Alternatives to the Holy Bible
Copyright © January 17, 2022 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
The Holy Bible in its present form, including the Old Testament and the New Testament, has been around for approximately 1,800 years. The complete Old Testament has been around for approximately 2,400 years. The first five books of the Old Testament, or the Five Books of Moses, have been around for approximately 3,200 years. The verbal words of God were known to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Therefore mankind has had to option to believe or not believe the Words of God for a very long time.
Discussion
In the beginning Eve decided to believe what the serpent told her because it meant she could eat the fruit of the forbidden tree and this is what she wanted to do.
After the Israelites took possession of the land to the east of the Mediterranean Sea they had the option to believe the written words of Moses or they could look for other options. Vast numbers of the early Israelites drifted away from the written words of Moses because they were able to find the following options in the religions of nearby countries:
- Creation Story: Many of the religions of the neighboring countries had their own creation story. Some of these stories were similar to the Garden of Eden story but most of them were different. They believed that there were many gods and these gods were in constant disagreement with one another, and one of these disagreements resulted in the creation of the earth and mankind. This creation by accident story appealed to a lot of people more than 3,000 years ago and it still appeals to a lot of people in the 21st century except it is now called "the big bang theory."
- Flood Story: Most of the older religions had a "universal flood story" as part of their early beliefs. This allowed these religions to compete with the flood story in the book of Genesis and this provided people with an alternative to the first book of Moses.
- Choice of Gods: People were not content to believe in one supreme all-powerful God who has control of everything. Therefore many ancient religions had a variety of gods that a person could worship including:
a. Male and Female Gods: A female god really appealed to some women and these women voluntarily followed these religions because they wanted a female god they could worship in addition to a male god.
b. God of Love: This god appealed to men and women who enjoyed having sex with lots of different people.
c. God of War: This god appealed to warriors and to men who liked to fight.
d. God of the Sea: This god was extremely popular with sailors and fishermen.
e. God of Hell or Hades: Since death was inevitable many people wanted to do something to please a god who had authority over the afterlife.
g. Rain God: This god was extremely popular with farmers who depended on the rain for good harvests.
f. Sun God: People could see the sun high above the earth and this gave them something tangible in the heavens to worship. (Note: One of my roommates in college in the year 1969 told me on one occasion that he didn't believe in any god but that if he changed his mind he had already decided he would worship the sun as his god. My roommate was very serious when he told me this. My roommate was an intelligent engineering student who received good grades in his chemical engineering classes.)
The reason the devil wanted people to believe in multiple gods was based on the simple concept of "divide and conquer." If people will refuse to believe in one God who has complete total control of everything, then it is easy to get these people to believe in no gods, or to believe in a lot of gods. Therefore if these people do pray then they will not pray to the one true God who could hear and answer their prayers. This allowed the devil to slowly but gradually take control of the direction in which these people's lives were headed because these people had turned their backs on the one true God who could protect them and guide them and love them.
- Promiscuity: Most of the ancient religions had their own temple prostitutes, including male and female prostitutes. And those religions encouraged people to pay to have sex with a temple prostitute because it was part of their religion. This allowed people to commit adultery and to be blessed by their gods at the same time. This appealed to a lot of people more than 3,000 years ago and promiscuity still appeals to a lot of people in the 21st century.
- Infanticide: Although abortion has been practiced for thousands of years, until just recently there was a good chance that the mother would die from the procedure, or the mother would be permanently sterilized and she could never bear any more children, or it would cause internal damage that would gradually result in the death of the woman before she reached her thirties. Therefore a variety of ancient religions offered an option that appealed to a lot of people. People could legally sacrifice their recently born child to one of the gods, and they would not be guilty of murder, and they would also be blessed by that god. Currently in many nations of the world a woman can legally have a professional medical abortion for any reason and this appeals to a lot of people in the 21st century.
- Honesty: Several different religions provide a variety of reasons why it was okay to tell a lie even if that lie might result in another person being punished or executed. In the 21st century some people only practice personal integrity when it is convenient for them and when it also does not interfere with their other plans.
- Weekly Worship: Moses said that God should be worshipped one day per week and that ordinary work should not be done on that day, such as plowing or harvesting. However, for thousands of years people have wanted to do whatever they desired every day of the week. When Jerusalem was the center of worship for the Jews the Sabbath day was not observed in the way that Moses commanded. Instead merchants brought their goods into the city of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day and they did a very good business because the citizens of Jerusalem enjoyed buying and selling on the Sabbath day. In the 21st century some areas still have worship services on Sunday morning but only a very limited number of people attend those services. And as soon as the service is over the majority of these people eat lunch at their favorite restaurant and then they do a little shopping after lunch on their way home from church.
