Often, the more Fundamentalist Christian someone becomes, the worse they get. They hate and persecute LGBTQ people. They want to replace American democracy with a theocratic nation, a Christian nation. (Once that happens the war can begin about exactly which type of Christianity; read the history of medieval Europe’s religious wars if you want to know what to expect.) And they become very, very, very concerned with their neighbor’s sexuality. Abortion. Contraception. Premarital sex. Casual sex. Co-habitation. Single parenthood. Porn. Divorce. Masturbation. “Purity” culture. It’s as if they have their head firmly planted between their neighbor’s legs—metaphorically speaking.
What prompted this (passionate yet accurate and complete true) rant is what Oklahoma State Senator Tom Woods said about the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict. Who is Nex Benedict? Here’s a news story[i] account.
Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old non-binary high school student, loved nature and watching the television show The Walking Dead. Nex enjoyed drawing, reading and playing Ark and Minecraft. Nex also had a cat, Zeus, whom they loved. Nex’s family trace part of their roots to the Choctaw Nation, and were on a journey to understanding more about Nex’s identity - like many other parents of transgender and non-binary youth. On February 7, 2024, Nex was brutally and viciously beaten inside a bathroom at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma, where Nex was a student. Nex was taken to the hospital and released, only to be readmitted the following day. On February 8, 2024, Nex succumbed to sustained injuries and tragically died.
An article[ii] in The Oklahoman describes Christian State Senator Tom Woods reaction to Nex’s death.
An Oklahoma state senator is being quoted as calling the LGBTQ+ community "filth" and saying the people in his district don't want them in the state.
"I represent a constituency that doesn't want that filth in Oklahoma," Sen. Tom Woods, R-Westville, was quoted by a newspaper as saying during a legislative forum Friday sponsored by the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce.
"We are a religious state and we are going to fight it to keep that filth out of the state of Oklahoma because we are a Christian state—we are a moral state," Woods added.
Senator, Woods, NO human being is filth, especially if they are living as God created them. But if you mean people the thought of whom sickens and repulse, then for me that would be you and people like you.
Let me tell you why.
To begin, there are literally more stars in the known universe than grains of sand on all the beaches of Earth. (Look it up!) God far surpasses all human thought. So, we create images of God. We create personifications of God. Historically, the number of God personifications is in the hundreds, if not thousands. And that’s merely on planet Earth. Somewhere in the universe there may be intelligent rabbit-like creatures who worship the Great Furry Rabbit, who sacrificed her fur for the sake of all rabbits. Or there may be spider-like creatures who worship the Great Mother Spider, who spun the web of the universe. All of them are personifications of the one true God.
Personifications are meant to lead us closer to God. But once idolatry enters the picture, things sour quickly. That’s why religion is a powerful force for good. And for evil.
A non-religious person would naturally love family and friends. Enemies, not so much. Such a person wouldn’t have much use for the idea of God. But God wants us to forgive, to be honest and truthful, to love God, to have hope, etc. So, we create personifications of God with exactly that message. For people who accept the message, religion is a force for good. They begin to care about the poor, the homeless, immigrants, and the unfortunate. They create hospitals and soup kitchens and the like. Such people often don’t know (or care) that New Testament Jesus says not to call you dad “father” and not to swear oaths. And they certainly don’t know what New Testament Jesus calls a “command of God” in Matthew 15:1-4. Nor do they care. Their Jesus says love and forgive. So, they do. Or, at least, try. And they often realize, if only subconsciously, the Bible is a creation of man and that its many silly stories are just that—silly stories. Religion brings such people closer to God than is the average non-religious person.
When idolatry enters the picture, things change. For instance, if you read a story where a family kicked their teenage son or daughter out of their home for coming out gay, you can be fairly certain that family is fundamentalist Christian (or some other religions’ brand of fundamentalism).
Any man-made idol is sure to have flaws which the idolater must ignore or explain away. The object of Christian idolatry, the Bible, opens with a talking serpent (Genesis) and later has a talking donkey (Numbers). It has lots of silly fairy tales that believers spend much time and money defending. They claim a worldwide flood actually happen. They insist evolution is false and that the Earth is only about 10,000 years old. They must because otherwise the object of their idolatry wouldn’t merit their worship. Like a cancer, they attack and subvert science—all for the sake of their idol and its silly fairy tales.
For instance, only an idolater could believe that God regretted making humanity.
The Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved. So the Lord said: I will wipe out from the earth the human beings I have created, and not only the human beings, but also the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air, for I regret that I made them.—Genesis 6:6-7
“Regretted?” Really? As in, “Well, gosh, if I had known it was going to turn out like that, I never would have done it.” So, moved by regret, God decides to slowly drown the entire world—men, women, children, babies, kitty cats and puppy dogs. Everyone and everything except Noah & Company. Anyone with the least bit of common sense would know that’s a fairy tale, even if scientists didn’t tell us a worldwide flood never happened. And anyone with the slightest love of God would happily accept that God really didn’t drown the entire world. But the Bible idolater cannot because they love their idol more than they love God.
