God of Convenience

The more I learn the more I have to ask the question, is the God of the Bible actually the bad guy? I suppose it doesn't matter to me in the grand scheme since I no longer believe the God of the Bible exists. But, I can't help but be intrigued by the notion of the Christian God being evil.  

In church we are taught that God is love. God created us in his image. He watches over us and he cares for us very much. He is merciful and wise. All knowing and all powerful. Our heavenly father. But, when you actually dig into the Bible instead of just reading the frilly, sunshine and rainbows parts you quickly realize that the God of the Bible isn't really any of these things. He is a real prick, most of the time.

For starters, his love is EXTREMELY conditional. Extremely. If he is watching over things closely, he is a neglectful parent at best. He proves himself to be jealous instead of merciful and short sighted instead of wise. He has killed so many people. On purpose! 

The realistic historical view of the God of the Bible, be it El Shaddai or Yahweh, is that this was just the archaic mythical God/Gods of the Canaanite people and eventually the early Jews and Christians. No different from other early religious mythologies of Egypt, Rome, Greece or Scandinavia. But, due to the colonization and creation of bigger and more powerful armies, this particular brand of mythology spread quickly with the conquering of different nations. That's all this is. It doesn't make it true, just because it became the most popular mythology spread by the winners of wars and subsequent colonization and forced indoctrination. What you tend to believe has a whole lot to do with where you were born, for this reason. 

So, what we have today in the US is a very interesting phenomenon I am calling the God of convenience. every brand of Christianity has created their own version of who the God of the Bible is, depending on the specific narrative they have chosen to push. The Mormon version differs from the Catholic version which differs from the Jehova's Witness version and Episcopal version, Methodist version, Progressive non-denomination versions, etc. Because you can make the Bible say anything you want; that is what churches have done. 

Now again, this doesn't really matter because as far as I can tell, there is no evidence to show that ANY of what is in the Bible is true. And those who would argue can only use circular reasoning by saying that the Bible is true because the Bible says that it's true. There are no outside sources to confirm any of these extraordinary claims of supernatural occurrences. Not one. They can point to the fact that some actual people and actual places are mentioned and that means it's all true. Well, that is like saying Harry Potter is likely true because it takes place in London which is an actual place. 

It's all made up. All of it. We simply made it all up! Like Harry Potter or Star Wars. Fantastic stories. Nothing more.

If I ever come out of the atheist closet there may be some who write this off as me never being a true Christian to begin with. Though I would disagree, I would admit that I have always struggled with doubts. Always. What I came to realize is that belief in God isn't a choice. You don't just decide that you believe. Likewise you can't decide not to. You do or you do not. And though I suppose I don't have evidence to disprove the existence of some supernatural deity, there certainly is no verifiable evidence for its existence either. Nothing but hearsay and accounts of unverifiable personal experiences. People believe based on faith, which is believing in something without sufficient evidence. Or in this case without ANY evidence.  

I take comfort in the idea of just ceasing to be at the end of this life. I have no interest in an eternal life. Especially if it meant I would have to hang out with those religious squares and their phony of a loving god, for all of eternity. I suppose at this point I wouldn't be going to heaven anyway. I don't believe in heaven or hell as described in the Bible or other teachings. There is no actual evidence of an afterlife. None. We die and return to the earth from which we came. That's it. There is nothing wrong with this life being all there is. Nothing whatsoever. To think otherwise is just the ego being afraid of no longer existing. What I find sad is seeing so many people wasting this life by banking on the idea of it being a stepping stone to something afterwards, because it makes them feel better. Live this life!