Seeking God at the Idol Meat BBQ

By W Michael Allen

Or perhaps your God is the transcendent spirit of the eastern religions. Whatever your view of God is, it will change drastically by the time you finish this book. Your view of God will be stronger and more believable than at any time before your adventure in these pages. Science, Ancient Aliens and Atheists all contribute to a radical rethinking of the nature of God.Seeking God at the Idol meat BBQ breaks the rules by having a title that may confuse you. The title is only the start, the whole book breaks the rules. It sounds like a cute little fiction tale, but it is not. The title’s origin is from a letter the apostle Paul wrote in 1Corthenians. He told his congregation not to eat the idol meat because in might impact the faith of those who believe eating it is wrong. If you believe the truth is wrong then avoid the meat in this book, which exposes many of the fallacies of ancient texts. This book is a journey that takes no prisoners, in the quest to nail down the nature of God. It seeks what is worthy of belief and what must be cast aside.

I have stoked the fires of this BBQ with the sacred scripture of all religions, and I have even included the atheist viewpoint. Throw in insight from science, ancient alien theories and destroy the myths created by man. Wring the juice from what is left and gain the insight to formulate a 21st Century view of God. “Do I believe?” is the first question, followed quickly with, “What is left when the self-serving lies are stripped away?” I was surprised and pleased how rich the content was at the bottom of the barrel.

The accuracy of your answer will never be confirmed in a mortal lifetime since God is unknowable and beyond understanding in human terms. I guarantee God is not a ‘being’ keeping watch on the actions and morality of mankind from a nearby heavenly realm.

Concepts like predestination, intelligent design and evolution are questioned and science is forced to survive side by side with this imaginative view of God.
Dare to sign onto this adventure and challenge what you believe and why.
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• Language: English
• Publisher: W Michael Allen
• Release date: Jun 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301284115

W Michael Allen

About the Author: W. Michael Allen was born into a middleclass family of bankers in the mid 1950’s. Raised in a small town in northern Michigan he excelled in school, enjoyed sports, was seen as a leader amongst his peers. He went on to Michigan State University and graduated summa-cum laude with a BS in Engineering including a 60 credit major complement in Business. He worked for over 31 years in Fortune 100 companies providing global telecommunications and Information Technology (IT) infrastructure services, (computer center management). Managing hundreds of professional staff and raising a family of two girls was an enjoyable challenge. He is now retired and when not golfing, he writes and speaks on success and future trends. Residing once again in northern Michigan he enjoys life with his wife (and editor) Rhonda.

Book preview

cover

SEEKING GOD

at the

Idol Meat BBQ!

Warren Michael Allen

Copyright © 2013 Warren Michael Allen

Smashwords edition

ISBN-13: 9781301284115

Version 1.0

1st edition ebook

All rights under copyright reserved.

Direct quotations of 1000 words or less may be used without written permission and are permitted for educational and or review purposes.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Lamb on a spit -

The Christian faith, handed to us.

Chapter 2 – Black Sheep Burgers –

The Christian faith, hidden from us.

Chapter 3 – Old Goats –

The Jews of the Hebrew Bible and their wrath filled God.

Chapter 4 – Pork In The Pit –

The rise of the Atheist.

Chapter 5 – Sub Plots –

Heaven, Hell, Angels, Satan and other myths.

Chapter 6 – God Science –

Where does science take us?

Chapter 7 – Hmm, Tastes Like Chicken –

Ancient Aliens?

Chapter 8 – The Fattened Calf –

The ever changing view of God.

Chapter 9 – Boiling the Broth

Trying to make some sense of the soup.

Chapter 10 -The Cook Is Finished

The Embers Glow Brightly.

In Search of God?

Belief? Facts or faith?–

(A Twenty-First Century quest)

God is not a fairy tale

Idol Meat BBQ – step right up, it’s safe.

INTRODUCTION

I don’t believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth fairy, but I was told they were real. It is interesting how our society has such a strong tradition of twisting the truth to make fools out of our gullible children. In the name of creating magic and wonder for each season we go to great lengths and complex deceptions. Have you ever thought about how closely Santa resembles the Hebrew God? He is a parental figure that sees your every move, filing away all the good and bad behavior to consider when he brings you either a present or a lump of coal. He is a miracle worker who can visit every house in the world in a single night.

