Pros:
-Reading it defends one against evil entities.
-One can obtain necessities through prayer
-Teaches that one doesn’t need material things, like wealth, to obtain happiness
Cons:
-Fear manipulation: scares people by condemning pretty much everyone to hell (this enslaves people)
-Makes people feel guilty (everything is a sin)
-Mostly opinions; “truth” can be distorted in many ways (in one passage Jesus is forgiving and loving; in another passage, Jesus is extremely judgmental by condemning entire cities of people to hell)
Yes, it tells people they don’t need materialism. It instead teaches they need “Jesus” to be happy. And you can only do it by following the Bible.
If I had to choose between chasing something real, tangible, and objective to be happy, or something vague, ethereal, and can supposedly only be gained through Following someone else’s rigid and manipulative instructions that relies on fear based tactics and false kindness, I’ll chase after materialism any day.
Course, as a magician, I suppose I might be a hypocrite.
And in regards to warding off evil spirits and using prayer to get what you need, I entirely disagree.
First off, I’ve read that you can’t use biblical prayer to ward off evil spirits if they don’t believe in the Bible. I believe The Bible is not a substitution for actual magical Work.
Second, you know that “God has a plan”, right? I interpret this to mean that he’s already decided your fate perhaps thousands of years ago. That means that if you’re meant to suffer poverty, starvation, war, enslavement, or death, you will. He’s already decided on it. And perhaps he’s already decided if you’re going to Hell or Heaven.
You’re wrong either way so I’m not attempting to change your mind. However, I’d like to clear it up for those who might read what you say and take it as actual knowledge.
Many practitioners use prayer and work with Yahweh and it works. Sorry to say but truth is truth.
I may be wrong, but don’t gnostics believe that the material world is an impure world created by a cruel and ignorant demiurge who claims to be the one true god but isn’t?
In all religious books you are going to encounter big biases.
The Bible is no different, it has plenty of useful parables, and plenty of useless information too.
Let us begin by adding that the Apostle Paul (Saulo of Tarsus) did not even meet at the time Jesus was spreading the gospel, yet it is him the one that creates many of the rules Catholics follow to the date.
Another is in the Garden of Eden the most famous story of Adam, Eve, the apple and Satan.
Have you considered the third option? a fable where God punishes humanity for not taking responsibility for their actions? I am not sure if the story is remotely true or not, but I prefer the responsibility story instead.
The Story of Job offers you a different perspective where the “Devil” and God actually scheme together, implying that there is no “war” at all.
On the other hand, in the new testament there is clear wisdom in the “words” of Jesus.
As for me, I do think the behavior of an absolute God cannot fit in a million books, yet can be perceived in the smallest particle in any of these.
Here’s my two cents. So a man that lives in the sky, told a man named Noah, that lives in a desert, to build an ark because he’s pissed at us. Noah builds an ark without lumber or nails and gathers two of each animals on earth. So Noah rides a donkey to Antarctica and brings a male and female Polar bear back to the ark. Then he rides the donkey to Africa and gets a male and female lion and puts them on the ark. He gets two of each animal on Earth. Really? How does one catch a male and female gazelle on a donkey BTW? Christianity is a dogma to keep the meek in line.
