Post by blondie on Apr 24, 2007 15:01:00 GMT -5
OK, here it is in a nutshell:
1. The idea of God is logically inconsistent.
If God is defined as all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good then he cannot exist. If God is all-powerful he can’t be all-good because he allows evil to exist. If God is all-knowing he couldn’t be all-powerful because he wouldn’t be able to change what he knew.
2. There is no need for a God.
There are natural explanations for the most of what we know and reason to believe that there are natural explanations for what we don’t yet know.
3. YHWH is nothing special.
From all evidence YHWH has all of the characteristics of just another Canaanite god. He is referred to in the Old Testament as Elohim, similar to the father god El. There is no reason to believe the god of the Hebrews in anything more than the gods of other people from the same place and time.
4. The Bible is nothing special.
There is no reason to believe the Bible is anything more than another ancient collection of mythology, laws and cultural epics. One primary argument made for the Bible’s supernatural origin is that it supposedly contains prophecies, that it has made predictions of future events. Not only are the predictions found in the Bible dubious, this only opens the door for prophecy in general. If prophecy does exist then the Oracle at Delphi and Edgar Casey must also be taken into account. Even if people were able to predict the future this wouldn’t be an argument for the Bible’s supernatural origins. It would just be another documentation of people performing this particular stunt. The Bible is also riddled with contradictions. Since it repeats the same stories over and over again the discrepancies are glaringly apparent. And many of its assumptions about the natural world reflect what people at the time believed and not what we know to be true today.
5. Jesus was nothing special.
Whether or not Jesus (Yashuah) lived at all is debatable. There were many god/men with similar characteristics that were known from the same time and place. Many preformed miracles and some were killed and rose from the dead. Unless we are willing to take the others into consideration there is no reason to single out Jesus.
6. The Trinity makes no sense.
Going beyond the fact that may Christians believe the trinity is a mystery, where did this idea come from? First there was YHWH and he sent and/or turned himself into Jesus. Avatars are common in religious tradition but the trinity is made up of three personalities. John 14:16 states, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.” The Muslims believe this Comforter is a reference to Muhammad. The Bible is filled with these sorts of little asides. The numerous interpretations only prove that no one really has any idea what the author meant.
7. Christian martyrs don’t prove anything.
A common argument by Christian apologists is that no one would have been martyred for something they knew to be a lie. If this was a valid point then all people who have been killed for a belief or gone to war for a cause would have equal claims to the truth. The stories of Christian martyrs who reportedly saw the risen Christ are sketchy at best. It should also be noted that the Romans weren’t too forgiving when it came to executions and Christians were also pretty quick to throw heretics to the lions when they came into power.
8. The number of original manuscripts doesn’t prove anything.
Another apologist argument is that there are many copies of the New Testament dating back close to the time of the events portrayed in them. Putting aside the fact that there are numerous discrepancies between them, what does this prove? Christians like to point out that we have more documentation of the existence of Jesus than any other figure from antiquity. They like to claim that we don’t have any copies of books about Caesar until much more time had passed since his death. True, but no one believes that Caesar had supernatural powers nor are manuscripts the only form of evidence of someone’s existence. Christians preserved the writings they liked and destroyed those they didn’t.
9. The entire idea isn’t coherent.
With so many different versions of Christianity it’s hard to find a common denominator. God makes all the rules and punishes people with eternal damnation if they don’t obey or don’t believe. He turned himself into Jesus and “died” for a few days as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. But God made up the rules. He made up the game and knew its outcome before he played it out. He didn’t have to sacrifice himself. He didn’t have to do anything. He created humans incapable of believing in him just to punish them. According to some Christians cancerous babies are all part of a divine plan where Gandhi ends up burning in Hell. The fact that Christians believe so many different scenarios is further proof that the whole idea is incoherent.
10. Christians aren’t anything special.
Despite their belief to the contrary, Christians aren’t particularly bright, kind or insightful. Any examples of them having supernatural influence over the natural world through prayer, faith healing, prophecy etc. has proven to be total bullshit.
