Why I think atheists should not reject all religious text.

[Exian]

It's funny that editing the bible is such a taboo idea nowadays, when, in the past, you get the sense that it was the norm. Any schmo claiming to be a descendant of Abraham made it in the damn thing. I don't even have to mention the counsel of Nicea (there was some editing involved). Just the idea that there was even a need for a counsel to unify the beliefs and canon of Christendom should speak loudly enough about how fast and loose it was played in the early years.

Speaking of early years, these schmonks were walking around, reciting memorized versions when it was an oral tradition (not that kind, Losty), so how accurate could they have been? Every few months, weeks, or days even, the story was morphed to some degree. It's almost as if those meetings meant to unify the religion ended up painting Christianity into a corner. Now, you have to keep the anti-gay stuff, the stoning stuff, infanticide, genocide, rape, traditional marriage, and arbitrary sins in the bible, or face blasphemy charges. I know in a debate, cherry picking bible thumpers are the worst, but I wouldn't mind a counsel for a permanent cherry picking of all the good stuff. Couldn't get any worse, anyhow.