Never Never Land

I've always enjoyed fantasy, light reading for a summer day. And yes, I enjoy creating my own world from the words of skilled authors. From those who can capture my imagination from those who have a vision, an idea that they pursue. During my life, Piers Anthony, Stephen Donaldson, Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K Le Guin and so many more it would be nearly impossible to list; all were friends at one time in my life.

Even with it's religious theme, I've still managed to read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings a few dozen times over the decades. Sometimes it is nice to immerse yourself in the fantastic.

Greek and Norse mythology, fascinating. I ate that up during my school years. Even going back to, what I believe is the first story in print, Gilgamesh, all were great examples of imagination and of story telling. Reading The Odyssey captured my thoughts. Kick ass. Give me some more Beowulf please.

I doubt if I'm the only atheist with a passion for good story telling.

Then think about science fiction. The worlds and life that was created, the thoughts of a future that could be heading our way. Utopias and horrors, all there, some attainable, some not wanted; a blueprint of the future to realize the dreams of man. I read every science fiction book I could find growing up, thoughts of what knowledge may be attained always grabbed my attention. It is a fact that If a teacher needed to beat on me for missing their class they knew where to find me; in the library. 

I guess I never learned how to cut a class or school properly.

But no, we pick the most boring fantasy of all time and try to live our lives by it. A book that will make sure that a productive life for all is impossible. A book that paints all others as evil. A book that makes you hate yourself because of unattainable goals presented. God and the devil are one trick ponies, think of the fun we could of had with almost any other fantasy out there.

How did this happen? Why the story that subjugates instead of frees, was it the easiest way to control the masses? Old greek stories had conflicting morals thoughts, since the gods fight amongst themselves. 

I always thought monotheism was just a way of saying there is only one way to live a life. But then again, there is the devil, so how much did that accomplish?

Throughout much of my life, I've always wondered why we picked the worst writing of all time to honor. I mean hell, Thor was way more fun, and just as easy to relate to than jesus. Out of all the stories we could have picked to live our lives by, how the hell did we settle on the most despicable tale of all?

Also posted at Atheist Universe.