Fwd: Problem of Christianity

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carl Jarvis <carjar82@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2017 07:59:34 -0700
Subject: Re: Problem of Christianity
To: Mostafa Almahdy <mostafa.almahdy@gmail.com>

Dear Mostafa,
I agree with much of what you say. But before you smile and thank me,
let me hasten to say that in agreeing, I can replace the word,
"Christian" with the title of any religion, past or present.
Beginning with the predecessors of the Greek Gods to the creation of
single Deities, we humans have expressed over and over again our need
for an Almighty Crutch. In my early adulthood, I read the King James
version of the Bible from cover to cover, including several versions
of the New Testament. I say, "read the Bible from cover to cover",
meaning that I studied the text as if I were involved in a college
course. But that was reading enough. It's an interesting book, full
of myths and unsupportable proclamations. It is a book filled from
cover to cover with the fingerprints of Men. Men created a God who
then took his rib and made Woman, always subject to Man. Not a bad
attempt, but silly at best. We Humans come, like all living things,
from common stock. But we Humans, above all other Life, Have learned
to dominate this planet, creating a false world, a material world, in
which we anointed ourselves as Lords and Masters. No other life forms
were allowed to vote.
But this is not just some Christian malarkey. All Faiths have made
the same basic error. They all simply dress it up in their own
culture and go forth believing that it was Divinely inspired. All
religions lack the same basic ingredient. Proof! Proof is always
lacking. No one can demonstrate that their Deity's exist anywhere
other than in the complex place called the Human Brain. No other life
form has this direct link to some God.
We choose to close our eyes to the facts, choosing to cherry pick
sentences in our Holy Book that support our version of this man Made
Myth. There can be no God more Holy or more powerful than others, or
that God would have taken better care of Its planet. A perfect God
would never have turned the Keys to this Earth over to Man, knowing
that Man would devastate all life through his greed and stupidity.
The sooner we come to our senses and understand that our Salvation is
in our own hands, the sooner we might begin to work with, rather than
trying to dominate, Nature.
But even as I write this, I see in my mind that you are setting in
place your arguments that you believe will prove to me the error of my
ways. So we come to a Standoff. Neither of us will concede to the
other. Neither of us will give thought and study to the subject in an
objective manner, and come to the agreement that the other of us is
right. My Christian friends love to bombard me with Bible quotes in
order to prove that God does exist. That is like quoting the White
Rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland" in order to prove to me that there is
a rabbit hole in an old stump through which I might drop down into
Wonderland.
My Jewish friends tell me that if I read and listen to their version
of the God they have created, I will understand who God really is. I
have very few Muslim friends, only because I live in a region where
few Muslims live, but I can assure you that they would take the very
same approach as you have laid out in this post. I do have visits
from Jehovah Witnesses. These folks travel from door to door in
pairs, attempting to discuss their brand of Faith. Like the Mormons,
they believe that their God demands that they go forth and spread the
Word. These good folk want to engage me in a discussion as to why the
Bible is wrong, and they are worshiping the Real, Honest to Goodness
God. But they lose interest when I thank them for stopping by, but
that I find the Christian Bible just as full of Myths as I find in
their Holy Book.
Religion is the base from which all Man's wars begin. We use our
particular brand of God to justify why we must turn on our neighbors
and violently murder them. Always in the name of our God. I refuse
to even pretend that such a God exists. But I don't tell my 91 year
old Mother-in-Law that there is no Heaven awaiting her. She was born
and raised a Catholic. Currently she is living with Cathy and myself,
two Agnostics, because none of her Catholic friends care enough to
even wonder why she no longer tends to the church gardens or the
cleaning of the church. Each day she watches the Holy Mass on our TV,
and says her rosary and reads her daily readings and says her prayers.
She believes she is headed for a wonderful life in the Hereafter. Why
would I try to convince her otherwise? But if what she does is what
it takes to get next to God, then I'll take my chances that there is
no Hereafter. I watch so many capable young men and women wasting
their lives kneeling at their Man Made Alters, praying into empty
space, hoping to get in good with God, so they will have a place in
Heaven. And what they accomplish is to do nothing to make Earth a
better place. Right now, as I am writing to you, and right now, as
you read this, millions of humans are starving to death. Millions of
Humans are crouching in the corners of their bombed out hovels,
frightened over the return of the bombs. Bombs often made in the USA,
and sold to anyone who has the money to buy them. This USA in which I
live is not a Christian nation. And despite protests to the contrary,
the USA is not spreading Peace and democracy through this mass murder.
But instead of rising up and seizing power and taking the ill gotten
wealth of the Ruling Classes around the planet, and spreading it out
among the "Have Nots", instead of that, we rush into our various
houses of worship and pray for God to intervene. And for how many
thousands of years have we done this? And what are the results?
There is an old saying that Insanity is doing the same thing over and
over, hoping for different results.
