Once you begin to think critically about religion, there’s a common question that you’ll end up asking: Why do so many people cling to divine “covenants” that can’t be proven? The short answer is this: They do it because supernatural certainty feels safer than real-life ambiguity. But is it really? Let’s look at why humans crave divine promises, how covenants become tools of control, and what it means to live without guarantees!
In the Bible, a covenant is a binding agreement between God and God’s “chosen people.” Think of it like a contract. It’s a deal: “We’ll follow your rules, God, and you’ll bless us with land, prosperity, and protection.” On paper, it sounds straightforward.
But here’s the pattern that plays out over and over again: the people break the covenant, God withholds the reward, and somehow the people always take the blame. Imagine being in a contract where the other party never delivers, but you’re the one apologizing and scrambling to make it right.
Then the New Testament comes along and moves the goalposts. Now the covenant is still there, but the reward isn’t land or prosperity in this life, it’s eternal happiness in an afterlife that no one can prove or even explain in detail. That’s convenient, isn’t it? You can’t file a customer complaint if the reward doesn’t show up after you die.
Which brings us to the big question: Why are so many intelligent, well-educated people willing to buy into a contract they can never actually see fulfilled? What is it about this idea of a covenant that has kept billions of people locked in for thousands of years? Let’s take some time to really explore what’s happening in the human mind and heart that makes this so compelling.
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