Nobel Winner Slams Bible As ‘Handbook Of Bad Morals’

[DeSwiss]

Nobel Winner Slams Bible As ‘Handbook Of Bad Morals’

By Agence France-Presse
Monday, October 19th, 2009 -- 3:00 pm



LISBON — A row broke out in Portugal on Monday after a Nobel Prize-winning author denounced the Bible as a "handbook of bad morals". Speaking at the launch of his new book "Cain", Jose Saramago, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, said society would probably be better off without the Bible.

Roman Catholic Church leaders accused the 86-year-old of a publicity stunt. The book is an ironic retelling of the Biblical story of Cain, Adam and Eve's son who killed his younger brother Abel. At the launch event in the northern Portuguese town of Penafiel on Sunday, Saramago said he did not think the book would offend Catholics "because they do not read the Bible".

"The Bible is a manual of bad morals (which) has a powerful influence on our culture and even our way of life. Without the Bible, we would be different, and probably better people," he was quoted as saying by the news agency Lusa. Saramago attacked "a cruel, jealous and unbearable God (who) exists only in our heads" and said he did not think his book would cause problems for the Catholic Church "because Catholics do not read the Bible. "It might offend Jews, but that doesn't really matter to me," he added.

Father Manuel Marujao, the spokesman for the Portuguese conference of bishops, said he thought the remarks were a publicity stunt. "A writer of Jose Saramago's standing can criticise, (but) insults do no-one any good, particularly a Nobel Prize winner," the priest said. Rabbi Elieze Martino, spokesman for the Jewish community in Lisbon, said the Jewish world would not be shocked by the writings of Saramago or anyone else.

"Saramago does not know the Bible," the rabbi said, "he has only superficial understanding of it." The author caused a scandal in Portugal in 1992 with "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ." The book depicted Jesus losing his virginity to Mary Magdalene and being used by God to control the world. Saramago quit Portugal at the time and moved to Lanzarote, in the Spanish Canary Islands.

http://rawstory.com/2009/10/nobel-winner-slams-bible-handbook-bad-morals/">LINK

- So in one breath this asshole of a bishop is full of praises and claims that Senor Saramago is a "celebrated writer." And in the next breath he accuses him of participating a publicity stunt because this celebrated writer and Nobel winner has the audacity to tell people the truth about the bishop's moribund, decrepit, depraved and blood-soaked religion, as represented in the fictional work known as the "bible.".

We can always look to The Catholics keep it classy, eh?
==============================================================================
DeSwiss


http://www.atheisttoolbox.com/">The Atheist Toolbox



(We don't have a clue what the bible says nor
what it means - we just loves us some Jebus)


"If the Bible is mistaken in telling us where we came from, how can we trust it to tell us where we're going?" ~ Justin Brown

[virgogal]

1. Hmmmmm----guess you don't think much of Catholics.

[Xenotime]

2. What's wrong with what he said?

[DeSwiss]

4. You guessed correctly!

- Have a cookie on me!!!



And here's something else you can chew on:

One http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ODeI1u-0bg&feature=player_embedded">video EVERY Christian should watch.

Almost no Christians have read the Bible, an interesting irony given that it is purported to be the source of their religion. When you do read the Bible, its like entering a mad house. The books of Moses are a bloodbath from beginning to end. The God of Moses appears to be a volcano, and worships in an orgy of blood and dismembered animals. Then you get on to Jesus, and things really dont improve much. Jesus states that all the old laws about burning witches etc, given to Moses by God still stand, and Jesus spends most of his time healing the sick, casting out demons and preaching. The irony being that even after he gives his disciples magic powers to cast out demons, many of them still doubt that he is the son of God. Anyway, this video just cuts out one short segment of the Bible, about witches, wizards and demons. All form part of the narrative of Jesus and God in the Bible. Remove these, and you rip out the credibility of the book on its big claims about Gods, and Sons of Gods and you reduce the Bible to merely a story book. It is my reckoning that people can identify Harry Potter as a work of fiction. Why then should people struggle so much in identifying the Bible as a work of fiction?

[old mark]

3. OP, you should have said "christians". I agree with Mr.Saramago

completely. Religion is the bane of humanity and christianity is the worst ot the worst.

mark

[DeSwiss]

5. I agree with your persepctive.....

...without fail. It's just that I often like to go directly to the source of this poison from time to time. I poke at the body occasionally to see if it's still alive. And yes, so far it is. Or what passes for living.

- But I have my hopes......

"On religion in particular, the time appears to me to have come, when it is a duty of all who, being qualified in point of knowledge, have, on mature consideration, satisfied themselves that the current opinions are not only false, but hurtful, to make their dissent known." John Stuart Mill 1806 - 1873