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Found this during a book search of Amazon.com. Not what I was looking for but worth perusing. Considering all the debates round this subject I thought I'd submit this. For the record, I have not read this book. The comment below I found to be interesting enough to share. Make of it what you will.
The author, Jerry Wheatley, posted this comment on the book's page.
WHAT IF THERE WERE A JUDGMENT DAY?
4:14 PM PDT, October 5, 2006
The following is an interesting way to understand religion. Let's push the issue. Let's suppose there is, a Judgment Day and people are afforded the opportunity to learn the truth about faith and belief. Picture two defendants standing before the Judge: one is a theist; one is an agnostic.
The Judge says: "Only truth is allowed in Judgment Day Court. Truth can contradict a lie; a lie can't contradict the truth. In heaven, one's security is derived from knowing truth. Lies must be gotten out of the way to get to the truth. Let's begin."
The Theist steps to the bench and says he is a 'Christian' and a preacher. He says he personally knows Christ and worships God.
The Judge says, "Prove it! If you can't prove it, then it is a lie you know Christ or worship God. If you personally know Christ, I have a question for him "
Theist, "But the New Testament and the prophets say..."
Judge, "Testimony doesn't establish truth. The so-called prophets, including Jesus, didn't represent God because they didn't know the truth of what they stated. You, like those before you, confuse imagination with reality. A real man of God knows the truth of what he states. You can't prove God is. It is neither Christ, nor God you worship. God is defined by reality. The real Christ characterizes reality by the truth representing it. One is Christ-like, or worships him, only if one seriously seeks truth. Theist, you are guilty of lying. Liars are not welcomed here."
The Judge adds, "No one deceived you theists. You deceived yourselves. No one forced you to accept a statement's truth on faith. You could have faced reality and humbly admitted you didn't know the truth about ideas you could not prove. You failed to understand human behavior. Your mind didn't develop by seeking truth. Faking physical exercise doesn't develop the body. Pretending to seek truth by belief doesn't develop the mind. Your mind is your spirit. You are spiritually undeveloped."
The Agnostic steps forward and says, "Where am I?"
Judge, "You are in Judgment Day Court. Agnostic, you've admitted not knowing whether there is a God."
Agnostic: "That is correct, I do not know how to prove it one way or the other."
Judge: "Finally, an honest man! Admitting ignorance is the first step to seeking truth. Welcome."
Lesson
The Judge addresses the courtroom. "So-called Christians and other theists share a common characteristic. They succumbed to cultural brainwashing. Each religious group asserts it is everyone except they who are brainwashed. Religious followers deny they were brainwashed, instead of proving their declarations. Denial is the primary characteristic of brainwashing.
"Theists believe they seek truth and worship God, but it is just an act. Believers perform rituals such as praying and giving blessings. The one thing they don't do, is seek truth. They become confused and afraid when facing unfamiliar ideas. Therefore, we are not surprised they fear also the truth.
"Believers worship themselves. Their life focuses on what they believe. They brazenly decide in their own mind what is true or right instead of learning from reality. They are self-righteous."
The Judge adds, "The theists didn't learn there is a crucial difference between a statement being true and whether they know it is true. This explains why faith and ignorance underlies world conflict. Here, in heaven, we know God is represented by knowledge or truth. We know a real Christian worships God by seeking truth represented by reality. Here, we are aware faiths are false religions. We acknowledge science is the one true religion. No one needs to fight and die for truth. It is what reality says it is. I, the Judge, am the real Christ. At the Second Coming, I will be accepted as the Christ only if science supports my pronouncements. The final purpose of science is to enable me to completely explain reality and God. It also makes it possible for me to prove who I am."
The Judge summarizes: "Ignorance masquerades as knowledge. Ignorant people don't understand how they deceive themselves by faith. It is difficult to recognize a lie unless one knows the truth. Accepting statement truth on faith is easy: seeking truth by way of reality is difficult. On earth, it is the same old problem. The problem is not what people believe: the problem is that they believe! Court adjourned!"
