Book Review: Everything You Know About God Is Wrong

The new book published by the Disinformation Company is full of many examples of the contradictions found within ALL organized religions.


BOOK REVIEW: EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT GOD IS WRONG
by Kentroversy

As soon as I received my review copy of Everything You Know About God Is Wrong, I knew that many people would be offended by the books’ title alone. When I actually read the contents of the books’ forty-one essays and lists -– I knew beyond any doubt that many more people would be both put off and pissed-off by the books’ subject matter. And there is little doubt as to why -– the subjects of God and organized religion have been used to set off one religious group against another -– and this has been going on for centuries.

One of the major reasons why organized religion and God have been the subjects of such controversy is because of the systemic contradictions that have been integrated into these institutions. Information archeologist Russ Kick’s latest edited volume of essays, recently released by the alternative-thought multimedia publisher The Disinformation Company, is by far, their most controversial title to date. And, while some people will no doubt find the subject matter to be intolerable, others will find the book to be highly intriguing -– backing up their doubts and wonderment about the falsehoods they have been expected to believe on faith alone.

George Carlin, the great societal commentator and comedian, in his February 6, 1999 HBO special 'You Are All Diseased,' had the following pointed observations about both organized religion AND God, which I would be derelict in my journalistic duties NOT to include here:

“I gotta tell you the truth, folks. I gotta tell you the truth. When it comes to bullshit; big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims – religion. Think about it, religion has actually convinced people that there is an invisible man; living in the sky, who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do, and if you do any of these ten things; he has a special place full of fire, and smoke, and burning, and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and choke and scream and cry for ever and ever till the end of time.

But, he LOVES you!

He loves you, and he needs MONEY!

He ALWAYS needs money! He’s all powerful, all perfect, all knowing, and somehow – just can’t handle money. Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more [money].

Now, you talk about a good bullshit story – HOLY SHIT!”

-- George Carlin; HBO Special You Are All Diseased (02/06/99)
Live at the Beacon Theatre; New York, New York USA
MPI Home Video / HBO Productions (May 27, 2003)


Ontological prankster and prolific author, the late Robert Anton Wilson, had the following to say about God and organized religion:

“The Bible tells us to be like God, and then on page after page, it describes God as a mass murderer. This may be the single most important key to the political behavior of western civilization.”

Finally, genius musician and satirical political commentator, the late Frank Zappa, had the following to say about the dangers of mixing religion with politics and the political structure in general on CNN’s Crossfire, which was broadcast on March 28, 1986:

“The biggest threat to America today is not Communism. It’s moving America toward a fascist theocracy, and everything that’s happened during the Reagan administration is steering us down that pipe … when you have a government that prefers a certain moral code derived from a certain religion and that moral code turns into legislation to suit one certain religious point of view, and if that code happens to be very, very right-wing, almost toward Attila The Hun …”

Ever the biting satirist, Zappa toward the end of his career, often skewered tele-evangelists, who were during those times, having problems with their own moral codes. Among the more prominent songs that Zappa released in this vein could be found on the albums 'You Are What You Is' and 'Broadway The Hard Way.' 'You Are What You Is' contained the following three song medley; 'The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing,' 'Dumb All Over,' and 'Heavenly Bank Account.' 'Broadway The Hard Way' contained the track 'Jesus Thinks You’re A Jerk.'

What these three men had in common was an intense distrust for organized religion, which they viewed as being filled with contradictions and control of the masses. In his latest book, 'Everything You Know About God Is Wrong,' editor Russ Kick has assembled an extensive group of essays that point out a great deal of these so-called fatal flaws of organized religion. The book is broken down into subheadings such as the following:

• In The Beginning


• Current Events and Controversies


• Bible Tales


• I Was There! (True Encounters With Religion)


• God-Free Living


• Doing God’s Work


• The Most Popular Sin


• Sounds and Words


• Holy History


• Grab Bag

The essays in this book carry such provocative titles as:

• The U.S. is a Free Country, Not A Christian Nation


• Posting the Ten Commandments


• Philadelphia Grand Jury Report on Abusive Priests and the Cardinals Who Enabled Them


• Who Wrote the Gospels?: (Hint: It Wasn't Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John)


• Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do With God


• The Private Parts on the Pope's Altar


• Holy Blood, Holy Code [The DaVinci Code Lawsuit]


• “Incomplete Jews” and “International Monetarists”: Veiled Anti-Semitism in the Left Behind Series


• Legion's Legacy: Possession and Exorcism

Here, Russ Kick has created a firestorm of many of organized religion’s fallibilities, inconsistencies, and outright controversies. The primary targets, some might say deservedly so, are Christianity, Judaism, and the Muslim religions. Perhaps the most controversial were the photographs of the Papal Altar, which contains carvings that most Christians might find a bit obscene. Depicted on the Papal Altar are carvings that depict anatomically correct genitals of a woman. Interestingly, concealing her breasts and her womb are three bees, which are known to be a predominant symbols associated with Freemasonry -– which represents “industry, regeneration, wisdom, and obedience.” Beneath, is a representation of the labia, which is surprisingly detailed and life-like. And, for this reason, photos of this never appear in books dedicated to St. Peter’s Basilica, where this very odd piece of art may be found.

