It all began decades ago when I realized that Jesus is not a God and that the Bible is not a message from God. That most people sense innately what is good and what is bad **. For me knowing basic reality is liberating. It makes me appreciate and enjoy everything more.
**Exception to most people innately sense what is good and what is bad: there is a very small minority of people that can cause a lot of misery. Psychopaths are people that totally lack empathy, compassion, remorse or guilt. About 1% of the population is that way, in all strata of society (for every 1000 people, about 10 psychopaths, for 10,000, about 100 psychopaths). The percentage is even higher for the upper echelons of business and surprisingly, the clergy. It is 3.4% . For more info click: https://psychlens.com/what-are-the-20-traits-of-a-psychopath/
The Bible: Inerrancy, the Canon, Excluded Literature, Authorship, Originals, Variances, Versions, Greek and Hebrew, Interpretation,
For some major Biblical Issues Click Here
Science and the supernatural
Apparent intrusion of the supernatural into ordinary life
Questions?
A quick 10 minute outline of Christianity
Why This Web Site
What about traditional or-land-h.net/why-this-websitereligion? — Near the end of this page. Also Some odd things about the Bible
(1) Evidence indicates religious experiences are a part of the human makeup. Look around and you will see evidence of this in many places.
Religious experiences do happen and are as real to the person experiencing them, as is pain and pleasure, or an emotion, or a sensation — seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting. These religious experiences can even feel more real and deeper than ordinary experiences. These religious experiences can often be life changing.
Many people associate these experiences with a supernatural realm, separate from the natural.
(2) But, all evidence indicates that there is no supernatural realm;
that there are no supernatural entities in existence. There is no duality in reality
— there is only the natural.
How do you reconcile these two sets of evidence?
(3) Also, private prayer can sometimes be beneficial.
But if there is no supernatural realm and therefore no supernatural entities, who is the prayer to?
Headings below are:
What about the evidence?, What about God?, What about Prayer?, What about the External God some people believe exists?, What about religious groups?, What about Science?, What about Dogmatism?, What about Ethics? , What about traditional religion?
What about related topics?
What about Unusual Numbers?
This is a stripped-down version of the original web site, giving the essentials plus. This web site is re-constructed from a former one, so there will be some links missing.
I am an asupernaturalist. What is an asupernaturalist?
What about the evidence?
The evidence for only the natural:
(1) Logically, a supernatural realm that impinges on the natural, including our brain, cannot exist.
(2) There is no convincing evidence for the supernatural – from the non-existence of telepathy to the non-existence of any evidence that religious experiences are not purely a phenomenon of the brain. It may happen that not all things have a naturalistic explanation, but so far there has not been any evidence to believe otherwise. There is no reliable evidence for the existence of the supernatural or the existence of any supernatural entities. In the last 180 years science has been used intensively in an attempt to confirm any supernatural entities and processes – nothing convincing has been found. No evidence, no scientific reason to assume another realm beyond the natural. Until there is definite evidence of a supernatural realm, there is no basis for assuming it. This is, as all things in science, provisional.
Now if someone appeared like the person described in the delightful book , “The Man Who Was Magic” by Paul Gallico, then the possibility of the supernatural would have to be investigated {with consideration of (1) above}.
For evidence: the best existing description of reality is given by the hard Sciences — Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, and Geology and their derivatives. No other field of study comes even close to these.
Since all is natural, science and religion are not separate domains. Science has a lot to say about religious concepts.
Separating the two, as some would like, does not help take seriously any religious belief, including the belief in a God.
These hard Sciences show no evidence of a supernatural realm — that there is only the natural.
So, a religious experience as any experience, is a natural occurrence in people. There is nothing supernatural about it. A religious experience is a purely bodily event and condition. Neuroscientific research done by Montreal neurosurgeon, Dr. Wilder Penfield, M. A. Persinger of Sudbury, Ontario, L. A. Ruttan, S. Koren, K. Makarec, and others have experimentally shown that the source of religious experiences is the brain. Some of the results are presented in the following book: Click here to see a review of part of the book and to see a summary of some of the results of the research done.
“Can We Be Good Without God? Behaviour, Belonging and the Need to Believe.” by Dr. Robert Buckman, 2000, Penguin Books of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-670-89222-X Click
Don’t be fooled! There are other books by the same title — by other authors!
