The Wiles of
Christian Apologists
[unsigned]
From:
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: PA-via_Positive_Atheism_Index
Date: Sunday, October 15, 2000 2:56 AM
Hi,
I do not consider myself Christian, I question my beliefs all the time and Bible does not seem to me as God's words.But on the other hand there are some questions that I can't answer. For example, Bible talks abouts atoms in Hebrews 11:3 . It also says that the Earth floats in Space (Job 26:7) Creationists say that medical science has only recently that blood clotting in a new born baby reaches its peak on the eight day, then it drops down. (The Bible consistently says that a baby must be circumcised on the eight day.) The Bible said that the Earth was round 2000 years ago (Isiah 40:22) Creationists even say that the dinosaurs were mentioned in the Bible (Job 40:15-24) There is also a book called "Bible Code." I can 't remember the name of the author but he proves that the Old Testament prophesies the assasination of Itzhak Rabin and it even gives the name of the murderer. This book is available in all book stores. Creationists also argue that we can be sure that the Bible is God's words because there are many prophecies in it: Matthew 24:6-7 Matthew 24:11-14 Luke 21:15-17 Luke 21:26 Luke 21:24 (the passing of Jerusalem from Gentile to Jewish hands) 1 Timoty 4:3 Daniel 12:4 So,as a result I am a little bit confused and wanted to hear your opinions about all of the above mentioned arguments. Thank you for your reply in advance.
Best regards
HT
From: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
To:
Subject: Re: PA-via_Positive_Atheism_Index
Date: Sunday, October 15, 2000 3:29 AM
I have heard many of these myths for years. The blood clotting thing, as far as I can tell, is a lie. The studies of the Bible Code are hilarious in that you can do this to any book and come up with some pretty amazing stuff just by chance (and, of course, by fudging the numbers a bit).
Meanwhile, the Bible is not only full of contradictions and errors, it is an atrocious book: even if it were all that it's cracked up to be in these other areas, I would not abide by its barbaric teachings. But it is not what it's cracked up to be at all. Check out the Biblical Errancy website for the other side of the argument.
Also check out some of the skeptical write-ups of the Bible code and delve into some of the non-biblical morality of the likes of Robert Green Ingersoll and Thomas Paine and John Dewey and Margaret Knight and Frances Wright. We have all these and more in our Big List of Quotations. Then compare these thoughts with the likes of Pat Robertson in our Scary Quotes section.
The truth is that those who think for themselves come up with the best ideas, while those who believe an ancient scroll are believing an ugly wicked lie. Nothing is infallible and there is no way for people to see into the future or transmit their thoughts without some sort of medium for this information to be transmitted over. The Bible is a human creation -- all too human. It is woefully outdated because since it was written we have discovered that humans can think for themselves and that humans can be trusted.
Cliff Walker
"Positive Atheism" Magazine
Five years of service to
people with no reason to believe
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