I have kind of been in a funk about my blogging lately. Here I am sitting at home all the time in the world and I can’t get myself to write. Maybe it’s because I can’t get people to read the damn thing. I don’t know, I think I’m funny. I think I offer some new perspectives on a lot of atheist arguments but I don’t know how to grow my readership. I love to debate believers, but can’t seem to get anyone to challenge me here.
Anyway, someone asked in an atheist vs. theist group I’m in today why we gave up religion, and even though I wrote a little bit about my deconversion in the about me section this kind of adds to what I wrote there and what think about the bible.
Anyway, this was the question as they asked it (I have not changed it, the bad grammar is theirs): Would you elaborate the reason of becoming an Atheist, other than never see God with naked eye?
A lot of my fellow atheists stuck to a simple, no good evidence response. I wanted to give a little more than that.
Here is my response:
I objectively looked at the world around me and realized it in no way shape or form matched the bible. In fact, I was studying to become a minister at the time. I was in a class about the Pentateuch (first five books of the bible) when I realized it literally could not have happened.
The insane cruelty this god being exhibited both in his actions and his commands was a problem for anyone thinking this was a good or loving god, but these are unbelievable:
- Talking snakes
- Worldwide floods
- Giants
- Women sleeping with angels creating giants
- Towers that reached into Heaven
- God wrestling with Jacob
- God killing the firstborn of Egypt for his glory.
- Blood Sacrifice
- David cutting off the foreskins of 200 Philistines
- Samson’s Hairy Strength
- Lot’s wife getting salty (or maybe a-salted?)
- The sun standing still in the sky and not going down (the sun actually doesn’t rise or set, we rotate on our axis while traveling around it. I’m no scientist but stopping the world from spinning would really mess up gravity)
… and about a million other stories that couldn’t have happened all leading to the new testament.
The new testament:
- Written by unknown authors decades after the events in them were supposed to have happened
- With two different genealogies for Jesus both ending at Joseph (and apparently he had two different dads) and both going back to King David. (Luke’s even goes all the way to Adam).
- Different last words for Jesus in each Gospel.
- The claim that prayer works when it verifiably doesn’t (see more below).
- Jesus said his some of his disciples would still be alive on his return, they aren’t.
- Dead Saints getting up and walking around when Jesus died, yet no other historians thought to mention that and it only appears in Matthew.
- And lastly.. for now… the unbelievable insanity of a god needing to sacrifice itself in order to forgive us for violating his dictates when he could just decide to forgive us.
Prayer doesn’t work, even though the Bible assures us that “Ask and we shall receive”, Christians had to change so their god answers prayer with a yes, no, or wait (Isn’t that a cute cop-out?) Miracle healings never involve raising the dead or even regrowing limbs.
It’s not just Christianity either!
In hindsight, I wish I had also added that I find the Quran just as silly. To me the biggest differences in the Quran from the bible are in addition to a talking snake we have talking ants (that King Solomon can somehow understand -it’s true, it’s in there) and talking birds. Also, Muslim Satan is left-handed. Seriously, in my mind, that’s about it.
Anyway, this was mostly to force myself to start writing again. Hopefully, someday I can get people to read it. So if you like any of my blogs please share.
Tell me what your reasons for accepting or rejecting a god belief are in the comments, and please notice I said rejecting a god belief… I don’t reject your god, I just don’t believe in it.