Grading On The Curve—Tests From God

“But God is faithful; He will not suffer you to be tempted beyond that which ye are able to bear, but with the temptation will also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it—1Cor 10:13 KJV

Imagine yourself surviving in Auschwitz while your family was maimed during experimental medical butchery. After losing your faith in a god that never answered your plea, you are now judged worthy of eternal hell and torment.

Johnny good-boy however, kept his faith. Raised in the confines of a religious community in the 50s and 60s of middle America, has earned a gold star for his enduring faith—even calling to Jesus on his deathbed. What a good boy he was. But, not so fast. Even that is no ticket to heaven—only if he was chosen. Even in our best moments the gospel is a gospel of wondering self-doubt.

Meanwhile in the Sudan and Burundi…people are being lovingly schooled on starvation, disease, and political corruption—lessons they need to test their faith. If they only had heard the blessed word of god, only then can they be saved. But not now—for now they must suffer.

“God has shown through atheism those “tested” by his non-participation in crimes against humanity for his own will and pleasure, that many, many people are tested beyond what they can bear” No answer is not an answer to be analyzed.

Enter Atheism—Unbelief is truly evidence of errant scripture. God (the writers) have proven time and again their god cannot be trusted to come to your aid or answer a prayer. Like any other relationship based on trust, two or three—then shame on me. Give faith one chance one time in your time of need and see where that gets you and be done with it. Even if god were real he has not proven dependable. Perhaps there isn’t one? Perhaps…

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The Many Denominations of Unbelief

Understanding evolution is one way to atheism, and by far the most popular Christian finger-pointing bullet point I come across. But, as deconverts, this reason which we eventually come to understand is very low on the list. In fact many believers accept both evolution and creation can co-mingle (if that is your reconciliation) Personally, I shied away from evolution and only knew the basics of that faith by drawing from a poisoned well.

Comparing the goodness, mercy, love, and outcomes of Gods word, to what we read in scripture and what we see objectively certainly raises an eyebrow. Not just on a few cherry picked points either, but in a systemic, parenterally obvious display of contradiction. It’s widespread virtually on every point.

Prayer certainly did some of us in. Match up a couple of unseen miracles in a generation and you can sell enough tickets to support entire cities. It’s that rare. The pilgrimage sites are living proof that miracles are so rare, people will travel the entire globe to get a glimpse of the mere location—or speculation. Miracles are merely events unexplained in the mean-time. But, dig a little deeper and every one has an explanation, unless one is afraid to look. Prayer works the way mindfulness works. Pretty simple concept to achieve what you focus on. The miracle is you!

Scientific understanding of how the brain functions in a group, or in a crisis is another stopper. While faith thrives in non-evidentiary vacuums, it falls apart quite nicely for some when the evidence is presented. Neurology is a quirky business, that’s why the controlled testing. We now have a pretty decent understanding of how we are fooled, even by our own doing at times, out of sheer desperation.

Then, like my brother, he never even believed a word of it. The entire scam is a bullshit point some personality types just see it from the onset. Lucky them.

There are more, but only one can begin the journey to learn them all, which I consciously avoided for many years. Prayer was the beginning and the end for me. The contradictory nature of the gospel and scripture took a close second. The other points are just the cherry on top.