Unfiltered Truth From God's Holy Word

Enough of my opinions about things, right?  Let's take the advice of many Christians and get back to the Bible.  With so much doubt and cynicism by "the world" and so many "attacks" on Christianity, let's take the advice of some loud and arrogant pastors, and "take it up wit da book!" Unfiltered verses. Without comment. Without opinion. Because the Bible is God's word. It is inerrant. It is infallible. And it says what it means and it means what it says. And God never changes. And if you don't like it, you don't have a problem with me, you got a problem with God. No Priest needed. No seminarian needed. No Greek or Hebrew needed. The King James Version Bible says it, so why don't you do what it says. Amen?  Amen! We'll start with some scriptures about children. Stay tuned for my next post, which will be verses on Biblical marriage.

Bible Verses About Children

Children who refuse to obey their parents must be executed.

Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place: And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.  And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Deuteronomy 21:18-21

He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. Exodus 21:15 He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. Exodus 21:17 Children who mock their parents will have their eyes plucked out by ravens and eaten by eagles. The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. --Proverbs 30:17 God killed all the firstborn children in an entire country. The LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon.... And there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Exodus 12:29-30 Sometimes God kills children for misbehaving. And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth  little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head;  go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 2 Kings 2:23-24 Someday God will force parents to eat their own children. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. Lev 26:29 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters. Deuteronomy 28:53 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend. Jeremiah 19:9 And then there's this statement, found in the Bible: Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. Psalm 137:9

Fox News Agrees - Kim Davis Attorney is "Ridiculously Stupid"

Here we go again.  The far right wing Christian fundamentalists are exposing themselves to the rest of the nation, and to our children, as ignorant, bigoted, hypocrites.  Even Fox news realizes that the support for Kim Davis is outrageous and based on ignorance. This type of thinking by right wing Christians is giving support to those that say Christians are intolerant, bigoted, irrational, militant, angry, and delusional.  So many good old boy fundies get so upset when Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson show up and make every story about race.  Well, here we have a lady defying a judge's order, disobeying her supervisor's orders, and good ole boy Mike Huckabee rushes to support her in the name of religious freedom.  Really?  The government has a right in this country to deny individual's rights based on their employees' arbitrary religious convictions regarding which "sins" they pick and choose to offend their conscience? This, my friends, by definition is DISCRIMINATION.

On Monday’s edition of Fox News' Happening Now, trial attorney Chip Merlin pointed out that anyone who violates a judge’s order should “expect to be thrown in jail.” “She can still practice her faith,” Fox News host Gregg Jarrett noted. “Just not on the job in a way that interferes with the legal rights of the citizens she serves. And in fact, the U.S. Supreme Court said so nine years ago.”

“She’s a hypocrite,” criminal defense attorney Sharon Liko agreed. “She’s applying for the job of a martyr. She wants to practice her faith by not issuing marriage licenses. Yet, she will not agree to let the deputy county clerks issue marriage licenses even if it’s okay with their faith.” “When she took the job she swore to uphold the law,” Jarrett explained. “We rely on government officials to do that."

Frankly, as a Christian man, I am embarrassed by the manipulation and exploitation of people like Kim Davis.  Men like Governor Mike Huckabee, and men like your angry pastor, who are blatantly pandering to their fundamentalist followers, are going "all in" by stating they are "#ImwithKim." Let's remember this and hold them accountable, when once again, they are on the wrong side of history.(slavery, women's rights, interracial marriage, same sex marriage, pedophile priests/pastors, etc. etc.) Mike Huckabee now loses any chance of getting the nomination, since his chances were already little to none before he showed himself to be a hypocritical ignorant panderer.

I wonder why would anyone want to hire a Christian now?  They see that Christians arbitrarily choose what they will and will not do on the job based on a "higher authority", which is their interpretation of God and what they think/believe/guess as to WWJD, "what would Jesus do?" Should judges not enter divorce decrees since "God hates divorce?" What about employees at McDonald's? Should they not serve obese customers because gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins? Should the clerk not issue marriage licenses to adulterers? Liars? Alcoholics?  What about the local baker?  Will he stop serving liars, the lazy, adulterers, non-tithers who are robbing god, women pastors (who are not to teach a man or have authority over a man)?