It has always been very easy to entice people to disobey the Holy Bible by using any of the following strategies:
- Create a New Religion: A lot of new religions have been created in the past 1,400 years such as the following:
a. Islam: In approximately 610 A.D. Muhammad created this religion because an "angel" told him to. Islam is based on some of the concepts of Judaism and Christianity but they believe that the Jewish Bible and the Christian Bible are both full of mistakes. Islam has corrected all of these mistakes by direct revelation from God and this resulted in the writing of their two sacred books. One example of their beliefs is that God will reward them in heaven if they murder non-believers. Another example of their beliefs is if any women (Muslim or non-Muslim) is raped against her will then she should be punished by being executed but nothing should be done to her male rapist. Islam is a religion for men. Unfortunately women have no rights in Islam.
b. Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints or LDS): In approximately 1830 Joseph Smith started this religion by writing "The Book of Mormon" based on what he said an "angel" had revealed to him in a vision. Smith made a lot of very specific predictions about the future but none of his "inspired" predictions ever happened. Mormons believe that the Holy Bible contains lots and lots of errors and that the "Book of Mormon" should always be believed when it contradicts the Bible. They also believe that the "inspired" writings of their current leaders are also the Words of God and these new writings should take precedence over the Bible and over the Book of Mormon when the new writings contradict the Bible or the Book of Mormon. Mormons apparently do not mind that God is frequently changing His mind on what He defines as being "right" and "wrong."
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| Christianity | Mormonism | Jehovah's Witnesses |
c. Jehovah's Witnesses: In approximately 1879 Charles Taze Russell started this religion and he claimed that he had received a divine revelation that Jesus Christ would definitely return in the year 1914. When Jesus did not return in the year 1914 the leaders of this religion explained the reason Jesus didn't return to the satisfaction of most of their converts. This religion has written their own translation of the Bible and they call it the "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures." Every few years they make significant revisions to their current Translation and they insist that their most recent Translation is what God wants His people to believe at that time in world history. In 1966 they predicted that Jesus Christ would return in the year 1975 and that Jesus would begin His 1,000 year reign on the earth at that time. Based on this prediction their membership increased from about 59,000 people in 1966 to more than 2,000,000 people in 1975. When Jesus did not return in the year 1975 they once again explained why He didn't return to the satisfaction of most of their converts. The followers of this religion have been trained to believe that God changes His mind on a periodic basis and that God only shares His revised thinking with the members of Jehovah's Witnesses. This religion is constantly being revised but this does not appear to be an issue with the followers of this religion.
d. Scientology: In 1952 author L. Ron Hubbard proposed a system of religious beliefs, concepts, and practices and within one year he launched his new church called the Church of Scientology. The word Scientology means "the science of knowledge." Although this group advertises itself as "Christian Science" it rejects the Christian Bible and it rejects every concept the Christian Bible teaches. In some European countries they are classified as an "anti-constitution sect" or as a "dangerous cult." Scientology does not require its members to believe in any type of god because they believe that god and the universe are exactly the same thing. Therefore they encourage their members to grow in "self-awareness" until they discover their true relationship to the supreme being and when that happens then they will become one with god. However, if they don't achieve adequate "self-awareness" in this life then they will be reincarnated and they can try again in their next life.
- Create a New Theory of Life After Death that is Not Based on Any Religion: Some of these theories allow people to believe that everyone lives forever regardless of what they do in this life and this is what a lot of people really want to believe. Because technology is rapidly changing in the 21st century, and because knowledge is also rapidly expanding, many people in the 21st century are very receptive to someone who writes a "new theory" about "Life After Death." This allows people to believe that they have finally discovered the "truth" based on the latest technology and scientific knowledge. These people apparently don't mind if the "truth" that they accept today may become obsolete as technology and scientific knowledge continue to increase with the passage of time.
- Create an Alternative to Religion: This really appeals to people with above average intelligence, which includes approximately half the people in the world. Eventually an intelligent person will "find" a theory that agrees with what they want to believe and which grants them permission to behave in the way they want to behave. These alternate theories are very popular with intelligent people for three reasons:
a. It enhances the opinion people have of themselves because they were able to figure things out on their own.
b. They always intuitively knew the correct answer because the theory agrees with what they want to believe.
c. They really don't need God even if God does exist because they are very smart people.
- Make Hundreds and Hundreds of Different Predictions: There are two basic types of predictions as follows:
a. Specific Predictions: If the predictions are very specific then a few of those predictions will come true due to random chance. A person simply needs to focus other people's attention on the predictions that came true. And the person should also have some reasons why their other predictions didn't come true if they are asked. For thousands of years this strategy has enabled prognosticators to gradually acquire a group of loyal followers. And this strategy still works in the 21st century.
b. Vague Predictions: If the predictions include vague references then it is relatively easy to claim that a prediction came true by interpreting a current event as the fulfillment of one of those vague predictions. The advantage of this strategy is that the person can reap the benefits of their predictions during their lifetime, and if their writings are published after their death then there may be some people in the future who will interpret future events to be a fulfillment of one of their ancient predictions. This means that one of their vague predictions may be interpreted as being fulfilled again and again and again by lots of different events during the lifetimes of many future generations of their "enlightened followers."
Conclusion
Are there any new alternatives to the Holy Bible?
The answer is: "No."
The alternatives to the Holy Bible in the 21st century have been available to people for more than 3,000 years.
Over 3,000 years ago Joshua made the following statement to the people of Israel a short time before he died at the age of 110:
"choose you this day whom ye will serve; ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15, King James Version)
Who do you serve in your house?
May God Bless.
Grandpappy.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com