The Greatest Trick the Devil Ever Pulled

People say that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing people that he did not exist--personally, I think the greatest trick he ever pulled was convincing people that he was God. Would the "God" you believe in condone genocide, incest, rape, child sacrifice, slavery, and a host of other crimes, or are those things you would associate more with the Devil?

I'm not the first one to make such a shocking suggestion, either--the Cathars, a religious sect in France that appeared in the 11th century (and were rumored to have safeguarded the Holy Grail for a time), believed Satan was identical to the Old Testament God. Because they believed that the Earth was created by Satan, they considered the physical world to be evil and lived lives of great self-denial until they were condemned by the Catholic Church as heretics in the 13th century and wiped out.

I've always wondered why, if there really was only one "God," he would claim that he was a jealous God--who would there be to be jealous of? Jealousy usually indicates, at the very least, a certain insecurity about one's status--not something I would associate with an almighty, all-powerful God. Also, if "He" were alone, and, in fact, a "he," where would he have gotten the idea for two sexes when he was creating the creatures he wanted to live on his Earth? And if He were, as we are encouraged to believe, asexual, then making two sexes seems even more puzzling to me. Then there are the contradictions in his behavior--one loving and generous and forgiving, the other vengeful and angry and destructive. Now, I'm not a psychiatrist or anything, but I know enough bipolar people to recognize the symptoms when I see them, unless we are talking about two separate Gods.

My intent in all of this is not to get people worked up into a frenzy in defense of their God. It is, as I have said before, simply to get people to THINK about the things they believe when it comes to God and religion in general. Blindly accepting whatever dogma or doctrine you are spoon-fed as a child or stumble into after your life has reached a crisis point, is not the answer. It leaves you wide open to exploitation by unscrupulous leaders who seek power at any cost. As an example, I point to the current exploitation of honest, good-hearted people by the evangelical/political machine. These people are being used to further an agenda that will ultimately enslave them once their leaders have no further use for them, without them ever seeing it coming.

Think about it: every major religious describes their followers as flocks of sheep. Why? Because sheep are easily led, easily sheered, and easily slaughtered. In the book of Matthew we are warned of "ravening wolves" who come dressed in sheep's clothing, and that we will be able to recognize them "by their fruits," which means the things they do. Look at what our supposedly oh-so-Christian leaders have been doing, and continue to do--stripping us of our rights, spying on us, engaging in immoral wars, handing our government functions over to corporations whose only interest is in milking us of every last penny--all the while proclaiming their Christian faith and their faith in God--so, I have to wonder, which God would that be?