Is Your God Better Than Another? Poem by Paul Hartal

It depends. For, contrary to the politically correct
vision of religions, not all faiths and deities are equal.
 
Take, for example, the sixth Biblical commandment:
"You shall not murder"(Exodus 20: 13) .
I believe that this central pillar
of the Judeo-Christian heritage reflects
the essential fact that the Biblical God is superior
to many other deities.
 
What is the evidence for this sort of claim?
Well, think for instance of the terrible rituals
of human sacrifices  that were part and parcel
of the religious traditions in the ancient Near East.
The Aztecs in America also practiced
sacrificial killings. They believed
that the Sun God Huitzilopochtli needed
human blood to keep the sun from dying.
 
Many might point out, of course, that the Bible
Itself is filled with violence and gory stories.
The Book of Judges relates that Jephthah made
a vow of a burnt offering to the Lord that led
to the unforseen and tragic sacrifice
of his only daughter.  Genesis also includes
the story in which Abraham  comes close
to sacrifice to God his only son, Isaac.
 
However, the Bible does not really contradict
Itself. Deuteronomy 12: 31, for example, clearly
condemns child sacrifice. "The Lord hates…
Worshipping other gods…They do all kinds of
Detestable things…They even burn their sons
and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their
gods."
 
The Bible is often filled with violent stories
and wars that mirror historical conditions
and events in the ancient Middle East.
However, the fundamental message
of the book concerns the solution to end
the bloodshed, the misery and the human
suffering described in it by following
a way of life prescribed in the commandments.