This question is for Atheists and Agnostics. Some Theists will probably derail the thread, but here goes anyway:
What value do you place upon being able to debate about bible passages?
Thankfully, there is no such thing as an atheist who follows the atheist rules!! Here's the thing: I actually know the bible very well. I was required to recite verses by memory before being allowed to take a seat at the dinner table. At one point in my life I had most of the *&$% thing memorized. So you would think that I would excel at debating nit-picky bible points.
But I haven't had good experiences with such debates. In the bible belt, any challenge to a xtian statement is met with fury. Any assertion that a passage is contradictory is met with "you don't have enough faith to understand". Any point that a story could not possibly be literal is met with "if god wanted ___ to be true, he made it to be true, and you'll go to hell for questioning him".
I'm sick and tired of it! I don't think the bible is worth any of my time, and I wish I could purge my brain of it! While I have enjoyed a lot of the intelligent arguments presented to theists here (more please!) I avoid the debate, myself. Is this un-atheist of me?
Bible =
What value do you place upon being able to debate about bible passages?
Thankfully, there is no such thing as an atheist who follows the atheist rules!! Here's the thing: I actually know the bible very well. I was required to recite verses by memory before being allowed to take a seat at the dinner table. At one point in my life I had most of the *&$% thing memorized. So you would think that I would excel at debating nit-picky bible points.
But I haven't had good experiences with such debates. In the bible belt, any challenge to a xtian statement is met with fury. Any assertion that a passage is contradictory is met with "you don't have enough faith to understand". Any point that a story could not possibly be literal is met with "if god wanted ___ to be true, he made it to be true, and you'll go to hell for questioning him".
I'm sick and tired of it! I don't think the bible is worth any of my time, and I wish I could purge my brain of it! While I have enjoyed a lot of the intelligent arguments presented to theists here (more please!) I avoid the debate, myself. Is this un-atheist of me?
Bible =
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