The story I have never let go of is that there exists an all-knowing God. While it is a comforting story, I was pretty sure history has loaded it with a bunch of fairy tale baggage too. Where else can you find a disembodied voice that speaks from a burning bush or a dude conceived without benefit of DNA from two parents. In my world people, don’t walk on water or raise the dead, the last miracle I saw was on a David Copperfield TV special and I am pretty sure it was a trick. I have friends who claim God is the greatest deception ever invented by man and I feel they are entitled to their opinion. I can’t prove them wrong.

This is the point where those of you who insist your scripture is a presentation of literal facts, should scream, stomp your feet and throw this book aside. It is your loss if you can’t see a deeper meaning in the story than a tale that defies the laws of nature. This book will open your eyes to a new world and give you a chance to see your trusted tales from a whole new perspective.

One day I asked myself the question; if I dismiss all the fluff just what do I believe about God? Having not spent much time on contemplation of such a big question, I figured I was past due to sort out just what I believe. I thought it would take some time, but it would be relatively easy. Boy was I wrong. This is a book with many titles in the months I have taken to write it. The list of titles at the top of this Introduction shows a few of the paths this quest has taken. When it comes to God, there is no verifiable answer and much of what we have been taught is a fabrication. As a Christian, I figured you could flip open the Bible and find a consistent view of God. Unfortunately that is not true, the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament contain irreconcilable views on the nature of God. In the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, God makes appearances in human form over 12 times, yet in the New Testament, Jesus and John claim that no one has ever seen God face to face (John 6:46 and 1:18). I thought the Gospels presented a literal historical story, embellished perhaps but a true attempt to relate history. I was amazed how many conflicts can be found in the New Testament alone. Throw in other religious and nonreligious views and you are left with an evolving concept, and if at the end of the day belief in God remains, it is based on faith. There is no doubt in my mind that as a twenty-first century adult you have never encountered a being called God nor have you witnessed any miracles that you can justify attributing to God. In search of God is not a heresy, it is a modern day quest rooted solely in faith. I have not been shy in these pages; I don’t hesitate to call out the fabrications, conflicts and myths found in Christian literature. I give only superficial coverage to other religions, but I also found they suffer from many of the same problems that plague the Christian and Jewish texts. Anyone who believes the Christian Bible was divinely inspired and contains only absolute truth must have shut down their brain prior to reading the text. An all-knowing God may have been present in the men, inspiring the stories but the stories still reflect the limitations of the men and the accumulated knowledge of their times.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that recent studies have shown children are predisposed to believe in religion. They find it easy give God credit for creation and things they don’t understand. Children do not arrive in this world with a religious viewpoint stamped on their forehead, they are taught whatever belief system held dear by their parents. In many cases, no teaching occurs and the belief fades just like belief in Santa fades. I wonder why I still believe in God since my parents were not strongly religious and seldom shared their beliefs with me. Mom went to Church but didn’t speak about it much, and Dad could have cared less. The years of raising my own family had no basis in Church or religion. Despite ambivalence toward the formal structure of a Church, belief in the existence an all-knowing God remained. Who this God character is and what is Its nature, is what the research for this book hoped to answer.

Through the course of human history, religion has been the glue that held civilization together. It has caused us to bind together in groups, establish acceptable conduct in our relationships with others and some believe that it is likely without religion, modern society would not exist. I acknowledge there is good to be found in the fellowship of a Church and I have to smile and nod at some of the beliefs held so dear. After all, Paul said, one should not eat the idol meat since that may cause another who believes it is wrong, to lose faith. The point here is that much of ancient scripture (not just Christian) is like the idol meat. It should not be consumed to the point of understanding, since it may cause you to lose faith. Sorry, that is not how this book will go; I will serve the idol meat with extra barbeque sauce. You will tour the conflicts in the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible, the thoughts of the suppressed heretics, and many of your dearly held stories will become myths. Tales of Heaven and Hell, atheists and ancient aliens all will be considered. In these pages, belief in God is forced to stand up to science in an era where miracles and the supernatural no longer exist as possibilities. The research for this short book has included the scriptures, countless volumes from ordained theologians, biblical scholars from leading universities, mythologists, atheists, scientists, alien hunters and a half dozen college courses from the Great Courses series.

