For those confused about religion, here is an analogy for your consideration:


Imagine that you and your children are out for a quiet, peaceful, lovely stroll in your neighborhood. A man appears on the porch of a house that you've walked by many times and he yells to you, "Hey you, come here, I have some good news for you!". So you and your children stop and listen as the guy introduces himself as a representative of the owner of the house, who is the all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful house owner.


He tells you that the house has a basement.


He goes on to explain that the basement is filled with all kinds of terrible torture devices - and overactive ovens for all-sized humans, even children.


Then he says the good news is that you and your children don't have to go down there. With great exuberance, he exclaims that, because the house owner loves you, he instead sent his son down there to be tortured for a weekend. While your children are wide-eyed with horror and clinging to you, he goes on to explain that the good news is that you can live with with the house owner up in the attic forever where you can spend all day, every day, praising him because you don't have to go to the basement - but, he needs money - and he needs you and your children to spend copious amounts of time on the main floor so that you and your children are taught that his story is moral and perfectly acceptable, because children are more easily groomed.


Your choice is to enter the house and bring your children or keep walking. But perhaps, for some reason, you are intrigued and ask him why this house is here at all.


Well, he goes on to explain that it was necessary that the house owner rape a woman and impregnate her without her consent. He says that she subsequently gave birth to the house owner's son, who he says is also himself; rather a double personality sort of thing. He says that his son was once a brown-skinned community organizer, much like Obama, before he decided to torture him, ya know, because he loves everyone so much. Then, he says, the son gave up a weekend for everyone's sins by being tortured and hanging out in a tomb. Then a magical chariot came swooping out of the clouds and stopped to pick him up, just like a regular stop on a bus route and then brought him up to the attic to be with the house owner - and himself.


So it was all necessary because of sin, you ask?


Yes! He smiles widely! He goes on to explain that all this was your fault.

He says that it is absolutely necessary that the house owner continues to unleash disease and pestilence upon the Earth because one of your ancient ancestors, a woman made of a man's rib, committed a minor misdemeanor and stole a piece of fruit at the suggestion of a talking snake. After all, he firmly states, what father wouldn't relegate their children to a life of pestilence and disease for stealing an apple! He exclaims further that the house owner continues to kill innocent children by making them suffer from cancer, leukemia, and other maladies while he and his peeps party in the gold-lined attic. He says that the house owner could do something about it but chooses not to because, clearly, he hasn't truly forgiven anyone for that apple thing.


Still not convinced, you tell the porch guy that it is confusing that anyone praises the house owner because his son gave up a weekend. After all, if someone announced that a volunteer is needed to die in order to eliminate all diseases, wars and all imaginable disasters, how many does he think would volunteer? Millions? Thousands? So, how great was the crucifixion if humanity continuously encounters unspeakable misery in as many ways as before, you ask.


Well, he exclaims, consider eternal life! He regales you with the possibilities of living in the attic with some of the peeps like Jerry Fallwell, Jimmy Swaggart, members of the Westboro Baptist Church, and your brother and sister who condemn you every chance they get. He tells you that Joel Osteen will be smooth-talkin your ear off for a millennia. While you consider whether or not you would snip your wings off and jump out of the attic window to escape, he invites you to wear a cross, an endearing reminder of the son's torture. Hey, at least it wasn't an electric chair!


Still not convinced, you question the morality of his story. He scoffs and tells you that he and his attic peeps have the absolute claim on morality ... and, in fact, they even celebrate the house owner's acts of genocide. He goes on to regale you with the story of Noah. Apparently, long ago, the house owner got so uncontrollably angry that he decided to kill everyone except for just one family who incested their way to repopulating the Earth. While you think an anger management class or ten may be in order, he goes on to exclaim that the house owner drowned everyone - even puppy dogs, kittens, women and innocent little children & infants. Yes, indeed, the owner watched little children and infants gagging for air as he drown them all. Proudly, he says with a smile, that it's an absolute horrific story of genocide that everyone in the attic celebrates - and that you should too - well, that's is, if you don't want to go to the basement. He goes on to explain that is what rainbows are all about - the owner's promise not to drown everyone ever again. But, he also says that fire and brimstone are coming some day. Gosh, as your children shake in fear, you surmise that he may be working his way through the elements - which then still leaves air and Earth for him to consider acts of genocide.


After all that, surprisingly, you still have questions. Frustrated with your questions and your inability to just accept the stories on "faith", he chuckles internally thinking the owner may have predestined cancer to grow inside of one of your children and you will end up accepting it one day it as "one of the mysteries" of the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-benevolent house owner.


He then quips that you have "free will" to choose.


But then he tells you a story of Moses and the Pharaoh. Apparently, some guy named Moses had convinced a Pharaoh to set a group of people free from slavery but the all-powerful house owner stepped in to intervene and "harden Pharaoh's heart" so that Pharaoh changed his mind and kept the group enslaved. Golly, now that you think about it, that doesn't sound like Moses had free will to you, but alas, here you go thinking again!


Anyway, he goes on to gleefully explain that he wanted to kill all the first born children first before setting his peeps free. You begin to think that killing of children seems to be his specialty as he then quotes Psalm 137:9 from his own book to buttress his point of view, "Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks!" As you pull your children closer and consider calling 911, he goes on to say that not only did he want to kill all the children, he also wanted young lambs to be slaughtered and their blood splashed on doors so that he, as the all-knowing house owner, knew exactly which house needed the children killed - ya know, totally normal stuff that is moral, acceptable, and obviously required by an all-powerful house owner who has a house with a basement and attic and can't think of anything else to do other than genocide.


You ask if you can see the all-powerful house owner, but the porch guy says no, but gives you a book to read and says that you can send telepathic requests to him but then warns you that the success of what you get back will be the same percentage as if you were sending telepathic messages to the stump in your back yard - but if you don't get what you want, just consider it one of the mysteries of the all-knowing, all-benevolent house owner.


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At what point do you start running away from the house like your hair is on fire, Punkin? Think critically. Choose wisely.


At the very least, consider whether the Bible offers appropriate stories for children. Clearly, for any thinking person, the answer is not only no, but hell no. The book is filled with stories of genocide, daughters sleeping with their fathers (Genesis 19: 30–38), stories of women lusting after "lovers with genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses" (Ezekiel 23:20) and much more nonsense.

If you are one who has been indoctrinated, isn't it time you grow up and shed the need for an adult Santa Claus? There are great mysteries in life. Science continues to answer those mysteries. If you find your god within the mystery (god of the gaps), then your god is an ever-receeding pocket of scientific ignorance.


The best way to become an atheist is to actually read the entirety of the Bible with an open mind.


It is often said by religious people that atheists have nothing to live for. Nothing could be further from the truth. Atheists have everything to live for. Rather, we have nothing to die for. You already know exactly what it is like to be an atheist. I don't fear your god exactly the same way that you don't fear many other gods. You don't give them a second thought. Neither do I. We're both atheists. I just don't believe in one more god than you. If you want to break free of religious chains to live a free and full life, consider the following:


"A major function of fundamentalist religion is to bolster deeply insecure and fearful people. This is done by justifying a way of life with all of its defining prejudices. It thereby provides an appropriate and legitimate outlet for one's anger. The authority of an inerrant Bible that can be readily quoted to buttress this point of view becomes an essential ingredient to such a life. When that Bible is challenged, or relativized, the resulting anger proves the point categorically.”

~ Bishop John Shelby Spong