Common Agnostic and Atheist Objection to the Bible

[PaulSacramento]

What does one do when they don't like God? Why of course, create one that suits your liking.

We all are guilty of some preconceived notions, this is a given.
What we must ask ourselves is WHY they are there.
Why do we focus on the good written about God and not the bad?
Why do we focus on the bad written about God and not the good?
Why do we see a God that other don't?
The first step to understanding is asking WHY, but the second step is being open to the possibility that OUR view of God may be very wrong.
This goes for believer and those searching, it doesn't really apply to a non-believer because, well, they DON'T believe and if you don't believe, what exactly are you "arguing" about ??

[Butterfly]

I assume then that you believe the bible to be inerrant and infallible, the Word of God, yes?

No, I do not believe the Bible is the word of God.

By the way, IF your moral standards are higher than THAT God, then THAT god is NOT GOD by the very definition of God.

That is why I no longer can believe the Biblegod to be a true god.
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[Butterfly]

So here is my point – truth:

Cannot you see that your ideas about Christianity stem from blatant falsehood, bad warped doctrine and not the real deal?

So we have a direct link connecting you to bad theology, which indicates clearly that all your premises about the bible and Christianity is skewed toward error and propagating more error as how can your translation of Christian, the bible be correct since you drew only form polluted wells and not the real deal?

Therefore, your conclusions and arguments about the bible, Christianity, and biblegod are all based solely on error. You and your husband Spock need to realize how your own biases are based upon error and not truth – even concerning the golden rule.

Here what Jesus said "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. Mat 12:33 NIV

The fruit of your ideas were built upon the wrong foundations which have warped your ideas about God and the bible. These are mental strongholds and prevent you and your husband to ever actually see reason, or understand spiritual matters as it is written:

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit 1 Co 2:14 NKJV,

So why are you really here on this Forum?
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I am very aware that Christian Science is a cult, I got into it when I was young and vulnerable, but I rejected it and left. The reason I left the WoF movement was because I rejected its extreme legalism. After that I spent many years studying the Bible on my own and with Christian friends. The reason I joined the Covenant church was more for fellowship than anything else, I received very little solid teaching there. My husband and myself were probably much more knowledgeable biblically speaking then any of the pastors there.

Your conclusions about why I no longer believe the Biblegod to be a true god are incorrect. What lead me out of Christianity was my own realization of the Bibles extreme male bias, which happened over a period of time, and had nothing to do with anything I was ever taught in any of the churches I attended. My husbands leaving the faith happened at the same time as mine (fortunately), but for different reasons.

The reason I came to this forum was to share my ideas and receive feedback from Christians...simple as that.
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[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

What lead me out of Christianity was my own realization of the Bible's extreme male bias...

Excuse me if you've already answered this question, but where do you see ''extreme male bias'' in the Bible?

FL

[Butterfly]

What lead me out of Christianity was my own realization of the Bible's extreme male bias...

Excuse me if you've already answered this question, but where do you see ''extreme male bias'' in the Bible?

FL

The male bias starts in chapter two and three of Genesis where the Biblegod decrees that men are to rule over women, continuing on through the book of Revelation. Not only is the Bible written with male hands, but it is written from an entirely male perspective even down to the description and qualities assigned to its God. The Bible is full of laws and rules supposedly given by its god that are discriminatory against women, denying them equal human rights with men, and this is just for starters. All this points to a god who is not gender neutral, but rather biased toward the male which is not an acceptable characteristic for a true god. I go into many details on my blog, here is a link to one of my articles titled The Male Bias of the Bible, since it is quite lengthy to copy and paste here.

I would love to hear any feedback you might have on what I have written...
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[RickD]

What lead me out of Christianity was my own realization of the Bible's extreme male bias...

Excuse me if you've already answered this question, but where do you see ''extreme male bias'' in the Bible?

FL

How about this one, FL: Proverbs 31:25-30 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the [a]future.
26 She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29 “Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who [c]fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

[Danieltwotwenty]

How about this one RickD, it has very misandry overtones,

Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." Romans 3:4

Or Psalm 116:11 And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars."

This reeks of misandry and sexism.

This is a clear case of me bringing my own pre conceived ideas and using the Bible to justify what I believe.



Dan

[Danieltwotwenty]

Also found this in my web trawling http://antimisandry.com/blogs/denise-no ... women-190/

I in no way endorse this article, but here is a quote.

I believe the prominence of the stories of Rebekah, Rachel, and Tamar illustrates an important truth about relations between the sexes. By looking at formal power instead of what is actually done, we tend to see a world of male authority and female subordination. However, the Bible shows us that a major dynamic in gender relations is that of bamboozled men and hornswoggling women.

Dan

[Butterfly]

What lead me out of Christianity was my own realization of the Bible's extreme male bias...

Excuse me if you've already answered this question, but where do you see ''extreme male bias'' in the Bible?

FL

How about this one, FL: Proverbs 31:25-30 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the [a]future.
26 She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29 “Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who [c]fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Yes, I agree. The Bible contains much wisdom (human) and truth. Remember, Proverbs was written by King Solomon...supposedly the wisest man on earth at the time. Though Proverbs 31 is said to be the words of King Lemuel, concerning what his mother taught him...maybe that is why it's so favorable towards women.
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[bippy123]

Butterfly, Ive always seen a bias in the bible for women not anti-women. The bible is the reason why I respect women so much.
A woman gave birth to our lord and savior.

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Yes, I agree. The Bible contains much wisdom (human) and truth. Remember, Proverbs was written by King Solomon...supposedly the wisest man on earth at the time. Though Proverbs 31 is said to be the words of King Lemuel, concerning what his mother taught him...maybe that is why it's so favorable towards women.

