Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.
Discussion:
In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Aragorn is the bearer of a broken blade that is reforged by the elves. Andúril is the new weapon and becomes a central weapon in the struggle against evil as wielded by the last of the line of the kings of Gondor.
My recent work in the yOutube realm has placed me once more in the position of preacher and teacher and with a familiar topic – Bible and Theology. I don’t speak of the bible being the sword that needs to be reforged so much as my knowledge and understanding of it. Before I used this knowledge to try to build people’s faith. I see this now as a flawed and broken weapon.
In a very real sense, I see this as reforging this knowledge into a new weapon. A weapon to use against my former faith and no I don’t seem my turn from gospel preacher to atheist as good to bad but rather the other way around. The real evil is religious people who do evil things in the name of God and the Bible. In reforging my sword of Biblical knowledge, I plan on using it to fight this foe.
Time to Look Through the Eye:
“To see the truth, change one eye for another”
Meditation:
As I was meditating on this change, I realized that I might actually have to reach for and open my Bible on my shelf. Something I have not done in well over a year and a half. I found myself feeling old strength and knowledge flow back through my veins again as I used my knowledge of the bible and theology again but it was very different. I can see the obvious flaws with the Bible and theology in ways I never saw before.
Mystery:
The mystery for me is to unravel the power of religion that it gains over people. To do that I need to understand why people believe nonsense and how to combat it. In the realm of Christianity, I can see why people want to believe. Eternal life and some sense fo purpose are good motivators. But if the promise is false and if one takes the time to determine their own purpose, then what is the need?
Spirituality:
For my own sense of purpose, I am developing a sense of being an advocate for atheist issues, in particular, the separation fo church and state. It fits well with my political science degree and my religious background. I feel in the sense of atheist spirituality I might have started to see the need here and between this blog, my YouTube Channel The Rabyd Atheist and my desire to either teach in the public school or work for non-profit that has anti-theist aims regarding church and state. I have figured out that I will probably never be happy unless I am advocating for a cause and/or educating.
Conclusion:
I suppose I am taking the material of my old beliefs and education and forging them into something new – a new better and freedom-loving something. – a new sword of truth. Forged from the materials and shards of the old one. My own Andúril.
I remain,
The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.
Skaal!!!
The Grey Wayfarer 
Much of the bible was written by violent, barbaric, bloodthirsty and ignorant savages who created god in their own likeness. This is true of large sections of the Pentateuch, Joshua, judges, I and 2 Samuel, I and 2 and even some passages in the O.T. Prophets. The book of Revelation in the NT is also blood curdling.
Although Open and Process Theisms see God as a God of compassion, healing-mercy and loving-kindness, they can’t establish the existence of such a God. Their God is a vast improvement over the bible god. But, in the case of Open Theism its theologians try to make their views fir the bible but this seems to imply too much bible gymnastics to apply. A much simpler hypothesis is that the existence of any god is highly unlikely.
If Open theists would jettison the barbaric bible and continue to promote a God who is unconditional, others-centred, self-giving, community forming and life affirming compassion and tender mercy, I would be with them, even if such a God of compassion doesn’t exist. Compassion, tenderness and understanding of the heartaches of others can be uplifting, ennobling and inspiring.
Keep up the good work, Ed!
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I was an open theist at the end of my theism . The problem becamse that the Bible is so unrealiable so then you are left with maybe at best deism, but if such a god exists, he seems unconcerned about us. In the end atheism is simply both intellectually honest and practical. Thanks for the comment.
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