I read this book over 10 years ago, but it still influences me today. Really an excellent book, which examines the myths contained primarily in the Old Testament. Why was He such a vengeful god? What was his relationship with Noah? Was He suffering from schizophrenia? Who were the 'chosen' people? How the different books and versions came about and when they came about is particularly interesting. This book for me finally laid bare the fact that this is a god molded by man for men. The church, especially the catholic church kept the staus quo of peasantry and the feudal system in place for 1500 years. Most of the other churches after the reformation continued to try and keep the people shackled well into the last century.None are blameless, and it is no coincedence that the church and the more fundamentailst religions still wield power in the impoverished nations of the world. That doesn't necessarily mean there isn't an omnipotent being, but it certainly isn't this one. For those that still believe in a 'god' isn't it time to change those institutions? The Buddhists come to mind, a simpler philosophy and more passive god. A church or mosque or synangogue that preaches humanity and tolerance, not intolerance, fatwas, and a sense of superiority.
My thought exactly. God is nothing but a man-made concept. I guess you will enjoy reading Karen Armstrong's A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (http://www.amazon.com/History-God-000-Year-Judaism-Christianity/dp/0345384563/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282824829&sr=8-1). Although the author is sympathetic with the Catholic church, she gives a very fair historical account without preaching.
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