A while back, I saw a snippet of some news program that was spotlighting a guy who was president of a successful company. Not exactly big news, except for one thing. The guy was illiterate.
I fully admit that it takes a lot of effort to become a top executive with that kind of disability. Not to mention a lot of sneakiness.
But the guy is learning to read, for which I applaud him. And the show said that there's an awful lot of reading he wants to do.
I don't blame him. Reading is one of the joys of living.
In closing, naturally, the reporter asked him if there were one particular book he wanted to read the most. And, again naturally, he said, "The Bible. The Good Book."
After rolling my eyes, I wondered two things.
First, I wondered if this guy had never heard of books on tape.
Secondly, and more importantly, I wondered if actually reading the Bible (which most people don't really do) will cause him to realize it's not such a good book after all. An honest reading of the Bible is always a good way to turn someone into an atheist.
I've never really gone into it in these pages, but the bible is chock full of absolutely disgusting passages. Many sites on the web go into them in great detail, but I'll just toss out a few of my "favorites." I won't quote them. Look them up yourself. But be sure not to use one of the modern "clean" versions of the bible. Much of the language has been changed to be less offensive. Get an unexpurgated edition to see the true horror of the "good book."
Exodus 22: 18-24 (God mentions specific people who should always be killed, and some who should never be "afflicted," or else he'll kill the one doing the afflicting.)
Leviticus 8:14-36 (Moses and friends do God's will, sacrificing animals to please the Lord.)
Numbers 31:7-18 (God tells Moses and company to slaughter the inhabitants of an entire city, including children, except for virgin girls, who are to become the property of the company.)
2 Samuel 12:14-18 (God kills the infant son of a man who did something God didn't like.)
2 Kings 2:23-24 (God causes a couple of bears to maul 42 children to death because they made fun of a man's bald head.)
Jeremiah 19:9 (God says he will cause his enemies to eat the flesh of their relatives.)
Luke 14:26 (The Lord says that if a person doesn't hate his parents, spouse, and kids, they can't be his disciple.)
It is a vile, vile book, and it will forever be a mystery to me why people choose to worship such a despicable creature.
Then again, perhaps many of these people have simply never really read the damn thing. And unlike our illiterate businessman, they don't have an excuse.
