How should you refute atheists when they put God and the Bible in the same category as fairytales?

Question

I've called it "intellectual dishonesty" , because I think they know better than to do that, but will not admit it. Also, reason is, because of all the amazing facts about the Bibe, among other things. Fairytales have nothing that can compare to the Bible. The bibles history, helpfulness to people, #1 bestseller of all time, proofs of inspiration, ect.....

Why do they do it then, in spite of the Bible? Yes there were bad things in the Bible, but they were ALL caused by sin or flawed people. Bottom line. And a strong case can be made for its accuracy and authenticity, with evidence also from discoveries.

Answer 1

You can't refute them. To believe in God, you have to have faith. You cannot prove there is a God. But atheists are not going to be willing to believe in anything without proof.

On the other hand, atheists cannot prove to you that there is no God, because your faith is not going to be swayed by reason.

Answer 2

You should give their opinions the same respect that you expect them to give yours.

That said, much of the Bible is the mythology and oral traditions of the ancient Hebrews and other ancient cultures, archeological and historical evidence pretty much proves that. Many of the Old Testament stories (the Exodus, the Great Flood) do seem to be relatively accurate historical accounts, but the stories are told from a biased perspective. If you look at the Egyptian version of the Exodus, you find slight differences. If you look at accounts of the flood from ancient cultures other than the Hebrews, you find slight differences in the interpretation and the reasons for the flood, but it seems that the people of the area pretty much agree that a big flood happened.

You need to keep in mind that the Torah was written by ancient Hebrews, and it was mostly oral traditions for much of the historical period of the Hebrews, so when it finally got written down, it may not have been entirely accurate. Anyone who's been to High School knows how inaccurate an orally-passed story can be after only a few days... imagine that effect multiplied by hundreds of years.

Religious scholars realise and accept this, and generally shun a literal interpretation of the Bible. Many people don't have the intelligence or the time to study the Bible in depth, and they tend to have so much prejudice about their beliefs, that they ignore historical accounts, archeological evidence, and the literature of other religions, when those things go against their beliefs. This is known as blind faith. I call it ignorance...

If you think that the Bible says that bad things happen only to bad people... you need to go back and re-read the lessons of Job. I wrote a paper on this topic years ago and I'd be happy to send it to you.

Answer 3

The Bible, like all holy works, is still a creation of man. As such it has many inconsitencies that give fuel to the athiest position.

The Creator exists independent of any individual holy book, and arguments to the veracity of the Bible, Quran, Vedas, or the Bhagavad-Gita have no bearing on the ultimate question of God.

What the athiests haven't yet realized is that scientific laboratories have fully demonstrated that matter is formed when consciousness focuses energy. So contrary to popular belief, consciousness does not arise from matter, matter is formed from the focus of consciousness. So consciousness and energy pre-exist matter.

That God exists and that we are all one is rapidly being established as scientific fact. Stephen Hawking once said that science can answer the question of how we got here, but not the question of why we are here. That's not really true any more.

Answer 4

You can't refute it. The bible seems bigger than fairytales because it is a massive collection of similiarly fictitious stories. If you gahtered as many fairystories, you'll have a lot you can learn fromthere too. Yes, some bible stories might have a degree of basis in truth, but so do many myths.

Answer 5

Raised Protestant, study the Bible many cases, chanced on no discernible distinction between Yahweh, vampires, leprechauns, and fairies in terms of believability. Yahweh is a mystical sky fairy who knocks up married virgins and has the consequent offspring achieved to furnish redemption for Yahweh's creatures. that's a especially stupid premise, and not a approaches off from Zeus knocking up human beings in Greek mythology...

Answer 6

Folk and fairy tales have historical significance, too. Think of Aesop's fables. They are very helpful for teaching children and reminding adults of good behavior. I find them very inspiring, much more so than the frequently immoral stories collected in the Bible.

Answer 7

2 Thessalonians 2
10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved
11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie

can I say more?

Answer 8

Jesus was the only infallible man, correct? That is what your releigion says right? Well then the bible was written by fallible men, meaning it was completely within themselves, to lie, omit or cheat. All they have to do is say, "I'm sorry" right before they die and they are forgiven, right? That leaves everyone else holding a book, that could be filled with lies. Makes sense to me.

Answer 9

It is intellectual dishonesty to assert that something is true just by virtue of your believing it to be true. The Bible is isometric with other mythologies of the region. And, for the record, they make the same claims about their holy works that you do for yours.

Answer 10

Myth and fiction can also be helpful to people, be huge bestsellers, and be extremely inspirational. But none of these characteristics that you cite prove the work to be true.