Without any doubt, the most disturbing aspect of this book were the excerpts from the Philadelphia Grand Jury investigation into sexually abusive priests, and the protection they received from the superiors. I happen to have a very big problem with child molesters, as I have known several people who were molested as children. I will not go into detail as to the types of scenarios discussed in the excerpts, because quite frankly, they sicken me. But suffice to say that instead of prosecuting these sick and evil men, they were merely sent to another assignment, where they continued their molestation on a fresh batch of children. The archdiocese also sought to eliminate any opportunity for these children to later prosecute their molesters, and this is one of the major reasons why so many people have left the Catholic Church. In fact, it was one of three reasons why I myself left, way back in 1981-1982.

Two other fascinating aspects of this book were the essays on the DaVinci Code lawsuit and the “veiled anti-Semitism” in the fifteen volume Left Behind series. What was most shocking about the DaVinci Code lawsuit was how little Dan Brown seemed to know concerning the subject about which he had recently written a book, and the details of his own research. The author of this essay was present in the courtroom, and the quotes from Brown were extremely detailed, and many of his answers while on the stand were “I don’t know,” or “I don’t recall.” In fact, it appears that his wife had done the research for him, or so he told the courtroom observers and jury. This was very informative all to itself, as I personally found the DaVinci Code to be a rather weak piece of popular literature.

The co-authors of the Left Behind series, which consists of fifteen books (!), are charged here with whipping up Anti-Semitism among fundamentalist Christians; who refer in the books to “Incomplete Jews” and “International Monetarists,” two terms that could certainly be viewed as Anti-Semitic. Essayist Michael Standaert goes on to say the following:

“Simply chalking off the books as a didactic screed against modern ‘secular’ society, as many have done, likely misses the most dangerous aspect of the Left Behind books: the revival of anti-Semitism as a strong undercurrent in American society. LaHaye, in these books, has combined both the old anti-Semitic idea of Jews as ‘deniers’ with Jews as being the leaders in anti-Christian ‘secular’ society, nicely wrapped together with hints of conspiracy theories of Jewish world domination, Elders of Zion style.”

Standaert also explains that “at one point in the books, the character Buck Williams, an international journalist who later becomes a premillennial believer and part of the Tribulation Force, happens to comment that the ‘Israelis hate Jesus.’” Standaert also points out that these Jewish International Monetarists are setting up a one-world currency in Left Behind, to which Buck Williams states in the book’s pages, “I’m being overrun by Jews.” The choices left to Jews in Left Behind are pretty grim – death is meted out at every turn. As Standaert states at the conclusion of his essay:

“Either the Antichrist kills you or else the Christians, with their returned Messiah, will. The choice is clear: Remain an incomplete Jew and perish, or become a believing Jew and live with your new-found Messiah.”

However, there is one shortcoming with this book, that I was quite surprised to find omitted. There is absolutely nothing concerning or dealing with Astrotheology, which I found to be quite a glaring omission. Astrotheology bears the distinction of being the very first global ‘religion,’ one that pre-dates Christianity, Judaism, and all other contemporary global organized religions that ARE covered extensively in this book. Certainly, an essay on Astrotheology would have shown where certain myths and religious symbols originated. For the reader who is unfamiliar with the concept, Astrotheology is the worship of the Heavenly bodies, and their movement throughout the skies. It is typified by four religious ‘cults,’ which worshipped different aspects of what they saw when they looked toward the heavens – Stellar, Lunar, Solar, and Saturnian. However, this was the only disappointment with the entire book – and perhaps WHY it wasn’t covered was because an entire book could be written about the subject.

In closing, let me say that I highly recommend this book to anyone daring enough to question the religious ideas upon which they were raised. It truly is a wonderful book, and it does in fact cover enough ground to sit upon the serious student’s shelf as a reference book on the complicated subjects of God and Religion. While the absence of any material on Astrotheology was noticeable to myself, one who has personally researched these subjects since 1980, I doubt that very many others would have noticed. Therefore, because of this, I give this book my highest recommendation.

Kentroversy Rating: ☆☆☆☆-1/2 (out of five)


Kent Daniel Bentkowski
September 18, 2007

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© 2007 Kentroversy Papers
All rights reserved. Used with permission.


Sources:

The following sources were used in the creation of this Kentroversy Paper . . .

Amazon.com - Everything You Know About God Is Wrong by Russ Kick (editor) (2007)

Russ Kick Wikipedia Entry

The Memory Hole - Russ Kick Website

The Disinformation Company

Disinfo.com

God

Jesus Christ

Kentroversy

Kentroversy Papers

Kentroversy Tapes

Kentspiracy Kronicles Newsletter

Russ Kick

Michael Tsarion Astrotheology Essay

Michael Tsarion Astrotheology and Sidereal Mythology DVD Page