My Soapbox

Audio version of the Afterword of my book, "The Christian Contradiction."  This afterword ends the audio version of this book, and deals with some final thoughts on the relationship between religion and spirituality, the core reason why all ego-based theologies such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are untrue, the need for spirituality without religion in an increasingly scientific and rational-minded freethinking society, the difference between religious dogmatism and belief, and mindfulness meditation. In the episode, I also give credit to Sam Harris for his great work on his soon-to-be renamed "Making Sense" podcast, and particularly his work on his "Waking Up" meditation app and his book by the same name.  

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 45 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." In this chapter, I explore the "Caesar's Messiah" theory from Joseph Atwill's book by the same name. In this chapter I explore some of the reasons why I find this theory so compelling due to its explanatory power, and why Christian theology is ultimately untrue, regardless the facts of its true origins.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 44 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." In this chapter, I explore why there is in essense no difference between Santa Claus and Jesus Christ in their mythical nature, and how Christinity poetically created tales symbolically representing natural phenomena such as the winter solstice and vernal equinox, and not supernatural phenomena as these stories are almost always today interpreted to represent.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 43 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." This chapter begins the final part of this book, Part VII which deals with mythical and historical problems of Christianity. In this chapter I explore why there is good reason to doubt the idea there was ever an historical Jesus who is known today as the person Jesus Christ as found in the New Testament Gospels. Explored are other conspicuously smilar myths to the story of Jesus Christ from different cultures which predated the time of Jesus, the fact there is no historical evidence whatsoever contemporary to the time of Jesus' purported existence, and the fact that the Jesus story is not the first in history to have been believed for centuries by cultures who thought their central spiritual figure was an actual, living person.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 42 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." In this chapter I explore the phenomenon of humanity's tendency to make slaves of others as well as ourselves. Also explored is the fact that our enslavement to ourselves, our egos, is the foundation for our enslavement to everything else we are enslaved to from the government, the media, and religion.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 41 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." In this chapter, I explore how and why we tend to buy in to religious belief even in the face of invalidating evidence to those beliefs, and how religion is indeed "the opium of the people," since it is used as "pain relief" for our sorrow and pain, which merely covers over the symptom of our suffering rather than directly addressing the cause of our suffering by facing reality and dealing with life and its often unpredictable turns of events honestly.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 40 of my book, “The Christian Contradiction.” In this chapter I explore some of the problems with calling scripture "inerrant," while blatantly ignoring and/or explaining away several parts of the Bible which make us uncomfortable, are obviously not true, or inhumane, such as the command by God to kill those who work on the Sabbath, and Jesus' instruction to sell everything we have and give it to the poor. Also explored is the contradictory claims of some scripture that "works" and not "faith" are necessary to attain salvation, while other scripture claims it is "faith" and not "works" that are necessary to attain salvation. Also further explored is how Jesus cannot be what Christian theology claims he was as both "sinless" and "divine."

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 39 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." In this chapter, I explore some of the contradictions and double standards of Christian theology and scripture, as well as why the argument that God is "omnipotent," yet cannot betray his nature is invalid since it is itself a contradiction. Also explored is how scripture gives God different kinds of "abilities" and "powers" he needs for the storyteller to make their desired points, even if these "abilities" and "powers" cannot be reconciled due to their mutually exclusive nature.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 38 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." This chapter begins Part VI of this book which investigates scriptural problems of Christianity. In this chapter, I explore why making scapegoats of religious institutions such as the Catholic Church for the injustices and problems of Christianity is a copout from facing the fact that contrary to the idea New Testament scripture was somehow "corrupted" by ignorant others, it is actually the foundation for the anti-Semitism, persecution and marginalization of homosexuals, as well as the concepts of judgment and damnation for those who "don't believe" in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior which exists in Church doctrine today.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support

Audio version of Chapter 37 of my book, "The Christian Contradiction." In this chapter, I describe my observations of how much religious belief, and particularly the entire "salvation" story of Christian theology is a blame-game, also known as the "Drama Triangle Game" which is a seductive, high-energy blame-game which attempts to redirect the focus of attention, energy, and conversation from personal accountablity and responsiblity to blame, defense, and rescue. Also examined is how the Christian God plays all three roles of the blame-game within Christian scripture - the roles of Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/message

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-cross/support