— interesting for everyone, theist and non-theist
— Dr. Buckman is a cancer specialist and professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has written a number of other books including “I Don’t Know What to Say — How to Help and Support Someone Who is Dying”
In conclusion for this section:
All religious experiences (“supernatural experiences”) are personal and originate and end in the brain of the person experiencing them. No one and no group has a monopoly on these experiences or has a religious superiority over anyone else because of them — each experience is unique to that person and does not represent some external universal phenomenon.
What about God? The danger?
From what I see in the world around me, I can logically come to only one explanation for god(s) belief: Each person’s god(s) (if he considers a god at all) is an occurrence or entity in his brain, not an entity beyond this. God entities are private to that person and can only exist as long as he exists.
The god(s) that is part of the unconscious brain is personal and internal.
The strength of the god part of a person varies in degree and may be missing in many people.
So, the need for this kind of “spirituality” and “religion”, would vary similarly.
This personal god and other so called supernatural entities die when the person’s brain dies. You and your mind cannot exist separately from your brain — it is all one. All evidence shows that any changes in the brain effects the mind — if part of the brain is destroyed or damaged then part of the mind is destroyed or damaged.
Since a supernatural god does not exist out there, the god that a person invokes is not the creator of anything out there, including the universe. This god is only part of the person’s brain that will die when the brain dies. The existence of the universe, is the way it is as described by science — the supernatural is not required.
You often see people use symbols, statues, rituals, and other paraphernalia to externalize their personal god(s), often to convince themselves and others that their god(s) is somehow universal and not just their own personal, internal god — A potentially very dangerous “to others” activity. It is when a person assumes their god is some kind of Universal God, even some kind of Creator God, that it is THE GOD, that must be imposed on others, that things can become dangerous. Its wise to become very suspicious of someone that makes these god claims. Religious conflicts in the world are the result of claiming a god belief in an external, Creator of the Universe God, that belongs uniquely to one person, or in varied personal ways to a religious group.
This doesn’t mean there will be no conflict if people do not believe in an external god; it means the damage will be much less without this belief.
In addition some “religionists” present a more attractive personal god of their own than do others; one that is compassionate, relaxed, and loving. This god may be more attractive than the god many religious “experts” try to foist on people. This god likely reflects the person’s own personality — a loving, compassionate, relaxed and emotionally attractive person. Other influences that determine a person’s god would be his cultural background, his contacts, and his experiences. The person’s god and his religious experiences with this god are real to that individual and probably motivate a lot of his actions. It is easy to see why there are so many versions of god — BUT all versions are personal.
This valuating someone’s god came up when my sister, e-mailed me the god belief of her husband-to-be (she married him) and asked for my opinion. After reading her 2 pages of his description of his god, I e-mailed back saying his god is a lot better than most, and that his god beliefs reflect a good person.
I also know that the god of the Koran, the god of the Bible, etc. that people consider their own can be an effective motivator for inhumane actions in times of war, for instance; At other times an effective motivator for humane actions.
If you have a belief in a god; then beware that whoever or whatever tells you who god is, or what god is (like), does have a degree of control over you. This can be an evangelist, minister, priest, pope, guru, Bible, Koran, etc.
Remember they don’t know anymore about your god than you do in spite of what they say. If you believe in a god, your god is your own personal god, no one else’s.
If you must join a religious group first find out what kind of god they promote — your god will probably become much like the one promoted.
Point of interest: An unusual verse in the Bible about individual’s gods:
Micah 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our god for ever and ever.
“50 reasons people give for believing in a god” by Guy P. Harrison. A must read for everyone. ISBN 978-1-59102-567-2
Click here for table of Contents
Suffering: Another reason your personal God is not a Universal, Creator God – Click
Suffering and Pain, the Bible, and Jesus – Click
A Critical Analysis of RBC Ministry’s Tract on Suffering – Click
What about Prayer?
It is obviously evident that many people, in almost all cultures believe, talk to, etc. a god(s).
Since there is no supernatural realm the god(s) of a believing person resides in his brain and is a product of his/her genetics and the culture in which the person lives.
Since our evolution has made this a potential part of our make-up, the question is how does one use it beneficially and how does one prevent it from being destructive? Can one acknowledge its existence in one’s brain; acknowledge that religious experiences are purely brain experiences, and then ignore them as in a dream?
