irony in the bible: does it make people atheists?

I would not go so far as to say the Bible makes people atheists; but, it does make a rational person think that it is based on myth, fables, and legends. This would not necessarily make them an atheist (someone who does nto believe in a deity); but, if they were searching for a religion I think they would keep on looking!

Oh I totally agree with you. Completely 100%. If it was not for my Grandmother, whom I adored and loved with all my heart, having such a love for Jesus, I would never have given it a shot. However I felt she was one wise woman and I trusted her instincts on this, so I was drawn to it. However it wasn't easy, mind you, Bible thumpers pushed me a way many times, who in the world wants to be associate with hateful snotty people? It took that want to be like Grandma to keep me trying. Now I am a Christian, but I don't think the Bible is 100% right. I know there are scrolls that were not included that were recently found, so that there tells me everything isn’t present. I also know some were purposely left out as well. I think politics were sewn in there also. Then some of the OT is nothing more than folklore past down by way of mouth before recording in writing was even invented. Ever heard a tale remain in tack from the beginning to end when told by mouth? Lot's of room for error and additions. So I try to only look at the OT as a reference for the things Jesus spoke of, but not really much more than that. Anyway, I have asked myself a number of times, if not for Grandma, would I be a Christian today? I don't know, if I would have been without that "want" driving me, I don't know if I would have put much into trying to understand it as I did.

Yes yes and yes again, I agree with that. That is one reason why I don't go to church or beleive any more. One of the other reasons is because allmost all religions feel they are right and all others are wrong.

I was born into the Catholic faith and turned Pentecostal when I was in my 30s. Objective Biblical study has lead me to become an atheist. There are too many errors and contradictions in the Bible for me to reconcile my belief in it as a divinely inspired book.That being said, to each his own...my concern is not how another believes but rather how those beliefs effect their behavior.

I believe the Bible to be God's Holy Word to us. Every word of it is True. It is HIS Book and He would never allow anything false to be put in It. People claim to be atheists for many reasons. Some have gone thru some difficult experiences and they choose to blame God and turn their backs on Him. Others simply do not want to obey God. They want to run their own lives and want nothing to do with God. Personally, I believe that deep down, everyone believes in God to some extent. God bless you.

I think you are going to find what you are looking for. If you are looking to disbelieve than you will find what you want, if you are looking to believe than you will also find what you want. You can have ten people witness something and for sure there are going to be ten different versions of what happened. Everyone is an observer of biased opinion.

I tend to agree with you! The Bible contains a great deal of myth. It also contains a history of the doings and beliefs and longings of a rather small an insignificant group of people who believed themselves 'chosen'. The accounts show really nothing that would set them apart from the rest of us ... there is a lot of in-fighting and, on the whole, a lot of fighting which can't be said to be anything more than petty tribal wars, when it comes down to it. What does set the Bible apart, though, is quite a large amount of poetry and devotional material which has some beauty and can and has been a cause for much reflection. That, at least, shows an attempt by some of the members of that sect to communicate with something which they saw as 'great'. I believe that much of their view of God was cast too much in their own image but we are all guilty of that. I believe that the Bible, on it's own, would tend to lead people to God. It is what other people - specifically some Christians - would have us make of it that tends to make people reject it and all that it represents!

I have found that many athiests were theologians. many were seminary students. Most wanted to believe, but after reading the contradictions of scripture, they just found it impossible. As, I've said a number of times, I believe because I feel it. I can't explain it. The book certainly doesn't explain it for me. The book just causes more questions than answers. I believe because I believe. It flips me out that people can blindly follow the book. I can point out to them the contradictions and the misinterpretations and they say, "it's God's word." Robotics. Thinking out loud. You are right. If a person who has not been raised with Christianity were given the bible and a copy of Lord of the Rings, Lord of the rings would probably seem more likely.

No, I won't give the Bible to someone who doesn't believe in Jesus and Christianity. It is useless and it only makes him hypocrite. He will toss away the Bible to the trash, won't he? So, what is the point, anyway? Someone must have a will (i.e., curious) in order to learn about Jesus and Christianity. From that point, the Holy Spirit may offer him a guidance further.

I think a lot of things can make a person an atheist just like many things can make a person religious, the Bible is just one of them.And I think you can be born an atheist.There are people who would believe everything in the Bible even if it were proven to be fiction. And there are people who wouldn't believe any of the Bible even if it were proven to be truthful.

All people should read and understand Bible.It is God's work it will work on its own.

There is something I would like for you to look in to for me. I would rather discuss this with you in private. It has nothing to do with our disagreements in the pasts just something i wasnt to know if you are aware of and would like to know your point of view. Despite our disagreements, you do study things and are quite educated and that is why I need some help with something.

Who in the world doesn't know anything about Christianity?

