God is Like My Mother

Many are thankful to have had a loving mother as a guide, teaching and nurturing them before they set out into their own lives. Frequently mothers will continue to present themselves as being a source of love that can be relied on to provide something those seeking it cannot provide for themselves. The title of mother and the women aptly named as such, are generally representative of being loving people. Not in all cases, but generally most beings would consider them loving and trustworthy. If someone is raised in a home where love and respect is continually shown through words and deeds, then the recipients of that love and respect know they can trust the source.

I can't say that I have that type of a relationship with my own mother. Thankfully, I do have many relationships that would prove to me what being loving and trustworthy are all about. They taught me what it means to have those qualities and gave me the opportunity to teach my children what it means to be there for them and others. To me, love means knowing you can count on someone to do as they say they will do and trust is established when you can repeatedly expect that to happen.

What creates the most stress in my relationship with my mother is that she frequently says one thing and then proceeds to act entirely different. I have a huge trust issue with her due to that fact. This past Easter got me thinking about the trust that followers have in their spiritual buddy. Easter Sunday is the holiest of celebrated days for believers; the torture, death and resurrection of their lord and savior is revered specifically for what he went through for them. And the followers love and thank him for his sacrifice for them.

The actions that allegedly played out for jesus that fateful day do not evoke emotions for me that scream an allegiance to god, rather they make me question the sincerity of the words that god claims he is a loving god. These events bring me back to the days of things that occurred in my childhood involving my mother. The events that made me realize that loving someone and treating them poorly do not equal a loving relationship.

How are the religious folks even remotely okay with jesus getting the bejeezzus flagellated out of him when their supposed 'loving' god is the actual reason for the poor carpenter getting sacrificed in the first place? Remember now, this is god's plan to give them an out for being such bad sinning human beings. Faithful followers everywhere are okay with the thought "Yes, let me allow my son to be tortured unrelentingly and made to hang crucifixion style, agonizingly, for however long until his death because I love you and want you to be with me. Through him all is possible."

This incident, specifically, and one example after another shown to us in the bible depicts an incredibly different god; one who does such horrific things and then supposedly does them ONLY 'because' of that love he has for human beings. Huh? Why are red flags not going off in EVERY religious mind in the face of that hypocrisy? Can it be shown anymore perfectly that this is non-trust provoking behavior! All the events that led up to Easter being the high holiest of days is the perfect example of someone who can't be trusted to do what he proclaims!

I repeatedly question why followers aren't asking themselves how their heavenly 'father' chooses to actively promote this action of letting his son die on the cross if he is really such a loving god. Not to mention allowing his son to go through the alleged torture prior to being nailed and displayed on said cross. Doesn't that for even one hot minute strike a chord in believers that this goes against what 'being loving' means? Would they, considering themselves to be loving people, ALLOW these types of events to occur to their own children?

Alarms should be going off! All buttons actively firing, flashing and ringing out with the message that these are not actions of a loving and reasonable god. Actually, quite the opposite! How can the claim be made that 'our god is an awesome god and our god is a loving god'? It's simply not true.

Close, loving and personally satisfying relationships are based on a mutual trust and respect for one another. Loving relationships can be counted on to provide messages of endearment that are supported by deeds showing the other person consistently 'they've got your back' and won't let you down. Loving relationships build a foundation of trust that is continuously reinforced through loving acts. That bond and the trust gets stronger when the truth that is shown us is a love that can be seen and heard consistently and without fail.

When actions speak a different language than what is originally heard, questions should immediately be raised and doubts interjected into the previously held thought process. My relationship with my mother, after many years of hearing one thing and seeing another, helped me to understand that I wasn't dealing with someone who was loving. I was in a relationship with someone who 'thought' she was but didn't have the first clue about what it meant be that person. Many of her actions in fact were opposite of what demonstrated love. Being a reasonable person showed me how to question and then intelligently remove myself from that destructive relationship.

Using reason saves you, not believing a fictitious man in the sky.... especially one who lies.

Freethinkers Want to Know

"piet" asked me for a favor. Below is the link to his post. Believers - Would you kindly oblige 'piet' with a request he has made on his blog? He asks many reasonable questions that many skeptics, like myself, have also asked themselves. These are the kind of questions that led me to where I am today - preferring rational thinking for myself rather than blindly following some stories that make absolutely no sense, are contradictory and have just been passed down from one generation after the other playing out like the world's longest version of the "Whispering Game".

Here's my question - How can you NOT ask questions?

97 Questions for the Believer

Please Don't Say Anything

"He is NOT a Mormon.  Please get your facts straight before saying such hurtful things.  If he did this as a member of the LDS church, he would absolutely be ex-communicated."

I  saw this comment posted after a story ran that polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was convicted. This comment was in response to someone else's negative comment about Jeffs and the Mormons. Obviously, the person above who responded didn't agree. They got offended that someone attacked their precious religion.

The statement they made is flat-out incorrect.The LDS are Mormon, so denying it is ludicrous. The current LDS church originated in the Mormon faith, an idea that was concocted by Joseph Smith back in the 1830's. It wasn't until later that church leaders had to disassociate from all of the somewhat evil undertones, while still clinging to the so-called good bits of it, to ensure its continuation. Current believers haven't been indoctrinated with that bit of information, obviously. If those spouting their anger would crack a book and understand history a little bit, they wouldn't feel inclined to make these passionate types of statements in defense of their religion. They might even be less inclined to believe in their religion, at all, after they did.

The point is ignorance, in general, and the lack of facts will continue to evoke this kind of response from people. They will open their mouths and put something out there that is just not true, leaving educated people no other choice but to comment or correct.

Ignorant people... don't be a hater when they do.