De-coding Christianity (an Atheist perspective)

What’s my Bias?
I’ve been an atheist for over 20 years. Before that, I lived in a fundamentalist christian family (So fundamentalist some of them formed their own branch). I have read the bible several times (once as a “believer” and several times since as a scholar). I have 9 years of post secondary education in the areas of social psychology, anthropology and heritage ethnography. I am at peace with my own spiritual journey.

What am I trying to accomplish?
After my rage against the church had subsided to embers, and I felt safe enough to speak my mind, I realized there were some interesting insights to be gained from the bible and other sources of ancient spiritual literature. The insights often had nothing to do with the “good news” believers are so anxious to impart. What I found useful were the bits used to justify and “sanctify” some of the worst atrocities committed by the church. Finding the source of this convoluted logic was a challenge I needed to tackle because it helps me better understand where some of the really frustrating stuff in our culture came from. As the bible has been edited and re-edited so many times, it was important I pull together a more complete picture by drawing on contemporary (new testament era) primary sources as well as the rich body of ancient literature which pre-dated any form of the bible we would be acquainted with today.

What did I read?
Translated editions of the Nag Hammadi Library
The bible – both protestant and catholic versions
The pseudographia, apocrypha and omitted gospels
Other ancient writings (the bibliography is under construction)
Competing ideologies & early Christianity

Questions asked & Areas investigated

Women & their curious ways
You know that bit in Genesis 6:2 where we have a few brief verses about angels breeding with human women? I could never figure that bit out! And why was it put so close to “In the beginning”? Why does the church get so antsy about what women are and are not permitted to do? Why were Eve and Pandora punished so harshly for being curious? Why is knowledge so strictly guarded? Why didn’t anyone mention that witches are women who ignored god’s rank and obtained knowledge from “unauthorized” sources? Why would anyone want a god that denies its supplicants knowledge? I found some interesting stuff on the subject….

Heathens, heathens everywhere!
The christian church gets it’s panties in a twist over heathens more than any other religion I’ve come across. A heathen is simply someone who doesn’t share the same faith as you. If you are a Pagan – then I’m a heathen. If you are a Christian – then I’m a heathen. If you are an atheist – then I’m your buddy and the Christians and Pagans are the heathens. See how it works? Most religions have a fairly tolerant view of outsiders – but not Christianity! Where did the fanaticism come from?

Wisdom
I like the idea of wisdom. I love reading wisdom literature – from the Vedas, rabbinical texts, the bible, Greek philosophy, an assortment of Egyptian and Persian gnostic writings as well as the very earliest written records on the subject. What I noticed as I read through all these is the startling variety of assumptions which act as the foundation for each author’s claim to wisdom. What is wise? Why do we think that? What did our ancestors think was wise and why did they think that? Is there any wisdom that has stood the test of time? Is there any wisdom that instructs usefully outside the context in which it was created?

Creation, Control and the power of Words.
Heavy stuff, eh? Not only all that, but we can toss in the roots of sympathetic and contagion magic, hierarchy and authority. It’s all there to be found in early sacred literature. The more I understand where this stuff comes from, the better I am able to identify and refute it when encountered today. Why are some counter-productive behaviours valued so highly? How much of this still influences how North Americans organize themselves at work and in politics?