What about people that have these experiences and believe they are of an external, supernatural realm?
— how does one deal with them?
In other words, how does a person with this disposition control this aspect of his being?
Since god(s) is personal, prayer must be private and personal, not public.
Private prayer, in whatever form, may help people solve problems and cope with life as it is. One of the few good things about Jesus– he supported private prayer and condemned public prayer
— it appears a lot of Christians do not follow in Jesus’ footsteps in this — Some variety of Quakers are an exception.
The only function of public prayer is for one person to effectively persuade other people to their way of seeing the world — essentially applying political pressure — a political act. Otherwise public prayer has no meaning.
To me, as it was for Jesus of the Bible, public prayer is offensive.
Prayer is a form of talking to yourself. A discussion with yourself.
— contrary to popular thinking, privately talking to yourself or discussing things with yourself can be beneficial.
I prefer the word Introspection to prayer.
Many people, including myself, need time for introspection. Introspection can be described in many ways: meditation, time for reflection, private prayer, communing with nature, communing with oneself, time out, thinking time, creative thinking time, a time to consider unusual questions, time to philosophize, time to be alone, talking with yourself, or whatever.
In refreshing ourselves this way, some people need more introspection then others.
Some may not need it at all. Many religionists might not call this true prayer since you aren’t praying to some external god.
Private prayer about another person is often fine — it means you are thinking of that person, and this could be satisfying.
There are as many personal gods as there are people that pray. As mentioned before some of these gods are not the nicest, but some are kind, compassionate, tolerant and understanding.
A major part of what organized religion does is attempt to make this personal god uniform for all by assuming they are talking about THE universal external supernatural being. A major part of this attempt for many happens in sermons, public prayer, music and other arts (usually beautifully and emotionally done).
Organisms, including humans, have a very strong urge to survive. This very strong urge is used by conventional religious and other New Age groups who falsely believe their supernatural god(s) and their other supernatural entities are somehow in existent outside their own brains. The product sold by conventionally religious and other New Age groups competing in the spiritual marketplace is “life after death”. Whatever else they do, their core appeal, which is difficult for people to resist, is their claim that for you to have life in the hereafter you must follow their religious beliefs and practices, including prayer, and adopt their personal god.
So, in brief, the reasonable stance is non-supernaturalism, therefore nontheism (no external God outside the brain), but PRIVATE prayer, in whatever form (basically discussing things with yourself), may be useful at times. Any so called supernatural events or entities occur naturally in the brain and are part of the natural, not separate from it.
What about the External God some people believe exists?
Reasonable questions when the topic of god comes up.
Which god are you talking about?
Point of interest:
Did you know that during the Roman times Christians were called Atheists because they didn’t believe in the existence of the traditional gods? Similarly, initially the Muslims were considered Atheists because they didn’t believe in the existence of the gods then considered running the Universe.
What about religious groups?
It has been estimated that there may have been as many as 100 000 religious groups in
the recent history of mankind, and that at least 10 000 major organized religious groups exist today. There may be as many as 30,000 variations of Christianity, each with different beliefs from the others.These groups, including the Christian groups, evolve; they all grow, change, and eventually die.
In the past many very smart people worshiped and believed “the now extinct” gods were real and that the associated religion
was the only true one. What happened to the gods, Jupiter and Neptune?
“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic, is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober man.” G. B. Shaw
Also, keep in mind: “Humankind is born with two things, life from which
each person inevitably dies, and hope which hints that death may not be the end. A conviction that life does not end with death is a tentative endorsement of the validity of hope.
The product sold by religious and other New Age groups competing in the spiritual
marketplace is “life after death”. Whatever else they do, their core appeal, which is
difficult for people to resist, is their claim that for you to have life in the hereafter
you must follow their religious beliefs, practices and their god. You are very vulnerable in this.
Another attraction is the emotional appeal. This attraction is used by all
religious and other New Age groups in varying degrees. What appeals is:
The group is:
“Exactly like family.
But a real family.
One that doesn’t abandon you because it’s too busy or finds something else to do.
One that doesn’t judge you because of who you are.
One that gives you love and support and understanding whatever the circumstances.
How could you not believe them?
