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There is only one God, and uncountable notions of the “Word of God.” John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Well and good. Let’s go to the beginning, Gen 1:26: “And God said, Let us make man in our image.” I assume “our image” is not authority’s image. God, having created man with reason and logic, I assume “our image” is internal. There are uncountable external images. None of them fully accept other images, which is neither reasonable nor logical. Therefore, in my opinion, no way is it God’s Word being preached.

Here is an example. My cousin was a Presbyterian missionary for 25 years in what was the Belgium Congo. He told me this story, with the advice that I make up my own mind what it means. He traveled up Congo rivers bringing the Presbyterian message to African primitives. On a return visit, the elders of the church he established came to him with a problem. An old woman in the village insisted that God lived in a tree near her hut. The elders cut down her tree in order that the old woman might realize that God lived in Heaven. The old woman died of a broken heart. My thought: Why does it matter where God lives? Would someone explain to me in reasonable, logical terms why it matters?

No one can prove that God is this or that. For the good of all, we don’t discourage the individual of his God-given rights. It is implied in my Constitution that we have the God-given right to worship God in our own way, as long as it does not interfere with another’s right to do the same. Anything else is nonsense, in my estimation. So what, if my way of worshiping God is unconventional? I don’t have to prove my way is right and your way is wrong. Why do you take it upon yourself to prove my way is wrong? You have the right to take my way or leave it. No problem. It is your problem if you are wrong, not mine.

This “sinner,” once I knew that “good” is evil, and “evil” is good—when I went strictly on my own judgment—my life started improving. At age 84, I’m in good health. I have no financial worries. I have a wife to love and I’m loved back. I live in my dream home. If life could be any better, I don’t know how. For all intents and purposes, therefore, I’m right in my spiritual beliefs. You believe what you want.

When I read the Bible, I read it in its overall context. The Bible is the moral story of man. It reveals both the good and evil sides of humans. When I read “God’s Word” about the Garden of Eden, and that proverbial tree “where God lived,” that tree of knowledge of good and evil, read about God telling Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and know as much as the gods, and the authority was angered, Adam and Eve committed the “original sin,” that of knowing as much as authority. What did the jungle village authorities do? They cut down the old woman’s tree. It reminds me of the Greek’s Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man, thus angering Zeus. It reminds me of Job, who proved his faith in the Lord by giving up his family, his wealth, and his health. Why is it good that Job was left destitute to prove his faith in the Lord? It is a strange way of thinking. I think Job was suckered by evil doers.

You can believe what you want, but after reading the Bible I think Adam and Eve were right to eat the forbidden fruit and leave authority’s welfare state, the Garden of Eden, to live on the land. Reason forbids me from thinking I was born in sin. Why would God do that to me? It isn’t God; it is the authorities. I’m a sinner so they can invent ways of saving me. And always for money, some authorities have it that I can buy my way out of Purgatory, even buy my whole family out of Purgatory. If I have big money to give to the church I should be given more privileges in Heaven. Class warfare remains after we are dead and gone.

Some authorities have it that if you don’t accept their notions on God you are not fit to live. Millions of Muslims believe that. Some authorities say is not proper to bring that undeniable fact up. Don’t ask me to accept this absolute bunk. God is real but nothing at all like the authorities would have us believe.

The Bible tells of a Battle of Armageddon to end it all. That seems logical but not reasonable. Authorities on the Bible tell us these are the “end times.” Right! Looking at the Bible in its overall context, with analysis of the current situation, I see in the future a totally different picture. I see the rebirth of the higher law, the background of my Constitution. I see the end of the false authoritarian world told about in the Bible, and still being practiced for crying out loud. Is Israel anymore promised to Jews than to Arabs? Why isn’t America God’s promise to Christians? A thousand years ago it was the Christian Crusades. Today it is even more outrageous. We’ve got the War on Terror. It is crazy thinking. No God promised these events. They are all manmade.

St. Augustine said: “Distinguish the ages and the Scriptures harmonize.” Right on! I see us here with increasing purpose. The ages show us a progressive order that conditions us to be self-sustaining, personally responsible, and able to cope with whatever the situation happens to be, the absolute opposite of what authorities preach. What the hell is wrong with us? Why we are so easily persuaded to give up our God-given rights, and even to accept totally nonsensical causes?

To be sure, we don’t realize that we are not spectators. We are all in the game of surviving. If we simply stand there dumbly looking at the action, or worse, bury our heads in the sand, sooner or later the action is going to crush us. Too bad, so sad. We all feel for you. Yea! You deserve what you got.

By the way, just coincidentally, on July 4, 1776, Independence Day, America was born under the sign of Aquarius, the water-bearer to humanity. I see the American people inescapably attached to the movements of the heavens. I see the rebirth, right now, of the independent self capable of coping. I see myself. I envision humanity capable of transformation to the next step of human evolution. I envision the world at the threshold of a quantum leap forward.

But you go ahead, if what the authorities want is what you want. Go ahead and listen to your particular authorities; do what they tell you. Go ahead and call me the anti-Christ if it helps. I get the message in the Bible. To me, it is nonsense what the authorities are telling you. They take a verse out of the Bible, or the Koran, or something out of the Constitution, and interpret it to mean whatever they want it to mean. They are all divisive; not worthy of my trust. I’ll continue to look within for my answers.