Hear me. Let me tell you something.  OF. COURSE. NOT. This notion that a government employee answers to a higher authority is hypocritical and is total nonsense.  A county clerk is a representative of the state.  They are paid by all taxpayers of all faiths and orientations to do their job, which includes issuing various types of licenses, including marriage licenses.  If their faith is so devout and orthodox that they actually try and follow the actual teachings of the Bible, then they should not apply to work in a liquor store, a gun store, a porno shop, a strip club, OR A GOVERNMENT position, all of which might require them to violate their conscience. And I'm not even going to get into the hyprocisy of Kim Davis being married several times already.  Or whether or not she has authority over a man in her position as the county's clerk.

This issue is so simple and so clear, I don't want to waste any more words describing it.  There is really no basis for debate, except that powerful, rich men like Mike Huckabee, and your angry pastor, use events like this to manipulate and exploit not only hurting, needy people like Kim Davis, but people like you that support her and them.  Please think!  You are hurting the gospel, the cause of Christ, and all Christians by showing yourself to be ignorant and gullible on the most basic issues.

Sorry, but "God's supreme law" is NOT above the Supreme Court's law of the land. Not in this country.  Maybe where ISIS is in control, or where the Taliban is in control, or in your mind, or in your cult.  But not here in the United States of America.  

How did the gospel and Christianity get hijacked by the "ridiculously stupid?"  Good luck Mike Huckabee, and fundamentalist supporters. You just forever hitched your image and campaign to Kim Davis.  Enjoy the fallout.

Coming soon to a fundy church near you! Religious Freedom champion Kim Davis. Hear the former mafia hit man first, then stay for the former coke head adulterer pro baseball player, then the persecuted Kim.  Books on sale in the lobby.

Nine Labor Day Comics

And the Sun Stood Still, and the Moon Stayed

Joshua 10:12-14 - Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.¹⁴And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. 

Usually after insisting that I must believe all the scripture or none of it, and after telling me to tear out pages that contain anything I don't believe, the fellow Christian will then ask me: "Well, what part of the Bible don't you believe?"  I've already shared two of those parts with you in earlier blog posts: The Tower of Babel, and The Pompous Ass Speaks. Now, I will share a third such story. And remember, my point is not to attack scripture or doubt God's miracles.  My point of this blog is to call out charlatans and fundamentalists that are lying about God.  One way they do that is to insist that a man, woman, or child must believe the Bible is inerrant while demanding that you must believe it all or none in order to place your trust and faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation. 

That is not historical Christianity and is not the Gospel. Please don't turn your back on Jesus just because some charlatans and fundamentalist religious fanatics are demanding your loyalty to every single word and story in an ancient text; to the Catholic church; to a local Protestant church; or to some holy man of God who gets paid to tell you what the Bible says and what it means. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  He didn't say the scriptures can get you to the father, or that the church can get you there. He certainly didn't say religion could do it.  He actually spent a lot of time calling out the religious leaders and religious practices of his day.

First, let's deal with the book of Jasher.  Ever heard of it? God refers to it twice in Holy Scripture, so it must be true and legitimate god-breathed scripture, correct? God himself says in verse 13 of Joshua 10 that the sun stood still, the moon stayed AND then he confirms his own words by the Socratic method, which is asking the rhetorical question: "Is not this written in the book of Jasher?" Then God says again, after that reference to Jasher, the sun stood still and didn't go down for a whole day. The second place where we see God tell us the book of Jasher contains truth is in 2 Samuel 1:17-18: "Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher." 

I've already written a post about how religious men picked and chose which books you would be calling inerrant and infallible, but I encourage you to research the Book of Jasher because your Bible expressly mentions that book twice, once in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament.  But I digress.  The focus of this blog post is to give my next example in answer to the sincere questioner who asks "What part don't you believe?'

