To Sail Beyond The Sunset
I am reading Robert Heinlein’s last book called To Sail Beyond The Sunset. Heinlein died in 1988 at age 80 of heart failure, and this book has a copyright date of 1987.
One quick little quote. The daughter speaking to her Dad:
“What code should I follow, Father?”
“You have to pick your own.”
“The Ten Commandments?”
“You know better than that. The Ten Commandments are for lame brains. The first five are solely for the benefit of the priests and the powers that be; the second five are half truths, neither complete nor adequate.”
This made me stop and think. I grew up as an Episcopalian and was forced to go to church every Sunday. Even though I have travelled over much of the holy land, I no longer believe in the Christian myths and fairy tales.
Getting pregnant without ever having had sex with a man, talking serpents, spontaneously combusting bushes, a corpse which has had a couple of days to decompose and putrefy suddenly coming back to life, walking on water, magically turning water into wine, etc. Maybe the carpenter from Nazareth actually was a historical figure who genuinely existed and had good ideas, but I think the odds are probably not. My best guess is that it is just a story.
I looked up the Ten Commandments only to find that there is far from universal agreement regarding what they actually say. In fact many religious sects which use the Bible think there were far more than ten of these commandments. --LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments
After studying them a bit I must say that I have to agree with Heinlein. The first 5 are indeed only for the benefit of the priests and the power structure, and the second five commandments are indeed half truths, being neither complete or adequate.
One quick little quote. The daughter speaking to her Dad:
“What code should I follow, Father?”
“You have to pick your own.”
“The Ten Commandments?”
“You know better than that. The Ten Commandments are for lame brains. The first five are solely for the benefit of the priests and the powers that be; the second five are half truths, neither complete nor adequate.”
This made me stop and think. I grew up as an Episcopalian and was forced to go to church every Sunday. Even though I have travelled over much of the holy land, I no longer believe in the Christian myths and fairy tales.
Getting pregnant without ever having had sex with a man, talking serpents, spontaneously combusting bushes, a corpse which has had a couple of days to decompose and putrefy suddenly coming back to life, walking on water, magically turning water into wine, etc. Maybe the carpenter from Nazareth actually was a historical figure who genuinely existed and had good ideas, but I think the odds are probably not. My best guess is that it is just a story.
I looked up the Ten Commandments only to find that there is far from universal agreement regarding what they actually say. In fact many religious sects which use the Bible think there were far more than ten of these commandments. --LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments
After studying them a bit I must say that I have to agree with Heinlein. The first 5 are indeed only for the benefit of the priests and the power structure, and the second five commandments are indeed half truths, being neither complete or adequate.
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In the same context he asks the question, "Would you steal food to feed your starving baby?"
To quote the Bible, John 8, verse 32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
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To quote the Bible, John 8, verse 32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
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