What if it all were true?

I want you to imagine, fair readers, an alternate reality wherein the bible (including both the old and new testaments) is universally believed to be pure and unaltered truth. What I mean by pure and unaltered truth is that every word in the bible is true as presented, with no room for interpretation or argument. In this world, the bible has been the only source of truth for as long as anyone can remember. Either you do as God commands through his holy writ, or you spend eternity in the lake of fire. Think about how different that world would be from our own. There would be no Atheists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, or any separate denominations other than the one church. Why would there be? The bible is true! After all, anyone who commits blasphemy or worships other gods must be stoned to death (Leviticus 24:16, Deuteronomy 17:2-5, Deuteronomy 13:5-10).

“Aha!”, you say, “But what about the dinosaur fossils? What about everything we know about astrophysics and the nature of the universe that directly contradicts with that ‘holy’ book?”.

Think about it. In this alternate reality, no one questions the word of god. It is completely and absolutely true. If anyone actually ever went digging around looking for fossils, they would simply assume that either the fossils were fake (remember that things like carbon dating would have been discounted as junk science as soon as anyone tested something over 6,000 years old), or that they were there simply as tests of faith. As for the astrophysics, why would the science of astrophysics even exist in this world? Who would look up at the sky and wonder “what’s out there”? We already know that heaven is out there, of course!

Imagine how little crime there would be in this Christian world. Everyone knows that if they violate God’s commands then they will suffer eternal damnation, so why would they bother to kill, steal, or commit fraud? It simply wouldn’t be worth it.

I wonder whether or not there would even be a police force and a judicial system in this world. There certainly are plenty of references to judges in the bible (try looking in the book of Judges), but most of these judges seem to be necessary only when there is some kind of injustice or rampant criminal activity. In the world we are imagining, there is no such problem. Also, there are many biblical references that would lead us not to judge one another (James 4:11-12, Matthew 7:1-2), and that in fact God himself is the only permissible judge (Romans 2:1-3, James 4:12). That might be tough to handle if someone murdered or raped someone you cared about, since they would be allowed to live their entire lives free from earthly punishment, but they’d certainly get their comeuppance in the afterlife right?

Also imagine how charitable everyone would be. God commands it, after all (Psalms 41:1-2, Matthew 25:31-40). No one who needs it would want for food, shelter, or clothing.

This world is beginning to sound pretty good, huh?

Let’s imagine a few scenarios using the parameters we’ve already set, shall we? I want you all to imagine that you have been raised in this world from birth.

If you are a male, I want you to imagine that it’s your wedding night. You are totally and absolutely in love with this woman. After the incredibly long ceremony (have you ever been to a Catholic wedding?), you finally go to consummate your union and discover that she is not a virgin. According to the bible, you must take her before the city elders to determine her virginity. In this incredibly embarrassing pseudo-trial, your wife’s parents have to prove that she was truly a virgin (in which case you have to pay a boatload of money to them) or else she gets stoned to death by you and every other male in town (Deuteronomy 22:13-21). Could you bring yourself to do it? You must either execute the love of your life or face an eternity of pain and suffering. Not an easy choice.

Also, don’t bother masturbating, otherwise you’ll have to cut your own hand off (Mark 9:43).

If you are a female, your life pretty much sucks in this world. You are not allowed to speak in church (1 Corinthians 14:34), have a short haircut (1 Corinthians 11:13-15), or be any kind of teacher or church leader (1 Timothy 2:11-14). Your role in society is pretty much only that of a cook, maid, and baby factory. Maybe you’d be happy in those roles if that was all you had ever known, but you certainly would not have the kinds of rights that women enjoy in our society.

I won’t even mention the parts where slavery is completely legitimate (rebelling as a slave means that you will burn in hell forever), or that murder, rape, pillaging, and infanticide are not only permissible, but necessary when commanded by god.

So I ask you, dear readers, to ask yourselves: “What if it all were true?”

Then again, what if none of it were?