Mostafa, unless we all come together and agree that we are all members
of a very complex Life System, and set about restoring this Planet
Earth, and learning to live as members of this Earth System instead of
ravishing it, we are doomed to become extinct. And then what will our
Almighty God do? He, too will die, for He exists only in the minds of
Man. Whatever life form comes along after us, they will not know or
understand the God Worship that brought us to such an end.
Finally, if you have read to this point, I want to thank you for your
posts. They do stimulate my mind and help me clarify what I do
believe.
As always, I remain your friend,
Carl Jarvis


On 6/25/17, Mostafa Almahdy <mostafa.almahdy@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello. In this classical editorial, I will attempt to summarise the
> problem of Christianity. First off, doctrinal problem. Christian faith
> is essentially based on a belief called original sin. Original sin is
> a sin said to be inherited by all descendants of Adam. Thus, God
> demanded to forgive that mass cynicism. But, he could not forgive us
> omnipotently. Therefore, he demanded to sacrifice someone in order to
> redeem our sin. Jesus in Christianity never sinned and his mother was
> cleansed with the holy spirit. So, she did not inherit what we
> inherited. There are two major problematic factors with this belief.
> First, it seems that the divine is not able to perfectly forgive our
> sin unless he relies on someone who is mortal to do so. If this is the
> case, it then breaches providential measureless omnipotence. Second,
> if Mary was cleansed with the manifestation of the holy spirit as it
> is taught in Christian theology, why aren't you forgiven with the same
> path as devout devotees? There is another problem with this teaching.
> I caught God twice forgiving Israelite in the Old testament without
> either the revelation of the holy spirit nor the alleged Crucifixion
> of Christ. As for the averred apotheosis of Christ, it has never been
> expressed explicitly. It has constantly been equivocated. As for
> scriptural authority and what pastors preach, it is based on
> multiplied translations. No one reads the scripture in its original
> text. Consequently, it consistently subjugates textual authenticity to
> incertitude. If someone brought me the Koran in English, I will
> certainly have to trace possible errors. I expect to find errors
> because the translation of this sacred text is based on human
> contribution. Therefore, it won't ever be utterly inerrable. I even
> have to carefully proofread Koran copies before they are prepared for
> publication to avoid incidental misspell or erratum. I once suspended
> the publication of Braille Koran because it contained multiple errors.
> How did I know it had errors? Well, I first of all, memorise the Koran
> jot for jot and dot for dot. Second, I could easily refer back to the
> Koran in its initial rhetoric and compare. I am not unaware of the
> Koran language. It is noticeable to millions of people. Therefore,
> textual inconsistencies are easy to be captured. There is a story told
> about a Jew who printed the Koran and purposely added one letter to
> the text. Well, a child who memorised the Koran easily detected that
> error. As for the Christian community, they are disreputable of
> incessantly enacting drama queen. Despite where they reside, they
> often complain about being suppressed or deprived. It is true that in
> some regions, Christians are subjected to persecution to some extent.
> I perceive though, that they deliberately leave themselves vulnerable
> to impairment so they could yell. It is a psychological state
> influenced with the fundamental concepts of crucifixion and redemption
> which they hold up to as premiss tenets. Christians in general tend to
> base their faith on emotional embellishment. Therefore, their faith
> looks so appealing to people who unpleasantly have been traumatised.
> Christians beguile new quakers with emotionalisation, greed and
> aphrodisiac. I also noticed, that those who convert from Islam to
> Christianity tend to ignominiously assault their former faith for fame
> and temporal gains. Instead of attempting to represent their new faith
> properly, they walk into public galleries to dramatically vociferate,
> demonise and terrify. Why converts to Christianity must depart to the
> States and endorse Zionists? I hope this concern is taken seriously.
> Why converts to your faith have to boost for Israel? I urge you to
> attain sufficient courage to confront this fact. I am personally
> convinced, that Christians and Protestants in particular are basically
> servants to Zionist agenda. I have seen this accusal attested
> respectively. Despite the terrible things Jews say about Jesus whom
> Christians consider somewhat deified, they categorically certify and
> insistently fund them militarily. Well, I just thought Christians are
> genuine advocates for peace. Um, except when it comes to Israel and
> its military status, they then boost for warfare. As for ordained
> clergy and what they incorporate of instrumental elements to their
> regular worship, what theological corroboration do you hold for this?
