An Alternate view of Christianity directly form the Bible

Chapter Fifty Three

___________________________

Another look into
the Christian Bible

An Interview
with

. .

The
Golden Rule:

He who
owns the
Gold rules!

" The Devil "

by R.Robin Cote'

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

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. His mission is to expose "The Dark Side" for what it is. He/She shines the God-Light of Love, Inclusion, and Oneness into the pit of illusion, separation, darkness, anger, and fear. F.A.Questions°

The Book's goal is to expose the truth about a multitude of commonly-accepted beliefs that simply don't make sense. The dialogue asks and offers alternative answers to irreverent questions about all kinds of things, particularly things relating to religious beliefs. One of the goals is to get readers to see the teachings of Jesus in a way they've rarely been seen before.

In order to set the context,
here's a brief summary of the prior four chapters

Chapter 49° --- Setting The Stage for Earth-Shaking Changes°

Jesus was one of the greatest teachers who ever walked the Earth, and his message is being grossly distorted. This chapter and the following seven chapters offer you a much healthier and much more functional perspective of reality than the one that which presently dominates Christianity.

Chapter 50° --- The Ultimate Sacrifice°

Sets the stage for some eye-opening insights about original sin and about the crucifixion of Jesus.

Chapter 51° --- Original Sin°

And the Source of Christian Anti-Sexual Attitudes.

An in-depth looks at the origin of the belief in original sin [Why God intentionally created you inherently evil] and how that belief affects present day Christian theology and Christian anti-sex attitudes.

Chapter 52° --- The Context of the Crucifixion Story°

What this story is based upon and what it doesn't mean.

When one examines the Biblical story about the crucifixion of Jesus in the contest of what Christian theology claims to be its purpose -- reversing God's prior act of intentionally making all humans inherently evil (original sin) and causing them to die, the story becomes an unbelievable tale of a God who, if the story is accurate, must be a violence-prone idiot.

Chapter 53 Content

This chapter includes numerous Biblical passages that, collectively, give readers a very different picture of reality than the one we've heard from the fundamentalist Christian leaders.

Chapter 53

Possibilities

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

Big D Because the vast majority of human problems stem from people living as though dozens of illusions were factual truths -- because false, religious beliefs are at the core of these illusions -- and because false, religious beliefs produce the bulk of human problems.

As you probably already know, humanity is at a critical juncture in its evolution. If you don't solve the Global Climate Change Problem very soon and if you don't put an end to Global Terrorism, then humanity will almost certainly follow the dinosaurs and become extinct.***ps-52-12a

T.L.C. That's a pretty heavy assessment.

Big D I know, and because that assessment is negative, people refuse to hear it.

T.L.C. But to see the truth, all they have to do is look at the evidence.

Big D Yes, I know the evidence is now overwhelming, but that's another story for another time. For the moment, let's get back to the topic at hand. Now that we have examined the carved-in-stone theology based upon the inherently evil story and the crucifixion story (chapters 51-52) let's look for some other possibilities.

T.L.C. OK.

Big D Here are some of the possibilities:

** Fundamental Christianity describes God as an angry, vindictive, fickle, needy, brooding, mass-murder-minded, super-human-being living above the clouds. Is it possible that the nature of God as described and believed by the ultra-conservative, fundamentalist Christian leaders is not an accurate description of "The Unknown and Unknowable Source of All Creation?"***ps-53-1

** Is it possible that humans are inherently good and not inherently Evil?

** Is it possible that Jesus was simply demonstrating that the death of the physical body is no big deal?***ps-53-2

** Is it possible that the events, as they actually occurred, are significantly different from the accounts of those events that are written in the Christian Bible?

** Is it possible that the meanings given to these two stories by Christian theology [original sin & the crucifixion] may be more than slightly off the mark?

** Is it possible that the people who put these stories into the Bible and then declared what they mean were less than objective reporters and that they had a vested interest in franchising [selling] their religion?