King Lemuel is King Solomon, by the way.

Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your answer. I will read your blog about male bias in the Bible.

FL

[Butterfly]

Butterfly, Ive always seen a bias in the bible for women not anti-women. The bible is the reason why I respect women so much.
A woman gave birth to our lord and savior.

I'm curious as to why the Bible has given you a respect for women, aside from the reason that a woman gave birth to Jesus (how else could he have been born?). Did you not have much respect for women before you read the Bible?

My point is not that the Bible doesn't say good things about women, because it does. The point is that the Bible is biased against women and denies them equal human rights with men. Many of the laws and rules that deny women equal rights are ordained and sanctioned by the god of the Bible, so the conclusion that must be drawn is that the god of the Bible is biased against women.
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[jlay]

I'm not sure why bible believing Christians are trying to pitch the Bible as not being 'biased' (for lack of a better word) towards males.

The point is that the Bible is biased against women and denies them equal human rights with men.

I would disagree here for a couple of reasons. The Bible most certainly affords rights to women. In many cases equal rights. However, in some context, women are given a subordinate role.
And next, by what authority do you contend that the Bible's position is wrong and your's right? I suppose you will appeal to the GR, but as discussed in that thread there is no Strong case for morality in an objective sense. Only in the weak sense, and if so, then it is without intrinsic value or worth.

In other words, what is the source of human rights?

I'm curious as to why the Bible has given you a respect for women, aside from the reason that a woman gave birth to Jesus (how else could he have been born?). Did you not have much respect for women before you read the Bible?

Let's look at the history of the world. There are plenty of cultures today and in the past that do not follow the Bible and treat woman not only unequally, but even sub-human. There is little question that the Bible presents men and women in different roles, and in specific roles women are subject to men. That doesn't mean there aren't justified reasons for this distinction. I know you don't like the distinction. But hey, most men don't like the fact that the Bible speaks against sexual promiscuity. I've never met a person that said they agreed or liked all the rules and authority that was over them.

Many of the laws and rules that deny women equal rights are ordained and sanctioned by the god of the Bible, so the conclusion that must be drawn is that the god of the Bible is biased against women.

No, that is not the conclusion that must be drawn. It is the conclusion you have drawn. There are millions of Bible believing woman who see the distinctions in the Bible as clearly as you do, yet do not feel God is biased against them.`My wife is an intelligent, wonderful woman of God. She would disagree with your position. (But only because I told her to. ) Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[Butterfly]

I'm not sure why bible believing Christians are trying to pitch the Bible as not being 'biased' (for lack of a better word) towards males.

The point is that the Bible is biased against women and denies them equal human rights with men.

I would disagree here for a couple of reasons. The Bible most certainly affords rights to women. In many cases equal rights. However, in some context, women are given a subordinate role.
And next, by what authority do you contend that the Bible's position is wrong and your's right? I suppose you will appeal to the GR, but as discussed in that thread there is no Strong case for morality in an objective sense. Only in the weak sense, and if so, then it is without intrinsic value or worth.

In other words, what is the source of human rights?

It's quite simple, and I do not have to appeal to any authority. The very nature of being biased is being unjust, that is to say having a prejudice. The Bible presents its god as having a preference of choosing the male over the female for the sole reason of gender, which shows an injustice, thus its god is shown to be biased and unjust.

bi·as/ˈbÄ«əs/
Noun:
Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
Verb:
Show prejudice for or against (someone or something) unfairly: "the tests were biased against women"; "a biased view of the world".

I'm curious as to why the Bible has given you a respect for women, aside from the reason that a woman gave birth to Jesus (how else could he have been born?). Did you not have much respect for women before you read the Bible?

Let's look at the history of the world. There are plenty of cultures today and in the past that do not follow the Bible and treat woman not only unequally, but even sub-human. There is little question that the Bible presents men and women in different roles, and in specific roles women are subject to men. That doesn't mean there aren't justified reasons for this distinction. I know you don't like the distinction. But hey, most men don't like the fact that the Bible speaks against sexual promiscuity. I've never met a person that said they agreed or liked all the rules and authority that was over them.

My question to Bippy123 was why the Bible has increased his respect for women?

Many of the laws and rules that deny women equal rights are ordained and sanctioned by the god of the Bible, so the conclusion that must be drawn is that the god of the Bible is biased against women.

No, that is not the conclusion that must be drawn. It is the conclusion you have drawn. There are millions of Bible believing woman who see the distinctions in the Bible as clearly as you do, yet do not feel God is biased against them.`My wife is an intelligent, wonderful woman of God. She would disagree with your position. (But only because I told her to. ) Sorry, couldn't help myself.

The point is not whether Christian women care if there is bias against them in the Bible, the point is that the bias is there, even if some can't see it, or think its important. I wrote an article called The Bias of the Bible God which you might be interested in reading.
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[jlay]

It's quite simple, and I do not have to appeal to any authority. The very nature of being biased is being unjust, that is to say having a prejudice.

As I said, earlier, for lack of a better word. The definition you use presumes it to be unfair, so following this, I would reject the term, and retract my earlier statment. I was thinking of bias more in the sense of someone who has knowledge being biased towards a certain order. To say God is unfair is just a bald assertion. Arbitrary. We came to this same place on the other thread. If God defined roles for men and women, and placed man in authority, then it isn't bias. Specifically if God has a plan. God, being just and omniscient, decreed it as such. You have no AUTHORITY to judge. It is simply your opinion, which you are certainly entitled to. You say it is wrong, and I say it is wrong for you to dismiss the distinctions God has provided.
You obviously aren't a Thomist.