> As for biblical devotion, why pastors are selective of what to read to
> their congregants? Lay Christians are not ordinarily known for reading
> the Bible cover to cover. As Muslims, we typically recite the Koran at
> least once a year in Ramadan. Christians though, are not popular of
> reading their book cover to cover. They just follow what the pastor
> reads. I honestly see nothing appealing in this religion unless what
> is emotionally prettified in a counterfeit manner. Southern
> Christology apologists may have periodically repeated the following
> phrase. My life is a witness to Christ. I just wonder about the
> practicality of this often recounted statement. Having they already
> abandoned the law which Christ said he was sent to confirm and
> complied to Pauline doctrine? It is quite convenient to chant
> Christological sentiments. It is conspicuously notorious that bigoted
> Donald Trump is enormously seconded by evangelists and their
> communities. They are fanatically tended to endorse him to their
> utmost capacity. Christians of the United States are appurtenant to
> Trump more than they are to their Christology ebullience. Why are they
> keenly infatuated with Trump? Well, there are primarily two major
> reasons. First, Donald Trump vividly reflects Christian Zionism.
> Second, he easily won fools and brainwashed them with his incendiary
> rhetoric. There is another problem with Christendom. When they go on
> mission abroad, they often opt nations that are desperate in
> impoverishment such as Hayti, African countries and so on. They take
> advantage of their hapless condition. They methodically allure refugee
> camps with welfare and provision to make them gradually attracted to
> Christianity. They do the same thing here in Egypt. They visit poor
> villages and substantially ingrain them with financial sustenance to
> again, attract them to convert to Christianity. They do not force them
> but, they unethically take advantage of their susceptible condition.
> They take advantage of their nescience and deprivation to massively
> proselytize. I would rather be situated in equal level playing field.
> Instead of taking advantage of someone's desperateness, I would rather
> engage with him in a mutually deferential scrutiny. Christianity is in
> constant trouble attempting to emotionally embellish what has proven
> to be interpolated. I won't ask anyone to hasten in responding to this
> piece. My primary objective is to rectify this distorted assumption in
> your minds. I intend to resemble clarity and correction. I rationally
> and monotheistically contemn the concepts of crucifixion and
> redemption. They won't earn a considerable deference unless insipidly.
> I have been asked on multiple occasions to ponder and reflect on what
> the Bible articulates. I didn't find the term original sin explicitly
> particularised, it all depends on preoccupied interpretation and
> unsound fathom. Furthermore, Jesus Christ isn't barely mentioned in
> what is recognised in Christian theology as the Old Testament unless
> you derive conclusions implicitly and complicatedly. Don't you see
> this a bit problematic? Religion doesn't need overbearing
> intelligence. It rather needs decipherable and straightforward
> rationale. The innocent shouldn't bear the iniquity of the sinner, not
> even optionally. I am Muslim and I give sufficient thought to what
> Allah has made us with. He made us with a rational head to use not to
> dispose. Who do we seek for worship? Isn't He the divine sovereign of
> earth and heaven? How does he bear a son be that as it may, He just
> made everything? At its inception, He said to everything, be and
> everything came into being. He created this existence, so how could he
> be part of it? Please, lent me your ears for just a moment. We
> certainly don't need to equivocate, we rather ought to elucidate. In
> Islam, the term monotheism doesn't need inscrutable explanation to be
> fathomed, it is crystal clear. In Christianity, however, apologists
> tend to relentlessly beat around the bush hitherto, they aren't
> discerned. You have to respectfully admit your failure to cope.
> Christian apologists tend to palter about theological subjects. This
> is why I am critical of Christian apologists. They typically lie about
> their doctrines and their scriptures. Christians do not like to hear
> that. Islam threatens their eminent aristocracy. As you are reaching
> to speak to your congregation this Sunday morning, you may ask
> yourself the following questions. What makes Islam broadly embraced
> despite prejudice? What attracts Muslim converts to Christianity?
> Religion for unfeigned faithfuls is far beyond being just easy. It is
> essentially based on strict devotion and consignment. Christianity
> doesn't necessarily demand this level of allegiance. It bases its
> major tenets on mere emotionalism. What brought music to Church
> service? Did Jesus worship at the Synagogue or did he build his own
> Church? I ask these questions with innocent intent to refute various
> misconceptions about Jesus's genuine ministry. Throughout the
> centuries, saints and their apprentices have unenviably altered
> Jesus's theology. Thus far, his initial message is gravely flummoxed
> with what others have added. I quite discern that I am addressing
> people who have honourable passion to Christ. They may have just been
> misguided. Unlike what many Christian apologists would do, I won't
> ever demonise Christians. Even while I believe they do not follow the
> true religion, I am surely convinced that many of them have good
> hearts. I just attempt to incite cerebral determination. I do not
> intend to draw condemnation. I just repudiate disgraceful acts. To
> those of southern laity who received this unsolicited post, I urge you
> to think carefully before you respond. I urge you to give what I
> proposed proper thought. I am constantly available for invaluable
> conversation. I wish you a substantially spiritual experience this
> Sunday morning. I believe in edification as the curtest path to
> mutual deference. I apologise if I incidentally provoked your offence.
> Thank you for reading, Mostafa
>
>
> --
> (Seeking knowledge is compulsory from cratle to grave because it is a
> shoreless ocean.)
>