How could you even think it?”
None of this makes what the group holds as doctrine to be truth — if truth is what you seek you must remember these emotional appeals are used by all religious and other new Age groups in some way. Remember, it is emotional support (very important in life), not the truth of reality that is involved here.
The objects of a religious experience depends on the culture of the person experiencing it.
In a Muslim environment they will be related to the Koran.
In a Christian environment they will be related Jesus and Biblical events.
In Ancient Rome they were related to the Gods and myths of the Romans at that time.
And, so on.
Unlike Science; Politics, Government, Economic activity and most other endeavours
which are public, Religion and religious experiences are personal and private.
Religion can and often is used publicly by people and organizations of people for
certain political ends to the detriment of the individual. The individual beware!
An additional note: Religious and charity groups or institutions often have a set of ideals and aims.
At first these are paramount in the operations of these groups, but after a time (some say as low as 5 years) the overwhelming aim of the group becomes growth and maintenance of the group rather than the original ideals.
What about Science?
Science only makes progress when it denies the supernatural. Organized religion usually promotes the supernatural.
The talk about the relationship between religion and science is a sham. Science is a non-theistic (non-supernatural or atheistic) endeavor. It has been so successful
because it is one area of endeavor that assumes there is nothing beyond
the natural. Scientists, whatever their private beliefs, assume no supernatural realm
as it applies to their profession while they are practicing it. Outside of science
they may believe all kinds of things, for instance the existence of a
three-headed-god. They may take all kinds of leaps of faith outside
of their profession — that is their business.
I agree that some famous scientists have and do use religious (supernatural)
terms to explain some exciting science. Because of the beauty of
scientific investigation and discovery it does evoke intense emotions
in many people including myself; and emotional words are used to express these.
When expressing these in public it is important not to mislead the public
in believing they are referring to anything but the natural.
At an international colloquium at the University of Maastricht in 1999, Paul Kurtz
reported that a large survey showed that 60% of U.S. scientists do not believe
in a God, and 40% do believe in some God. The rate of belief was much less
when considering scientists at a higher academic level. This must be one of the
most atheistic groups in the U.S.
Ask yourself:
How far would science develop if supernatural causes (e.g. God, gods, miracles,
holy ghost, evil spirits, heaven, hell, angels, long dead deities) were acceptable
in explaining processes? The death of science would follow soon thereafter.
Science also addresses the “should”. Science provides values.
Example: Most people will see the value of taking medication for
epileptic seizures (offered by science) than to exorcise an evil
spirit (used by religious specialists, especially before the advent
of modern science). The discoveries of science promote
a “should” in the ethical and moral spheres.
In varying rates religious groups do evolve over time to accept certain science and
secular ethics that were considered sinful and evil at one time. An example of science is Darwinian Evolution.
This acceptance is usually conditional, partial and forced by circumstance, never easily or voluntary.
Unlike religion, games, government, traffic rules, fashion of dress which are made by humans, the rules of science are not. They are discovered by observation, reason and experiment.
Newton didn’t invent the law of gravity.
Biologists didn’t “construct” the DNA helix; they observed it.
The orbit of Mars is not a social construction.
Einstein didn’t make up relativity. These are part of an objective reality, not dependent on man.
Scientists whose belief system requires the supernatural
An example of a changing religious belief system
It’s OK NOT to believe!
It may surprise you but there are good intellectual and ethical reasons not to believe.
Some of them are presented on the many pages of this website.
Also, you are NOT alone in your doubts or your disbeliefs.
“Good” moral and ethical values do not depend on religious belief, and are often
degraded by religious belief. In addition Truth of reality is not the foundation of religion.
“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two
conflicting needs; the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us
and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. If you are only skeptical, then
no new ideas make it through to you. You never learn anything new. You become a
crotchety old person convinced that nonsense rules the world. (There is, of course,
much data to support you)
On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an
ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish useful ideas from the
worthless ones. If all ideas have equal validity then you are lost, because then, it seems to me, no ideas have any validity at all.” — Carl Sagan, “The Burden of Skepticism,” Pasadena lecture, 1987
The good news is that it is an unnecessary complication
for you to belong to an organized religion or other New Age group.
