According to Wikipedia, in the civilized world, over 99.9% of relevant scientists accept as true the principle of evolution and that our planet Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it is true of course, science always retains a degree of scepticism about everything, but the evidence in favour of evolution is overwhelming. In spite of this, the bible tells us the Earth is only a few thousand years old, it was created before our sun and all the other stars, and that all life-forms appeared on it at more or less at the same time. When Moses (or whoever the author was) began writing the book of Genesis, apparently under divine inspiration, how could he possibly have got his facts so monumentally wrong?

On first reading it may seem ridiculous that Moses would date the universe at only a few thousand years and attribute all creation to the direct hand of God… but maybe he was smarter than we think! The most important word in any religion is “control”. To establish control over their followers a religion has to forge a strong link between the convert and his God (always via that particular religion, of course!). The religion needs to make the convert believe that he or she is very important in this universe.

With this objective in mind, imagine if Moses had written the truth at the beginning of Genesis:

“Approximately 4½ billion years ago our planet Earth settled into its current orbit around the sun and began to cool. After billions of years of evolution, during which time 99% of all the species that ever existed became extinct, our human ancestors first stood on their hind legs. After several million more years of living what must have been brutally short and savage lives, homo sapiens gradually left the African savannah spreading north and east to eventually populate the whole world.”

Now consider what Moses did write:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth… Then God said, “Let there be light”, and there was light…. “Let the Earth bring forth grass… and the fruit tree”. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night… Then God created every living thing that moves. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image…and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle”… So God created man in His own image… Then God saw everything that He had made, and it was very good… Thus the heavens and the Earth… were finished.”

Which of the two accounts above makes a connection between a “loving” God and human beings? Which account makes people think they are important? Which account can be used by a religion to manipulate and control?

When writing about the origins of the universe and of mankind, Moses didn’t just make an innocent mistake. Like everyone else of his time, he had no knowledge of astronomy or evolution. If he had been interested in the truth, he would have written, “In the beginning I don’t have the faintest idea what happened!” Instead, he wrote a pack of lies mixed up with half-truths and superstition and then passed the whole thing off as God’s holy word. It is absolutely deplorable that this book of lies has conned so many people and over so many centuries. Even many non-religious people refer to the Bible as the “good” book!

In reality the bible is anything but good! Throughout the ages it has warped the minds of millions of people and been at least indirectly responsible for much of the cruelty, hatred and wars that human beings have inflicted on each other. But now at last we can recognize the bible and indeed all religious books for what they really are: manipulative tools designed to deceive and control.