Announcing the First Draft of the Cover To My Last Book:

As I said it's just the first draft. I love the concept. You can read the Preface, Blurbs, Contents and Introduction to "God and Horrendous Suffering" 2nd Edition RIGHT HERE.

Christians: Please Read the Gospels, Think, Ponder—Non-Stop

Which is precisely what the clergy don’t want you to do

It is especially important to study the origins of the Christian faith, and—above all—the origins of Jesus. It doesn’t take all that much effort to discover that the four gospel authors didn’t agree about where Jesus came from. At the opening of the first gospel to be written, Mark, Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee shows up to be baptized by John the Baptist, a ritual that John has announced is for “the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus is soon identified—by a voice booming from the sky—as god’s beloved son, with whom he is well pleased. The author of John, the final gospel, who specialized in theology inflation, tells his readers right up front, that Jesus was present at creation:

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”

The Christian Faith Makes No Sense At All

My latest article at the Secular Web. You're welcome. Please share! The Christian Faith Makes No Sense At All.

The Best Cure for Christianity Is Reading the Bible, Essay No. 7

Big problems with the apostle Paul: please stop calling him a saint

Just how did the apostle Paul become convinced that Jesus was the key to salvation? He assured one of his congregations that he heard this news directly from Jesus himself, in a heavenly vision: 

 

“For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin, for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12)

Honest Sermons on the Gospel of Mark: Chapter 13

How can devout Christians take this ancient superstition

seriously?

If Mark 13 were printed alone as a pamphlet—with the names changed—and handed out by goofy cult fanatics on street corners, churchgoers would be horrified by the cruelty, the promised violence and suffering we find in this chapter. Yet, there it is in the Christian Bible, in the first gospel to be written. 

 

In fact, chapter 13 gives us a major clue as to when this gospel was composed. The chapter opens with Jesus leaving the Jerusalem temple with his disciples. They are impressed with the temple complex, but Jesus makes a prediction: “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another: all will be thrown down.” (v. 2)

The Case for Jesus as a Real Historical Person Continues to Erode

“But I feel Jesus in my heart” is evidence for what you’re feeling

In my most recent articles here I explained why we no longer need to pay much attention to the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments. Most devout churchgoers seem unaware of the many problems presented by these Bible texts. But there’s an even more gigantic problem that is outside the horizon of awareness of those who persist in their devotion to Jesus. There has been turmoil in Jesus-studies for quite some time now, because historians are having a tough time locating reliable, verifiable, objective evidence that Jesus really did exist. The laity would not be able to grasp the problem, because—well, because… “Aren’t the gospels all the proof we need?” 

 

There is little awareness of the major problems presented by the gospels. How thoroughly do devout folks actually study the gospels? The clergy, from their pulpits, share Jesus-script that gives a boost to his reputation, but are careful not to mention the chilling, horrible Jesus-script that is also in the gospels. Real study of the gospels means reading them each carefully, pondering the many troubling aspects of them, comparing these four different versions of Jesus. The next level of study would be reading books written by scholars about the gospels—both devout and secular scholars. Here the laity would be entering that world of turmoil in Jesus-studies I mentioned above.