Derek,

Most people don't realize that thanksgiving is merely a celebration of the season's harvest.  Almost all cultures and tribes have developed this ritual of giving thanks to their gods or spirits for the life-sustaining crops they have allowed.  The practice is much older than the Christian faith or its god.  But nevertheless, Happy Thanksgiving to you also.

I think we both would agree that we should narrow the focus of our dialogue a bit...certainly, we should provide as much detail as needed, but there are numerous arguable topics existing between us at the moment.  I'm going to address two of them in this letter...and then introduce one new idea or question to you, ok?

In your most recent letter to me you revealed a fabulous clue...the "missing link", if you will, of biblical understanding and rationality.  You said: "Greg, if you were a Christian (a TRUE believer in the Lord Jesus), you would better understand not only that scripture verse, but also the entire Bible, for the Holy Spirit that would be dwelling in you, like it is in me and all other true believers, would reveal the meaning to you.  But as such, the Scriptures make no sense to you.  God designed the Bible to be read by any and everyone, but ONLY UNDERSTOOD by HIS PEOPLE, through the Holy Spirit.  I remember reading the Bible and feeling very much like you do.  I first had to not only 'open my mind', but more importantly, 'open my heart', before I could understand. I guess it comes down to: Man's way - 'Understand first, then believe' vs. God's way - 'Believe first, then understand'.  I am sorry to say this, but it is true.... your heart seems very hardened."  You also said: "God made the Bible for His people to understand and believe."  And about my weekly bible riddle, you said: "Greg, I'm not interested in answering your 'riddles', for I know that the entire Bible is a riddle to those who have not accepted the Lord into their heart."

Thank you Derek for solving this great mystery, that is: why doesn't the Bible make any sense?  Now I know why...it's because I'm not a "TRUE" believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  You're telling me that if I accept the Lord into my heart I will begin to understand all of these things which now seem like nonsense.

Also, in your recent letter, you asked if I would please tell you more about the years when I was a believer in the Christian God and Bible.  I, like you also I'm sure, was raised to believe in God, heaven, hell, etc.  I attended church regularly and was encouraged to accept the Lord Jesus into my heart so that I would be spared from eternal hellfire.  And like most others in this country, I "accepted" the Lord when I was very young.  I was baptized and became a member of the First Baptist Church.  I heard many sermons during those years of attending Sunday services, and I attended many "Sunday school classes".  Of course, like my fellow Christians, I believed everything the preachers or instructors told us about God and the bible.  I even read the bible...at home... without being forced to.  I was curious...I read the entire book of revelations several times over...trying to make sense of it.  I read the well-known verses of the New Testament that give Christians reassurance in times of grief and desperation.  All this time I believed that I was "born again" and that I would go to heaven when the time came.  However, I, like most people, did not read the entire bible, for it is too long and monotonous a task.  I only read the parts that you hear about in church...the good parts.  I didn't know just how bloodthirsty my God was...or how many mistakes God made when he wrote the bible.  I did however believe in the world flood, the virgin birth, the parting of the red sea, Jesus walking on water, healing the sick, rising from the dead, etc.  And yet, now I believe none of these ridiculous tales. How could that be?