You can be your own person, potentially making your life happier, more
exhilarating, and giving it real meaning. Whatever good things you see in organized religions, traditional or other New Age, if you look closely you will find that they are built on weak foundations. BUT, each can have a hold on you just like all the
many other cults that each competes with, and each despises.
What about Dogmatism?
Everyone seems to be dogmatic about their beliefs, whether based on life experiences or not.
However an open-minded person will try to listen to another’s dogma which may not change the person’s own dogma, but at least it will likely give the person an understanding of the other – maybe even engender a respect, compassion, liking, tolerance for that other person. In a civilized society this is a necessity.
I am dogmatic about my beliefs, but I am interested in other people’s beliefs and often do consider their perspective.
Some dogmas are better than others.
Those dogmas that are based on empirical evidence (Science) and promote the welfare and freedom of all people are better than those dogmas that don’t.
What about Ethics?
Since all morality and ethics are based on Good
(that which enhances life) and Evil (that which destroys life),
it is not the domain of religion, but of common, reasonable people.
You and I are the ones that have to promote the good and
lessen the evil in our world, not religion.
Principles that enhance life such as principles of compassion (to feel with),
love, self-giving, respect, honesty, responsibility, kindness,
knowledge, enjoyment of life, decreasing suffering, etc. are
Good principles, to be promoted, whereas
murder, stealing, hurting are usually evil.
Where these principles conflict you must
weigh the possible consequences and decide which ones take priority.
Selfishness is not an evil as such.
The vast majority of people are innately “GOOD to others near them”
be they religious, freethinkers, agnostics, atheists or whatever. People’s
basic humanity to others often is evident in spite of cumbersome religious beliefs they may purport to hold.
About 1% of the population that are psychopaths I would consider likely “Evil to others”
— extreme examples are Stalin and Clifford Olson, the serial killer.
In groups the highest percentage number of psychopaths ( about 3.4%) are found in religious leaders and corporation CEO’s.
Generally in various degrees, people naturally need to be loving, caring and
supportive of others, and to be loved, cared about and supported by others.
Religion is not needed, may even be a hindrance to these human qualities.
The Golden Rule as presented in Confucianism is a good guide for all:
“Do not unto others that you would not have them do unto you” (Analects, 15,23).
Similarly, in the Jewish tradition. Rabbi Hillel in 10 AD: “What is hateful to you, do not
to your fellowmen. That is the entire Law; all else is commentary.” (Talmud, Shabbat, 31a).
OR in Buddhism: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful”. (Udana-Varga,5, 18)
OR in Hinduism: ” Do naught unto others which cause you pain if done to you”. (Mahabharata, 5, 1517)
Possibly, with care, you could use “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — because the other
person may not like done to them what you like or want done to yourself.
Example: I love my wife of 56 years. She is a wonderful woman in more than a million ways.
Our often life threatened, multiply-physically disabled daughter was wonderful — she was intelligent, had a very good disposition, good sense of justice and fairness.
(I don’t wish a disability for anyone, and it would be better if our daughter did not
have hers. Thank scientists for pain killers.) We love, belong to and care for
each other (cats included).
An aside: Did you know the Bible never ever mentions the words “moral,
morality or ethics”?
“Good deeds, in the Bible, are almost always connected with heavenly reward, “God’s will”, avoiding punishment or with a missionary agenda. Most “Christian charity” is given to prove the superiority of Christianity or to win converts, not because human life is good, valuable and worthy of respect in its own right.” Dan Barker
What about traditional religion?
Since our society is dominated by the various Christian belief systems and that 2,100,000,000 people in the world (over 31%, the largest religious grouping — Islam has 1,600,000,000 adherents or less than 24%, Hinduism has about 1,000,000,000 adherents) claim to be Christians, these are the belief systems that are emphasized in this web site. However most of what is said applies also to all other organized religions.
Many of the topics in the following books were in the original web site, but are better explained in the following books (Table of Contents included):
(1) The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy by C. Dennis McKinsey. This Excellent book is the best I could find, but is difficult to find to purchase. The Table of Contents:
Preface, Acknowledgements
- The Composition of the Bible: Inerrancy, Canon, Excluded Literature, Authorship, Originals,Variances, Greek and Hebrew, Interpretation.
- “Jesus Christ Is the Answer?”: Twenty-two Questions About Jesus.