Dumping the Middlemen:

** When Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," [John 14:6]. Is it possible that he was NOT referring to himself as a personality, but rather, He was saying: What I teach you is the way, the truth, and the light. What I teach you is your pathway to God/heaven.***ps-53-3

T.L.C. Your interpretation of John 14:6 does seem to be more realistic than the interpretation that the Christian leaders are teaching.

Big D Stoney, obviously you're thinking for yourself. Good job. I guess I'm getting through to you after all. Tell me how you came to that conclusion.

T.L.C. With a bit of deductive reasoning.

Big D You mean like Sherlock Holmes?

T.L.C. Yes.

Big D Then may I hear your deductive reasoning?

T.L.C. All of the other major teachers who have come to earth have taught people with the intention of the people becoming free. It would seem reasonable to assume that Jesus would have done likewise. According to the Fundamentalist Christian interpretation of John 14:6, Jesus is teaching dependency. The interpretation you just gave, teaches freedom.

Are there other Biblical passages that relate to John 14:6

Big D Jesus also said: "I and my Father are one." (John 10:30) Thus one could read John 14:6 as "God is the way, the truth, and the life" And because Luke 17:21 tells us: “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you," one could also read John 14:6 as "The God within you is the way, the truth, and the life."

T.L.C. So the Christian Bible actually supports Spirituality and not religion.***ps-53-4

Big D Yes. The Bible teaches people how to go directly to their internal God-Self and thereby eliminate the church leaders as middlemen.***ps-53-4a You might also note that Matthew 6:5-6 tells people to go into their closets and pray privately and God will answer their prayers publicly. Thus, the Bible, itself, tells people that, although churches may be excellent for creating mutual support communities,***ps-53-5 they are unnecessary when it comes to connecting to God.***ps-53-6

T.L.C. So this is why the spiritual movement is growing so fast.

Big D There is probably no measurable, cause-and-effect relationship, but the Christian Bible certainly supports the spiritual movement.

T.L.C. It supports a personal relationship between humans and that source called God -- a relationship in which the church plays a secondary role -- a role that is neither the primary nor essential.

Big D If you think this is eye-opening, wait until you read some of the other biblical passages.

T.L.C. You mean like John 8:32 -- "Know the truth and the truth will set you free."

Big D Yes, but that's a well known passage. There are several others that are not so well known because they are intentionally ignored by the fundamentalist Christian leaders.

T.L.C. Is there any Biblical support for the inherently evil story?
[original sin]

Big D No, as I already told you, it's a belief of Saint Augustine which became Christian theology.***ps-53-7

T.L.C. So the inherently-evil story is just an interpretation of scripture. I take it that there are no statements in the Bible which say human inherently evil.

Big D Correct. There are warnings for people to be careful because they have the potential to do bad things, but there is no direct Biblical support of humans having been intentionally created evil. I invite you to read the passages related to the Eve and Adam an the forbidden tree story. See if you can find any passages that say you are inherently evil.

T.L.C. I've already read it, and I didn't find anything there about my being evil. Isn't there a Biblical passage that warns of dire punishment for deceiving people?

Big D Yes, Mark 9:42 “. . . And whoever shall cause one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it is better for him that an ass’s millstone were hanged on his neck, and that he were thrown into the sea.”

T.L.C. Then, for real Bible-believing Christians, it's time to stop destroying our children's self image by telling them they are inherently evil. Please explain how that creates problems.

Big D It destroys a child's self-image. It destroys his/her self-confidence. It reduces his/her capacity to function effectively in the world. It creates adults who are afraid of God and who are mindless regarding their religion. It creates adults who are heavily dependent upon and tied to a religious structure that still insists upon teaching archaic, dysfunctional, unprovable beliefs about what God is and isn't.

It denies the God-self within. It denies the truth that comes from the God self within. It destroys a person's capacity to think for him/her self. It stops people from listening to others who have broken the ties of dependency and see life outside the confines of religiosity. It . . .

T.L.C. Ok that's enough. I've got your message.

Big D There's more.

