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Debunking
Christian
Circular Arguments and Assumptions
Conclusion
Thank you
for reading my book. Based on all
that I have presented here, I believe that I have made a conclusive
case for
the following.
1) The Bible is
not infallible and inerrant. It contains huge internal
discrepancies and
contradictions, scientific and historical errors, unfulfilled and
failed
prophecies, atrocities by God and his followers too barbaric and
monstrous to
be of an all-loving all-wise deity, and other errors that make it
obviously the
creation of fallible humans. Even if those who wrote the Bible did
encounter supernatural beings or forces, at best what they wrote only
represents their interpretation
of God.
2) Christianity’s
theology, doctrines, and dogmas evolved over time with the people and
society
who shaped and influenced it. They were not a direct divine
revelation
from God that has remained the same for all time.
Therefore,
based on the above two conclusions, I also
conclude the following:
3) The teaching
that we are all sinners and going to hell unless we believe that Jesus
died for
us is a fear control mechanism contrived by humans, not by God.
4) The Bible is not the ultimate
authority that
we must all submit to. It is not the sole representative of God’s
word, will and
message to mankind. It is not the only way to God or to true
wholesome
spirituality, and neither is Jesus.
For some
pamphlets that outline similar summaries, see
the following:
A Lawyer's
Open Letter to Dr. Billy Graham
http://www.victorzammit.com/articles/billygraham.htm
Dennis
McKinsey's pamphlets
My
Anti-Evangelism Tract
https://www.debunkingskeptics.com/Anti_Evangelism_Tract.htm
My Summary
Response to Two Christian Missionaries
https://www.debunkingskeptics.com/Response_Christian_Missionaries.htm
Darryl
Sloan, one of the most intelligent speakers on
YouTube, has many brilliant videos where he dissects Christianity with
masterful critical thinking, which struggling Christians will find
validating
and consoling. I highly recommend them. His channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/darrylsloan
I also strongly
recommend Sloan’s
book Reality Check. It is a thought-provoking masterpiece of
balanced
critical thinking and introspection on religion, secularism,
spirituality, and
the search for meaning, without any assumptions or preaching. In it, he
describes the painstaking struggle he endured as he swung back and
forth on a
pendulum between Christian faith and disbelief, and how he eventually
overcame
it through the power of reason to begin his truth-seeking journey. The
quality
of thought in it is on a level I’ve rarely encountered.
It’s the kind of book
that once you start, will be very hard to put down. You can get it in
paperback
or ebook format at http://www.darrylsloan.com.
The first 9 pages are available for preview. Check it out. It's sure to be a truth seeker's delight.
Now, I
realize that to some my arguments and
statements in this book may sound a bit one-sided. Therefore,
I want to
clarify that I am not arguing that everything in the Bible is
completely false
and worthless. I never advocate black and white thinking of any
kind. Unlike fundamentalist Christians, I do not see it as being
all
trustworthy or all false. On the contrary, I do not believe that
the
Bible can be described or summed up with just one statement or
idea. I do
not even see it as one book, since it is composed of 66 books by over
40
different authors from different times and places. Therefore,
there is
too much complexity for generalization. Each portion of it should
be
addressed separately to get into any detailed discussion about
it.
If I was
to take the Bible as a whole though, I would
say that I believe it contains many words of wisdom, preaches high
morality,
courageous tales and fables, and parables with a good lesson.
However, it
also contains savage laws, barbaric ways, immoral atrocities,
closed-minded
narrow viewpoints, extreme teachings, and other flaws. Such is to
be
expected from a book written by humans. The book basically
represents
human nature throughout history, demonstrating the best and the worst
of
it. And it can be appreciated that way. One does not have
to
believe in the doctrine of inerrancy to appreciate the Bible. In
fact, I
think that every good book or religion contributes to our understanding
of
human nature and reality. Therefore, we do not need to have any
dogmatic
or fundamentalist views about any book or belief system. I
believe that
all literary works and religions have value. They show the
process of
humanity’s quest to understand themselves, their purpose in life,
and their
search for meaning.
This does
not mean though, that just because a book
represents human nature, that there is nothing divine about it. On
the
contrary, I believe that one facet of human nature is our spiritual
nature,
which connects us to a cosmic consciousness or mystical reality that is
beyond
words, which can be personal or impersonal. And this aspect of our
spiritual human nature has manifested in the Bible through its
spiritual
teachings and wisdom as well, which is why the religious people who
follow it
have been known to have spiritual or divine experiences. I don’t
deny the
possibility that the Bible writers or the figures in its stories may
have
indeed had spiritual or mystical revelations. However, that would still
only
represent their interpretation
of their encounter with the divine. The mistakes, fallacies, and
savage
nature of much of it attests to that. Personally, I think that’s
the best and
most accurate way to view the Bible.
Throughout
time, things have been in a constant state
of flux and change. All of us, along with everything that exists,
are
evolving in some unknown direction for some unknown reason. In
that
sense, the Bible can be seen as a stepping stone in one’s path of
spiritual
evolution. For those new to religion/spirituality, the structure
that the
dogmas and creeds of organized religion provide may be what they
need.
They do so by organizing the nature of divine realities into simpler
terms for
them to understand. However, we do not need to limit ourselves to
the
teaching of any organized religion. Organized religion should be
a path
or stepping stone, not a limit or cap on spiritual growth or
discoveries.
It is not an end point, but a path to get us started on a
journey. That
is why no one organized religion suits everyone. Such is simply
not
possible.
However,
organized religion tends to be a double-edged
sword. On the one hand, it unifies groups of people who share the
same
beliefs. And as we all know, collective entities are more
powerful in
achieving their objectives than single entities. In other words,
in
certain conditions, people are stronger as a group than as
individuals.
It also gives some people the structure they need to be religious or
spiritual,
in terms they can understand. Since some are at a stage where
they need
that, I therefore do not condemn them for it, since I myself was at
that stage
before too. That is one reason why I said I do not expect this
book
to persuade the devout happy Christian believer to change his/her
beliefs (not
that it would anyway). However, it may help those in transition,
wanting
to evolve further but not sure how, or those wishing to leave their
dogmatic
faith but too fearful to do so, as well as researchers and
truth-seekers who
wish to know the arguments against Christian fundamentalist
teaching.
But on the
other hand, organized religion has some
downsides as well. It tends to oversimplify spirituality and
close
people’s minds into a set system of dogmas and doctrines.
Also, it tends
to make their follower’s spiritual lives more about conforming
with the beliefs
of the church or group, rather than on each person finding his/her own
spiritual path. And of course, in every organization there are
always
politics and egos that come into play.
We are all
each at different stages and types of
evolution levels, but in order to get along we must all respect each
other’s beliefs.
However, some religions such as Christian fundamentalism make that
difficult
due to their extreme teachings/doctrines, claim to exclusivity, and
intolerance
of other religions and belief systems. And that is the problem
that
non-Christians often have with devout believers. However, each
religion
has its pros and cons, and as mentioned before, Christianity can give
one a
strong sense of purpose, structure, and confidence, while closing that
person’s
mind substantially, instigating fanatical beliefs in them, and even
going so
far as making them deny themselves. Its extreme nature is one
reason why
Christianity tends to be so controversial, and why it tends to make
people
either love it or hate it. It can be one’s best friend or
worst enemy.
It has brought out the best in people (strong family values,
missionaries,
charities, humanitarian relief projects, changed lives, etc.) and the
worst as
well (inspired violent fanatical acts, inspired religious wars, closed
people’s
minds, etc.)
I happen
to believe that everything happens for a
reason. Therefore, Christianity has been a part of world history
for a
reason. Just what that reason is can be pondered about, and
everyone will
see it differently, but perhaps the real reasons cannot be answered
with mere
words. And neither can the question of why we’re here, or
the meaning of
existence. Most of us will never find the ultimate answers to
those
questions, although some claim they have. Perhaps there are no
ultimate
answers, at least not ones that can explain everything to
everyone’s
satisfaction. And I believe that’s because if there are
true complete
answers to life’s mysteries, they cannot be put into words.
Sometimes
though, they can be experienced, but not intellectualized for mental
understanding.
Just as the system of math or algebra cannot be comprehended by a dog,
in the
same way the true answers to life’s mysteries are beyond
intellectual
understanding. And we should understand and accept that.
However,
even the Bible says “Seek and ye shall find”, which has
some truth to it.
Those who fervently seek the truth do tend to find it in some form or
another,
in a way that’s meaningful to them, though not necessarily to
others.
That’s why the answers can be different for everyone.
To be fair
here, I do acknowledge that based on the
evidence from Christian testimonies, answered prayers, miracles, etc. I
would
conclude that yes there is something supernatural going on here in
regards to
their faith. However, just because there is some supernatural
force or
power behind it, doesn’t mean that all other beliefs and
religions are false,
don’t lead to God, and are of Satan and lead to hell, for there
are
supernatural things going on in other religions and spiritual practices
as
well. That is what Fundamentalist Christians don’t get.
Now, you
may be wondering where my spiritual path has
led me after my deconversion from Evangelical Christianity, and whether
I am
better off now as a result of it. Well I will share with you some
relevant parts from my testimonial story My Rise to
Christianity
and My Transcendence From It and let you decide.
https://www.debunkingskeptics.com/Christian_Story.htm
“After summer, I started community college. It was there that I learned a lot about the world that I didn't know before, its diversity, different cultures and beliefs, different viewpoints and opinions from great people throughout history from the past up to the modern era, etc. At this point I started seeing the world from a whole new perspective which helped me appreciate life even more. No longer did I see the world as a world of sin and darkness as I had been taught. No longer did I see the world as a giant dungeon where everyone was enslaved and chained up by sin, darkness, Satan and demons. Instead, I saw the world as a rich beautiful diverse place with its own problems and challenges to work through over time. I saw that each unique person in the world was on a path to evolve which included challenges and lessons to be learned. I realized that it was wrong to try to convert someone from that path, and that it was best to let people grow, learn and evolve on their own path and find their own destiny.
But what about finding the answers about
the truth of
God and religion? I wasn't sure where to begin. I knew that
each
religion claimed to have the truth and that they disagreed with each
other on
many things, so they couldn't all be right could they? But how
would I know
which religion was true and which wasn't? I thought there was no
way to
really find out until after you die. So I just became an agnostic
and
left it at that for a while. But eventually, I believed that if
there
were answers out there, then there must be some way to find them.
I
wasn't satisfied with being an agnostic and dropping the issue for
good, so I
decided to search again. It was then that I found some New Age
spirituality books that had caught my attention. I had remembered
that a
few years ago my Youth Pastor had warned of the dangers of the
teachings of the
New Age movement. I had no idea what it even was at that time,
but now I
was curious. Maybe it would show me something that the
traditional
organized religions didn't. Fortunately, it did. Many of
the
concepts made so much sense to me and showed me the big picture.
It was
like it borrowed all the truths from each religion and put it into a
giant
wheel that represented the total sum of cosmic divine truth. That
was it,
I thought! Each religion represented a different aspect of the
truth, and
when you put them all together you get a better view of the whole
picture! Bingo! This was the answer I was looking
for. Now I
understood what that secular adage meant that said that all religions
are
different interpretations of the same God. Before I thought that
was just
a cop out, now I understood how much sense it made. The reason
that the
great religions contradicted each other were due to the differences in
man's interpretations
of the divine, not the fault of the divine. In fact, the more I
learned
about each religion, the more parallels I could see between them.
The
same underlying themes seemed prevalent and all pointed in the same
direction. I also learned that since religion was man's
interpretation of
God, that God didn't really fit into any organized religion, but was
far beyond
the limitations that they imposed on him.
For the next few years, little by little I
gradually
developed the courage to read books with ideas from other religions and
New Age
beliefs as well. For a while, each time I picked up one of these
books,
the words "Satan" and "blasphemy" would come to mind, but I
as I learned more and became more confident in my new knowledge, those
fears
lessened and eventually diminished. One day, I found another
profound
answer to what I was looking for. I saw a quote in a book that
said
"The more and more you look at the universe, it appears less like a
great
machine and more like a great thought." That's it I
thought!
We don't have to look for God out there in some abstract place.
We are
all a part of God. We are all like atoms and molecules in the
large
organism we call God. Like each atom and molecule in our body, we
each
serve a higher purpose that we aren't aware of yet. This made
even more
sense to me as I realized that everything in the universe seemed to be
made up
of something revolving around something else. For example, in an
atom
there are protons and electrons orbiting a nucleus. Likewise, on
a
planetary scale, moons revolve around planets. On a larger scale,
planets
revolve around suns. From an even larger scale, suns and stars
revolve
around the center of each galaxy. So if we are all made up of
atoms which
contain things orbiting around each other, then maybe suns, stars, and
galaxies
are also like atoms which make up a larger whole we call God! I
envisioned that everything in the universe was like valuable parts of
the
inside of an intricate clock, each part was valuable, unique, and
served its
own purpose. We just don't always see or realize that purpose
unless we
reach higher states of being and consciousness. At the time, I
thought I
was the only one who came to the conclusion that God was the totality
of
everything. Soon though, I realized that I wasn't and that others
searching for truth had discovered the same thing, and that this view
of God in
fact had two terms for it. One was "Pantheism" and the other
was "Monism."
I also discovered that we could all find
God and
divinity in ourselves just by tapping into our higher selves and higher
states
of consciousness. It was like we were Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
who
discovered that she had the power to return home the whole time because
she had
already been wearing those red magical shoes the whole time.
Likewise, we
could find God and the divinity within ourselves by just simply going
within.
Finally, I discovered that many great
great mystics
and seekers of truth throughout history and in our modern era have come
to the
same conclusions that I came to as well. This said to me that
there must
be something to my discoveries after all! From their books and
books
written about them, I discovered very similar themes. These
themes reveal
that we are all souls from higher levels which have decided to come
down to
Earth to learn lessons and grow. We do this by either
continuously
reincarnating here or in other worlds or other planes of existence
until we
learn the lessons we need. As we learn, grow and evolve, we reach
higher
levels of consciousness, which allow us to enter higher heavenly
realms.
Some call these higher realms Heaven. Others call them Nirvana,
Astral
Planes, or Re-unification with God. There are different levels of
these
higher heavenly realms, and between 7 and 10 are named. In
addition, I
learned that millions of people who have had Near Death Experiences
(NDE's) and
Out of Body Experiences (OBE's) have had these same higher truths and
themes
revealed to them during their experiences. All this told me that
there
must be something to these themes if people from all over the world had
the
same things revealed to them
somehow……………
There was another benefit to all this as
well.
Because of all these discoveries along with my new views of God and
spirituality, I realized that my parents and relatives weren't going to
hell
after all! This lifted a huge burden off me and gave me peace of
mind. In a way, I had saved my parents and relatives from going
to hell
just by realizing that they weren't going in the first place! My
parents
had been right all along that I didn't have to convert them or any of
my
relatives. All I had to do was appreciate where they are, because
they
were already where God wanted them to be. I now had peace of mind
to move
on and discover my own potential. I was free now to explore the
limitless
possibilities of life, knowledge, mind, philosophy, spirituality,
etc. A
whole new adventure was just beginning.”
If you
want spirituality or God in your life
without religion
Now, if
you still hunger for a spiritual life, or
fellowship with God, without having to subscribe to fundamentalist
religions, I
suggest starting with these books:
· The
Power of Now and A
New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
· Way
of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
· Any book or audio by Wayne
Dyer
· The
Holographic Universe by
Michael Talbot
· Under the Tree
by Greg Stone.
The books
above are my favorite and have enriched and
enlightened my mind to true spirituality.
Basically,
you CAN have a spiritual life without
organized religion. You just have to
find it and recognize that, as Wayne Dyer likes to say, “You
are not a human being having a spiritual experience, but a
spiritual being having a human experience.”
