While I'm not 100% opposed to the idea of a higher power, I have long been a religious skeptic, currently refer to myself as an agnostic (or a humanist), and it seems the more I think about such matters, the more skeptical I become. Having been born and raised in the United States, and largely due to that, being exposed to Christianity more than any other religion, I have become the most skeptical of this very religion. Just the other day, I started thinking about Christianity and why it perplexes me so much.
First off, the supposed hero and savior of Christianity, Jesus (Christ), his actual name was Yeshua. Not only that, but he wasn't Christian; he was Jewish. Let that sink in for a moment. Christians refer to themselves as such based on a man's unoriginal name, a man whom didn't even practice said religion. Of course, Yeshuans (or Yeshuanity) may be difficult for even the most eloquent, articulate speakers to regularly pronounce correctly, but this all still strikes me as ironically humorous. It'd be like me creating a religion called Seinfeldism, where we worshiped a man named Jerry Burns, whom was an atheist.
That isn't even touching on the many Pagan origins of the Christian faith. Christmas, the day where we celebrate the birth of "Jesus," wasn't his actual birthday. December 25th was used by Christians to designate as Jesus' birthday to counter the Pagans' Winter Solstice. This was also the case with Easter, the day where Jesus supposedly rose from the dead, as it falls in accordance with the vernal equinox.
Even the names God and devil sound like solid phony brain-washing terms, as God is one "o" shy of spelling good, and the word evil resides in devil. Their actual names are said to be YHWH and Lucifer. Yes, this is a clever ploy to persuade individuals of the positive and negative connotations associated with the two beings/characters, but such tactics tend to make me more skeptical of what is being taught. Not only that, while Christians believe they have been eternally saved by Jesus' crucifixion, of what purpose would Jesus' sacrifice be without (the allegedly evil) Lucifer tempting man to sin? So, in an odd way, isn't the religion dependent on the presence of both Jesus and Lucifer?
The concepts of predestination and free will coexisting doesn't make a great deal of sense either. If God gave us free will yet has everything mapped out for each and every one of us, how can we thereby say we have free will? That'd be like saying God gave me the option of writing this blog, yet I was predestined to do so by him, which means this supposed option wasn't really an option at all.
This isn't even touching on the Holy Trinity, Jesus' being born of a virgin mother, rising from the dead three days after death, or even the concept of perfection. Like I ask with regard to the term normal, how can we truly define perfect with regard to a human being? Jesus never sinned? Okay, then define sin. Isn't the definition of sin at least partially dependent upon time and location? Is what was sinful thousands of years ago identical to what's sinful today? Regardless of the time-frame and location, would Jesus have been viewed as perfect?
At the end of the day, can I ultimately prove God doesn't exist, Jesus didn't sacrifice himself for the sins of mankind, or that Christianity is false? No, but the more I question and research the religion, the more doubts I have. When it comes right down to it, it sounds like a joke without a punchline: "Did you hear the one about this Jew named Yeshua who was born from a virgin mother, lived a perfect life, was crucified as a sacrifice for man's sins, only to rise again three days later, and was then established as Jesus Christ by people whom refer to themselves as Christians practicing Christianity? Oh, and his father is YHWH, or God, who allows us to make choices of our own yet decides everything for us?"
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