Second, let's look at whether this passage is true. The scripture speaks for itself. Do you really need me to tell you that the earth revolves around the sun (about once per year) while spinning on its axis (one rotation per day).  Do you need me to tell you that if the earth stopped spinning on its axis, gravity would cease to exist?  If your religion requires you to believe that the earth stopped spinning on its axis in order to help an Israelite army win a battle, then you need to examine what you believe and why.

As an engineer and a teacher of physics and electronics, I'm familiar with God's laws he has set in place in nature. I have studied them and applied them for decades. They are consistent and are measurable. Could God suspend the laws he put in place?  Absolutely yes, by most definitions, God can do anything. However, if God DID decide to halt the spinning of the earth to "hold the sun still", he would cause unimaginable destruction the likes the world has never seen.

Let's be good Bereans and consider this scripture to see if it is trustworthy. We can do this by using some simple math (We can trust those atheist scientists that tell us that 2+2 = 4 correct?) and use some simple science.

At the equator, the circumference of the Earth is 40,070 kilometers, and the day is 24 hours long so the speed is 1670 kilometers/hour (1037 miles/hr).

In basic physics, we teach about a concept called "momentum" and "inertia". Anything that has mass, has inertia. Inertia is the tendency of a mass once in motion to stay in motion unless a force acts on it to change its velocity. And a moving mass has momentum. So every object on the surface of the earth is moving at 1000 miles per hour just from the rotational action of the earth (ignoring the velocity from the earth's movement revolving around the sun!) If God stopped the earth from spinning, everything on the earth that is moving at the same speed would keep moving. The air would keep moving and relative to the surface of the earth we would have winds of 1000 miles per hour. The oceans would keep moving and would wash onto land. All creatures on the earth would be propelled at 1000 miles per hour from the earth into the atmosphere. A similar more observable concept is the injury that occurs in a car crash.  If you drive into a tree at 40 mph, the car stops immediately while your body continues forward at 40 mph. You then impact with the interior of the car or tree and can be seriously injured or killed.

So unknown at the time to the writers of this book, this event is physically impossible and almost incomprehensible to consider. So either the writers were ignorant, or they were mistaken, or the God that inspired them was wrong. That's an easy choice. The writers, not God, were clearly wrong. Same as if they had written 2 + 2 = 5. But, I can't blame the writers and centuries of subsequent scribes, because they had no idea they were flying through space on a ball that was spinning on its axis at 1000 mph while revolving around the sun.

I CAN, howver, blame modern day fundamentalists who still insist that it is true AND that I have to believe it to be a Christian.  Let me be clear: I don't believe this particular event ever happened. God hasn't given me the grace or the faith or whatever you want to call it, to believe this story. Maybe it is a story that can teach us about God wanting to help his people - but can't I learn something from the STORY without having to actually believe it happened? Do I have to believe in a literal fox and grapes to learn from that well known fable? What is more important, the teaching of the story, or winning the argument as to whether it is historically accurate? Forcing the next generation of Christians to believe this or they can't believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, is hurting the cause of Christ, hurting the gospel, dividing denominations and churches, harming the fellowship of Christians, and hurting families.

Again, why wouldn't God just strike the other army dead as he is so capable of doing with a single word? This type of story makes no sense, is unnecessary, and is not part of the saving faith a man, woman or child must have to come to Jesus Christ in repentance of sins for salvation.  Please don't tie the gospel message or being a Christian into believing this type of nonsense.  It only hurts the gospel message and turns people away who need Jesus in their life. Shame on you. Stop it.

The Pompous Ass Speaks

KJV Numbers 22:30: And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay.

The Message: Numbers 22:30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you’ve ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?”  He said, “No.”

