?

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

quran contradictions 3

Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the son of god (Allah). Islam follows from both Judaism and Christianity, building upon them, absorbing Jesus into the Quran, but not his divinity. So when the question comes up — did Allah have a son? — the answer is no. But that leaves open the question, Could Allah have a son?

Here the Quran is uncertain. First in verse 39:4 he could have had a son had he chosen to. For whatever reason he chose not to. But then we look back to verse 6:101 and we find that Allah could not have had a son because he was a permanent bachelor. Apparently, in order for the Almighty, Creator of Everything to father a child, he needs a woman. And honestly, who among you would desire that the father of your children to be a genocidal maniac? Then again, even Hitler got married.

Unfortunately, the Quran does not even bother to ask if Allah could have a daughter.

Posted in Atheism, Quran Contradictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Quran Contradictions #2: Does everyone obey Allah?

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Ryren Cadora

 

quran contradictions 2

According to the Quran in verse 30:26 everyone in heaven and on earth obeys Allah. But if we rewind to verse 2:34, we see that Iblees (also spelled Iblis and a version of Satan) disobeyed Allah.

To a follower of Muhammad this might seem like a non-contradiction at first glance. When Iblees disobeyed Allah, he was cursed to eternity in Jahannam (a kind of combination between the Christian concepts of hell and purgatory). If this is true, then there is no contradiction because verse 30:26 mentions only things in heaven and on earth. Jahannam is neither.

But not so fast. Verses 7:14-15 tell us the story of what really happened. When Iblees was cursed to Jahannam, he begged Allah for reprieve until judgement day. Allah agreed. Although Allah banished him from heaven in verse 7:18, he was not sent to hell. Considering that there are only three options here — heaven, hell, and the earth — Iblees must be on earth. In other words, Iblees is on earth and has disobeyed Allah. The contradiction is complete.

One final piece of trivia. Verse 2:34 is exceptionally humorous. It claims that Iblees’ arrogance made him one “of the disbelievers.” In other words, despite Iblees having direct knowledge that Allah exists and that Islam is the true religion, he did not believe it to be true. That would be like me not believing that fire burns, even though I have perfect evidence that it does burn. It appears that this verse was trying to equate non-Muslims with devils, but did so in a way that makes Allah seem idiotic.

Posted in Atheism, Quran Contradictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments