Xtian Bible "Prophecy" Demolished

[Minimalist]

Love it when xtian nut jobs start talking about how their bible is true because of all the "prophecies" that have come true. In this thread I shall begin an examination of their bullshit.

We begin with Micah 5.

From a site called 100Prophecies.org we get this usual crap:

http://100prophecies.org/page2.htm

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
Bible prophecy: Micah 5:1-2
Prophecy written: Sometime between 750-686 BC
Prophecy fulfilled: About 5 BC

In Micah 5:2, there is a prophecy that reveals that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of the Messiah.

The idea is continued at a site called: Bible Prophecy Truth.

http://www.bibleprophecytruth.com/jesus-...lehem.aspx

Born in Bethlehem

Wise men on the way to Bethlehem The Prophecy:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
(Micah 5:2)


The Fulfillment:

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
(Matthew 2:1)

However, a full reading of the text will show that this is nothing more than typical xtian cherry-picking with an added dash of wishful thinking. Sadly for atheists, there is no getting around reading the whole segment in order to see the meaning. You can take a shower afterwards!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?sea...ersion=ESV

Micah 5
The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem
1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
3Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5And he shall be their peace.
When the Assyrian comes into our land
and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him seven shepherds
and eight princes of men;
6they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
when he comes into our land
and treads within our border.

What is clear from a reading of the entire text is that it is speaking of a leader who will emerge to confront the Assyrian Empire in its attack on the northern kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BC. Not only does this have nothing to do with any fucking jesus in the first century AD it is also is exceedingly poor history. Not only did this great leader fail to conquer Assyria he also failed to prevent the successful Assyrian offensive in 722 BCE which erased Israel from the map of the ANE. Pretty piss-poor performance for a guy who was supposedly chosen by 'god.'

Further, we have this observation from scholarship:

the book is a compilation of materials some of which come from a period considerably later than Micah’s time. The threats in chapters 1–3 and 6–7:7 are usually attributed to Micah, but the promises in chapters 4–5 and 7:8–20 are generally dated several centuries later.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topi...k-of-Micah

Thus it would seem that all of Section 5 dates from a much later time. Probably from a time when memory of the fact that Assyria had kicked the shit out of both Israel and Judah and reduced both to vassal status had faded.

In any case, it is speaking of a time long before any one dreamed up "jesus."