Brian Cox Brands The Bible As ‘One Of The Worst Books Ever,' Slams The 'Adam And Eve' Story

Brian Cox recently offered scathing criticism of religion, specifically the Bible, for hindering progress and patriarchal ideals.

The actor also took the opportunity to condemn the Israel-Hamas conflict, citing the tragic loss of innocent lives.

In a recent interview on "The Starting Line Podcast" with Rich Leigh, actor Brian Cox shared his thoughts on religion, describing it as a hindrance to human progress and a tool for patriarchal dominance.

The actor stated that religious belief "holds us back because it's belief systems which are outside ourselves."

He continued: "They're not dealing with who we are; we're dealing with, 'Oh if God says this and God does that,' and you go, 'Well, what is God?' We've created that idea of God, and we've created it as a control issue, and it's also a patriarchal issue ... and it's essentially patriarchal - we haven't given enough scope to the matriarchy."

He emphasized the importance of recognizing the influence of maternal nurturing in shaping individuals, noting: "The mothering thing is the thing which is the real conditioning of our lives; our fathers don't condition ourselves because they're too bloody selfish, but our mothers have to, because they have an umbilical - that's what the umbilical cord is about …"

"Even though it's cut away, there's an umbilical relationship to your child, and the women have that; men do not have that; they're just sperm banks," he added.

During the conversation, Cox also reflected on the patriarchal narratives rooted in religious texts like the Bible, acknowledging the challenge of dismantling these ingrained beliefs.

He criticized the Bible's portrayal of women, particularly the story of Adam and Eve, stating: "We do because we have to honor them and we have to give them their place and we're resistant to that because all our ... it's Adam and Eve I mean the propaganda goes right way back - the Bible is one of the worst books ever, for me, from my point of view."

"Because it starts with the idea that Adam's rib - you know that [from] Adam's rib, this woman was created, and they'll believe it cause they're stupid enough," he added.

Amid his criticisms, Cox acknowledged the need for spiritual guidance among people but expressed skepticism about the Bible's suitability for this purpose.

"They need it, but they don't need to be told lies, they need some kind of truth, and that is not the truth. It is not the truth, it's a mythology you know ... it's not really to do with what women understand more than anybody," he said.

When the podcast host commented that rejecting religion is a high intellectual pursuit, Cox responded: "Don't think it's so high – I think it's a level of understanding."

The actor discussed the conflict between Israel and Hamas during the podcast interview. He lamented the escalating death toll, particularly the tragic loss of innocent children.

"It's higher than killing somebody and killing somebody in this needless pursuit of some kind of thing which doesn't serve us at all," he exclaimed. "And the cruelest thing is these children ... that were slaughtered by Hamas and then the more children that way you know ... it's well to the thousands, probably we've gone on 5,000 kids now and the unborn life in these hospitals."

The "Succession" star expressed frustration at the lack of awareness among people, stating: "It's unbelievable that we do this ... even Hamas is doing well, 'It's all going a bit too far now isn't it?'"

"I mean, people are so stupid - they are so stupid - and they cannot see the writing on the wall, you know," he added.

On the topic of wealth distribution, Cox, a self-professed Socialist, expressed skepticism about humanity's progress. He expressed hope that billionaires would cease to exist in the future but doubted society's capacity for significant change.

"Unfortunately we are - we're still sort of sprogs, you know we're still those frogs we're not grown-up, we haven't grown up. We still, we're not even beyond the baby stage in our existence," he said.

"You know, it's - human beings are so f--ked basically; basically, they're f--ked and they have been and they're not doing anything about it and they continue to be f--ked because they're so stupid, really that's the thing about humanity, it's so deeply, deeply stupid."