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Since many of you are jumping in here in the middle of the book, let me set the scene for you.   The Book is an all-too-real-in-content, fantasy-interview with a Divine Being playing the role of non other than the Devil, himself in order to expose the truth about a multitude of commonly-accepted beliefs that simply don't make and sense.   The dialogue asks and offers alternative answers to  irreverent questions about all kinds of things, particularly things relating to religious beliefs.    

The section you are about to read, called The Cruise to Fiction, is about two of the major beliefs of Christianity.   The story takes  readers into a question and answer dialog that many of us wish we had had the wisdom of having when, as a little child, we first learned of these two stories.   

One of the goals is to get readers to see the teachings of Jesus in a way they've rarely been seen before.   The process takes readers through numerous steps that, without knowing the destination, may sound like nothing more than the centuries-old game of Christian bashing.   So that you won't simply leave  before you see where we are going, we've added an excerpt from the middle of the story, here at the beginning.   

 Below are a brief few paragraphs from the middle of this section, showing that the Christian Bible gives us a very loving and very wholesome and very different vision of who and what we, as humans, really are than the one presently being marketed to the public by leaders of fundamental Christianity.

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 We are in the process of producing these eight chapters in the form of a booklet and also  as an audio CD.   If you are willing to  participate in this endeavor, or if you are willing to help us in any way, (including your financial support) we and the world will be eternally grateful.

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Chapter Content

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Because Life 
Is Not  What We've 
Been  Led to Believe It Is 
by Those Who Claim to Know,

You, I, and everybody else have  been (and still are) 
making critical,  irreversible, life-altering  decisions based 
upon false,  incomplete, and/or intentionally-deceptive information!   

In case you hadn't noticed, there's a lot of dysfunctional and destructive activity  on the planet today.   The root cause of this destructive behavior stems from the false beliefs being peddled by those promoting extremist, religious views.    The net result is the step-by-step,  literally destruction our one-and-only, Earthly environment.   

Think about the above statements for a moment.   Think about the profound implications of these statement.   How does it make you feel?   

T.L.C.    Big D, tell me again, why you're giving me this information.   

Big D    Because humanity is at a critical juncture in its evolution.   Human-caused Global Climate Change is making major, irreversible, life-altering, and death-dealing changes in the Earth's environment.   

T.L.C.    So, what does religion have to do with environmental destruction?

Big D    Everything!

T.L.C.    Why do you say that?   

Big D    Because religious illusions are at the core of the vast majority of human problems.   Religious illusions produce seriously-dysfunctional behavior, and dysfunctional  behavior is destroying the earth's capacity to support the lives of many plant and animal species, including humans.  

T.L.C.    Please give me an example.

Big D    Humans squander about fifty-percent of all the goods and services produced on the entire planet producing or using  tools for destruction.   With those weapons, they destroy a significant portion of the remaining fifty percent.   And the vast majority of the destruction is based on unprovable religious beliefs.

T.L.C.    Thank you.    

Big D    That's just the most obvious example.

T.L.C.    So you are telling me my life is on the line, here.   

Big D    Not so much your life.   Global Climate Change probably won't kill you, personally, but for your children and grandchildren, it's a whole different story.***ps-49-1 

T.L.C.    I'm still not sure how religious illusions are actually causing this problem.    I need more information.

Big D    Religious beliefs are at the core of human behavior.   They are the foundation of most people's lives.***ps-49-2   For example,  Buddhists teach non-violence, radical Islam considers murdering non-believers to be an act dictated by God, and most Christians consider "an eye for an eye" to be acceptable behavior.    

            There are a great many things humans believe that are simply not backed up by any evidence.   

T.L.C.    Like what?   

Big D    I'm about to share with you two examples of life-altering, life-controlling,  life-deadening illusions --  illusions  that defy the countermanding evidence --  illusions  that have no physical evidence to back them up --   that are in direct denial of Biblical scripture --  that defy common sense -- that are blatantly dysfunctional --  and yet, both are being peddled and accepted as if it were a provable facts.   And both have a profound impact upon those who believe them.

