Atheism
God, that is God with a capital “G,” is supposed to be omniscient, omnibenevolent, omnipotent, omnipresent, etc. Essentially, God with a capital “G” is the Judeo-Christian god, and I do not believe in him.
At the same time, I do not believe in Allah and other deities in general. With regards to deities in general, they usually have some sort of mystical and supernatural power. Not all of them are omnipotent or omniscient or whatnot, but pretty much all of them have some sort of supernatural power and are fairly powerful. To be as concise as possible, I do not believe in the existence of anyone with supernatural powers. This includes God, Vishnu, Zeus, ghosts, etc. This also includes some sort of “prime mover” or vital spiritual force.
As previously mentioned, God (the Judeo-Christian one) is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, and he did create the universe. Some people posit that God lives in a dimension or universe separate from ours. Whether or not God has emotions is something religious believers sometimes argue over. In any case, in both the Old and New Testament, God does at times get angry and he does at times become happy. Religious people usually believe that God is knowable only to a certain extent. We can know and understand certain aspects about God, though religious folks usually don’t believe that we can know or understand him completely. And, since God is omnipotent, he should have the ability to take over the human form. There is nothing contradictory about that.
Why don’t I believe in God? Well, I am very pragmatic and skeptical to begin with. Being an ex-Christian, I am at least decently versed in the Bible and I have read it through entirely (though I may not remember everything). I have noticed that the more I read the Bible, the less I believe in it. To someone as skeptical as myself, the Bible has too many loopholes for me to believe. Certain instances are outright impossible and there are many contradictions. For example, Exodus 15:3 says God is a man of war. Romans 15:33 says God is peace. What? Not only that, but Exodus 35:2 says that if you work on Sabbath day, you will be put to death. The entire chapter of Leviticus 20 has numerous reasons why people should be put to death, including adultery and homosexuality. But, one of the Ten Commandments is “Thou shalt not kill”. So, apparently, putting people to death for adultery and working on the Sabbath does not qualify as murder, at least according to the Bible.
There are passages of the Bible that mention the earth being immovable, which we know today is not true. Certain passages also suggest a geocentric model of the universe. There’s the story of Noah, which seems just outright impossible from a modern perspective. And then, there’s the theory of evolution, which seems to suggest that the beginning parts of Genesis are wrong. There are certain Christian denominations that believe that evolution is perfectly compatible with the Bible and that the story of Adam and Eve may well be a metaphor for the creation of life; the most prominent of these denominations is Catholicism. But, then again, where in the Bible is it suggested that it’s a metaphor? Where does the metaphor start and where does it end?
So, as you can see, I am very skeptical and I think that the Bible is wrong about a lot of things, so it may well be wrong about God. Although showing the inconsistencies in the text does not prove that God does not exist, it does question his existence and provide evidence for his inexistence.
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Post CommentAgnosticallyAtheist
On June 17, 2009 at 12:44 am
Good article, and it’s nice to see another Atheist here on Triond.
Tom C
On June 25, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Excellent article, you made some great points and I think that it’s awesome that you challenge yourself to defend what you believe. If you have a chance, visit godandscience.org
It answered many of my questions and thoughts concerning the Bible and also addresses many of yours as well. Take care!
annonymous
On June 30, 2009 at 8:53 pm
You said that you were an “ex-christian”, that is impossible. Tell me, how did you become a christian in the first place. Going to, or joining a church does not qualify you as a christian. A true christian is one who has experienced the grace of God by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. If you had this experience it would be one that you could not explain, or could not forget. So what is your salvation story. Do not have one? That is obvious. Your idea of being knowledgeable of the scriptures is not accurate in the first place. You may be able to quote a few out of context, but you lack the understanding of dispensationalism and the difference between old and new testament. Your cheap shot at the ten commandments is nothing more than that. Let me ask you this, according to our laws, what would happen if a man was to kill another man? He would have to face the cosequences of his actions. God said thou shalt not kill, but if one does kill or commits crimes than he or she is brought before a court of law and is still responsible for their actions. Your arguments are just attempts for you to try to disprove something that you cannot do. I will leave you with this, If God or the Bible is not real or true, then how do you account for the history of Israel and the Bible. You cannot do it.
Zashuna
On July 1, 2009 at 12:18 pm
How did I become a Christian in the first place? Well that’s actually pretty personal and I do not want to share it on the internet. But I will tell you that I did believe in God, salvation, the teachings of Jesus, and I did have faith. Hence, by most standards, that would qualify me as a Christian, and the fact that I am no longer one means that I am an ex-Christian. I don’t see how that is impossible. I never said that I was very knowledgeable of the scriptures. I specifically wrote that I am “at least decently versed” in the scriptures. Certainly, I am not (and never was) as well versed as my former pastor, but it would be ridiculous to expect every Christian to be as well versed. And, if I do find faults in my interpretations, I am willing to acknowledge that I am wrong.
I understand what you mean regarding the difference between the old and new testaments. According to the book of Matthew, Jesus “fulfilled” some prior Old Testament laws so that people no longer needed to continuously follow them. But, it is very vague as to what is “fulfilled” and what is not “fulfilled.” Plus, there are also numerous contradictions in the New Testament. There is no question that the Bible is filled with contradiction and vagueness, leaving it open to a lot of interpretation.
Yes, I understand that if you kill, you are brought before the law and that does not contradict the bible. I also understand that it is okay to kill for, say, self-defense and that does not contradict the bible either. But that is not what I was referring to. I was actually referring to some morally questionable parts of the bible where it states that people should be killed for some fairly minor crimes.
Also, I never tried to disprove God. I even wrote in the article that my arguments do not disprove the existence of God, they only question His existence.
You would be surprised at how much the Bible contradicts archeological evidence. That is how the school of Biblical minimalism came about, which treats the Bible as purely fiction and not an accurate historical account. Since the twentieth century, there were increasing contradictions between the findings of Syro-Palestinian archeology and the Bible. Stories from the Old Testament such as Moses’s exodus from Egypt either contradicted archeological evidence or were not supported by archeological evidence. Earlier stories, such as Adam and Eve and the great flood, were already long abandoned by historians and archeologists. I wouldn’t say that the Bible has no historical value, but I would be cautious in trying to use it as a book of history. I view it more as a work of historical fiction, like Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of Three Kingdoms.
Word of advice to you: the more respectful you are, the more seriously you will be taken by others. Be more like Tom C.