I'd have to say yes, because that's what ultimately did it for me. At least, it started the ball rolling. For many years, I took what the adults told me about Christianity literally--I trusted that what they said was true, and I considered the religion I was being raised into as the obvious truth it was made out to be to me. And then I read the Bible. Not just the parable that was read at church that week, but all of the major stories. The more I read, the more I was shocked. My initial reaction was that I must be missing something, since none of the adult Christians that had been telling me about God all these years seemed troubled by any of it, and surely they were even more familiar with these stories than I, right? So I asked questions. And with every question I asked, my skepticism grew. No one could give me any satisfying answers. I think the kinds of answers that disturbed me most were those in which believers declared that it was no big deal for God to do stuff to people that if it was another person instead of God doing it, would get them in trouble (to say the least). For example, I asked why God didn't find some non-lethal way of stopping Moses's pursuers (as Moses and company crossed the Red Sea), if he intended on soon afterwards handing down commandments, one of which was not to kill. If we are God's children, I asked, shouldn't God be setting a better example? People actually got visibly angry with me for asking such questions, and some of them devolved directly into attacking me for questioning God. I was shocked; I was looking for answers, but all I was getting was a range between an obfuscated non-answer and mockery or anger for even daring to ask at all. It seemed that the only way I could be a good Christian was by essentially being a 'yes-man' and never questioning any of the contradictions (the pile of which grew steadily the more I read) I found. This was quite the eye-opener. I started to think that these people believed because they wanted to, not because it was true or even made sense as a possibility. Things snowballed from there, and as I got a bit older, I matured and eventually it became obvious to me that this was all made up. Years of non-answers will do that to you. The ultimate question that flipped the switch to "atheist" was seriously asking Christians about the Bible, "Why do you believe this is true?" I've never gotten an answer to that question that was at all convincing. In particular, the circular logic used to justify the Bible's authority really made an impact on me once I noticed it. For anyone not familiar, it basically goes like this, except generally with more obfuscation (sometimes intentional, but usually not, as most Christians don't even seem to realize the logical fallacy they're using) from the Christian: Me: "Why do you believe the Bible is true?" X: "Because it's the Word of God." Me: "Why do you believe that it's the Word of God?" X: "Because it is written in the Bible that it is." Me: "Why do you accept that claim?" X: "Because the Bible is the Word of God." And so on. So, that's about my story--an answer to your question, and also a fair summary of my path to realizing my atheism (I don't consider myself to have ever actually BEEN Christian--I believe that aligning a child to a religion is like aligning him or her to a political party. It's not something a child is ready to decide just yet, and it's not fair for a parent to just declare that their child automatically "is" whatever s/he happens to be). I will leave you with this quote, which your question reminded me of: "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." --Isaac Asimov

I think the Old Testament is too gritty to not be real.. Primitive and fierce times.. It's hard to believe in utter randomness, and not to believe in a deity.. And in the New Testament, the four testimonies (or accounts) about Christ's life are so full of daily details. And just like all eye witness accounts, they differ in some small ways. For instance, in one instance, one writer says "we went to town and then we came back by later that night". But another writer says "we went to town and went back the next morning". Another account is how one day a woman came by who had been bent over for eighteen years, and unable to straighten or look up. And when Jesus healed her, the religious leaders were angry he had done it on that particular day which was an important day for them to be speaking and teaching, etc. Now doesn't that just sound like human nature! Imagine walking at a ninety degree angle for almost 20 years, and someone not being happy when you were healed!! It also said she was "bound" by a demon, or demons, or satan (I can't remember exactly which) and that, to be honest seems like the only explanation (legions of demons) that makes sense concerning this twilight zone the world has become since we let ourselves be educated by the idea that all things surely came about in a series of not only highly improbable accidents, but accidents which mathematicians have said are impossible to have occurred to about the 50th degree - actually I think they have said anything with less than one chance in one to the 50th degree (a one with 50 zeros after it) is impossible and they figure the chances of the first amino acids joining to form life are one in one to the 113th degree! - But I'm getting off track! You know all lands have a handed down legend of a great all encompassing flood. And the earliest gods of all lands too were mother goddesses.. often shown with a babe or small child.. these too are handed down hazy memories of the promise made in the original garden.. the promise the deity made to send a rescuer "born of a woman".. Which of course had been planned for all along. As it was bound to occur as it had in eden, because angel and man had been endowed with thinking ability, which includes choice.. Which means it's unavoidable things would wander away from Life/God. So hence the rescuer/savior to check that journey away from life.. Which brings us back to science. For it is an unshakable law of science that all things (all matter) is moving toward falling apart. All matter is falling apart, including us. It's not improving. And there's no way time and matter could have produced the ultimate in improvement, life! O.k. It's late, and I'm babbling! Hope I made some sense to somebody!:)

I am an Atheist. I think the bible is nothing more than a work of fiction. Not even a good work of fiction. I don't think it is the reason for being an atheist but it certainly is part of it. I am a realist.

I think that it does turn critical thinkers into atheist if they were to take the bible literally. But then again it can still turn critical thinkers into atheist if they take it metaphorically because they could think god is not real but just a metaphor for an outcome. Christianity is not the only bible with inconsentitys in it. Other religion has inconsentitys as well. What I do know is that a story with plot holes can't be true. So if the bible has plot holes in it does it make it false? I will let you decide that.

I respect your thought about the bible. Have you read the book yourself ? If I tell you that a certain movie is great can you agree or disagree with me ?Of course not !! Why because you haven't seen the film yet. Before you can ever comment on my praises to the said movie you have to see the movie yourself. That's the way it is with the bible. If you will only read it carefully even if your purpose is to find errors definitely something will change in your life. You will feel something. Something good. A lot of things there were said more than 2,000 years ago which were only proven to be right in this modern age. If it's only a work of fiction then those truths could not have been proven to be true. I recommend that you read it yourself.