- “The Bible Is God’s Word?”: Twenty-four Questions About the Bible.
- Contradictions: Numerology, Theological, Chronological, Factual, Philosophical, Ethical.
- Jesus I: Resurrection, Crucifixion, Ascension, Genealogy, Ancestry, Historicity and Extrabiblical Sources, Pagan Figures.
- Jesus II: Credentials, Non-Messiah, Debunked, Incarnation, False Prophet, Virgin Birth,Trinity.
- Jesus III: Character, Deceptiveness.
- Jesus IV: Second Coming and Messianic Age, Messianic Prophecies.
- The Character of Biblical Figures: God, Patriarchs, Matriarchs,Prophets, Peter.
- Injustice: Original Sin, Evil, Innocents, Suffering, Atonement, Heaven, Exclusivism, Hell, Sexism, Slavery.
- Science: Mathematics, False Science, Geography, Flood, Creationism, Biblical Day.
- Belief: False Teachings, Perfection, Prayer, Testing the Bible, Miracles.
- Social Issues I: Abortion, Alcohol, Anti-Semitism, Cannibalism, Children, Communism, Death Penalty, Divorce, Gambling.
- Social Issues II: Homosexuality, Human Sacrifice, Intellectualism, Intolerance, Lending, Nationalism, Polygamy, Poverty, Profanity, Self-Degradation.
- Prophecies: Nonexistent, Unfulfilled, False, Jesus’ False Prophecies.
- Salvation: Faith, Works, Grace, Whim, Predestination, Universalism, Annihilationism, Heaven.
- Biblical History I: Old and New Testament Fallacies, Jesus’ Trial and Execution, Population, Liberalism, Forty.
- Biblical History II: Creation Accounts Conflict, Self-Contradictions of Accounts, Genesis Problems, Moses and the Pentateuch.
- Sabbath: Saturday, Sunday, The Change.
- Paul: Contradictions, Misquotations, Nonquotes, Ill-Conceived Comments, Misinterpretations, False Prophecies.
- Accommodations: Misquotations, Nonquotes, Misinterpretations, Ignored Teachings.
- Conflicts: Jesus vs Paul, Peter vs the Old Testament, Peter vs the New Testament, Peter vs Paul, Peter vs Jesus, Peter vs Peter.
- New Testament Service to the Elite: Acceptance and Submission, Rejection of Wealth, Expectations of Reward, Closed-mindedness, Human Nature, Fostering Slavery.
- Aside: Other Holy Books, The Book of Mormon, The Koran.
- The Philosophy of Biblical Errancy: Cause for Concern, Tactics, Apologetic Defenses, Strategy, What’s Needed, Procedures, A Personal Note.
Bibliography: Quotes Extrabiblical Sources.
General Index, Index of Verse Citations
(2) “Atheism, a very short introduction” by Julian Baggini, 119 pages, 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-280424-2
The author is a British Philosopher. This is an honest attempt to philosophically rationalize atheism. People often wonder what intellectual justifications an atheist may use to support his stance. To truly appreciate religion, you must also know what atheism is all about.
The chapters of this book are:
1. What is atheism?
2 The Case for Atheism
3 Atheist Ethics
4 Meaning and Purpose
5 Atheism in History
6 Final Words
(3) “The God Virus” by Darrel W. Ray, 241 pages, 2009, ISBN – 13:978-0-9709505-1-2
The author is an organizational psychologist. Again, has specialized in the psychology, anthropology, and Sociology of religion. He has an evangelical background. His book deals with all kinds of belief systems including Marxism.
The book gives an unusual and new perspective of these systems.
One chapter is on the American Civil Religion.
(4) “The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts” by Israel Finkelstein, Neil Asher Silberman, both Orthodox Jews
A must read — describes the last 25 years of new detailed archaeological data of the middle east.
Table of Contents: Prologue: In the Days of King Josiah. Introduction: Archaeology and the Bible.
Part One: The Bible History
- Searching for the Patriarchs.
- Did the Exodus Happen?
- The Conquest of Canaan.
- Who Were the Israelites?
- Memories of a Golden Age?
