Atheists and Agnostics, what part of the Bible do you refuse to believe?

Question

Please name two such events or preachings, and please tell (or guess) why the author(s) wrote them.

Dear "Jim" - my Greek "Key" study Bible translates it as "First great trible leader"

Dear "Deacon" - My faith and salvation is based on just that "Jesus' Wisdom and instructions" - Certain Biblicans have told me I am not a Christian unless I read Paul and Peter. - lol

Dear "MP" - lol- I am too old to do such a thing. I have retired twice, and now I am just re-retired, and tired, and maybe another word that has most of those letters:retarded? rings a bell, even without my hearing aid.

Dear "all ye folks" - Great answers and comments. If it were not for Jesus, I would be an Atheist. - go figure.

Answer 1

I think the first part, in the beginning god created earth,

i think the author wrote it because there wasnt a scientific explanation, there was no microscope or telescope,

also, the translation if translated correctly, is "landlord",

course with talk like this some people will label me an atheist

Answer 2

I think the fall (genesis story of Adam and Eve) is a little messed up. Note how it's "the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil?" Ok, so if Adam and Eve have technically NOT eaten from the tree that grants knowledge of Good and Evil, then they don't know right from wrong - they are completely non-judgemental, which means they don't even have *poor* judgement! So God says "don't touch that" and MAYBE all they hear is "touch that" because they don't even know yet that following orders is Good or Evil... So who is responsible ultimately for "the fall" if Adam and Eve possess the discretion of newborns?
Anyhow, the whole story is just crap.

SO, if I don't buy that the fall is legitimate, then how can I think that redemption is legitimate? I need Jesus to forgive me for what was ultimately God's responsibility (being a good parent and not leaving loaded guns on the floor for the toddler to chew on) in the first place. More likely, God needs Jesus as a means of apology for being a crap parent... only... what form does the apology take? Yeah. STILL screwed in the head! That's like a pedophile pop telling the younger kid, "just so you know I'm sorry for destroying your innocence, I'm going to beat your older brother to a bloody pulp." WTF?
Anyway, I always wondered why people ought to "fear God." Maybe it's because He's an abusive parent?

Answer 3

I'm going to agree with the entire thing. It's historical fiction. Most people will assume that it's legitimate because certain names will match the historical record. I could write a sci-fi story dealing with aliens fighting in the Civil War, and mention Abe Lincoln in it. Does that actually make it history?

Let me think of two events:

The Flood (Based on a flood that occured on the Euphrates River, and was mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh OR to inundate the Earth, it would have to rain a half an inch per minute over those 40 days, give or take)

and

The Parting of the Red Sea. (It must have been an extremely low tide that day)

Why did the authors write them? Based upon other religions from that time period, Christianity became popular because it was designed for the masses. Anyone could partake. Just a simple socio-economic argument.

Answer 4

1. Jesus' miracles, for they were written in the manner of other religious heroes to credential Jesus as someone whose teachings had credibility. They are duplicated in the writings about other religious zealots of the time.

2. Jesus resurrection, for after that event the accounts of Jesus fly apart. He walks through locked doors, good friends do not recognize him, he appears to be both "flesh" and "non-flesh." The only thing that seems to hold is that his tomb was empty. Sightings after that are too diverse to be believable, and grave robbing is not uncommon. I doubt that the Romans really put a guard on the grave. Jesus wasn't that important, and Josephus reports only that he was a Jewish teacher in Palestine.

Answer 5

I do not believe any of it. It's a historical document (meaning only that it was written a long time ago), and like any historical document, is subject to critical skepticism because it's really really easy to make things up - anything can be written down. Texts like genealogies or accounts of miracles are often written down (ie made up) in order to make a historical figure's, or a nation's, claim to power seem more legitimate through association with a higher authority (ancestors or a supernatural deity). Same thing occurs in other religious texts and mythologies around the world as well.

Answer 6

pretty much anything not written (or spoken) by jesus, because the rest is pure hate literature and needs to be burned

the sexism was written by the men of that time because having a womb and being the childbearer put a woman at an severe disadvantage for survival in the dark ages

the homophobia was added much later, because personal prejudices sell and it helped convert the intolerant hordes that came after the greeks and romans, who were civilized cultures

the intolerance of all "sinners" was put in there by king james the third to solidify his rule over his people by abusing their religious texts

the ludicrous fairy tales were probably in there from the inception, because people really did not know that the earth was round

Answer 7

I cannot believe that sin is passed on to children. I also cannot believe that God created us just for us to struggle with certain people that were created. I also believe that it is unfair to create us in such a way that some of us commit crimes, then punish us for it. Is it fair to write a book about a fictional delinquent, then torture the person because of their behavior for all of eternity? I think not.

I also apologize for the fact that others do not seem to want to give a valid response.

Answer 8

There is no evidence to suggest that this book is in any way more historically accurate or factual than any other manuscript of the time--indeed, there are parts that are significantly less so.

Let's see--people formed from dirt, the Red Sea getting separated, plagues in Egypt that Egypt forgot to record, demons getting cast into pigs, a person becoming a zombie and being worshiped for it....

There's more, but that's enough. It's mythology, and there's no reason to accept it as anything else.

Answer 9

The entire Old Testament is a horrible faerie tale. you want a couple:

OK how bout god sending 2 she bears to kill 42 children because they called Elisa bald.

Or God saving the "righteous" Lot after he offered to have a crowd rape his two virgin daughters. Or even him turning Lot's wife to salt because she was a little curious and looked back.

I honestly can't figure out why you would follow this tyrant even if it all were true. I haven't the slightest idea why they told these horrible stories.

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."
-- Mark Twain

Answer 10

What part? Almost all of it. I believe that a historical person named Jesus Christ may have lived at one time, but that is about all. I believe the Bible is a fantastic embellishment of his life. Genesis, Revelations.....it is all ridiculous, but that is just MY opinion. If Christians believe that is just fine with me. I am a Buddhist and am very aware that there were alot of embellished stories about Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), so I am not bashing, just realistic.