The author, Jerry Wheatley, posted this comment on the book's page.
WHAT IF THERE WERE A JUDGMENT DAY?
4:14 PM PDT, October 5, 2006
The following is an interesting way to understand religion. Let's push the issue. Let's suppose there is, a Judgment Day and people are afforded the opportunity to learn the truth about faith and belief. Picture two defendants standing before the Judge: one is a theist; one is an agnostic.
The Judge says: "Only truth is allowed in Judgment Day Court. Truth can contradict a lie; a lie can't contradict the truth. In heaven, one's security is derived from knowing truth. Lies must be gotten out of the way to get to the truth. Let's begin."
The Theist steps to the bench and says he is a 'Christian' and a preacher. He says he personally knows Christ and worships God.
The Judge says, "Prove it! If you can't prove it, then it is a lie you know Christ or worship God. If you personally know Christ, I have a question for him "
Theist, "But the New Testament and the prophets say..."
Judge, "Testimony doesn't establish truth. The so-called prophets, including Jesus, didn't represent God because they didn't know the truth of what they stated. You, like those before you, confuse imagination with reality. A real man of God knows the truth of what he states. You can't prove God is. It is neither Christ, nor God you worship. God is defined by reality. The real Christ characterizes reality by the truth representing it. One is Christ-like, or worships him, only if one seriously seeks truth. Theist, you are guilty of lying. Liars are not welcomed here."
The Judge adds, "No one deceived you theists. You deceived yourselves. No one forced you to accept a statement's truth on faith. You could have faced reality and humbly admitted you didn't know the truth about ideas you could not prove. You failed to understand human behavior. Your mind didn't develop by seeking truth. Faking physical exercise doesn't develop the body. Pretending to seek truth by belief doesn't develop the mind. Your mind is your spirit. You are spiritually undeveloped."
The Agnostic steps forward and says, "Where am I?"
Judge, "You are in Judgment Day Court. Agnostic, you've admitted not knowing whether there is a God."
Agnostic: "That is correct, I do not know how to prove it one way or the other."
Judge: "Finally, an honest man! Admitting ignorance is the first step to seeking truth. Welcome."
Lesson
The Judge addresses the courtroom. "So-called Christians and other theists share a common characteristic. They succumbed to cultural brainwashing. Each religious group asserts it is everyone except they who are brainwashed. Religious followers deny they were brainwashed, instead of proving their declarations. Denial is the primary characteristic of brainwashing.
"Theists believe they seek truth and worship God, but it is just an act. Believers perform rituals such as praying and giving blessings. The one thing they don't do, is seek truth. They become confused and afraid when facing unfamiliar ideas. Therefore, we are not surprised they fear also the truth.
"Believers worship themselves. Their life focuses on what they believe. They brazenly decide in their own mind what is true or right instead of learning from reality. They are self-righteous."
The Judge adds, "The theists didn't learn there is a crucial difference between a statement being true and whether they know it is true. This explains why faith and ignorance underlies world conflict. Here, in heaven, we know God is represented by knowledge or truth. We know a real Christian worships God by seeking truth represented by reality. Here, we are aware faiths are false religions. We acknowledge science is the one true religion. No one needs to fight and die for truth. It is what reality says it is. I, the Judge, am the real Christ. At the Second Coming, I will be accepted as the Christ only if science supports my pronouncements. The final purpose of science is to enable me to completely explain reality and God. It also makes it possible for me to prove who I am."
The Judge summarizes: "Ignorance masquerades as knowledge. Ignorant people don't understand how they deceive themselves by faith. It is difficult to recognize a lie unless one knows the truth. Accepting statement truth on faith is easy: seeking truth by way of reality is difficult. On earth, it is the same old problem. The problem is not what people believe: the problem is that they believe! Court adjourned!"