What a pompous ass!  Balaam was God's man. And look at the tone and questioning of God's man by a lowly ass. Who does this ass think he is? Balaam doesn't have to answer to an ass, amen! And why does the ass ask him questions instead of just respectfully saying in a hushed, whispering voice of admiration "Doctor pastor, man of God, I'm your trusty ass you've ridden for years and I've never done anything like this to you before." Why ask a series of questions except to be disrespectful?  Or maybe he is familiar with, and prefers, the Socratic method of teaching. (Socrates lived from 470 - 399 BCE, which is the same time frame this story was written, so it's possible.) And that second question: "Have I?"  I can almost picture this donkey jerking the glasses from his face and stomping while asking the second time after a dramatic pause: "WELL, HAVE I?"  To me, there is no doubt this talking donkey was indeed a pompous ass, literally.

Of course, the donkey had more to say earlier in the sacred text: Verse 28 states:  Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: “What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?” ²⁹ Balaam said, “Because you’ve been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now.”  Even donkeys know you don't "play games" with God's man or you could be killed.  What arrogance by Balaam. What anger.  What disrespect for the faithful donkey.  "I would have killed you by now."  It looks like there are TWO pompous asses in this story.

Wilford Brimley plays a pompous ass in The China Syndrome

Talking donkeys is not a revolutionary miracle occuring only in the Pentateuch.  Aesop's Fables include many tales of talking animals.  These fables were used to teach wisdom and not to be taken literally.  The Fox and the Grapes. The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  The Tortoise and the Hare. All great childhood stories that teach us wisdom for life, but that never happened.  Aesop lived between the years 620 and 560 BCE (years before Christ).  The majority of Biblical scholars believe the Pentateuch was written between 600 and 400 BCE. Uh oh.


"... like those who dine well off the plainest dishes, he (Aesop) made use of humble incidents to teach great truths, and after serving up a story he adds to it the advice to do a thing or not to do it. Then, too, he was really more attached to truth than the poets are; for the latter do violence to their own stories in order to make them probable; but he by announcing a story which everyone knows not to be true, told the truth by the very fact that he did not claim to be relating real events."
—Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Book V:14

Might this story have been just a fable used by God to make some good points?  Who really cares, right? Unfortunately, many modern day fundamentalists care deeply.  So deeply in fact, that if you don't believe this story, you cannot trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.  Why?  Because the same book that tells of Christ, also tells us of this talking donkey. They say you can't pick and choose. They say if you find parts that are not true, then you can't trust the rest of it either.  They will say, why do you trust and believe in John 3:15, but not in Numbers 22:30. So they paint themselves, and their faith, into a corner and force otherwise good Christian people to decide: "Do I believe in talking donkeys or not?  No. So I guess there is no salvation for me.  I'm done with religion."

But before you simply say this is a waste of time, who cares about whether the donkey talked or not, you need to see also 2 Peter 2:15 and 16 which says:  "Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness." So there you have it. It's not just an Old Testament story. Peter says it happened. You can't ignore his teachings.

So am I "attacking" the Holy Bible?  Not at all. I'm just pointing out that religious fanatics who demand that other believers have to agree with their narrow doctrines and theological views are hurting the cause of Christ and in many cases, are hurting their own families and their own ministries. I'll say it again.  It is NOT necessary or essential to believe all the Bible in order to believe its overall message of redemption through Christ.  You don't have to believe all of it or none of it. It does not have to be perfect and inerrant.  We know that it is not.  So that type of insistence on these matters of "religion" will drive more and more people away.  And more importantly, it makes those people sitting in the pews open to any kind of manipulation and exploitation. And it causes division amongst the brethren and amongst families, and in marriages and in relationships.

Thankfully, most Christians don't really believe this nonsense anyway.  Love Jesus. Learn from Him. You can learn alot from his life and ministry that will help you in your life, career and family. Serve Him. Tell others about Him. Love. Laugh. And leave the talking donkeys and the tower of Babel to the seminarians and theologians to get all tore up about. Don't turn your back on Christ because of a corrupt church and angry fanatical Christians. The church can't save you. Religion can't save you. The Bible can't save you.  Only Jesus.