Part Two: The Rise annityd Fall of Ancient Israel
- One State, One Nation, One People (c. 930 – 720 BCE)
- Israel’s Forgotten First Kingdom c. (884 – 842 BCE)
- In the Shadow of Empire (c. 842 – 720 BCE)
Part Three: Judah and the Making of Biblical History
- The transformation of Judah (c. 930 – 705 BCE)
- Between War and Survival (c. 705 – 639 BCE)
- A Great Reformation (c. 639 – 586 BCE)
- Exile and Return (c. 586 – 440 BCE)
- Epilogue: The Future of Biblical Israel
- Appendix A: Theories of the Historicity of the Patriarchal Age
- Appendix B: Searching the Sinai
- Appendix C: Alternate Theories of the Israelite Conquest
- Appendix D: Whet the Traditional Archaeology of the Davidic and Solomonic Period is Wrong
- Appendix E: Identifying the Era Of Manasseh in the Archaeological Record.
- Appendix F: How Vast Was the Kingdom of Josiah?
- Appendix G: The Boundaries of the Province of Yehud.
- Biography
- Index
Other Books:
(a) You may be interested in a science fiction book that is entertaining, yet very factual on evolution entitled “Evolution” by Stephen Baxter. ISBN 0-345-45783-8 ~650 pages pocketbook. Would appeal to non-scientists.
What drives Christianity:
Armageddon Factor – the rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada by Marci McDonald
and
Jesus and John Wayne by Kristan Du Mex in the U.S.
The following are important (I think) articles written before 1900:
(1) A Number of Articles by Robert Green Ingersoll written before 1900. They were relevant then, and they are very relevant now.
A Critical View of Traditional Religious Beliefs (below is a list of topics):
(2) Holy Books
(3) Persons
(4) Relics
(6) Poetry, art, sculpture and music
(11) Nothing experience can be very intense
(16) Suffering and Pain 16(a) More on Suffering 16(b) Still more on Suffering
Recommended Science Books (ones most people can understand – you don’t have to be a scientist). Even older are still very relevant and up-to-date:
(1) Your Atomic Self, the invisible elements that connect you to everything else in the universe by Curt Stager, 2014, ISBN 978-1-250-01884-7
(2) The Scientists,An Epic of Discovery, edited by Andrew Robinson, 2012, ISBN 978-0-500-25191-1
(3) A Most Improbable Journey, A Big History of our planet and ourselves by Walter Alvarez, 2017, ISBN 978-0-393-35519-2
(4) The Canon, A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier, 2007,ISBN 978-0-547-03346-2 {Keep in mind that Natalie includes a lot of wit and charm – humorous phrases in this book}
(5) A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, 2003
(6) good enough, The Tolerance for Mediocrity in Nature and Society by Daniel S. Milo, 2019
Some odd things about the Bible: I am told the Bible is the perfect word of God, so …
Return of Jesus nearly 2000 years ago
Patriarchs of the Bible – unsavory characters
According to the Bible the Sabbath must be on Saturday
e-mail and reply to Bible -Inerrant Book
Poverty required of a Christian
According to the Bible Faith is more important than Reason
A Few Other Questions for Theists
Children degraded in the Bible
What about the Ten Commandments?
Factors against belief in Jesus
Some Uplifting Ethics in the Bible
God of the Bible Murders (Part 1)
God of the Bible Murders (Part 2)
Bible says Humans and other Animals have the same Ending
New Earth Creationists and Old Earth Creationists
Click on the next 2 links – they are related
New Earth Creationists and Old Earth Creationists
The Bible according to Ruth Hurmance Green
Some calculations of possible interest:
Is there enough Oxygen in the atmosphere?
How much Oxygen is there for a person to survive in an air-tight enclosure?
Our Universe – Observable versus unobservable part
Why is there something instead of nothing?
Cheer Up… Here’s Your Horrorscope
A critical review of “The Case For a Creator ” by Lee Strobel
Some interesting statistics:
Some Stats comparing Christian behaviour and Non-Christian behaviour
The ethics and moral behaviour of religionists is no better than atheists
More Stats – Religiosity and Divorce
Unbelievers and Believers in Prison
Recommended Web Sites
In Society: Worst Voluntary Drug is Alcohol; Worst Voluntary Health Hazard is Smoking; Worst Voluntary Money Waster is Gambling.
ohooge@shaw.ca By Orland (Ord) Hooge,
Canada
Naturalism and Religious Experience 