My rejection of blind faith
Sent in by Daniel Brown
My ancestors were forced out of Europe for being Protestants. Since then, many have been preachers, deacons, missionaries, teachers, and professors teaching and preaching Christianity. I, myself, attended several Christian schools throughout my life and at one time was a religion major with the intention of being a preacher. Throughout college, I served as a youth minister and taking several mission trips in the US and abroad. I graduated from a Christian university and worked for a prominent evangelical denomination for almost eight years.
Over the past five years, I have thoughtfully examined what I believe. This is the first time I have ever truly taken the time to dig deep and determine what my position on religion is. This is an important step considering my background.
I have come to the conclusion that all religions, particularly the three Abrahamic religions, are fabricated, and are nothing more than folklore and superstition.
My primary issue with Christianity and for that matter Judaism and Islam is these religions are based on the dreams, visions, interpretations of folklore, and/or outright fabrications and manipulation of historical events. The authors of these "holy" books transcribed their thoughts in all cases over 1,400 years ago and in some cases over 3,000 years ago. Am I to base my entire life on the written account of an "angel" appearing to an individual 2,000 years ago? I do not know this individual. I do not know if he or she has a history of schizophrenia, paranoia, or is simply delusional.
Consider this simple argument: It is believed that Moses was born in the 13th century BCE and he wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. He recounted stories passed down from generation to generation through centuries before him. Judaism, Christianity, and much of Islam are based on Mosaic writings--one man recounting oral tradition and recording his personal story while in the wilderness. There is no witness or corroborating evidence to support everything he said. Genesis and Exodus can only be viewed as fiction and Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy can be viewed as Moses' manifesto. While Mosaic law is certainly helpful and has assisted in the advancement of Western civilization, I cannot fully believe every word he or anyone else in the Bible have written.
The only argument contemporary evangelical Christians can provide against my position is that one must have faith that what was written is accurate and true. What sort of argument is that? It is Moses' word against reason and rationalism. I choose the latter.
All three of these religions preach and require faith as the means by which people can interact with God and find salvation. This is understandable as there is no rational basis for any claims in any of these three major religions.
All of these, particularly Christianity, with which I am most familiar, do not make their potential converts aware of the first step of faith required to accept and believe in their God. The first step of faith is to believe what the prophets claim to have seen and been told by God as they are recorded in scripture. There are many books in the Bible where in the author is unknown. In others, a third party writes the stories. You must have faith in the author to have faith in what they tell you. Additionally, one must believe that the translations of these books are sound. This is unverifiable to the average person.
Blind faith and complete abandonment of rationalism and critical thinking are required to follow any of these religions. My rational side has not and will not allow me to accept blind faith any longer. Therefore, I completely reject Christianity and all religions and dismiss them as folklore and superstition.
My ancestors were forced out of Europe for being Protestants. Since then, many have been preachers, deacons, missionaries, teachers, and professors teaching and preaching Christianity. I, myself, attended several Christian schools throughout my life and at one time was a religion major with the intention of being a preacher. Throughout college, I served as a youth minister and taking several mission trips in the US and abroad. I graduated from a Christian university and worked for a prominent evangelical denomination for almost eight years.Over the past five years, I have thoughtfully examined what I believe. This is the first time I have ever truly taken the time to dig deep and determine what my position on religion is. This is an important step considering my background.
I have come to the conclusion that all religions, particularly the three Abrahamic religions, are fabricated, and are nothing more than folklore and superstition.
My primary issue with Christianity and for that matter Judaism and Islam is these religions are based on the dreams, visions, interpretations of folklore, and/or outright fabrications and manipulation of historical events. The authors of these "holy" books transcribed their thoughts in all cases over 1,400 years ago and in some cases over 3,000 years ago. Am I to base my entire life on the written account of an "angel" appearing to an individual 2,000 years ago? I do not know this individual. I do not know if he or she has a history of schizophrenia, paranoia, or is simply delusional.
Consider this simple argument: It is believed that Moses was born in the 13th century BCE and he wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. He recounted stories passed down from generation to generation through centuries before him. Judaism, Christianity, and much of Islam are based on Mosaic writings--one man recounting oral tradition and recording his personal story while in the wilderness. There is no witness or corroborating evidence to support everything he said. Genesis and Exodus can only be viewed as fiction and Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy can be viewed as Moses' manifesto. While Mosaic law is certainly helpful and has assisted in the advancement of Western civilization, I cannot fully believe every word he or anyone else in the Bible have written.
The only argument contemporary evangelical Christians can provide against my position is that one must have faith that what was written is accurate and true. What sort of argument is that? It is Moses' word against reason and rationalism. I choose the latter.
All three of these religions preach and require faith as the means by which people can interact with God and find salvation. This is understandable as there is no rational basis for any claims in any of these three major religions.
All of these, particularly Christianity, with which I am most familiar, do not make their potential converts aware of the first step of faith required to accept and believe in their God. The first step of faith is to believe what the prophets claim to have seen and been told by God as they are recorded in scripture. There are many books in the Bible where in the author is unknown. In others, a third party writes the stories. You must have faith in the author to have faith in what they tell you. Additionally, one must believe that the translations of these books are sound. This is unverifiable to the average person.
Blind faith and complete abandonment of rationalism and critical thinking are required to follow any of these religions. My rational side has not and will not allow me to accept blind faith any longer. Therefore, I completely reject Christianity and all religions and dismiss them as folklore and superstition.
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