T.L.C. Later.

Big D You don't want to know how this tool generates vast amounts of money for church leaders.

T.L.C. Later. Right now, I'd like to know about the list of other Biblical passages you said you'd share with me.

Passages Passages ...

Big D Ok. What if the fundamentalist Christians interpreted some of the other Biblical passages with the same zeal and intensity that they use to interpret their version of the crucifixion story?

T.L.C. What Scriptures?

Big D Scriptures such as:

John 14:12

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

Commonly Paraphrased as:
" Anything I can do, you can do and more."

Luke 17:21

“Behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

Matthew 17:20

“. . . If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can sat to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible to you."

Luke 8:48

"Your faith has made you whole."

Matthew 9:29

“According to your faith, so be it onto you."

John 1:1

"In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that was made." (Words are physical expressions of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations.)

John 10:34, 35

"Jesus said to them, is it not so written in your law you are gods? If he called them gods because the word of God was with them and the scripture cannot be broken."

Isaiah 41:23

"Shew [show] the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye [are] gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold [it] together."

Psalms 82:6

"I have said, Ye [are] gods; and all of you [are] children of the most High."

Matthew 25:40

"What you do onto the least of mine, you do onto me."

In this passage, where is God?

Mark 10:27

"...with God all things are possible."

Ecclesiastes 3:19

"For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as the one does, so does the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all [is] vanity."

Genesis 1:26-27 (Paraphrased)

And God said let us make man in our image, after our likeness and let them have dominion over all the Earth and over everything upon the Earth. God created man in his [own] image. . .

Several biblical passages, such as John 14:12, (" Anything I can do, you can do and more.") and The Universal Law of Thought indicate that it's far more likely that God created man with the capacity to be God-like in behavior and in ability and not (as our distant ancestors believed) to be God-like in physical form.

Matthew 18:20

"When two or more are gathered in my name, I am there also."

Matthew 6:5-6 (Paraphrased)

When you pray, go into your closet and pray privately, and God will reward you openly.

Matthew 7:15-16

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.”

John8:32

“Know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Genesis 11:6

"And the Lord said, 'Behold the people are one, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do: and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have determined to do."

Genesis 2:7

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Job 33:4

"The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life."

Job 33:4 John 3:13 ...

"And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that [has not first] descended out of heaven, [even] the Son of man, who is [now] in heaven.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

"As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of the woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”

Big D Stoney, what do Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4, Job 33:4 and Ecclesiastes 11:5 tell you about your relationship to your physical body?

T.L.C. That there is a difference between what a human being is and his/her physical body -- that I am NOT my physical body. (Reference: Physical Versus Spirit)²

Big D Now please read the Genesis 11:6 passage several times and then say it out loud in your own words. (i.e. We are all one people. By working together we can accomplish absolutely anything.) Then add the words of Jesus from John 14:12 " Anything I [God/Jesus] can do, you can do and more." and from Luke 17:21 “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

Next, add the messages in John 10:34, 35 and Isaiah 41:23 to the mix: "I, and all other human beings, are Gods in a physical form." And then throw in Genesis 1:26-27 "God created man in his own image." And top it off with Ecclesiastes 3:19 "Man and Nature are intimately interconnected." And there you are holding that delightful and powerful mix while enfolded in the arms of none other than God, himself. Matthew 18:20 "When two or more are gathered in my name, I am there also."

Sit quietly for a few minutes and think about your intimate relationship to God, to Sacred Mother Earth, and to your fellow travelers on space ship Earth. Look into a mirror and say. "I am a God in a physical form. I know this is true because the Bible tells me so." Say it again. Say it with feeling. Say it as if you meant it.

Stay with this idea for at least three minutes. Resist the temptation to discount what the Christian Bible tells you you are. When you are finished, ask yourself: Who am I? What Am I? If I cooperate with others, what can we accomplish? Now, please take the Biblical scriptures and re-state them in your own words.

