HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Aug. 18, 2005 The natural Universe and the normal sensory organs that permit me to understand and appreciate it, in the measure that I am allotted, are all the Universe and organs that I need, to see the magnificence and awe of Nature. I don’t know how the Universe happens to exist, and no one else knows either, regardless of pretenses to the contrary. And I don’t care how it happens to exist. I have the Sun in heaven, and that is all the god I need. The Sun, though, is not a conscious being, not really a god, despite what ancient Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Japanese thought, but it is very like unto a god, being ths source of all earthly life and human joy. With the health, weather and money that the Sun enables me to enjoy, what more do I need? I am really glad that I have five senses, and, though surely it would be great to have six or ten or a hundred, it is childish to expect these other senses to appear. Likewise, it is great that I have a physical body that contains a good brain, for this enables me to do fine things. Undoubtedly, it would be wonderful if I had a greater body, one that would enable to me fly like an eagle, swim like a dolphin and fight like a lion, but it’s a waste of time to dwell upon such vagrant wishes. I am grateful that I have lived as long as I have, and, even if immortality awaited me, I don’t think I would want it, unless I were possessed of an entirely different body, but if I were, would I be I? No, I would be something else, so let me die in peace, forgetting all. Nonetheless, throughout history, there have been millions of people, generally misled by demagogues and mountebanks, who have fallen prey to the notion that there are higher powers or occult science that can make other worlds and sharpened intelligence available to them. Such ideas permeate the Bible and other ancient scribblings, with their talk of miracles and prophecy and everlasting life. There have been all kinds of cults and fads: astrology, witchcraft, numerology, theosophy, scientology, biorhythms, feng shui, tarot, i ching. One hears frequently of psychic powers, paranormal experiences and extrasensory pérception. All of this is idle palaver and jabberwocky. None of this is real. It would be great if I were telepathic and could hold conversations with fine people in other galaxies. It would be great if I could wake up in the morning and record my dreams so later I might consult my log for divine predictions. It would be wonderful if I could heal the sick and walk the lame, giving eyes to the blind and ears to the deaf. It would be great if I could leave my body and fly through the nebulae on a great white swan, with a goddess at my side. Instead though, let me enjoy what I do have and can do, and leave all that to the demagogues and the mountebanks, and their dupes. Just let me give a single example of the fraudulency of the supernatural and the paranormal: During the Syro-Ephramitic War of around 733 BC, Isaiah prophesied victory for Ahaz over his foes Pekah and Rezin, trying to wax poetic by saying, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This had nothing to do with anyone but Ahaz. It didn’t relate to Christ in any way, shape or form. Between 60 and 85 AD, Matthew or his ghostwriter, alluding to Isaiah’s prophecy, pretended that it heralded the birth of Jesus, quoting Isaiah, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.” How could Matthew have known Mary was a virgin? He would have had to be 75 to 100 years old when he wrote the Gospel to have been old enough at the time of Mary’s pregnancy to monitor her romantic life. Even if he had been old enough, it surely is not plausible that Mary would have allowed him to shadow her 24 hours a day during the time when she must have conceived. If Matthew did not surveille Mary in the days of her conception, how could he say she was a virgin? Either he made up the allegation out of thin air, or God told him, as most Christians would say. How did God tell him then? One Christian on this website claims that God talks and writes in the hearts of men. But there’s nothing in anybody’s heart but blood. So Matthew, made it up purely and simply. Matthew was a liar. There was no fulfilment of a prophecy, no virgin conception and very probably neither a Jesus nor a Mary. Matthew has tried to hijack an utterly irrelevant passage from Isaiah’s ravings and use it to add the appearances of divine authority to his shoddy little Gospel. He did this, no doubt, in order to enlist a following of gullible simpletons who would contribute to the church or body politic he was aspiring to found for the purpose of living a life of ease on the fruits of others’ labors. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
