A Former Atheist

[Theoretical Skeptic]

21 years later and I've learned a great deal about the real Bible, as opposed to religious tradition, and the more I learn the more I am confident of my belief in it.

This would be the "real bible" that condones slavery, recommends marrying rape victims to their abusers, makes entirely unverified and flat out impossible claims about reality, and so on and so forth? That's your good book, and it's just other christians that make it look bad?

Seriously, how can you find truth in a book that has never once made a claim beyond the knowledge of its time that has turned out to be true?

Your joking? Seriously, if you can back up even some of your claims we may have some good conversations. 

[abaris]

Jesus died on a cross, the soul is immortal. Hell, the rapture, the trinity, Easter, Christmas etc. 

So who's Jesus? Christians say he is god. But if he's god, he couldn't die. The trinity is kind of included in the nonsensical things. Easter and Christmas? Also known as Ostara to celebrate the Germanic goddess of fertility and the Saturnalia. Hell and the rapture? Well, what happened with doing away with the nonsense? The earth is about 4,5 billion years old, whereas the bible and the belief in the jewish/christian god just manages to clock of a measly 3000.

[Jericho]

It's odd when people pick apart the pieces of the Bible that they believe in...but it is the only source when it comes to the Christian faith. Either accept all of the Bible, or none of it. Is it not that simple?

[Theoretical Skeptic]

So what is the real bible?

Do you believe the earth to be just 6000 years old, the sun moving around the earth and Adam and Eve being created in the garden of Eden? Do you believe in not cutting your hair, not getting any tatoos, not eating shellfish and all the other things written there? Do you believe in talking donkeys, seven headed dragons and a great flood killing off all but a few people?

It says bible believer in you sig. So what kind of bible is it, you believe in?

The real Bible doesn't support any age of the universe or earth, it simply doesn't say. The sun moving around the earth was a doctrinal position of the Catholic church at a time when Aquinas who was influenced by Aristotle. Adam and Eve were created, hair cutting and tattoos and shellfish were issues for the Jews before Christ, there are no talking donkeys or snakes in the Bible and the dragon is symbolic. The flood happened. That is the real Bible as I see it.    

[Esquilax]

Your joking? Seriously, if you can back up even some of your claims we may have some good conversations. 

Well, I don't know if we can have a good conversation, if you begin by saying you read the bible and thus became a christian, but then go on to dispute that some of the more unambiguous rules are in the bible at all.

Does the bible you've read contain, for example, Leviticus?

However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you.  You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land.  You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance.  You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way.

Or Timothy, if you don't think the Old Testament counts, for whatever baseless reason?

 Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed.  If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful.  You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts.  Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them.

So that's slavery, let's move on to the rape victims thing, which is in Deuteronomy 22:

   If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father.  Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.

That backed up enough for you? So, you read the bible but somehow managed to miss all the parts that might make your position look bad?

[Theoretical Skeptic]

hmm, so you are saying you didn't like religious people, then you picked up a bible and you became a believer. Ok, but I don't see at what point you were an atheist, and you didn't mention much about your version of the bible, so....yeh, welcome to the forum I guess.

As I understand it an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in or worship God(s). That was me. Bible versions? I started out with 6 KJV, NKJV, ASV, NIV, CEV and NWT. Thanks for the welcome. 

[Esquilax]

there are no talking donkeys or snakes in the Bible

Yes, there is.

The flood happened.

No, it didn't. It is literally impossible, geologically speaking, for the bible to have happened; we have uninterrupted seasonal layers in the geologic column that require windblown conditions on the ground, which would be quite impossible were that ground underwater. The Loesse plateau is one such example.

[Thumpalumpacus]

The Bible convinced you?

How credulous can a person be?

[Theoretical Skeptic]

Jesus died on a cross, the soul is immortal. Hell, the rapture, the trinity, Easter, Christmas etc. 

So who's Jesus? Christians say he is god. But if he's god, he couldn't die. The trinity is kind of included in the nonsensical things. Easter and Christmas? Also known as Ostara to celebrate the Germanic goddess of fertility and the Saturnalia. Hell and the rapture? Well, what happened with doing away with the nonsense? The earth is about 4,5 billion years old, whereas the bible and the belief in the jewish/christian god just manages to clock of a measly 3000.

I'm not sure I understand. Those things I mentioned are religious misinterpretations of the Bible inspired by other sources like Greek philosophy and mythology. I can't tell if you had gotten that from my post, sorry. So Jesus was a god, but not God. Not Jehovah. The trinity and immortal soul comes from Socrates and Plato, Easter and Christmas are pagan, Hell comes from old Babylonian teachings and Dante and Milton, the Cross from Constantine, the Rapture from Darby, the Bible doesn't state that the universe and earth were created in 6 literal days 6,000 years ago. That is nonsense.  

[Alex K]

The flood happened... right... erm, no. I mean, sure, many floods happened over the years, but none on the alleged scale.