T.L.C. Restating the Biblical scriptures in my own words, I say:

I am a God in a physical form.

I am a spirit being and not a physical body.

I can personally contact The Creator of All That Is at any time.

I can find both God and Jesus within myself.

I can do anything Jesus did and more.

God, nature, and I are intimately inter-connected.

I can recognize the liars and the thieves by what they produce.

The truth brings freedom. Secrecy and lies (including lies of omission) bring slavery.

All humans are all one people. We are all God's Children. We are all Gods is physical form. We are all one. Being separate from God is an illusion.

By working together, God, my fellow humans, and I can accomplish absolutely anything.

I know this is true because the Bible tells me so.

Big D Thank you, Stoney, I couldn't have said it better, myself. Now I have three important questions for you.

T.L.C. Then please ask.

Big D    Does any of what you've just paraphrased directly out of the Christian Bible sound, look, or make you feel as if you are:
      separate-from-God,
      separate-from-nature,
      or a groveling-in-the-mud, inherently-evil sinner who's destiny is to burn in hell forever unless you are obedient to an angry, intolerant, violent, vengeful, easily-displeased, super-human-being sitting on a throne somewhere above the clouds that surround planet Earth?

T.L.C. Definitely not.

Big D Did anything you just said indicate that you must belong to a church to find God?

T.L.C. No.

Big D Did anything you just said indicate that you are inherently evil?

T.L.C. No.

Big D As a reporter who writes human interest stories you talk rather intimately with hundreds of people from all walks of life. Is that true?

T.L.C. Yes.

Big D Then, you must know that the inherently evil story just doesn't match common human behavior.

T.L.C. You are correct. It doesn't.

Big D Of course, there are ignorant, mentally-dysfunctional and/or desperate people who do evil things, but what about the average person?

T.L.C. They are kind, loving, and generous.

Big D How many times have you heard about people risking their lives to save the life of a stranger? How many times have you heard people say something like, "I want to make the world a better place." "How can I help?" "I want to make a contribution to society."?

T.L.C. Too many times to even count.

Big D Then why do most fundamentalist Christians perceive themselves as church-dependent, groveling-in-the-mud, inherently-evil sinners who are separate from God, separate from nature and separate from each other?

T.L.C. Because they have been sold a bill of goods by those who have a vested interest in keeping them in the role of servants and cash cows.

Big D And the sheep, with mindless obedience, have accepted the non-Bible-supported illusions that the fundamentalist Christian leaders peddle as if it were the "Absolute, Gospel Truth."

T.L.C. So you're telling me that those who refuse to think for themselves are not living according to the Christian Bible, but are instead, being deceived and misled lead by false profits?

Big D Yes! By the wolves in sheep's clothing. And please remember, I'm not telling you this. The evidence is!

T.L.C. Anything else?

Big D Yes, Have you ever seen or heard and evidence anywhere that indicates that the Creator/God (The Source of the universe) wants, needs, or desires to be worshipped?

T.L.C. No.

Big D I rest my case. Amen!

T.L.C. As one of my former girlfriends used to say; Ahh. . . Men!

Big D There's more. Shall we move on?

T.L.C. You didn't rest for very long.

Big D Stoney, you weren't listening to what I said. Let me say it again, I rest my case.

T.L.C. So it was your case you were resting and not you, yourself.

Big D Correct and the resting isn't like taking a nap. Rest-my- case means I have concluded offering information on this topic of discussion.

T.L.C. Why are you making a big deal of this?

Big D Because my job is to wake you up so that you see the subtle things that many people miss, and so that you see the fine distinctions that completely change the meaning of the messages you are sending or receiving.

T.L.C. Then, thank you.

How To . . .

Big D Now that you know who and what you are and now that you know what you can do personally by yourself and what you can accomplish even more quickly and more powerfully if you work with other humans and with God, let's look at what the Bible tells us about how you can do as Jesus did.

Matthew 17:20

“... If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, "Remove hence to yonder place;" and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Matthew 9:29

"... According to your faith be it unto you."

