The Sins of God
Benjamin B. White
Alien Buddha Press, 2025
ISBN: 9798301885020
Ebook, 77 ppg.
With a title like this book’s and a poem which states that “belief is full of empty theories” (pg. 11), you just know this is a challenging collection of poetry. It challenges the beliefs of the devout Christians alongside the faith of those who follow God, yet not with as much zeal as conservatives or even the Bible-bangers. These poems review just what religion has done for society as a whole, and how the belief in prayers being answered or entering a paradise upon death is pretty much a wasted effort when directed towards a “nonexistent” entity.
Some of the poems also talk about how religion is used to control people. For example, in the poem on pages 22-3 (the poems are numbered, not titled), it talks about how religion has rules to make sure those who even think about committing a Biblical sin
“Can be pushed back
By morality’s predetermined standards
Made up and applied
So the crooked and the wide
Won’t follow a more pure nature
Or decide to deviate
From the socially protected
And move into the individualism
Of an agnostic journey
Along highways of discovery
Free from the competition
Of religion and the conditions
That seek power to be bestowed
From above
Defined and disguised as love
To rule and control
Other souls
To keep them
From travelling.”
This is one thing I have noticed about religion, as well. It does not encourage freedom of thought. You have to believe what it dictates and there are no other truths or possibilities. What religion preaches to its followers is the one and only rule. It does not allow followers to think for themselves or to decide for themselves if they believe something or not. As one poem on page 64 notes,
“If only
There had been
One more Commandment –
“Thou shalt not burn
Free-thinkers at the stake””
The poem on page 24 repeats this message, but in recognizing that clinging to Biblical literature has been at fault when it comes to the notion that followers of religion cannot think for themselves. Not only this, but the heavy reliance on religion and its teachings have created a wedge between a person's religious life and their spiritual life. Religion and spirituality are not the same thing. The soul has needs outside of religion, such as exposure to nature and meditation, but religion often oversteps these needs and makes them irrelevant. As the poem on page 24 says,
"While foundational literature
And selected passages
Send messages
To the heart-hopes
And mind-dreams
Superimposed upon
The soul that screams
For recognition
In the unkempt condition
Of consciousness
Covered, abandoned, and abused
By faith and worship
That refuse
To work with any other possibilities"
And in that same poem, it acknowledges how many followers of the Biblical religions never question anything the Bible says. I have a sister who is a lesbian, and when she mentioned it on Facebook, one of our cousins commented that homosexuality is a sin in the Bible (even though my sister was not a Christian at the time). This is akin to how religious conservatives keep using the whole “God doesn't make mistakes!” argument in their war against the transgender community.
Sadly, people see the Bible containing
"facts
That are never attacked
Because that would disrupt
What God hath said –
“Let there be complacent comfort.”"
And I say it is sad because people refuse to believe that the Bible went through several edits, changes and revisions until we finally had what everyone knows as the King James Bible. There were many, many things removed from the original Bible from centuries ago, as well as many things the writers of the Bible (mostly men) changed because these changes reflected conflicts at the time (for example, a book in the Old Testament warns not to eat of the "cloven-footed" because people who did back them acquired a disease from such practices and died! But nowadays, we take better care of the food we eat, so it is safer to eat. Yet that passage remains in the Bible still.). That said, who knows what is actually the Word of God or just something lost in translation?
But most conservative Christians don’t want to delve into studying what is true or not, what is real or not, because it requires too much work, too much thinking, and too much considering the possibility that, GASP! The Bible is wrong! *dramatically clutches her pearls*
(Sidenote: I’m not really wearing pearls.)
Not only this, though, but learning the truth and realizing certain rules are lies would shake up the foundation of everything Christianity was built upon in the first place. They don’t want to lose the comfort of the lie. They want to keep hating homosexuals and transgender people, in spite of Jesus preaching to “love thy neighbor.” They want to keep things the way they have always been and always will be.
The poems in this book also touch on other matters relevant to religious discussion, such as religious hypocrisy, fear over the soul’s fate after death, and people doing questionable things “in the name of God.” One must read this collection of poems with an open mind, as they are ultimately the opinions of one person about Christianity, the Bible, and religion in general. It may offend some people who are devout followers of God and Jesus, so keep in mind that these poems are not attacks against the reader but attacks against a religion, Christianity, religious zealots, and Biblical stories.
The Sins of God is a collection of poetry touching on Biblical topics and the Christian religion. These poems are the kind to make readers think, review their own perspectives about their faith and Christianity, and wade through a divisive collection that forces truth out into the open where others normally would not even look upon or understand.
Five stars
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book as part of my digital subscription with the publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment