[Serious] Why are you an Atheist?

[maxolla]

I don’t see anywhere that says differently.  If you have read and are quite familiar, then maybe you can help me with my misunderstanding, if in fact I have one, regarding scripture on this.  Where things get interesting is in the eschatology found in revelation but there is much debate on the ideas found there and the meaning of language referring to “lake of fire” etc.

Sheol is not translated as life so when you use the word afterlife when referring to sheol it is not according to the translation of the word.  

The idea that “believers” go directly to heaven and “unbelievers” go directly to hell is not supported in scripture.  However, there is evidence of the destruction of Satan and the wicked in scripture.  I’m not providing details (scriptural reference), but I could.

I never said you had a misunderstanding. I was just trying to clarify your position.

Thats not exactly how I interpret what I have read and what I know about scripture. Genesis is generally accepted to be written by Moses. It is also excepted that it was written in his own words. The bible is not infallible in that it has discrepancies within it because of how it was written (human writing). There are places within the Bible where it references God saying “write this down” and then what follows is generally accepted as the words of God. Since Moses was not alive during the story of creation it is believed that the story of creation was handed down through the generations starting with Adam and Eve and so on. The idea of a man named Abraham is also found in the belief and writings of the Muslim faith. The fact that the story of creation is found in many different ancient writings of varied cultures helps validate the story of Babel and the dispersion.

So, if you interpret the Bible one way, and other theists interpret it another (over 30K Christian sects, and counting...), how do you know yours is the correct interpretation, and others that interpreted differently, got it wrong?

It the Bible is not infallible, then how do you know any of it is correct? How do you know you understand the correct parts, and other misunderstand them?

In short. We as human beings see the world in different ways. We interpret what we perceive in varied ways and even our language is imperfect in totally accurate communication. I would say that Biblical text just as any writing can be interpreted along many different lines of thought. If we both read the same novel you may come up with a very different interpretation of the text than I would based on your experience and the fact that all human being are unique from one another.

I except that I am wrong and have misunderstandings. That’s why I am interested in learning from other peoples perspectives when they will allow understanding. I would not say that I am typical in theist circles. It's prefer to understand than be understood. This is why I don’t particularly care whether or not my conclusions are perceived as right I would prefer to be right.

Lastly, Ipse dixit doesn’t cut it. Just because most of the Christian world believes in hell, I have yet to have someone support is properly with scriptural proof.

You would say the same to me regarding the existence of God. However, I’m not trying to prove his existence to you. I’m here to know more about your why.