John8:32

"Know the truth and the truth will set you free."

Proverbs 14:18

“... the wise man is crowned with knowledge.”

John 7:7

"Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it will be opened to you"

John1:1

“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God."

Big D These biblical passages are in alignment with The Universal Law of Thought***ps-53-10, which, in essence, says that, within the contest of life on Earth and within the context of our personal environment, we each create our own experiences by our thought, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations. We are and we experience our dominant thoughts.

T.L.C. So that puts me in charge of my own life.

Big D Yes, within the confines of your earth-plane existence, it does, and it also repudiates the belief called victim consciousness. The fundamentalist Christian leaders not only teach people that they are inherently evil, they say people are helpless to do anything about it.

T.L.C. But the Bible says that if I have faith, I can do anything Jesus did. That's hardly a blueprint for victim consciousness.

Big D It's quite the opposite.

T.L.C. It also says in John 1:1 that " the Word is God." What does that mean?

Big D I just told you. Everybody creates their own personal experiences by their thought, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations.

T.L.C. You didn't mention words.

Big D Words are thoughts expressed.

T.L.C. OK.

Big D Let me say this another way. Within the world of God, thoughts are the building blocks of physical reality. The Earth is a huge copy machine which brings you your dominant thoughts in physical form. All you have to do is realize and believe that "you can do as Jesus did and more" and you can. Of course, the reverse is also true. If you believe you can't, you can't.

T.L.C. So you are saying I really live in the world of God?

Big D No, I'm not saying that; the Christian Bible is. Do you recall the Biblical passage paraphrasing that you just did: (Passages)

I am a God in a physical form."

I can find both God and Jesus are within myself.

I can do anything Jesus did and more.

God, nature and myself are intimately connected

All humans are all one people. We are all God's Children.

By working together, God, my fellow humans and I can accomplish absolutely anything.

I know this is true because the Bible tells me so.

I suggest we take some time to talk in detail about the The Universal Law of Thought.***ps-53-10 Then you can experiment with the law as a result of your personal experience, you'll know without having to ask.

Words of Warning

T.L.C. It sounds like the fundamentalist Christian leaders are violating Biblical scripture. They are ignoring significant passages, and they are pretending that the Bible supports things that it doesn't. You just told me about a Biblical passage that warn of dire consequences for such action.

Big D I did, and there are more Let's look at what the Bible says on this topic?

Mark 9:42

“And whoever shall cause one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it is better for him that an ass’s millstone were hanged on his neck and that he were thrown into the sea.”

Romans 14:12-13 Romans 14 :12-13 ...

"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in [his] brother's way."

Revelation 22:18-19

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

Mal 2:16

". . . take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously."

Job 27:4 .

“My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit."

Mark 10:19

"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother."

Big D Mark 9:42 warns readers of the dire consequences of intentionally deceiving those who believe in God. Perhaps someone should inform the right-wing, Christian extremists that lies of omission***ps-53-11 are still lies. Just as "A rose by another name smell just as sweet," a lie by another name is still a ticket to grief and misery.

T.L.C. What's the difference between a lie of commission and a lie of omission?

Big D I've already told you.

T.L.C. Well, then tell me again.

Big D A lie of ”Commission” is intentionally deceiving someone by telling something that is not true. A lie of “Omission” is intentionally deceiving someone by withholding vital information.

T.L.C. Sounds to me like some church leaders are in deep trouble.

Big D It would seem that way. Revelation 22:18-19 warns readers of the dire consequences of preaching messages that are not in the Bible and the dire consequences of pretending that certain Biblical passages do not exist. Both "The Rapture"***ps-53-12 story and the fairytale about God's Conception-magic Act***ps-53-13 fit this description of "preaching messages that are not in the Bible." The "Deception Peddlers" would be wise to take heed of this warning.

Mal 2:16 warns readers against treachery. Is it possible that deception by lies of omission***ps-53-11^ could be considered treachery? Perhaps it's time for the radically-conservative, Christian leaders to read Mark 9:42 in their own Christian Bible which they, themselves declare to be the word of God.

