The Tower of Babel

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As men moved eastward,  they found a plain in Shinar  and settled there.

³ They said to each other, "Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶ The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

⁸ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel  —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Although total myth let’s consider this supposed act of the god of the bible. If this were an actual occurrence of what possible good could it be?

Supposing that the actual building of the tower was a technological achievement? If god were real this would be something over which his envy might get the better of him. The achievements of man were becoming too great for his ego, and seeing this was a result of a unified effort of man sought to separate mankind into groups less able to achieve great works.

This is the hallmark of the bible. Divide and conquer. Divide people one from another so that each disparate group has less ability to defend itself or achieve great works.

If this were an actual event and today’s many countries and peoples the result, of what value could this possibly be to the human race at large? This event would be a divisive event which would have been a roadblock to human development. This would have been the of the highest order of disservice to mankind. This would also mean that this god was not all-powerful for it shows that god feared the advancement, the higher development of mankind. Why would an omnipotent god fear lowly man?  This action would not be the act of a loving god that cared about his creation. More than that, it would be more like an act of a master to a slave. A god that would rather humble man, suppress his development, than see him proceed to his fullest potential.

Luke 18:14

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

So that is the goal, to humble man, to suppress his talents. But for what purpose. How could the successful attainment of achievement possibly threaten an omnipotent god? How can the exaltation of mankind possibly threaten such a being? How could the happiness of mankind interfere with a mighty gods plans?

Religion is not meant to exalt man. It is not for the purpose of making man happy. If a man becomes happy, and revels in ever-increasing accomplishments, then what need would he have for religion. In the end it is not the concept of a god which suppresses man, it is religion. Without people who are without hope or wallowing in misery, religion has no feeding ground. The lonely, the desperate, the downtrodden are like sustenance to religion.

In conclusion it could be said that the bible is religion. In it’s pages the story of a god has been twisted, warped, and made to serve some other purpose than belief. In the pages of the bible man is not encouraged, but denigrated. He is told to be humble, to not exalt in accomplishments and instead to submit, lay himself low, and do nothing that might upset the jealous god as described therein.

If a man must believe in a god, then that man should be wary. That man should be wary of religion. If a man must believe in a god, make it one that supports him, encourages him, to achievement, to better himself, and one that wants peace, kindness, and never violence. None of man’s major religions offer this god. This god does not suppress a people so governments do not promote this god. This god exalts humanity, individuals and as a whole, how can you enslave a people if they all excelled? A god that promotes a humble man is not fit to be a god.