And the other good news is that you CAN have God in your life
without
religion. You can have the same faith
that the Christians do, and still receive the divine help, power,
miracles,
etc. that they get from their faith, without subscribing to their
religious
tenets or doctrines. Many do, and are
able to access the same help from the same divine power as religious
people do,
for God works through many ways, not just religion.
But first, you have to find out who you
really are, and who God is first. The
books above will point you the right way.
An Indian
American gave me this enlightening summary
of his view of “God”, which accurately reflects my
conclusions as well:
“Winston,
here is my view on God:
I am of the conviction that there is a God, but that God works in ways
that are
beyond human logic and description. Whether he is personal or
impersonal, in us
our outside of us, again, he is beyond human understanding. In fact,
one does
not really have to call it God: names like the Absolute Truth,
Tao or
Supreme Undescribable Force will do fine.
I welcome all religions, because I think they are the closest possible
relative
descriptions of the Absolute that we can have. Therefore, I regard all
the
major religions as the greatest, most inspirational source of life's
wisdom
that can ever be provided.
But again, the keyword here is relative, and the religions are still
that -
they cannot be Absolute. Friction and violence occurs when a member of
a
religion thinks their religion is the Absolute, or in other words, when
they
think their beliefs are the most complete description of the
Undescribable. And
on top of that, many such people think their beliefs are the ONLY way.
This is
the prime recipe for friction between two or more sets of relative
beliefs.
Well that is my take...if you find anything worthwhile here, you may
feel free
to quote me on any blog or video.
Thanks,
Vik”
For
recovering fundamentalists, the mystical or New
Age path changes their understanding of Christianity drastically.
For
example, a yoga mystic on my own email list named Faith (yes
that’s her real
name) had this to say regarding her new perspective of Christianity
after
undergoing cosmic unifying experiences which expanded her level of
consciousness: (in her original purple text color)
“OK Win... for what
it's worth........
I would just say
that.... on the
topic of Christianity and the Bible .... That it is rather ironic
that ALL (dualistic) Christians , those who do
NOT see
God in and AS all things and all Beings) (those who are still in
judgment mode.. as in... they see OTHER where no OTHER actually
exists..... have no idea as to the true GREATNESS of Jesus
or what
it really means ULTIMATELY to Be in Christ Consciousness and what
the
Christ really Offers and will bestow upon them at some point in their
existence. Jesus was NOT just about getting into
Heaven. THAT is only part one.
This information
cannot be known
intellectually but instead one must come to via direct
Transcendent
revelation which is the GREATEST Gift of Grace.
To KNOW the
Christ
Consciousness one MUST become ONE with the Christ Consciousness.
THIS was
Jesus' GREATEST gift. To make US ONE WITH himself. Not just
about
getting into heaven for an eternal Life but to become ONE WITH ..
in
every way... the actual SOURCE.. The Supreme unchanging Reality.
This can only sound
heretical
until one Transcends to this Supreme Truth which only Grace can
reveal.
Too bad so many judgmental early Christians tortured many who were
actually in
Christ Consciousness themselves. They did not, and still do
not
understand what is meant by 'The ONE and the Way'.
This Supreme
Transcendent
Knowledge is known within ALL spiritual traditions. It does
not
belong exclusively to the Christian perspective . The
Jews
have It, (Cabalists) the Moslems have It, (Sufis) the
Hindus have
It (Vedanta / Kashmir Shaivism)... AND the Christians have It....
Gnosticism .... this IT.. is the Supreme UNCHANGING
Truth.
Yes, Jesus was a Grace Bestower.... he was ONE with the "Christ" or
"
So.. Yes, Jesus was
indeed One
with God, and although rare, this state is not QUITE so rare as
the
Christian religions might have us believe.
God .. or The Supreme
Christ
Consciousness is UNLIMITED and can manifest when and as IT chooses,
through
whomever IT chooses. Jesus was/is not the ONLY Pure
ONE. The Christ has ALWAYS manifest for
humanity.
Sometimes revealed... sometimes not.
One can THINK they
"know"... but that thinking will not be real
knowing.