According to Job 27:4, deceiving someone by telling a lie is a violation of scripture. If that's true, then how can deceiving someone by withholding the truth be a good thing? Are not lies of commission and lies of omission sins of equal magnitude?

Mark 10:19 (". . .Do not bear false witness. . .") clearly condemns lying and committing fraud. It does not distinguish between lies of commission and lies of omission.

T.L.C. Mark 10:19 also says, "Do not kill" I wonder if ignoring someone and allowing them to die needlessly could be considered killing.

Big D Yes and no. It all depends upon the circumstances and the beliefs of the one making the judgment call.

T.L.C. By bringing these passages out into the light, you inspire me to wonder what's really going on. The fundamentalist Christian leaders are blatantly violating Biblical scripture. Don't they read their own Bible? Romans 14:12 clearly tell then that they shall give account of themselves to God.

If they believe the Bible is the real, true word of God, then they must be crazy! If they don't believe the Bible is the real, true word of God, then they must be the world's most destructive hypocrites.

Could they be the wolves in sheep's clothing? What's going on?

Big D Perhaps you should offer them a transcript of our conversation and ask them directly.

Words of Advice

Big D The Christian Bible also gives some additional advice that you may find interesting.

Matthew 6:5-6

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues [houses of worship] and in the corners of the streets, [and on television] that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

Proverbs 23:9

"Speak not into the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words."

Matthew 7:15-16

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.”***ps-53-14

Matthew 7:5 and Luke 6:42

"Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

Luke 6:37

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

Sex and Sin

T.L.C. What does the Bible tell us about sex?

Big D The fundamentalists make a big deal about sex being sinful and sex is for procreation only. Here are some Biblical passages they seem to have missed.

Judges 19:6

"And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry."

And so he did, that night and the next night and the next night. Readers are invited to read Judges 19-1-9

Ecclesiastes 8:15

"Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry. . ."

Does the prior passage (Judges 19:6) give us any indication of what was meant by "let thine heart be merry."? Do you suppose that merry, marry, Mary, and sex are in any way related?

Romans 14:14 Romans14:14 ...

“I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that [there is] nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him [it is] unclean.”

Romans 14:20

“. . All things indeed [are] pure; but [it is] evil for that man who eateth with offence.”

Big D Perhaps you should read The Song of Solomon. Here are the first eight verses from chapter seven. I’ve taken the liberty to use the word yoni where an ancient translator used the word navel. One has to be extremely naive to think the original author was referring to his beloved’s navel and somehow just happened to completely forget about her genitals.

¤ "How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman."

¤ "Thy yoni [is like] a round goblet, [which] wanteth not liquor."

¤ "Thy belly [is like] an heap of wheat set about with lilies."

¤ "Thy two breasts [are] like two young roes [that are] twins."

¤ "Thy neck [is] as a tower of ivory; thine eyes [like] the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose [is] as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus."

¤ "Thine head upon thee [is] like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king [is] held in the galleries."

¤ "How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!"

¤ "This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters [of grapes]."

¤ "I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;"

Big D Stoney, are you aware that there's bigamy reported in the Bible, and God has simply ignored it.

T.L.C. No. Where?

Big D Go to Genesis 4:19 "And Lamech took two wives; the name of one [was] Ada and the name of the other Zillah." Lamech was obviously having sex with both women because the Bible says that they both bore children.

T.L.C. So God condones having two wives.

Big D We can't say that for sure.

T.L.C. But we can, as you say, read between the lines. What are the implications here?

Big D Ok, Stoney, what implications do you see?

T.L.C. The Bible is "the" rule book created by a very authoritarian God who set up all kinds of very strict rules for human behavior. Then he lets the idea that it's okay to have two wives simply sit uncontested in his one-and-only, official rule book. Read b'tween them lines, will ya.

Big D Ok, read.

