Jul 18

Episode 6: Seeing the Obvious – The Emperor’s New Clothes

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When I point out the obvious problems about religion, I feel like the young child pointing out that the emperor has no clothes.

* apologies in advance if you find the fake accent annoying.

Sources:

• Music: Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve
• Quote on Nonbelieving Preachers (Essay by Danniel Dennett): http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP08122150.pdf
• Bible Contradictions (Project Reason): http://www.project-reason.org/bibleContra_big.pdf
• Emperor’s New Clothes Cartoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGDr69VOv6g

Transcript: The Emperor is not wearing anything at all! In the emperor’s new clothes a couple of swindlers fashion garments for the emperor out of special cloth. They claim that the cloth has magic properties that make it invisible to anyone who is unfit for their position or to those who are just hopelessly stupid. When the emperor cannot see the cloth, he pretends that he can for fear of being labeled unfit for his office. He buys the garments and later parades through the street wearing them (i.e. naked) his subjects are also too afraid to admit that they cannot see the clothes for fear that they are unfit for their positions as well. But when a young child cries out that the emperor has no clothes, it starts a chain reaction and everyone starts to repeat it.

In reality there is a similar falsehood being passed from generation to generation and people are too afraid to admit it for a fear of what would happen if they did not believe.

Allow me to play the role of that child for a few minutes.

If God is so important, then why is he hiding?
If God randomly answers prayers by saying yes, no, or wait, then what’s the difference between that and doing nothing at all?

If we are all descendants of Noah – then why are there so many different races of people.
If the Bible is all true, then why does it keep conflicting with science?
After Noah’s flood, wouldn’t a whole species go extinct every time a bear or a lion had a meal?
If the universe is only 10 thousand years old, then why can we see stars that are more than 10 thousand light years away.
If the Exodus story is real, then why does the Israeli Archeological Society say that it never happened.

If God created all the languages at the tower of Babel, then why can we trace the evolution of languages over time.
Also, spoken language was independently developed in 8 different places.

If God is supposed to be perfect, then why does he makes mistakes, need worship and he get jealous?
If God is supposed to be timeless, then why does he change his mind?
If God is supposed to be good, then why is he such a jerk in all the Bible stories?
If God loves his people, then why does he send all the natural disasters?
If God created everyone, what did he have against the Egyptians and the Canaanites?
If God never changes, then [the same yesterday, today, and forever] why do you need Jesus now? Shouldn’t you still be able to sacrifice a goat to atone for your sins?
(noone comes to the father, but by me)
If humans have been on the earth for over 100,000 years, then why did God wait to send Jesus until 2000 years ago?

Earth for Humans:
If God created the entire universe for humans, then why is the universe so big and uninhabitable?
Most of the earth is uninhabitable for humans without the technology that humans developed.
Humans have been on earth for at least 70 thousand years and up to several hundred thousand years (depending on where you draw the line on “human” in our evolutionary history), but God didn’t intervene until a few thousand years ago. What did God have against ancient humans?
The bible says that God will provide for those who seek him first. Yet Christian kids in poor countries starve to death every day.
Innocent children with good parents are born with birth defects.

Howcome there are so many other religions?
If Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus do their best to be good then howcome they still go to hell?
Why are there so many different types of Christianity that all disagree with each other?

Howcome most Christians haven’t read the whole bible?
If the bible is the infallible word of God, then why does it contradict itself so much?
If slavery is bad, then why does the bible say it’s okay?

Was Jesus’ mother really a virgin?
If Mary was a virgin, then why is Jesus’ lineage traced to David through Joseph?
Why do Matthew and Luke completely disagree on Joseph’s lineage.
If Jesus came to heal the sick, then why didn’t he teach anything about germs.
If Jesus was so smart, then why did he mistake mental disorders for demon possession.
Howcome God never heals amputated limbs?

God told Abraham to murder his own son and Abraham was rewarded for his willingness to follow through. If God told you to kill me, would you obey him?

There are hundreds of issues that each stand alone as evidence that the Bible was not written by an omniscient being.

Has your faith clouded your judgment so severely that you cannot see the points where your religion is just flat out incorrect? Why is it so easy to accept the smallest amount of spin from a Pastor or Theologian whenever it helps you believe this nonsense?

The saddest thing about the story of the Emperors New Clothes is the ending. The emperor never admits that he was duped. He realizes it when everyone else starts declaring that he has no clothes, but he is committed to his position. He does not swallow his pride. He holds his head up and continues the parade.

This is also happening right now in religion. There are systemic features of contemporary Christianity that create an almost invisible class of non-believing clergy, ensnared in their ministries by a web of obligations, constraints, comforts, and community. Imagine being the emperor after realizing you were standing naked in front of your subjects – what would you do?

Now imagine you are a preacher who no longer believes in God – but every Sunday you are expected to stand at the pulpit and preach to your flock. What would you do? Do you think your religious leaders believe what they are telling you? I’d encourage you to go ask them some tough questions about Noah’s ark and see how they respond.