What do Atheists believe the Bible as?

[The Grand Nudger]

I suppose I was being generous regarding your claim that the bible was the word of god....I didn't realize that you meant that the bible was the literal and inerrant word of god. If the latter is the claim that you wish to make, you're going to have to make provisions that the exodus narrative was probably just a later addition by man; not part of the original message or word of god. There's far too much evidence against it, and frankly, none for it. If you don't like the position that modern archaeology has taken on exodus, take your disagreement to the Israel Antiquities Authority my friend. It shouldn't be the job of these forum posters to essentially beg you to research the topic you yourself chose. The idea that the bible is the inerrant word of god is honestly such a radical one that I cannot imagine that you are here to learn, or debate. You would not only have to show that the bible was accurate in its descriptions and explanations of events, but accurate to every jot and tittle, every cross of the t, every dot on every i. You would also have to show evidence of the conspiracy to conceal the biblical truth from the masses. Counterfeit artifacts, forged manuscripts, and fundamentally flawed physical sciences. This is too much a task, I think, for anyone, let alone the sole voice of belief in a small sea of doubt. Even if it were accomplished, why would it then follow that there were a god? A perfect manuscript is enough of a stretch, but to add yet another layer of conjecture and improbability is beyond the pale.

All that being said, I believe your time will probably be better spent studying scripture than attempting to prove that the grass is blue and the sky is green. We're not a friendly audience to this sort of reasoning. Besides, I believe I recall you mentioning that you were only up to Deuteronomy, and I would hate to spoil the big reveal at the end (or any of the WTF moments from here to there).

I would have absolutely no problems with taking up the job of "defending the indefensible" with regards to the morality or timeline of the bible without the claim of god attached. As a primer in bronze age and early ce cultures and worldviews, the bible is brilliant. It's only when one decides that a deity is bound within that difficult issues begin to manifest themselves.