RE: What do Atheists believe the Bible as?
July 17, 2011 at 3:42 pm
(July 17, 2011 at 11:46 am)TheCarlisle Wrote: Time and time again, I hear that the Bible is wrong and a tool to brainwash. Me, being a Christian, don't fully understand the atheist's position. What do you believe about the Bible?
This is an interesting question and I can give you a very short answer or a lengthy discussion.
Short answer in a word: mythology.
I place the Bible on the same shelf as the Iliad and Odyssey. I see no reason to think the Tower of Babel or Noah's Ark are true stories while the Twelve Labors of Hercules or the Epic Flood of Gilgamesh are just tales. Christian claims that the Bible represents a collection of historical documents strikes me as
special pleading.
The lengthy answer goes into detail of how myths form.
The first thing you as a Christian need to understand is that the alternative to "Word of God" is NOT simply "well, somebody just made it all up one day." (Edited to fix this sentence)
Real factors that go into myth-making include:
1. "Just so" tales.
As odd as it may seem, human nature is such that we prefer a made-up answer to a simple admission of ignorance. Why does the rain fall? Why does the sun rise and set? Why does the snake slither on the ground instead of walking on legs? Civilizations all over the world have invented a variety of reasons involving anthropomorphic gods that makes the seas churn, people fall in love and the seasons change. We fear the unknown more than anything else so we don't like to say, "gee, we just don't know."
As a Christian, I'm assuming you recognize the tales of Apollo taking the sun across the sky in his chariot to be just a story, right? Or that Thor isn't really responsible for thunder? Did you ever invent such thoughts as a kid before you really understood your world or hear other children doing the same thing? Than you recognize the way that ancient people invented reasons for things that they observed all around them.
Is there any reason similar things couldn't have happened in ancient Hebrew society? Take the Genesis account of the Creation for an example. They observed that women went through the pain of childbirth or that snakes slithered on the ground. Why was this so when men are spared this pain and most living things they could see seemed to have legs? Some of the events recorded in the Hebrew account of the Creation have elements of "just so" stories to explain these things using similar mechanics that involved anthropomorphic deities.
2. Borrowed from other cultures.
As a music student, I observed how cultures influence the art of other cultures as they're exposed to each other. This happens even if the cultures are at war or one conquers another. It is human nature for us to influence one another as community beings. Go to another land and you will find that you start to pick up their accent and mannerisms the longer you stay there.
Religion is not an exception. As one culture is exposed to another, they will pick up bits and pieces of their myths and beliefs. For example, the flood of Noah was predated by the flood of Gilgamesh. In fact, the tale makes more sense with Sumarian mythology because the gods were flawed beings who expressed regret first at the sinful nature of their creation and then later at what they had done in the flood. The rainbow, which exists in both version of the story is another "just so" tale to explain why rainbows happen.
As an aside, science has explained a lot of the "just so" tales. We know why rainbows appear. It has to do with the way light interacts with water. There's no reason to think that a god is making it happen to remind himself not to flood the world again. We know why snakes crawl on the ground, why the rain falls, why the sun appears to move across the sky, why the seasons change, etc. A pantheon of anthropomorphic gods is no longer necessary to explain any of these things.
****I have to go so I'll continue this post later.****