Throughout history, the study of religion (Theology) has been held in high regard. Only the best and brightest students were allowed to pursue theology degrees. Often they spent 15 or more years in the educational process. Students with lesser talents were directed towards medicine or science. Theology practitioners use three big words to describe God. Omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence – modern language boils these down to 1) all-knowing, 2) present everywhere and 3) all-powerful. Most of what we know about God comes straight from the Hebrew Bible. It tells us about his holiness, righteousness, faithfulness and stresses his mercy and loving kindness. We have been content to ignore the stories that stress his petty vindictive nature and penchant for human sacrifice and infanticide. The fact of the matter is, that the BCE Jews were heavily persecuted, enslaved, dispersed and in general led a pretty challenged life. Throughout this book BCE stands for "Before the Common Era, and CE for Common Era, formally known as BC and AD. Their literature reflects the times, with a variety of very human views of God. If you wish to solidify your view on the nature of God, the Hebrew Bible is probably the worst place to look. One must go beyond the confused contradictions in the ancient Jewish literature to gain some small feel for the nature of God. Holding fast to some statement about a good and holy God in the Hebrew Bible while ignoring everything you dislike about God in the same books is naive.

We have all been told that to avoid conflict, we shouldn’t discuss politics or religion. Hence we spend most of our lives avoiding debate on these subjects - leaving formulation of our beliefs and opinions sorely lacking. We are definitely at a disadvantage and often only have faith to support the stories we believe are true. No one knows what is true on the subject of God, only in death is there a possibility of confirming our story in the great mystery that may be beyond. In the meantime, we all have to settle on the story that is the most believable for us and keep an open mind if changes come along to rock our world. When I started on this quest, I had very few opinions on God. Here they are in a nut shell.

*God existed and was all-knowing. By all-knowing I mean that everything that has happened since the beginning of time to the present moment is in the consciousness we call *God. I do not mean that everything is predestined and God knows the path that nature will take.

*God was good

*God was busy observing and constantly creating and recreating the universe and no amount of prayer would achieve intervention in the daily plight of frail human bodies or towns or nations or the world.

*Faith in Jesus made us right with God.

With the exception of some added baggage, the Christian Bible was literal and historic.

The list was pretty thin, with not much of a supporting cast. Could I defend any of my beliefs in a conversation with a believer or a debate with a non-believer? The answer was Not well but that was ok since we try not to discuss religion. The lucky thing is that the subject of God doesn’t come up very often and if it does the conversations don’t go beyond surface beliefs and they seldom turn into a debate. To top that off, I never bought into the concept that the one God was the Christian God. I am ok with one God, called by different names and worshiped in different ways throughout humankind’s history and even by other conscious beings of the universe. I am not ok with the Christian Bible being called the word of God. We must question the wisdom of any book that: calls for us to breed indiscriminately, subdue the earth, treat women as second class humans and the source of all evil, encourages slavery, condemns people for their sexual orientation, encourages child abusive corporal punishment and fuels anti-Semitism against the entire Jewish population. Such a text requires some serious editing and dismissals before it reaches my heart. The goal of this book is not Bible bashing or to condemn any ancient religious text, instead let us go beyond religion by recognizing its dated nature. Christianity is a few thousand years old, creation is not hundreds of thousands of years nor millions of years but billions of years. If I am to believe in God then he is not associated with the blip of recorded history or any religion, It is the master of the eons. We must dismiss much of every sacred text by recognizing the many questionable practices, and instead invest our time selecting only things that have a meaning and enhance humanity in the modern world.

