Why do some Atheists think that Christians have to believe everything the Bible says?

Question

Why can't we Christians pick and choose what we want to believe and disregard what we don't? Why should we believe everything the Bible says when you don't believe in anything? No offense but, why do some of us Christians get chastised for not believing everything the Bible says? Wouldn't we be smarter not too. Why can't we believe that which makes since and disregard anything that is contradictory without being criticized for it?

You have all given me great answers so far. Thank you. Yes, I do disagree with some parts of the Bible because I don't assume that every writer had his true words printed. I know for a fact that the Bible has been altered, parts omitted and other parts reworded throughout history. I'm not questioning God. I'm questioning the morality of men and truth. Too many assume that the people who reprinted the Bible throughout time were honest and uncorrupted. This is not the case. Corruption is everywhere. I'm merely trying to decipher the truth of the Bible from its fiction. That's why I don't believe everything. God did not write the Bible, man did. Man is corrupt. Fundamentalists need to admit that.

Answer 1

How then are you any different than an atheist?
It is the atheists who are agreeing with you.
If you stand in judgment over the Word of God, you have made your opinion your God.

Answer 2

I dont take everything literly in the bible.The bible is full of metaphores. The discovery channel did a special on Noah's Ark though and have found remains of a giant boat in Turkey and there are also streams of water still flooding out this day that scientists have no other explanation for. Were also talking about what the scientists believe the universe being 13.4 billion years old and possibly much longer. If there was every single detail about how the universe was created or whats out there and what animals existed you couldnt fit that into thousands of books and no one would be able to read it in a lifetime if it had every detail about it. Im sure that there were animals before dinosaurs that existed before we were here, we dont have all the answers to anything. I dont worry about certain events that happened in the bible, I agree with you on some of that but I really study Jesus's teachings and thats what I apply to my life and those things he tought make everything I do in my life make sense and use it as the perfect role model to for me to attempt to be like as a person.

Answer 3

1. It's the Christians who themselves say they believe everything the Bible says that we're referring to when we talk about that.

2. If you can pick and choose what to believe or not believe in the Bible, then why do you refer to it at all? Obviously it's not sacred to anyone who does that, and all of the 'good stuff' in the Bible can be found elsewhere (and first; that is, the 'good' philosophies existed long before anyone put them in the Bible).

3. You'd be smarter still not to take _any_ of the Bible at face value, to be totally honest. Yes, not taking everything at face value is smartER, but that's not really saying much. Example: iced water is hottER than liquid nitrogen.

4. How do you decide which side to 'accept' when there is a contradiction? Flip a coin? Choose what you personally like more, or adheres to your moral values? Just the 'premise' of cherry-picking the Bible proves that our morality and ability to decide what's moral does NOT come from religion--you have to have had your morals ALREADY, or else you couldn't apply them TO the Bible, could you? This may not have been a point of yours, but it's worth pointing out because MANY theists use as an argument for theism and against atheism that religion is the source of our morals, when that is clearly false.

Answer 4

Here's where I have a problem and where the critics fail to realize the logic here.

Let me give you an analogy. In virtually every country today and in virtually every municipality there are laws that have been revised and changed with time. Including laws regarding behavior from a century ago. Does that mean that the entire book containing the laws is no longer valid?

If laws can change that much in 100 years, why could not the Old Testament become revised after several thousand years based on the changes that Christ brought???

Answer 5

To not believe that everything that the Bible says is true is putting a gap in true Christianity. Wouldn't you be making your own God and violating the commandment of creating graven images? If "some Atheists think that Christians have to believe everything the Bible says" then at least they acknowledge that we should. Everything in the Bible makes sense. If you have any doubts about something in the Bible, try http://www.gotquestions.org. This site will answer some questions which the Bible may seem to not clearly convey.

Like the first poster, picking and choosing is creating your own religion. You wouldn't be a Christian, you'd be a "it makes sense for me so it must be true"-an. That would also be considered the post-modernist's worldview-that if it makes sense to us, then it's okay to believe in it. Again, go to this website to discover that the Bible is true, and you don't have to pick and choose-the truth is right here.

Answer 6

I guess because some Atheists are as close-minded about Christians as some Christians are about Atheists. There are 6.6 billion of us on this beautiful little blue marble. How could anyone imagine a "one size fits all, take it or leave it" spirituality system that would work for all?

Our marvelous human brain is a gift (choose for yourself whether you think a creator gave it to us, we earned it over time, or we were just stepped-in-it lucky), and it gives us the power to examine things and reason them out.

Yes, there are Christians who understand the imperfections of the Bible and how to find beauty and truth in its pages while discarding its imperfections. What is so shocking about that? It is more amazing to meet people who take it as a literal roadmap without examining its many writers and revisions and their political and social motivations, relative levels of education or lack of education, etc.

You sound very wise to me. May you always be blessed with wisdom, compassion and happiness!

Answer 7

There's is an irrational and vocal minority on Y!A that claims that Christians can't pick and choose and that the Bible is the literal word of God. You need to refute their assertions more strongly.

Answer 8

Romans 1:28-32 And just as they did not approve of holding God in ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE, God gave them up to a DISAPPROVED MENTAL STATE, to do the things not fitting, filled as they were with all unrighteousness, wickness, covetousness, badness, being full of envy, murder,strife, deceit, malicious disposition, being whisperers, backbitters, haters of God, insolent,haughty, self-assuming,inventors of injurious things, disobedient to parents, with out understanding, false to agreements,having no natural affection,merciless.Although these know full well the righteous decree of God, that those practicing such things are deserving of death, they not only keep doing them but also CONSENT with those practicing them.

Answer 9

I find it amusing that some Christians condemn others for doing this whilst trotting out the tired old line that being in grace exempts them from the Old Testament's laws like some kind of get out of jail free card.

Answer 10

You can pick and choose anything you want, really. I have no problem with that.

You can't, however, pick and choose from the Bible AND at the same time claim that Bible to be true. But I'm sure you understand that.

Pick and choose as you please, really.