Top 5 Problems With The Bible
A Look Into The Unwarranted Beliefs And Deprivation Of Morality
Atheism gets a bad rap.
Many people, as they often do, lump atheists into a preconceived category of lawless, satan-worshiping fanatics who hate God.
Stephen F. Roberts put it best when he said,
“I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do.”
I don’t believe in God for some of the same reasons someone doesn’t believe in Zeus. Atheists are normal people who simply lack belief in a God.
That’s it.
As a former Christian, my atheism stems from many problems with the Christian religion, God, and the Bible. I’m going to share the ones that stand out most to me.
Problem # 1 — Lack Of Evidence
In my article “How To Think Logically,” I talk about how extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and when we don’t have any way to examine the claims, it’s not rational to believe them.
I’m okay with accepting that parts of the Bible are probably genuine, but the supernatural claims would require sufficient evidence to warrant belief.
For example, the claim that Jesus existed differs from the claim that he was the son of God. Additionally, we have no logical way to know what’s accurate in the Bible vs. what isn’t.
People tend to cherry-pick (a Texas Sharpshooter fallacy) the Bible to believe the parts they want and ignore the parts they don’t like.
But this doesn’t bring us any closer to the truth.
If two people believe something differently about the Bible, what method can we use to determine who is correct?
Many people, when asked this question, tend to point the conversation toward faith.
First, faith is not a reliable pathway to truth. Second, even the Bible talks about the importance of believing without faith.
“Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.”
— John 2:23
Even Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith,” knew that someone claiming to be the son of God wouldn’t be sufficient.
That’s because any rational person would need to be convinced with evidence, and that’s why Jesus performed miracles.
Additionally, there are many other verses in the Bible where God talks about His displays of power to persuade people.
Today, the only thing we have is the Bible, an old book written by people we can’t talk to and claims of stories we can’t prove. Nothing in the Bible has evolved, and no new information has come forward.
Problem # 2 — God’s Disappearance
Throughout the Bible, there are many instances where people saw God and witnessed His power with their own eyes. It would be much easier to have confidence in the existence of God if He still manifested, in reality, the way He allegedly used to.
Imagine seeing the parting of the red sea, a burning bush, or a fire coming from the sky.
And it’s not just the power that these people witnessed. Many had actual face-to-face conversations with God. For example, on the road to Damascus, God appears to confront Saul.
It’s not justified to provide such evidence for some and not others.
Even if God showed up today, in front of everyone at the same time, it would be very unjust to the billions of people who’ve lived before us who didn’t get the opportunity to witness it.
God has seemingly disappeared, and there’s no sufficient evidence to support a claim that God exists.
Problem # 3 — Original Sin
It’s unjust to punish the son for the sins of the father.
When Adam sinned in the garden, God cursed all of mankind to be born with a sinful nature. When people are born, they inherit a negative state instead of a neutral or positive one.
Every man created is now done so with a will that contradicts God’s.
God is the one who makes the rules, and neither man nor Satan is more powerful than God, according to the Bible.
God chose to make our world this way, and He didn’t have to.
We could have been born in a neutral state where we have an equal opportunity to choose without an inward influence pulling towards Satan or God.
We also could have been born in a positive state, where we naturally followed the will of God.
Instead, we are cursed and have to jump through loopholes to be reunited with God if we don’t want to burn in Hell for eternity.
Problem # 4 — God Is Immoral
In Exodus, when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with his new commandments from God, the 6th one said, “Thou shall not murder.”
Shortly after, in Exodus 32:27–29, Moses kills 3,000 people.
“…This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.”
This is one of the many Bible stories where people don’t read past the “important” parts. They know the story about the ten commandments, but they’re unaware of what happened shortly after.
Or they know it but haven’t thought about it in detail. Or they justify it in some way.
Additionally, in the very same book of the Bible, God condones slavery.
And since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), we can rest assured that His view on this hasn’t changed.
The examples above are just a couple that display the immorality of God.
We can also look at the flood, the killing of the firstborn in Egypt, and many more:
Matthew 10:34 — God does not bring peace
Isaiah 45:7 — God creates evil
Numbers 31:17–18 — Only keep the virgins
2 Samuel 12:11 — God will take your wife
1 Samuel 15:3 — Put to death children
Deuteronomy 22:23–24 — Stoning for sex
Ephesians 6:5 — Slaves obey your masters
Leviticus 25:44–46 — Buying slaves is ok
Luke 12:49 — Jesus is here to set the world on fire
Luke 12:51 — Jesus comes to divide
Psalm 137:9 — Happy men kill infants
Deuteronomy 13:6–10 — Kill people who serve gods
Judges 11:30 — Man kills daughter for God
Genesis 6:6–7 — God regrets making people
2 Kings 2:24 — God kills 42 kids
For these reasons, my morality is no longer based on the Bible. If you’d like to learn more, please read my article, “Where Do Atheists Get Morals?”
Problem # 5 — Justification For Wrongdoing
The Bible tells us that we are born wicked, and the only goodness inside of us comes from God. Every attempt to be good is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
This mindset gives people a false sense of humility and justifies their wrongdoings.
As mentioned in Problem # 3, that is no fault of ours because God created us that way.
Kind of the “We all sin and fall short of the glory of God” attitude.
Not to mention the lack of self-worth and accomplishment which are essential to have and shouldn’t be frowned upon.
I’m unsure about you, but I have difficulty believing that my sweet, 10-year-old daughter is a sinner.
Steven Weinberg made the point very well when he said,
“Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”
And finally, if someone is what society deems a “good person,” (doesn’t steal, treats people with respect, helps the community, etc.) but lacks a belief in God, he would suffer eternally in Hell when he died.
However, if a murderer or rapist repents and believes in the existence of God, he will live forever in peace and harmony in heaven.
This is, again, evidence of a morally bankrupt God.