"For reference, shock, or lively debate, THE BOOK has it all. Buy it, study --1 it, then draw your own conclusions! Fast becoming known as the textbook :I: of Freethought." m - Bonnie Lange, Truth Seeker Company OJ 0 "A giant step toward religious literacy. If a person, being a Christian, church 0 member or clergy, hasn't read the thoughts, evidence and point of viyw of A THE BOOK, they are not getting the whole story." -< 0 - Reverend Richard Hill, Minister, Church of Daily Living c: :::0 "Absolutely TOO imp~rtant to be' ignored, censored or dismissed! THE (") BOOK shall rightfully hold its place as A BEST SELLER!" :I: -Bill Jenkins, Former ABC Radio Talk Show Host c: :::0 "To a nation (U.S.) that prides itself in knowing their doctor, broker, insur­ (") ance agent and attorney, add: know your religion and church. THE BOOK is :I: here! If a person tells you he or she knows the truth and has not read THE c BOOK - then they know only half the truth - in other words, they have 0 m been a victim of controlled data, incomplete teachings, self-perpetuated my­ en thology or, God bless them, brainwashing." z - Derek Partridge, British Journalist, T.V. News and Anchorman --1 "In a winner-take-all world, where the stakes are high, I am afraid those :e addicted by controlled religion will never read THE BOOK. Because of fear )> laziness or the attitude of don't bother me with the facts, they will avoid z --1 getting a documented menu of substantial archaeological evidence biblical critique and historical fact. Hopefully, enough of these people will break -< 0 i away just long enough to read THE BOOK." c: - Dr. Bob Beck, Physicist --1 CONTRIBUTORS: 0 I Steve Allen Thomas Jefferson :::0 Dan Barker Dr. Gerald Larue m Edd Doerr Jordan Maxwell )> Dr. Robert Eisenman Arthur Melville c Dr. F-occo Errico Austin Miles Annie Laurie Gaylor Alan Snow • Dr. Stephan Hoeller Sherwin Wine t"'4 ~ ~ Distributed by ... ISBN 0-939040-15-8 0 A&B DISTRIBUTORS Brooklyn, New York, 11238 0 == 11 111 111111 11 1111 11 1111111 llillijllllijlll 9 780939 040155 TS -"- - The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You To Read Editor Tim C. Leedom Editor: Tim C. Leedom Technical Editor: Willam B. Lindley Product Development: Bonnie Lange Cover .Design: Marita Bonazza Laser Typesetting: Sam Warren Graphics Coodinator: Nancy Melton Publisher: Truth Seeker Company, Inc. Those interested in contacting authors and contributors to this book may contact: The Truth Seeker Company P. 0. Box 28550 San Diego, CA 92198 800-551-53 28 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrival system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, me­ chanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission - except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical ar­ ticles or reviews. For information address: Truth Seeker Co., Inc., 239 S. Ju­ niper Street, Escondido, CA 92025 USA Distributed by: A & B Distributing Inc. Brooklyn, New York 718-783-7808 Copyright ©2003 by The Truth Seeker Company, Inc. ISBN: 0-939040-15-8 First printing August 1993 Second printing June 1995 Third printing September 2001 Fourth printing February 2003 Library of Congress Catalog No. 93-78087 Printed in Canada 10 9 8 7 6 5 NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the author nor the pub­ lisher has received any payment for this "stripped book." Go forth, my book, and take whatever pounding The heavy-fisted destinies prepare. I know you are not anything astounding, And, to be quite sincere, I don't much care. Get off your overcoat. The gong is sounding. The enemy has risen from his chair. He doesn't look so overwhelming, but His arm is long. Watch for an uppercut. -Leonard Bacon Go forth, my book, and take whatever pounding The heavy-fisted destinies prepare. I know you are not anything astounding, And, to be quite sincere, I don't much care. Get off your overcoat. The gong is sounding. The enemy has risen from his chair. He doesn't look so overwhelming, but His arm is long. Watch for an uppercut. -Leonard Bacon ' Preface The Book you are holding in your hands is delivered to you with the hope that some fires will be ignited in your mind. The editor and authors who have spent years of study, research and investigation share in a general point of view -the view that the religious beliefs held by many people in the United States and other countries are totally unfounded. The Book has incorporated a hard look at beliefs, evidence, stories, churches and acts of omission and commission. The foundation of The Book is the spirit of free inquiry, from the ancient Greeks - Protagoras, Socrates and others - through the Renaissance humanism of Erasmus and Spinoza, followed by the Enlightenment- Voltaire, John Locke, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jef­ ferson- to the present secular culture of great scientific achieve­ ments. All through these times, those who thought for themselves, who explored new questions and found new answers, had to con­ tend with the repressions of religious orthodoxy. This was in­ evitable, since their work was a mortal challenge to old ways of thinking. We who stand on their shoulders thank them. None of the scholars or theologians who have contributed to The Book is naive to the point of believing that this anthology will create a "Rapture" in reverse. Knowing the reaction of established religion in the past to critique and examination, we anticipate a strong response by those who won't even read The Book. These leaders and followers continually take the attitude "don't bother me with facts; I've already made up my mind." The Book is an inquiry into crucial issues of today. These issues need examination, for we are now all villagers in the global electronic village of the world of which social commentator Marshall McLuhan spoke 30 years ago. As McLuhan pointed out, the "potential is tremendous for the advancement of knowledge and understanding through television and electronics." However, he went on to warn, "the reverse of this is chilling." The reverse of "the advancement of knowledge and understanding" is "the retreat of knowledge and the diminution of understanding," also known as brainwashing, dumb­ ing down and bubble gum for the mind. Both the adv:ance and the retreat are happening, in fulfillment of McLuhan's prophecy. iii The Book sets its tone with Robert Ingersoll and Thomas Paine. It does not back off from the challenge and exposure of the Bible and religion. The mere mention of pagan origins, astrotheology and mythology always brings howls of protest and denial from the church. The Book makes more than mere mention: it shows religion for what it is. You will not find the uniformity of belief that you find in a religious tract. There are some lively disagreements among our authors. This is fitting in a book meant to challenge. Discovering the truth of the evidence of other Saviors and of stories identical to many in the Old and New Testaments, which appeared one thousand years before Jesus, will be unsettling, as will the exposure of modern-day abuses and policies in the name of God. To be sure, just as many will be shocked by these facts, many will be surprised by the number of intelligent, patriotic, sincere and kind men and women who do not embrace the God of the Bible. Despite the pronouncements of U.S. Presidents, like Teddy Roosevelt's call­ ing Thomas Paine "that filthy little atheist," or Ronald Reagan's claim," the atheists expelled God from school," the truth will prevail even against the tele-evangelists who have made the marketing of religion a fine art. A final word. This is not an anti-religious book. The search for the meaning of life started long before Moses, Jesus, Mohammed or organized religion. The Book is a reference book that is meant to be challenging and informative. Many religious people are kind, peace-loving and good. Many are not. Whether it is the belief system that molds them or their nature, it is hard to say. Most are woefully misinformed and underexposed to material that could change them for the better. But literacy takes reading, change takes effort and enlightenment takes courage. In the end, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) -Tim C. Leedom, Editor ABOUT THE EDITOR: Tim C. Leedom was educated at the University of Kansas, and completed his studies at the University of Hawaii, was the recipient of several fellowships in journalism and political science. He served as an aide to both the Governor and Lt. Governor of Hawaii, and was an administrative aide in the Hawaii State Legislature in the 1960's and 70's. He has been involved in religious research for the past decade. iv Introduction There seem to be three subjects which are among the most important things in life ... politics, sex and religion. However, along the way, some wise sage coached the general population that these three subjects should never be discussed. I suggest to you that those sages - the politician and those who wanted to put someone (generally a spouse or sexual partner) in some kind of sexual bondage, and the religious leader - were the very ones who would profit most from a lack of discussion on any of those subjects.