T.L.C.    What illusions?   

Big D    One deals with original sin and the other with the story about the murder of Jesus.   

T.L.C.    Wow!  You really don't pull your punches.   You're talking about finding holes in the foundation stones of the most common and most heavily-promoted beliefs in Christian theology.

Big D    Yes, the original sin story and the crucifixion story are at the core of present day Christian theology.   Unfortunately, as they are presently being presented to the public, they both represent a very dark interpretations of the Bible.   The Bible actually gives us a far more loving, more enlightening and more enlivening way to approach God.   

            Jesus was one of the greatest teachers who ever walked the Earth, and his message is being grossly distorted.   I'm about to show you a much healthier and much more functional perspective of reality than that which presently dominates Christianity.   

T.L.C.    Come on, you're the Devil!  

 Big D    The supporting evidence comes directly from Biblical scripture.   

T.L.C.    And not from you?   

 Big D    Not from me!   From the Bible,  from the Christian Bible.

T.L.C.    From the Bible. . .    Hmmm. . .    That sounds interesting and I'd like to hear about it, but religious leaders have been peddling illusions for centuries.    What's new?   

Big D    When the human population was small and before technology allowed people to be grossly destructive, the Earth could sustain and recover from human activities.   That's no longer the case.   Collectively, humans are rapidly destroying the Earth's capacity to sustain the existence of  most of the life-forms presently living on Earth.   Thousands of species have become extinct in just the past one-hundred years.   And the evidence indicates that the rate of environmental destruction and the rate of species extinctions are both speeding up.***ps-49-3

T.L.C.    This is pretty heavy stuff.   Why don't we just forget about derailing the fundamentalist's end of Christianity, forget about  Global Climate Change and talk about sex, or sports, or cars, or how to cook bananas . . .    or something that's fun?

Big D    If you were riding the Titanic and you knew what was about to happen,  which one of your topics would you want to talk about?   

T.L.C.    None of them, but I'm not on the Titanic.   

Big D    Stoney, you're lying to yourself, and you know it.   You, and every other Earth-bound human being are presently riding on the cosmic version of the Titanic.   Symbolically speaking, you are traveling at "full speed ahead,"  in the dark, in iceberg-filled waters, with the captain and all  the officers asleep in their cozy little cabins of illusion.   And do you know what almost  all of you  have been inspired to do while those in charge sleep?   

T.L.C.    No, what?  

Big D    Again, symbolically speaking,   "To sleep with the Captain or spend their time and energy fighting over the deck chairs."   

T.L.C.    Why do people fight instead of cooperate?   

Big D    Simply because most humans live their lives as mindless sheep, following  someone else's instructions.   Most have been trained to fight and they were trained to fight  by people who  believed that fighting was more productive than cooperating.   

T.L.C.    Where did the teachers get the idea that fighting was better than cooperation?

Big D    From their parents, who got it from their parents, who got it from their parents, who got if from their parents, who got if from their parents . . .

T.L.C.    Whoa!  Whoa!  I've got it.   Your talking about multi-generation mindlessness has become a deadly global-level habit.   

Big D    Yes, in some cases the same  mindlessness has been carried in human consciousness this way  for more than a thousand  years.   Fortunately, it can be broken by anybody who chooses to break the habit.   That's a major piece of what I'm offering you.

T.L.C.    So I could just wake up and things would be different?   

Big D    Yes and no.   Waking up is the first step.   The second step is to put your new awareness into action and actively work to alter both the ship's present course and your life.  

T.L.C.    Tell me again why I should bother.    

