House of Cards

With a house of cards, every card props up the others around it. The house is fragile because the cards are merely leaned against one another. There is no bedrock and no concrete foundation. A house of cards collapses when a card or two is pulled from the bottom.

The church is like a house of cards. It has no bedrock beneath it; no concrete foundation. Oh the buildings do, but I’m talking about the very basis for belief. In order for the church to stand, a few foundational premises must stand.

1. Man is inherently sinful and needs salvation.
2. Blood sacrifice is a good way to bring about salvation.
3. There is an afterlife.

Let’s look at each one of these:

1.  Man is inherently sinful and needs salvation.

The creation story of Genesis is a myth. Scientifically, it just doesn’t hold up. Serpents don’t talk. Behavior such as eating an apple or becoming aware of good and evil is not passed down from generation to generation. The earth is far older than the creation story implies. The Catholic church acknowledges that the creation story in Genesis is “figurative,” meaning it didn’t happen like that. It doesn’t tell us what the story means specifically, but we can be sure that there was not an original-sin event. Since we know that behavior is not passed from generation to generation genetically anyway, there cannot be inherent sinfulness. Without original sin, salvation makes no sense.

2. Blood sacrifice is a good way to bring about salvation.

We no longer sacrifice animals on the altar as was the custom in biblical days. We have discovered that the only outcome from such practice is that you have a bloody mess of dead animals. At that time, however, people did think that blood sacrifice had benefit. So much so, in fact, that early civilizations sacrificed humans as well as animals. Click here to learn more about human sacrifice. Learning about human sacrifice is important because that’s what the story of Jesus’ dying on the cross is all about. The blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross would bring about salvation. Serving the “blood of Christ” is all about blood sacrifice. Blood sacrifice is a barbaric early-human activity based on superstition.

3. There is an afterlife.

There is simply no evidence of heaven or hell or any other type of afterlife. The Bible, which describes heaven and hell, was written when superstition was at its peak. There was virtually no scientific knowledge at that time. They knew nothing about the solar system within which the Earth lies. They didn’t even know that the earth was round! Today, with all the tools of advanced science, there is still no evidence whatsoever of a spiritual dimension.

Let’s step back and assume that the Bible is totally true and let’s summarize the major events: God set up a scenario knowing that man would fall, requiring him to sacrifice himself to himself so that he could forgive the people for falling in the scenario he created. If they believe the story in the book about Jesus with no supporting evidence, they get to live in paradise for eternity. If they are not convinced, he sends them to be tortured by fire in Hell (which he created or somehow allows to exist) for eternity. Think about it.

The idea that man is inherently sinful and needs salvation, serves the priest quite well. If you follow him, you will spend eternity in heaven. By keeping this idea alive, he keeps you coming back to him (the intercessor between you and God). “Please bring your wallet, thank you very much.”

Without these particular cards, the house falls. There simply is no point to any of the rest of it.