The cowardice and stupidity of God

The character of  ‘God’ in the christian bible has many vile qualities.

Qualities that, if possessed by any mere human, would be labelled ‘immoral’ in the blink of an eye and the flash of a neuron.

These attributes are wonderfully displayed in many parts of the bible. Open the Old Testament at random and point your finger at any verse. If you aren’t pointing at a revolting  attribute  of God then rest assured there will be one within a few verses.

Two the qualities of this character are cowardice and stupidity.

In this, my first blog post, I want to comment on the way these properties of God are despicably displayed in the Old Testament.

Consider the following line from Exodus 22:18: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Hilary Duvet pre-makeup.

This is the supposed commandment from an all-powerful, all-knowing being.

A shortened version of that commandment may as well read “kill witches” for that is the content of the line.

No contextual acrobatics from believers can turn that command into anything other than an order of death for witches.

Let us try and forget the bronze age stupidity of the object in question. ‘Witches’ (spell casting, supernaturally empowered humans) do not exist.

Let us also pretend that there really is a reason why this God character would want them killed outright without thought for repentance or rehabilitation.

That forgotten and pretended, let’s concentrate on the commandment itself.

It is one of many similar instructions for humans to kill other humans for some reason or another.

Usually the reason is left undisclosed so believers are left to make up reasons which reflect their own internal prejudices or they simply throw their hands in the air and say that God, by definition, knows best and that ‘God said so’ is enough reason for them.

But think on this: Wouldn’t the fairest, easiest, quickest and most accurate means of killing a witch be for God to just do it?

This commandment, and many others like it, is possibly the most cowardly and stupid way of ensuring the death of a specific type of human as could possibly be conjured into  text!

Let us list the obvious problems with this commandment:

The term ‘witch’ is not defined in the bible.

Fallible humans are left to decide who is a witch and who is not.

Humans can knowingly or unknowingly choose to kill practically anyone by declaring them to be a witch.

Nowhere in the bible does it say what evidence the accuser needs to meet their burden of proof.

Nowhere in the bible does it describe how a fair and just trial can be arranged in order to best protect against possible miscarriages of justice.

The means of death is nor described, thus ensuring that sadists can use any means they wish to whip, bludgeon, stone, beat, trample, starve and/or slice the accused to death.

God, in one of many moments of face-palming idiocy, decides to use an ambiguous description that is nowhere defined in the bible.

It is left to the fallible, imperfect humans to decide who is and who is not a ‘witch’ and to then kill that person themselves.

This ensures 2 things: Many non-witches being brutally killed at the hands of a single superstitious murderer or an evil barbaric mob.

(Remember – witches don’t exist. ANYONE who was killed as a witch was innocent of the non-crime).

There is a reason why the laws of  ‘civilized’ societies are written down in painstaking and unambiguous detail.

There is a reason why a court case (especially where the accused crime is punishable by death) is a fantastically complicated and rigorous process.

There is a reason why the term ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is so important in protecting the innocent.

There is a reason why the accuser in any situation has a burden of proof to satisfy.

All of this is dismissed in the bible and instead the system of carrying out the wishes of this God character are open to mistake, misuse, corruption and barbarity.

The sentencing to death of witches is as silly as it is barbaric: Even if the object in question does not exist there are doubtless some innocents who were killed by people ignorant of that fact.

However, there are plenty of similar commandments handed out for dumb, superstitious, fallible humans to obey, misuse and corrupt:

Exodus 22:19: Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 22:20: He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Exodus 21:12: He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

Exodus 21:15: He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

Exodus 21:16: He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

(Oh the irony!)

Exodus 21:17: He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:2: Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

Leviticus 20:9: Every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.

Leviticus 20:10: The man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:11: The man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:12: If a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:13: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:14: If a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

Leviticus 20:15: If a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

Leviticus 20:16: If a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death.

Again and again and again the God of the bible leaves his dirty work to the fallible, the idiotic, the sadistic and the corrupt.

And people actually praise and worship this character?!

They should be ashamed of themselves and the untold death that this ‘good book’ has aided, been an excuse for or straight out caused.

Thoughts?