Big D    Because, whether you choose to admit it or not, humans presently  live within  political, religious, social, environmental, and economic structures that are seriously dysfunctional.   The vast majority of collective human behaviors are not sustainable.   Behaviors such as unbridled population growth, wanton environmental destruction, indiscriminate pollution, et cetera,  are leading all of humanity down the pathway to a massive and rather sudden population reduction.***ps-49-1^   

T.L.C.    Whew!  That really is heavy.      

Big D    Unfortunately, yes, it is.  Global Climate Change is about to bring changes to planet Earth that are so profound and so drastic in how they alter the environment that human survival is at stake.   To date, the consequences of environmental destruction have only barely begun to show up.   Each environmental change is compounding every other change and the collective consequences are about to show up big time.   

T.L.C.    Can you give me an example?

Big D    Easily:   If the polar ice caps and the mountain glaciers keep melting at the present rate, the ocean level will soon rise by about forty feet.   New Orleans will disappear under the ocean as will much of Florida, London, Venice, and New York City.    

T.L.C.    It's that serious?   

Big D    Absolutely!

T.L.C.    And Bush and Company are doing everything they can to make the problem worse.    

Big D    That's the direction in which the evidence points, but you can't prove that "Resident" Bush is  intentionally destroying the environment.  

T.L.C.    Well, he claims to be a "born-again" Christian and a huge percentage of born-again Christians believe in "The Rapture."  

Big D    Oh yes, that fairytale.

T.L.C.    The Rapture says that wars, chaos, and environment destruction are all good things because they mean that Jesus is coming very soon --  that the world is about to end -- and that all born again Christians  [and only born-again Christians]  will very soon be lifted off the Earth and escorted straight into heaven.***ps-49-4     

Big D    Then perhaps someone should directly and publicly ask "Resident" Bush ,  "Do you believe in the rapture?"  

T.L.C.    Why ask him that?   

Big D    Because if he is supporting The Rapture, he should be immediately thrown our of the White House.   

T.L.C.    Why?   

Big D    Because, if he does believe in the rapture, he would be serving the beliefs of Fundamentalist Christians and not the rest of the nation.   He would be promoting the end of the Earth and not serving the public interest.    

            Remember the Master's words,  "By their fruits, you shall know them."   Just look at what he's doing.    If "Resident" Bush is not intentionally promoting the rapture and intentionally destroying the environment, and intentionally promoting global level destruction, he's giving a good imitation of someone who is.   

T.L.C.    What do you mean when you say  he's promoting Global-level destruction?   

Big D    Who fired up radical Islam, Al Queda, and the Taliban?   Their potential for creating mass destruction is enormous.  Global Terrorism is another area where Born-again Bush appears to be supporting the end of the world.   He invaded Iraq under false pretenses.   He started a huge religious war with Muslim extremists.    

            The resultant Global Terrorism has certainly produced worldwide chaos, has cost multi-billions of dollars,  and has the potential to kill millions of humans.  And the most destructive aspect of Global Terrorism is that it's diverting attention from the world's most critical problem, Global Climate Change.   Humans need to solve both of these problems immediately, or face the consequences which are devastating, deadly, and irreversible.***ps-49-1^ 

T.L.C.    Then we should ask that same, Rapture question of everybody who works for the government.   

Big D    Yes. It's critical to know if those who claims to be protecting us from terrorists are actually doing their job.   What if some people in high positions of power in the U.S. government are secretly supporting  "The Rapture" and the end of the world?   

T.L.C.    Is that possible?   

Big D    It's not only possible, it's almost a certainty.   Given the number of people who believe The Rapture story to be true, and the number of self-declared born-again Christians that "Resident" Bush has put into critical government jobs, it's very reasonable to assumption that some government employees are believers in The Rapture and are secretly playing a significant role in causing intentional destruction or are, on the sly, interfering with the "war on terrorism, or are underhandedly promoting more violence in Iraq."***ps-49-5

Truth Versus Fiction:  

T.L.C.    How do the fundamentalist Christians fit into this picture?   

