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And Mankind Created God In Its Own Image

[Copyright James Deacon, 2016]

There is a widely accepted assertion that the concept of 'gods' came into being as part of the
attempt by peoples of pre-classical antiquity to come to an understanding, albeit perhaps
symbolically, of the forces at work in the world around them; and that, over time, these ancient
peoples would come to imbue these gods these constructs - with human-like qualities.
Though, as barbarous times forged barbarous people, so, the gods they envisaged would, not
uncommonly, come to reflect both the often damaged natures of their creators, and the attitudes of
the times in which these creators lived.
Frequently these gods were vicious, spiteful, jealous, cruel, capricious beings...
And, it would seem, this assertion also holds true for the god as portrayed by the authors of the
anthology known as the Old Testament. (And we must not forget that the Old Testament is indeed
merely an anthology a somewhat randomly-assembled collection of often conflicting stories,
poems, semi-historical tales and man-made rules and regulations penned by numerous different
people over the course of many centuries.)
This particular god, this construct, as portrayed in the Old Testament, to all intents and purposes
had its humble beginnings (in a world of a great many different local gods,) as simply the tribal
totem-deity of a small group of wilderness-dwelling nomads.
And while, over time, it would evolve to become the core deity of the Abrahamic religions - it can
indeed be said to be a direct reflection of the barbarous times in which it was conceived.
If we can read this 'Old Testament' anthology in a clear and open state of mind, as much as
possible un-influenced by the hype and spin - by the imposed perceptions religion would have us
believe lie behind the written words - then we cannot help but see that the construct: the god,
revealed to us, is clearly the product of dark and disturbed minds.
The god we are presented with is not a loving, merciful, compassionate being.
Quite the opposite in fact: it is a dark, menacing, brutal, twisted entity.
A fallible, unbelievably intolerant, vengeful creature: homophobic, misogynistic, wrathful, jealous; a
slavery-condoning, warmongering, tyrannical, manipulative, genocidal Narcissist.
Now, while a high percentage of the human population believe that the god as depicted by the
authors of the Old Testament is real, and that the book itself constitutes the word of this god, for
the sake of Humanity we must hope that this is not so.
For if this god described in the Old Testament were real, it would not be deserving of our love, not
even of our respect.
No, it would be deserving only of one thing:
our whole-hearted, utter condemnation as a perpetrator of unspeakable atrocities against
Humanity.

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