The whole concept of this book sounds pretty ominous, to dream the impossible dream. Let us not go there, the goal is not to touch and feel the creator, it is solidify or dispel belief in God. What do I believe? We’re talking Jehovah, Yahweh, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Allah, Zeus, Mithras, Osiris, Krishna, Jesus and/or whatever name humans have given the one all-knowing consciousness. Any attempt to describe the infinite, all-knowing God displays how foolish, arrogant and uneducated we are. Whatever words I can put on paper about God just reflect how limited my mind and experience is. I make no claim that one group of ancient citizens over another have exclusive rights to the only sure way to worship God. By the fourth century the Roman Church (called the Catholic universal Church) saw things a bit differently and used the Roman and the Papal army to enforce the view that the only way to salvation was Jesus. And of course the only way to Jesus was through their Bishops, Priests and Deacons. What I do promise is that since I believe in one all-knowing God, any of the above words to describe God - including Christ, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost (Spirit) - when used in this book are referring to the one presence of the all-knowing deity. I hate debates on syntax and splitting hairs based on the subtle differences in the meaning of words, so I will not go down that road, let all the words for God be just God. If when you see the word God, you think of Allah, Jesus, Krishna or any of the other titles man has hung on God that’s fine with me.

Given that there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on the earth, (stop and think about that statement for a second it is pretty mind-boggling), I would have thought there were more grains of sand on my little beach alone than there were stars in the universe. But no, if you throw in all the beaches, deserts and top soil on the earth, you still have not reached enough grains of sand to match the number of stars in the universe. The size of our universe is incredible. Add in the fact that our earth is a second generation solar system, that formed billions of years after the universe began, from older stars that ran their course and went super nova – (talk about a length of time that is hard to imagine). If we stretch out a time line and let the first ten feet represent the last 100 years, then 50,000 years of human history would represent about the first mile of the timeline. This is the period where humankind has shown evidence of consciousness. We would have to walk nearly fifty miles down the timeline to even find the bulk of the dinosaurs. The rest of the line stretches back to the Big Bang and goes on for roughly 260,000 miles. (Nearly to the moon) Our modern era is covered in the first 10 feet of the timeline. I find it easy to justify the assumption that sentient life has evolved many times in this universe. It is even possible that life evolved to consciousness several times here on earth or a nearby moon or planet like Mars. A few thousand years is such a small slice of time compared to the billions of years the universe has existed. We toss around the word billion like we understand it, heck our federal deficit is in the billions. We don’t really understand just how big those numbers truly are. Just for a moment go ahead and assume the story of Jesus ascending into Heaven – (a neat place just outside our universe) - is literally a true story. If he first flew into the sky, then into orbit and finally shot beyond our solar system how far has he gone? If he was traveling at the speed of light (or at least near to it), he still has about a hundred thousand years before he exits the edge of our galaxy and a lot more before he covers the universe. How a writer from a couple thousand years ago imagined Heaven and earth worked is just that, the musings of a creative mind. It is a big place we have here, and I am sure it is teaming with life. We barely understand our little corner, there is so much more we will never know anything about. Where there is alien consciousness, I’m sure their name for God and methods of worship do not include Islam, Christianity or any theology developed by ancient or modern man.

My underlying belief is that an all-knowing God envelopes everything at all stages of awareness in the entire universe. It is so vast that our wildest imagination can barely scratch the surface of God’s realm. I hold no view of a stately being who sits in judgment of or rules humankind with laws from a nearby dimension (Kingdom of Heaven). The view I do hold is more of an all-knowing entity that knows every deed, every word, and every private thought of everyone and everything that is conscious in the universe. My view is without substantial support, and the basis is faith alone, it does however have just as much support as the atheist can gather to support belief in no God. God is not out there somewhere, but everywhere, as an essential element, bringing life to the very fabric of the universe. Jesus is not ascending to someplace beyond the edge of the universe but to this essence of God.

As I reached retirement age and settled down with a bit more time on my hands, I decided to seek a better understanding and come to grips with my view of God. Growing up in the 1960’s, I was one of the first generations of Americans whose public education included evolution. I viewed the Hebrew Bible story of Genesis as an allegory, (a tale used by ancient man to give a framework and general understanding to origin), I viewed each day as describing an eon or age not a literal 24 hour period. Come to find out this eon/day theory dates all the way back to the Darwin’s time in the