An open letter to Christians

'Sup? Late again.

Music: Son of Sam by Shinedown

First off, this is not a rant.

And I'm not dissing Christianity or any other religion.

I'm also not trying to convert anyone to anything. Nor am I going to present you with numerous scientific facts to contradict the bible or any other religious text. Those are games for university kids and I've had enough of those discussions to know that faith can't be swayed by such things.

Instead, I only propose a few family-oriented questions/thoughts to ponder--after all, we're all in the family of God, are we not? These are mostly aimed at fundamentalists, those who take the bible as literal truth and who think we should spend our entire existence in worship, although all are welcome to read and think on them.

On Eternal Servitude and Leaving the Earthly Nest:

Do you think God, as a parent, would want us to remain forever in His home, always kowtowing, running to Him whenever there's a storm, or would He want us to grow up sometime, moving out into the universe on our own and eventually speaking to Him as equals?

Which would you want for your own children? Personally I would hope that I've done a good enough job raising my daughter that she's capable of, and not afraid to, go out into the world on her own.

The Bible Literally. Are You Sure It's the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth?

 If we were as children to God, then would it be realistic for Him to reveal all truths in the bible if He didn't think we were ready to understand?

People of the biblical era had no way of comprehending even the basics of what we now take for granted, how could they possibly understand fundamental truths of the universe. Do you, as a parent, teach your children everything you know, as you now understand it? Of course not, they wouldn't understand without greater knowledge and experience. Instead, you teach them partial truths, or stories that describe the general idea of the truth, but aren't necessarily true themselves. Believing the literal truth of the bible is like growing up never realizing that Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy aren't real.

My child, for example, watches the kids' show Octonauts. It features a group of intelligent animals that speak to each other and learn about/help other sea creatures. It's a fun show that teaches her something about the ocean and its animals. But of course as she grows older she's realized that it's not real, that animals don't actually talk like that. So the show serves a valuable purpose, and teaches useful lessons, without being the literal truth.


That's all.  For me, those two considerations, using our own family experiences, are enough to strongly suggest that even if the bible is written by God, it in no way need embody the literal truth of the world or creation. Moreover, I see no reason that a loving God would want us to worship Him forever, and not venture out into the universe to make our own way, possible meeting Him as equals at some point.

Insight and longevity.