RE: Theists: What is the most compelling argument you have heard for Atheism?
March 16, 2017 at 9:58 am
(March 16, 2017 at 9:37 am)Neo-Scholastic Wrote:(March 15, 2017 at 6:15 pm)The Valkyrie Wrote: When I was a theist, the most compelling argument I ever heard for atheism was, "Read the bible fully."
Personally, people who read the canon in order from start to finish are ill-advised. That may leave you with a basic biblical timeline, which is a good thing, but also leads to much confusion. The texts have to be read both forwards and backwards to draw out all the foreshadowing and typology. My favorite technique is finding a common phrase, consulting a concordance, and then comparing how it is used in each instance. The texts open up in unexpected ways to reveal hidden themes and allusions threading their way through the narrative. These threads tie the stories together just as Jesus said, "If you believed Moses then you would believe me..." (John 5:46) I find that approach more helpful than the typical topical approaches most bible study groups use. Those seem more like proof-texting clubs. I'd be happy to share videos of some study groups that take that approach, albeit from a Swedenborgian perspective, for anyone who is interested.
Backwards? I hope you don't listen to Beatles records backwards. Planning to have a hippy ranch in the California desert are you?
Poppycock. You read the bible not objectively but to convince yourself that book is true. Sorry, but Genesis alone is both scientifically absurd and the first story in it is immoral on top of that.
Adam and Eve are pawns, poker chips in a rigged bet between God and Lucifer. Innocent characters who had no say going in, and blamed for the bet they didn't make and punished for the setup God didn't have to put in place. It is the ultimate victim blaming.
But then there is the bullshit clear as the print, where the book has humans magically popping out of dirt, women magically popping out of a man's rib. It treats the sun and moon as separate sources of light when science proves that sunlight bounces off the moon. It has stories of talking snakes, talking donkeys and talking bushes. That book of myth reads like any comic book, but much more poorly written than any Marvel or DC comic. I find more value in a Star Wars movie.
No amount of reading that book will make your god real. It is only good for reading to understand mythology, but that is it.