You have said that one must first believe, and then understand the bible. My fault must be in trying to understand and make sense of the bible before I believe in it.  You say that my "heart seems very hardened". Derek, I think you've "hit the nail right on the head" as they say.  My heart is indeed very hard...so to speak.  (This notion of the heart being the source and keeper of human emotions is a myth that I plan to write about soon.)  What does it really mean to have a "hardened heart"?  Is it similar to hardening of the arteries?  Actually, it means that my human emotions and feelings are exerting a very small influence upon my behavior...as opposed to one who has "opened" their heart and allows their emotions to guide their actions.  Let us consider what forces are at play in the human animal.  First of all, the heart is a muscle that pumps blood and lymphatic fluids...it has no effect on our emotions.  If my heart was removed and replaced with a man-made pump (artificial heart) I would have the same emotional capability that I had with my natural heart.  All consciousness, all thoughts, all emotions, are both created and experienced in the brain.  Emotions such as love, hate, fear, tranquility, jealousy, etc., are all experienced by humans and other animals.  Like it or not, we constantly experience these emotions from birth until death.  It's analogous to our heartbeat or body temperature... emotions are always present whether we know it or not. Humans have only recently developed the ability to think...to reason. This process of cognition, or thinking, is completely apart from the primeval emotions produced by the lower brain...or the old brain.  The higher brain functions of homo sapien such as speech, thought, and language developed long after the basic emotions.  But of course emotions do influence our thought processes...but most always in a negative way.  It's very difficult for one to think clearly while being attacked by a wild beast, or while full of rage.  Strong emotions act to suppress the thought process.  The two are always at odds with each other.  Although we cannot switch off the continual flow of emotions we experience, we can try to understand them better and learn to control them somewhat.  My "hardened" heart that you refer to is simply the result of my use of reasoning to overcome the influence of emotional appeals.  Sure it feels better to believe that we'll all go to heaven and be reunited with our loved ones someday...or to believe that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son....or that our God is watching us and will lovingly protect and guide us.  However, merely wishing for something does not make it so.  My heart is hard because I think, I reason.  You're asking me to suspend my reasoning, thinking mind, which is in fact the greatest accomplishment of evolved life on this planet, so that I may "open" my heart unto the Lord, and believe in him blindly so that I may then fully understand His Word. I cannot.  I will not.  Because the ability to reason is the finest thing a man can possess. If not for reasoning, where would we be?  Would you have me "believe first" in everything I'm told?  Complete credulity is desirable in children but in adults it would lead to disaster.  One thing is certain, your God gave us only false information about the nature of the universe.  It was up to man to figure out how things worked.  No god ever cured a disease or harnessed the electron.  But even if I could somehow betray my love for thinking and "believe first" in the bible, I seriously doubt that it would start making sense to me since I was in fact a "TRUE" believer for many years.  You'd think that I would have gained more understanding of His word.  Yet, those many years of guidance by the Holy Ghost left me without any real explanation for the many bible riddles I now see.  Actually, the only explanation that makes any sense at all is that the bible (all 27 of them) is a work of fiction and myth, and that no God or gods that mankind has believed in and worshipped have ever existed.  All religions were created by man out of ignorance and insecurity.  When homo sapien developed the ability to speak, and then language, it was only a matter of time before he invented gods to explain all of the unknowns in his world.  It was just part of growing up in the universe.

You also asked me where I got the idea that God allowed (actually, ordered is a better word) the taking of young female virgins as sex slaves.  read: Deuteronomy 21: 10-14. (You should also read verse 15 where God sanctions polygamy) Numbers 31: 15-18.  This resulted in the capture of about 32,000 virgin females who had no choice about who would have sex with them...and may have been sold at auction along side the livestock and other things taken from the defeated tribe.  I think one could correctly refer to them as "sex slaves". All captured people were in fact slaves of the Israelites...and of course all of this was by order of Almighty God.  Any questions?

The other thing is, did Jesus exist?  You've given me the names and supposed writings of scribes who mentioned the exploits of someone called Jesus of Nazareth.  This is indeed evidence...although I have not thoroughly investigated it.  Also, you point out that some writers of the Bible claim to have known Jesus and witnessed his miracles.  
Recently, you said:  "Greg, can you give me even one REASONABLE and LOGICAL proof (it doesn't even need to be fact, just logical!!) to hold to the view that Jesus never existed???"  As I said before, I cannot absolutely prove that Jesus does not, did not, or will not exist.  However, I also cannot prove that the Easter bunny does not exist...or Santa Clause...or the tooth fairy.  You are probably thinking that everybody knows that the Easter bunny, Santa, and the tooth fairy are just make-believe characters that we lie to our children about.  Well, I agree, but logically and rationally there is no way that I can prove beyond a doubt that they don't exist.  In fact, there is much more evidence for their existence than for that of Jesus.  Many people believe in all of these, there are many depictions of Santa Clause in art and yard decorations.  The tooth fairy has traded many bad teeth for treasure.  Children see them all in the same way...Jesus is no more believable than the tooth fairy to a child.  This is why we must use our ability of reasoning to sort through the lies and myths that we've been made to believe.  Also Derek, it is not my disbelief in Jesus that needs evidence.  It is your belief in Jesus that requires evidence.  The burdon of proof is always on the believer.  That is the nature of things. Otherwise one might be right to believe in anything he desires.  The beauty of the scientific method is that a theory is nothing without solid evidence...proof of its validity.  So in the future when you ask me to prove that Jesus never lived I'm going to ask you to prove that Santa Clause never lived.  And if you continue to provide evidence of Jesus' life on earth I shall provide evidence of Santa's miracles and many great deeds.

My question to you Derek, is this:  Do you believe that the Holy Bible is the true word of God...inspired and infallible?  That it contains no errors? That it is accurate? That everything described in the Bible actually happened just as described? That the Old Testament is the Word of God as well as the NT?

Sincerely,

Greg H.