Jesus hated pigs and figs...
http://www.ffrf.org/pennstation/jesus.html
Was Jesus A Horse Thief?
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Reproduced from Lead Us Not Into Penn Station by Anne Nicol Gaylor.
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The one-room country school I attended when I was a little girl was not at all fussy about what age you were when you started, so I got to start first grade when I was four. Consequently, I learned to read at an early age, I loved to read, and I read everything I could put my hands on.
Since country schools in the 1930's were very poor, there were not all that many books available. Our school library, unlike school libraries today, was not a room, or even an alcove. It was a piece of furniture--an old oak bookcase whose glass doors had been broken out years before. It held only about 90 books for the children in our eight grades, and, of course, it did not take too long for a hungry, growing reader to go through them. Soon, I was reading the adult books at home, including some memorably bad turn-of-the-century novels. Occasionally, in desperation, I even read my father's agricultural journals. But one book available to me that I could never read because it repelled me so was the bible. I tried it, I dipped in here and there. But it did not seem to make much sense, and far from impressing me or comforting me, it frightened and dismayed me.
At the time I decided that the bible, unlike those turn-of-the-century novels, really was supposed to be an adult book, and that I might appreciate it more when I was older. About that time I got a card at the Andrew Carnegie library in town, and my problems of what to read were ended. There I found shelves and shelves of books, and I could choose what pleased me. (Thank you, Andrew Carnegie.)
Except to check an occasional verse or biblical allusion, I did not read the bible again until I was a college student, and certain palatable parts of both the Old and New Testaments were required reading for a literature course. I decided then that it made more sense than when it had frightened me as a child, but I was still unconvinced of its merit. I thought some of the prose quite stately and some of the poetic images very lovely, but the content and teachings still troubled me. Unlike so many books that drew me back, I definitely did not want to return to the bible. Again, I decided the problem was my own immaturity, that in a few years I might understand what all of the excitement was about. After all, at age 19 you are inclined to accept professorial judgment without question . If they and all those clergypersons thought it great literature and immortal truth, the fault was probably mine.
Busy with children, career, causes, and always with a good supply of delightful books on my night table, I had no occasion to read the bible again until I found myself disagreeing with an acquaintance about the respect due Jesus. There was a ferocious flap in the 1960's brought on by the Beatles' rather innocuous remark that they were now "more popular than Jesus." Widely circulated, the famous quotation caused a huge uproar in this country, with hundreds of boycotts of Beatles music by disc jockeys, passionate denunciations from pulpits, and a rash of bonfires of Beatles records and sheet music, especially in the south. My friend, a churchy type, argued that he did not like to see anyone's religion belittled, adding that whatever one thought of the divinity of Jesus, surely he was a wise and admirable man.
Somehow I didn't remember Jesus that way! And so, it was back to the bible. And this is what I found.
1. Jesus believed in "demons." Jesus believed that "demons" caused illness, both mental and physical illness. The New Testament swims in this. Jesus spoke not a word about germs, bacteria, viruses, contagion and the importance of sanitation. He did not know about these things; he believed "demons" to be responsible for sickness.
2. Jesus unnecessarily killed animals, i.e. pigs. For the most part a pig is a very gentle and intelligent animal, and clean, given the chance. (Most pigs are penned in small spaces where they have no chance to be clean.) A pig can be a delightful pet, affectionate, and as companionable as a dog. Yet Jesus, who had the power to still the seas and calm the winds, chose to drive "demons" from people into pigs. In one report (Mark 5:13) 2,000 pigs whom the "unclean spirits" had entered "ran violently down a steep place into the sea. " One can only wonder at Jesus' irrationality. With his supernatural powers, why not drive the "demons" directly into the sea, and spare 2,000 pigs?
3. Jesus told the people he spoke to that the world would end in their lifetime. Obviously, this was a rather serious error, and must have caused a great deal of unnecessary fear and apprehension.
4. Jesus believed in and promoted the idea of everlasting punishment, even for offenses such as calling someone a fool (Matthew 5:22). Most wise and kind persons do not believe in hell; they do not accept the idea of a creator who punishes the objects of his creation.
5. Jesus had an uneasy vanity. He frequently became quite vindictive if people did not believe in him. A wise person would understand that there was cause for questioning.
6. Jesus destroyed a fig tree out of peevishness. With a disciple, he came upon a fig tree that had no fruit, for the very good reason that it was not the season for figs. Finding no figs, Jesus caused the tree to shrivel and die, thereby assuring no future figs for hungry persons.
7. Jesus was a horse thief.
And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat; loose him, and bring him hither.
And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him." (Luke 19:29-31)
These verses cannot help but give a thoughtful person pause. Why was it that someone with the magical powers of Jesus would choose to put his disciples at risk to steal a horse for him; here was someone with the supernatural ability to feed a multitude with a bit of bread and fish, yet he could not manage to slip that horse's rope and get it to trot past him. Horses were very valuable in those days, even young horses "not yet rid by man. " Stealing horses was a very dangerous pastime. The horse belonged to someone; it was tied.
His unwitting disciples, who could not have been unmindful of Jesus' preaching a day or two earlier that it was wrong to steal (Luke 18:20) did as they were told and survived a challenge.
So, in fact, Jesus was a horse thief. In a sense, he was worse than a horse thief, because he made others do his stealing for him.
Someone once called Jesus "a mediocre preacher who had mistaken ideas about practically everything. " The most cursory reading of the New Testament will confirm that evaluation. Far from being omniscient, as would be anyone's expectation for a reputed " god, " Jesus actually was superstitious and most ignorant of science. He thought the sun could stand still and that the moon had a light of its own. He was an exorcist, preoccupied with demons. He liked to call people names - fools, serpents, dogs, hypocrites, vipers are a few of the epithets he uses regularly. He encouraged his followers to mutilate their bodies, to drink poison and to handle snakes, and some of them still follow those lethal teachings today. He based his ministry on a sense of guilt and the fear of physical punishment. His style was to mix threats and curses with promises, and he cursed not only individuals but whole cities. Most philosophers who make claims present arguments to support them, but the biblical Jesus backs his claims only by threats of eternal damnation. His "cures," sometimes effected with holy spit and followed by admonishments to "tell no one," must perplex even modern day Christians. Why would not a "god" with the power to cure not want to cure as many persons as possible?
Anyone who really believes in the bible has a serious problem - that person is either very ignorant or very disturbed. Yet George Gallup tells us (October, 1976) that 38 per cent of the people in this country say that they believe the bible is "literally true, word for word."
With the upsurge in fundamentalism in this country, a renewed belief in witches, demons and devils, and a president who may very well be one of the 38 %, we, who think freely, have our work cut out for us. |
