Series #1

I'll be doing a series on the nature of the core christian beliefs. I've noticed that barbed criticism from society can illicit change in the parties of god; take the example of stoning people to death for undeserving reasons, like women not being virgins on their wedding night, or children that are being unruly. One reason we don't see people being stoned every time the breeze blows is because secular society has pointed out how ridiculous the practices are, and broke the religious by demanding moral behavior. I'd be thrilled to see some more change, so I'm contributing criticism and potential solutions to iron out some of our problems.

I'll be starting with the ten commandments. Actually, one of multiple versions of the commandments. You'd think since god took the time to write these commandments himself, the faithful could at least get them right; but you'd be wrong.

So onto the list:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;"

If I take this to be true in it's entirety, I would feel a debt of gratitude for god being such a nice guy to the early Jews. He saw some people in a bad situation, and decided to help them get out from underneath it; how cool is that? It's a far cry from the same god that commands the killing of babies later on.

Sadly, the statement can't be held as a truth. Israeli archeologists have not only failed to confirm the exodus, but they say it's highly unlikely such a thing ever happened. This leaves us to disregard the credibility of the claim if we're honest; you can only accept this claim as an article of faith or wish thinking. I'd say, since you're wishing, why not cut to the chase and wish that people wouldn't have to be slaves in the first place?

God doesn't seem to show an aversion to slavery as a rule. He seems fine with it. Not only does he allow it, he endorses it; and so does jesus. Fact is, the old and new testament are totally fine with owning other human beings, they even give you tips on doing it; say goodbye to the claimed moral high ground.

Lastly, is this really the first thing we should know? Is this really the best choice for the first commandment? A sort of "I saved your asses and therefore you owe me" approach? A clear attempt to make you a surf; to get you in the pockets of the lord, so you have to obey. I call shenanigans; how about you use your magic powers to inspire men to not own other men? Why choose to free only this one group? God, you're kind of a dick, don't all people deserve to be free? Lowly humans have began to rise to this level of morality, what's your excuse? I thought you were a sort of "high-water mark" for us to strive to achieve? It seems that in the very first round we've found a moral deficiency in god; let's see if he can recover as we sort through the list!