Big D    One might think that if anyone knew the Christian Bible, it would the leaders of fundamental Christianity.    These people claim that the Bible is the literal truth and the literal word of God.   One would expect them the be the champions of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  

T.L.C.    Are you saying they aren't?   

Big D    Stony, how many times do I have to tell you,  it's the evidence that tells you things, not me.   I'm simply the one who brings the previously-ignored evidence to your attention.  What does the evidence tell you?   That's what to look for and that's where to look.   

T.L.C.    Ok, ok, I've got it.   

Big D    Are you sure?    

T.L.C.    Yes!    

Big D    Don't bet on it.   

T.L.C.    Why not?

Big D    Because in only a matter of minutes, you'll be back under the control of your old beliefs, your old programming, and conditioning.   

T.L.C.    Well, I'd never bet against The Master of Deception, anyway, so tell me about the leaders of fundamental Christianity.

Big D    Instead of being purveyors of the whole truth, we find these leaders selling selective literalism.   

            We find them completely ignoring many significant Biblical passages such as:   John 14:12  -- Luke 17:21 -- John 10:34, 35, -- Ecclesiastes -- 3:19  Matthew 6:5-6 -- Ecclesiastes 11:5 -- 1 Corinthians 2:14 -- Ecclesiastes 3:11 -- Genesis 2:7.     

            We find them ignoring the knowledge about the nature of man and the nature of the universe that has become available since the Bible was first written.    

            We find them telling half truths as if half the truth were the whole truth and thus deceiving people with lies of omission.***ps-49-6

            We find them being masters of hypocrisy.***ps-49-7

            We find strong evidence pointing to the conclusion that the stories  the  fundamental Christian leader's are telling to the public about God, about the nature of man and the nature of the universe do not represent reality.   

            The information I'm about to share with you, will give you and your readers a very different picture of reality than the one you've heard from the fundamentalist Christian leaders.   And once again, I remind you that the evidence is right out of the Christian Bible.

T.L.C.    Big D, if I publish the transcript of our conversation, I'll be accused of attacking Christianity.    How do I deal with that?  

Big D    Tell your readers that pointing out the ancient follies in Christian theology is designed to modernize Christianity and rescue it from the fate of the Zoroastrian religion.    

T.L.C.    What's the Zoroastrian religion.   I never heard of it.

T.L.C.    With your question, you just underscored my point.   

T.L.C.    Yes, I guess I did.

T.L.C.    Remind your readers that there is a vast difference between the teachings of Jesus and the fundamental Christian hierarchies (the social structures) that attempt to tell you what His ministry means.   

T.L.C.    Most people are either not concerned about Global Climate Change or,  if they are concerned, they feel powerless of do anything about it.    What do I say to them?

Big D    Tell your readers that,  because of collective human behavior, their lives are about to change and change very significantly.   Tell them that they can participate in directing these changes or they can do nothing and be at the effect of the changes.   

T.L.C.    They already know that, the question is how to participate.   

Big D    Tell your readers, first and foremost, to become aware of who and what they are.   Tell them that the information which I'm about to share with you and with them  [chapters 50-56]  can be of tremendous value to them because the information it includes a much clearer, much broader and a more inclusive perspective of who and what human beings are and how they relate to God, nature, and each other.   And if you are talking to church-going Christians, be sure to tell them that everything I offer has its base in the Christian Bible.

And tell them it offers a new vision of something very old -- something that has not changed significantly in over a thousand years -- something that is generating problems, because of the dysfunctional behavior it precipitates.   

Once they have a clearer picture of reality, then their next step will become obvious.     

T.L.C.    And if it doesn't become obvious.? 

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Go to  http://www.New-Corporate-World.info#39 ²

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One thing that obviously, anybody can do is to support our work° and/or participate with us°  in bringing Christianity into the twenty-first century.  

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The Story Continues in Chapter Fifty`    

Interview with The Devil  --  Table of Contents`