When "God" realllllly wants us to KNOW.. we KNOW and there is no
belief and no THINKING involved. AND it cannot be SHARED verbally
with
those NOT in this state of Grace. IT is
Transcendent
Knowledge.. beyond the mind's ability to reason. IF.... one
THINKS
that they can relate this divine reality via words.. then know that
they do not
know.
PS...
though some of
Jesus' disciples knew the supreme Truth.. they did not all grasp his
HIGHEST
teachings.
btw People who
think the Gnostics
are heretics are quite ignorant of Jesus’ highest
lesson.
AND
lastly... even
though it is most likely that some of the Disciples did write from a
State
of
Peace, FR”
Erik, a
reader of my deconversion story, wrote me
these comments below about how he felt after leaving the faith:
“After that day I started looking at
the bible with a
much more open mind. I no longer had that assurance that it is
truth, or
that I had the only true path to God. Some people have shared
this with
have expected this to be a very negative period in my life. After
all I
was losing what was the foundation to my life. In reality it was
anything
but that. For the first time in years I felt free. I could
ask all
the questions I had always passed over, I was looking at life in a much
more
open minded way. In time instead of seeing everything in black
and white,
instead of seeing Christianity as right and all other religions and
beliefs as
wrong I began to see the world in a very new light, as a place of
diversity and
colour. A place where people with such a rich variety of cultures
and
lifestyles all add up to make the world a much more interesting and
better
place than it was for me when I was a Christian. Gradually I
began to
look at other peoples beliefs and was amazed that they have so much in
common
with my old Christian beliefs (moral values, self improvement, peace,
spiritual
fulfillment).”
Apparently,
such post-fundamentalist feelings like
Erik and mine are quite common. Ed Babinski, who wrote a book
chronicling
testimonies of former fundamentalists called Leaving
the
Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists, noted a pattern
among
the deconverts in their new founded sense of freedom after their
gradual
deconversion. He notes on his site regarding his book:
http://www.edwardtbabinski.us/controversial_book.html
“Once you have read all the
testimonies, certain
threads linking them together become apparent: the dilemmas and fears
each
person faced in leaving fundamentalism behind; their gradually dawning
courage
to ask crucial critical questions, and to continue asking more
questions; their
discovery of how wonderful it can be to allow one's innate curiosity
the
freedom it craves; and the blossoming of their distinctive
personalities and
beliefs.”
For now
though, I suggest that we open ourselves up to
consider new possibilities and paradigms that may not fit our
views. That
is not to say though, that we should believe and accept every crazy or
dangerous idea in the world. But rather, find the degree of truth
in
contrary ideas rather than reject or accept them as a whole.
After all,
rarely is anything ever 100 percent false. Most things have some
degree
of truth in them, and they usually at least point to something
meaningful.
By doing this, we develop a broader view of our lives and of
reality. The
benefit of having a broader viewpoint is that you start to take things
less
personally, your problems less seriously, and you don’t tend to
overreact as
much to little things that won’t matter a few days from
now. And also of
course, you appreciate more things in life and have a richer more
rewarding
inner life as well.
We are
never too old to learn new things. Life,
learning, and personal growth is a process. Therein lies the
beauty of
it. As the saying goes, life is a journey, not a
destination.
Therefore, the process is more interesting and rewarding than the end
result. Let me close now with a few quotes that illustrate this.
"Let the mind be enlarged... to the
grandeur of
the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of
the
mind" - Francis Bacon
"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is
because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." -
Mark
Twain
"The most beautiful thing we can
experience is
the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." - Albert
Einstein
Thank you
for reading my book. May you learn to
love and accept yourself. And I wish you will discover the best
parts of
yourself and make them bloom.
Sincerely,
Winston Wu
Comments
can be sent to me at scepcop@debunkingskeptics.com
or posted in my forum at: https://www.debunkingskeptics.com/forum/index.php
Help
support this site! Get a PDF
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Appendix
A: My Summary Response to Two Christian Missionaries
Appendix
B: My Anti-Evangelism Tract For Christians
See
My Christian Deconversion Story
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