And then there’s the story of people popping out of the grave and walking around Jerusalem after the crucifixion of Jesus, but no one in the ancient world noticing or making a note. Fact or fiction? For the non-idolater, the answer is obvious.
But Bible idolaters insist it’s all true: “God said it; I believe it; and that settles it for me.” Except, like much of what they say, that’s nonsense. If the Bible really is the word of God, then God uses the word “serpent.” But the preacher says God meant “Satan.” The preacher says God would have said “Satan” if only God thought and spoke as clearly as the preacher. And the believers say “Amen.” That is, people who believe THEIR PREACHER, NOT THE BIBLE, say “Amen.” So rather than “God said it; I believe it; and that settles it for me,” we have “God said it; my preacher tells me what God meant to say; I gullibly accept what my preacher says; and that settles it for me.”
The mind of a gullible person is easily filled with lies. Once you give up reality for belief in talking serpents, you’re an easy mark for anyone pushing other types of tripe. Thus:
- Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. and is the Anti-Christ.
- Evolution is false.
- Trump is favored by God.
- The 2020 Presidential election was rigged so we must violently stop Joe Biden from assuming office.
- COVID is a hoax.
- The Earth is about 10,000 years old.
- The U.S. is a Christian nation. (Pray tell, exactly which denomination?)
- The Earth is flat.
The Earth is flat!? Surely, we can’t blame that belief on the Bible. Or can we? Here’s what the Ultra-Bibilical Answers in Genesis organization says in an article.[iii]
As I have previously discussed, belief that the earth is flat has rapidly grown of late, largely through dissemination via countless Internet sites and the influence of social media. Unfortunately, many Christians have fallen prey to this, misled into believing that the Bible teaches the earth is flat and that, until five centuries ago, the church likewise taught that the earth is flat. In this article, I will examine many of the biblical passages that supposedly teach that the earth is flat, and I will show that in fact they do not.
If you’ve got Bible believers who need to be told the Earth is not flat, what does that say about the Bible? Or the mind of the believer?
Religion is meant to lead people closer to truth. Fundamentalist Christianity often leads people in the opposite direction, harming society. Some examples.
- A few centuries of Bible-endorsed slavery in the United States. Enough said.
- Baptist pastor Rick Morrow says[iv] that demonic forces cause autism which can be treated by casting out demons. Imagine being the parent of a child with autism, living in a town where many people believe your child is possessed by demons. Imagine how the children of such people would treat your child. They would make your child’s life a living hell. As if that isn’t bad enough, imagine now you happen to be gay.
- Baptist pastor Dillon Awes says[v] “gay people should be 'shot in the back of the head'”
- Houston SBC pastor Ed Young calls migrants 'garbage' in Sunday sermon[vi]
- “A Southern Baptist preacher has brewed up a storm of debates since he told seminary students that taking birth control pills is a sin and equivalent to committing murder.”[vii]
- For centuries, Bible believers hung or burnt women found guilty of the imaginary crime of witchcraft. But that’s in the past? That’s old news? In 2008, the Republican Party picked a believer in witchcraft as their nominee for Vice-President. (Google “Sarah Palin witchcraft” for videos of her having herself blessed against “all forms of witchcraft.”) Palin might easily have become President had she been elected and the elderly John McCain passed away in office. Google “modern witch-hunts” for accounts of people killed for witchcraft even today. None of the accounts occur in the U.S. Yet. But had Palin been president . . . Well, the Bible clearly says in Exodus 22:18, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” But that’s Old Testament? So are verses about homosexuality.
Demons. Witchcraft. Killing gays. Labeling as “filth” non-heterosexual people. Even children, Even deceased children. A theocratic government. Welcome to the brave new world Bible idolaters have in mind for all of us, all straight from the dark side of Christianity, all straight from Tom Woods and people like him. Not filth. Just gullible, misled, superstitious, regressive human beings who have a long way to go to be as pleasing to God as your average non-believer.
[i] https://www.hrc.org/news/honoring-nex-benedict-16-year-old-non-binary-high-school-student-who-tragically-died-after-school-beating
[ii] https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/local/2024/02/23/oklahoma-senator-calls-lgbtq-filth-when-asked-about-gender-issues/72719273007/
[iii] https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/earth/does-bible-teach-earth-flat/
[iv] https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article279280609.html
[v] https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/texas-pastor-says-gay-people-shot-back-head-shocking-sermon-rcna32748
[vi] https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/ed-young-anti-immigration-sermon-18692233.php
[vii] https://www.christianpost.com/news/baptist-preacher-sparks-debate-over-birth-control-pill-sermon.html