T.L.C. Adam got the death penalty for something as benign as eating a piece of fruit, so if a blatant and openly-stated, one-man-two-woman, "Manage A' Trois" is written in the official rule book and allowed to sit there completely uncontested by none other than God, Himself, one can reasonably assume that having two wives is not on His "no-no, you-shouldn't-a-done-it" list.

Misc- Scriptures

Big D That's a good example of bringing your mind into your religion. Perhaps we should have you look at Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 11:5 and read between those lines. But that's for another time. Here are a few more passages that you may find to be of interest.

Genesis 2:7 Genesis 2:7 ...

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Ecclesiastes 11:5 Ecclesiastes 11:5, RSV ...

"As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of the woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”***ps-53-15

1 Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

Romans 14:5 Romans 14:5 ...

" . . . Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

Does this sound like God is telling us to use logic, reasoning, factual evidence, and convincing arguments, or is God telling us to use threats, intimidation, arson, violence, murder and government laws and force our ways onto others.

Luke 23:34

"Then said Jesus, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do'."

Matthew 22:39

"Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. "

Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:121

"Do onto others as you would have them do onto you."

John 8:7

Let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone.

This passage is worth repeating. It's one of the most poignant messages in the entire Christian Bible. Stop for a moment and think about this message and what it actually means. Open the Bible and read this entire parable about condemning another person.

Then ask yourself: "How many mental-stones have I thrown today -- at myself and at others? Do I really love my neighbor as myself? Am I a real Christian or am I just pretending to be one in order to appease my conscience and/or to impress my neighbors?

"Know the truth and the truth will set you free." Hypocrisy doesn't cut the mustard any more. Just knowing the truth is only takes you half way to freedom. You must also live the truth -- all of the truth -- every day -- all day long -- even when that truth exposes the false stories we have been accepting without question.

Big D It's time to really rest my case.***ps-53-16

Invisible Prisons

T.L.C. One more question before you do. Tell me about invisible prisons.

Big D An invisible prison is the name of a technique for controlling someone's behavior by controlling their beliefs. Installing the inherently-evil belief into the minds of defenseless little children is an example of building an invisible prison. When a church, the communist party, a traumatic incident, a parent or any other individual, or just life itself, plugs beliefs into a pre-age-of-reason child's mind, that child grows up and carries those beliefs for the rest of his/her life.

T.L.C. But installing beliefs into a child is essential for his/her survival.

Big D Of course. The problem comes form installing false beliefs and fairytales into the minds of pre-age-of-reason children as if those illusions represented reality. Very often those beliefs remain, unexamined, in the person's internal-behavioral-control-system for the rest of his or her life. Unexamined beliefs are the human equivalent of horse blinders. They limit one's vision and limit one's behavior.

T.L.C. A person can make a conscious effort to examine his or her beliefs and remove the those that are dysfunctional.

Big D That's true, but how many people are even aware of their own internal programming, and of those who are aware, how many work at removing dysfunctional beliefs and of those who work at removing them, how many are successful.

T.L.C. Very few.

Big D It's far simpler to teach children the truth.

T.L.C. But if you don't know the truth, you automatically teach your children the same false stories you learned as a child. Why is a Catholic Catholic? Why is a Jew Jewish? Why is a Muslim a Muslim? Because that's what their parents were. That's what their parents plugged into their minds when they were little children.

And then we have these people, as adults, murdering each other over who's religion is the one and only true religion. If you look at that process for even one single minute, the logical conclusion is that such behavior is simply foolishness gone insane.

Big D That's true. Most of our internal programming simply comes as a part of life, but unfortunately, false beliefs are all too often intentionally plugged into people and used as control tools.

False beliefs are a manipulator's ultimate control tools. Beliefs can be used as invisible anchors, as shackles without chains, as prisons without walls or bars. Unexamined beliefs become tethers with which a manipulator, or just life, itself, can drag a person around.

Does that answer your question?

T.L.C. Yes. I wonder what my own invisible, prisons bars are made of?

