[F.U.C.K. is an e-zine that I started on January 24, 1993 and ended on January 24, 2000. One concept is that articles should be timeless if possible, so they were not released with dates. As such, the date on this blog is not exact but I will try to use a date as close as possible.]
“Ok class, today we will pick up where we left off in our study of mythology. Yesterday we finished up the Native American beliefs and discussed how they were like some of the Norse gods, but quite different from Greek and Roman. Today we will study the Meric gods and talk about their history.”
The class finished putting away their jackets before pulling out their tablets. Each student was assigned a tablet at the beginning of the school year loaded with all of their books and assignments. Nothing was done on paper anymore and had moved to wireless transfer to the teacher’s desk computer.
Mrs. Clark walked to the computer projection screen and started writing names of the more popular deities in the Meric mythology. Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Mother Earth, Yaweh, and Satan. “These are the major deities of the time we will be discussing. Let’s start with ‘Jesus’ today, and move on to the others at the start of next week. From your reading, you know that most major mythos’ lasted between 500 and 2200 years. This mythos is what set the higher boundary of that range.”
“During that time, many heated debates ensued over whether or not religion should be taught in schools, whether or not their deity ‘god’ existed, and the validity of the bible. If you would like to read the bible, you can pull it up on your Tablet or the library computer under Mythology3/Meric/books/bible. If you do read it, take note of the various writing styles, contradictions, and political motives behind it. Also note that it was supposedly written by many people over several generations, and was divided into two main books.”
Many students pulled it up on their tablets and read the overview that accompanied most of the books they had access to. Seeing the student’s interest, the teacher allowed them to read the short synopsis before continuing with her discussion. “The bible was the basis for ‘Christianity’ which held popular favor for just over 2000 years. That was one of the most enduring religions of the time. Christians believed in an all powerful being they called ‘God’, who sent his son ‘Jesus’ to earth to die for their sins. I realize it doesn’t make much sense, but if you continue reading some of the essays or Cliff Notes on the bible, you will understand.”
That night, most of the students went home and read excerpts out of the bible, or various essays written in the 20th century about the book, and the history of the religion. Some of the faster readers almost completed the Old Testament before they returned the next day.
“Good afternoon class, how did everyone enjoy the reading last night?”. A few students raised their hand, or mumbled a word of acknowledgement, but most looked somewhat perplexed. “Well, I can see not everyone understood it or agreed with it..” This time more students spoke up agreeing with her judgement. “There isn’t much explanation on why so many people believed in the bible, and no one during the time could ever logically explain it, yet millions attended church every week, prayed to god, and lived by this book. The best explanation I have found is an essay by Marty De’Mire written in 1997. It explains how the amount of followers fluctuated over the years, and that family tradition kept the entire religion alive. Since it was passed down from generation to generation, and wars were waged to force it on others, it was able to prosper and thrive throughout that period of history.”
As she continued the students took notes, accessed the essay being discussed, and followed along, trying to figure out why such a bizarre religion was able to mesmerize so many people. “If you read through the bible, you will notice very big differences between it, and what the churches of the time preached to their masses. The church would say ‘Thou shalt not kill’, while the bible portrayed their own deity killing millions for literally no reason.” Confusion hit most of the students, but they followed along anyway, interested by the topic.
“And by the late 20th century, large factions of people had risen up to fight against the Christian church, and speak out against the ways of the bible.” A loud bell interrupted her next sentence before she was able to continue. “Ok, before you leave, finish up on the essay by De’Mire, and tomorrow we will start on Buddha of the Meric religion.”
The class gathered their belongings and headed out the door, completely educated about the Christian religion.