Why should someone be an atheist?

Not sure where you're getting that should. An atheist isn't really anything in particular to be. I'm simply not a theist. Life goes on, believe it or not.

Because there isn't sufficient evidence to believe in any religious claims.

What's insufficient about the Bible for example?

(December 23, 2013 at 3:24 am)savedwheat Wrote: What's insufficient about the Bible for example?

Well, the bible is the claim itself, it's not evidence at all. Aside from the numerous things it gets wrong- about the formation of the earth, the development of life, and even simple things about rabbits and cud- we can't just start taking things that are written in a book as evidence for those very same things, that's a circular argument.

The bible is no more proof of christianity than the Hobbit is for Middle Earth.

Is the Bible just making a claim or is it using testimony, both oral and written?

(December 23, 2013 at 3:31 am)savedwheat Wrote: Is the Bible just making a claim or is it using testimony, both oral and written?

Oral and written testimony are two of the most common ways that people make claims.

Besides, would you take any other claims of magic true, if they were written by anonymous authors with no corroboratory testimonies outside of those claims, without the level of popularity christianity enjoys? Because, I mean, all those old legends of Zeus are also anonymously written by ancient peoples that claim to be true. Is that enough for you to believe in Zeus?

(December 23, 2013 at 3:24 am)savedwheat Wrote: What's insufficient about the Bible for example?

Erm, everything?

You're born an atheist and indoctrinated into a religion. Christianity is just one of those, and it's usually entirely dependent on both demography and geography what religion you end up following, nothing more.

Luckily, my parents didn't chose to ram a religion down my throat when I was young and instead chose to teach me how to think (my dad is mildly religious, my mom is an atheist).

As a result i've never been religious, and never formed any concept of belief in a deity, whatever that is.

Is Galatians 1 anonymous? It says right at the start "This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead" (v.1).

(December 23, 2013 at 3:39 am)savedwheat Wrote: Is Galatians 1 anonymous? It says right at the start "This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead" (v.1).

Prove it was written by Paul, or that Paul was even a person.

Can you do that?