________________________

The Story Continues in Chapter Fifty-Four`

Interview with The Devil -- Table of Contents`

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, religious insanity is literally destroying our one-and-only, Earthly environment. Think about the above statements for a moment. Think about the profound implications of these two statement. How does it make you feel?

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.

Chapter References

***ps-52-12a http://www.ReligionAndReality.com°

***ps-53-1 Imagine the God of fundamental Christianity.
What Characteristics Does He Express?
http://www.religionandreality.com/31-imagine-god-1.html
#ExaminingObsoleteBeliefs°

***ps-53-2 http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/m075-universal-
spirituality.html#Similarities°

***ps-53-3 See the page titled: The Quintessential Jesus at: http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp75b-quintessential-jesus.html°
and the page titled: Religion versus Spirituality at: http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp72d-religion-
versus-spirituality.html°

***ps-53-4 Religion Versus Spirituality:
http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp72d-religion-
versus-spirituality.html°

***ps-53-4a Read what Martin Luther had to say on this topic at: http://www.yonidance.net/fr78-martin-luther.html°

***ps-53-5 Creating Mutual Support Communities:
http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp76a-tithing-
and-community.html°

***ps-53-6 Read about what Martin Luther's Perspective on this topic at: http://www.yonidance.net/fr78-martin-luther.html°

***ps-53-7 See: Chapter 51° --- Original Sin°

***ps-53-8 Is it possible that there aren't really any enemies, but only fellow-god-beings with different points of view living in human bodies that are only slightly different from our own?

***ps-53-9 This Bible passage exposes still another fundamental Christian lie of omission: http://www.choice101.com/19-lies.html° Here, the Bible, itself, exposes, as a fraud, the fairytale about man being separate from nature. The evidence indicates that humans have both an animal nature and a human nature -- that our human nature gives us an advantage over other biological life forms, but it in no way lessens our animal nature. Readers are directed to the quote from Chief Seattle: http://www.choice101.com/89-chief-seattle.html°

***ps-53-10      See the web pages which describes
The Universal Law of Thought.
A summary can be found at:   http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/m011-vibrating-universe.html°
and a more detailed analysis is available at:
http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/m030-universal-laws.html.°

***ps-53-11 The Biggest lie about lies: http://www.choice101.com/19-lies.html°

***ps-53-12 "The Rapture" -- A Christian belief that the world will end any day now, and when it does all born-again saved Christians will be ushered directly into heaven.
http://www.pro-truth.net/71-reincarnation-
and-Christianity.html°

***ps-53-13 Readers are directed to Chapter 6° --- Life Begins When ???°
And to "God's Conception magic act at: http://www.choice101.com/17-conception-magic.html°

***ps-53-14 Finding the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp80w-finding-wolves.html° Recognizing Evil
http://www.pro-truth.net/70a-recognizing-evil.html°

***ps-53-15 Here are three additional translations of Ecclesiastes 11:5

KJV: "... you know not the works of God who makes all."

NLV: "God's ways are as hard to discern as the pathways of the wind..."

NASB: "...you do not know the activity of God who makes all things."

***ps-53-16 For insights into the origins of present-day, Christian beliefs,
see the following pages:

The origin of Christianity:

http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp73a-foundations.html
#ChristianityBirthContext°

Could the Christian Bible Have Been Distorted?

http://www.pro-truth.net/73-bible-and-abortion.html°

The Ultimate Sacrifice:

http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp80-about-god.html
#AnthillAnalogy°

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An Interview with "The Devil"

Viewing Life and Religion from a Perspective You've Never Seen Before.

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22-Aug-06---1

***ps-53-6 Sn° ***ps-7-12

http://www.religionandreality.com/33-alternate-perspective.html

http://www.ReligionAndReality.com/52-gay-is.html

http://www.ReligionAndReality.com/51-born-again.html

http://www.ReligionAndReality.com/26-09-prisoners-of-yesterday.html

http://www.ReligionAndReality.com/index-06-overview.html