1. The idea of God is logically inconsistent.
If God is defined as all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good then he cannot exist. If God is all-powerful he can’t be all-good because he allows evil to exist. If God is all-knowing he couldn’t be all-powerful because he wouldn’t be able to change what he knew.
2. There is no need for a God.
There are natural explanations for the most of what we know and reason to believe that there are natural explanations for what we don’t yet know.
3. YHWH is nothing special.
From all evidence YHWH has all of the characteristics of just another Canaanite god. He is referred to in the Old Testament as Elohim, similar to the father god El. There is no reason to believe the god of the Hebrews in anything more than the gods of other people from the same place and time.
4. The Bible is nothing special.
There is no reason to believe the Bible is anything more than another ancient collection of mythology, laws and cultural epics. One primary argument made for the Bible’s supernatural origin is that it supposedly contains prophecies, that it has made predictions of future events. Not only are the predictions found in the Bible dubious, this only opens the door for prophecy in general. If prophecy does exist then the Oracle at Delphi and Edgar Casey must also be taken into account. Even if people were able to predict the future this wouldn’t be an argument for the Bible’s supernatural origins. It would just be another documentation of people performing this particular stunt. The Bible is also riddled with contradictions. Since it repeats the same stories over and over again the discrepancies are glaringly apparent. And many of its assumptions about the natural world reflect what people at the time believed and not what we know to be true today.
5. Jesus was nothing special.
Whether or not Jesus (Yashuah) lived at all is debatable. There were many god/men with similar characteristics that were known from the same time and place. Many preformed miracles and some were killed and rose from the dead. Unless we are willing to take the others into consideration there is no reason to single out Jesus.
6. The Trinity makes no sense.
Going beyond the fact that may Christians believe the trinity is a mystery, where did this idea come from? First there was YHWH and he sent and/or turned himself into Jesus. Avatars are common in religious tradition but the trinity is made up of three personalities. John 14:16 states, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.” The Muslims believe this Comforter is a reference to Muhammad. The Bible is filled with these sorts of little asides. The numerous interpretations only prove that no one really has any idea what the author meant.
7. Christian martyrs don’t prove anything.
A common argument by Christian apologists is that no one would have been martyred for something they knew to be a lie. If this was a valid point then all people who have been killed for a belief or gone to war for a cause would have equal claims to the truth. The stories of Christian martyrs who reportedly saw the risen Christ are sketchy at best. It should also be noted that the Romans weren’t too forgiving when it came to executions and Christians were also pretty quick to throw heretics to the lions when they came into power.
8. The number of original manuscripts doesn’t prove anything.
Another apologist argument is that there are many copies of the New Testament dating back close to the time of the events portrayed in them. Putting aside the fact that there are numerous discrepancies between them, what does this prove? Christians like to point out that we have more documentation of the existence of Jesus than any other figure from antiquity. They like to claim that we don’t have any copies of books about Caesar until much more time had passed since his death. True, but no one believes that Caesar had supernatural powers nor are manuscripts the only form of evidence of someone’s existence. Christians preserved the writings they liked and destroyed those they didn’t.
9. The entire idea isn’t coherent.
With so many different versions of Christianity it’s hard to find a common denominator. God makes all the rules and punishes people with eternal damnation if they don’t obey or don’t believe. He turned himself into Jesus and “died” for a few days as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. But God made up the rules. He made up the game and knew its outcome before he played it out. He didn’t have to sacrifice himself. He didn’t have to do anything. He created humans incapable of believing in him just to punish them. According to some Christians cancerous babies are all part of a divine plan where Gandhi ends up burning in Hell. The fact that Christians believe so many different scenarios is further proof that the whole idea is incoherent.
10. Christians aren’t anything special.
Despite their belief to the contrary, Christians aren’t particularly bright, kind or insightful. Any examples of them having supernatural influence over the natural world through prayer, faith healing, prophecy etc. has proven to be total bullshit.