Monday School: Just read my book!

It’s the first day of the new work week, which means it’s time for Monday School! Your current go to place for “The Rational Corrective To All That Nonsense You Learned Yesterday”. Your weekly fix for what I like to refer to as reality.

In case some of you are wondering, the title of this entry is not an attempt to pitch my atheist manifesto (link located at bottom of entry) but to discuss one of my biggest peeves when it comes to being an atheist. That being the one thing many believers state when they hear I’m not one of them: just read our book. I cannot count how many times devout believers have suggested that I would no longer be an Atheist if I just took the time to read the bible. That the sole reason why I am a heathen non-believer is because I haven’t crossed their holy book off of my must read list.

There’s just a small flaw with that: I have read it. Many times as a matter of fact. I’ve also read some of the other holy books. Reading these books didn’t make me a believer, quite the opposite actually… it’s one of the reasons why I’m an atheist. Isaac Asimov once said “properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived” and he was right. The more you read the bible, the less a reasonably educated people are likely to believe it.

This is the biggest part of my peeve concerning people who claim that I need to read their book is their own hypocrisy. Most of the people who tell me to read the bible likely haven’t read it in its entirety either. When read from cover to cover, the Bible is one of the most disturbing books you’ll ever read. I’m actually aghast by how many people actually cherry pick all the good parts and pretty much disregard the rest. It’s done often despite the fact that the bible itself says that every word within itself is the true word of God and should be followed and taken literally.

That doesn’t leave much wiggle room and still most God fearing Christians in America continue to obey some of it and completely pay no attention to the rest of it. To prove my point, here are a few passages from the bible that are often overlooked to avoid being looked down at as the barbaric and outdated work of rubbish that it truly is:

– Isaiah 40:8, Deuteronomy 13:1, Peter 1:24-25, 2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 19:7, & 2 Peter 1:20 – Gods law is perfect & not subject to personal interpretations.

– Luke 14:26-33 Christians are required to hate everyone, and to sell everything. (Adam and Eve make us all brothers and sisters)

– Matthew 16:28, 24:34, Mark 9:1,13:30, Luke 9:27, 21:32 – Jesus tells his listeners that Judgment day will come *before* the generation he is speaking to passes away.

– Matthew 5:17-20 Follow the ‘perfect’ (see above) 613 Old Testament laws.

– Matthew 6: 5-6 Don’t pray in public.

– Matthew 18:7-9 cut off hand feet, or eye, if they cause you to sin.

– I. Timothy 2:11-12 Women cannot speak, teach, or hold authority.

– John 2:3-4 & Matthew 12:46-50 Jesus disrespects & disowns Mary. (Commandment # 5 @ Exodus 20 2-17)

– Matthew 21:2 – Jesus covets & steals. (Commandment # 8 & 10)

– Exodus 31:15 & 35:2 Kill everyone who works on the Sabbath. (Commandment #4)

– Exodus 21:7 sell daughters into slavery.

– I. Corinthians 11:14 shame on men with long hair. (Jesus? And beards are hair too)

– I. Corinthians 14:34-35 shame on women who speak in church.

– I. Corinthians 15:3-8 Jesus died for peoples sins, but then he came back to life. What sort of “sacrifice” is that?

– Deuteronomy 13:13-19 & John 15:6 Kill all infidels.

– Deuteronomy 17:12-13 Kill anyone too squeamish to kill for Gods law.

– Deuteronomy 21:18-21 Kill rebellious teenagers.

– Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13, Romans 1:27, I Corinthians 6:9, & I Timothy 1:10 Kill all homosexuals.

– Leviticus 20:9 Kill children who curse their parents.

– Leviticus 24:16 Kill anyone who blasphemes God.

– Thessalonians 2:14-16 & John 8:41-45 Bring the wrath of God down upon the Jews for killing Christ. (Hitler used this quote often.)

– Genesis 9:20-27, Leviticus 25:44, Exodus 21:20, & Titus 2:9 – Encourages slavery.

– Judges 11 Kill and cook our daughters as an offering to God.

– Isaiah 13:16 God’s justice is ripping children apart, burning homes, and raping wives.

– Hosea 13:16/ Exodus 11:5 God’s pro-choice? – advocates ripping babies out of pregnant women.

– Numbers 31:17-18 take virgin girls as slaves and kill all the people left.

– John 6:53-54 Advocates human cannibalism.

– Mark 16:18 Drinking deadly poison won’t hurt you.

– Genesis 1:16 The moon is *not* a rock, it is just a light.

– Genesis 2:22 A rib became the world’s first human woman.

– Genesis 6:4 Giants walked the Earth once upon a time

– Job 39:9 Unicorns are real

– Ecclesiastes 1:5 The Sun orbits Earth

– Isaiah 40:22 The Earth is a flat circle not a sphere

– 1 Samuel 2:8 The Earth sits on pillars.

These are not the parts that you’ll likely ever hear quoted by your pastor, ever. This is especially true considering the last few that actually have been proven to be a hundred percent wrong by modern science. Contrary to what the bible may state, the world is not flat (or is on pillars) nor does the sun orbit around us… quite the opposite actually. And for the record, poison can hurt you.

Not only have we proven beyond any reasonable doubt that certain portions of the bible are wrong (the planet is billions of years old, not six thousand) there are other portions that are just flat out being rejected by modern societies. Just look at the passages that condemn women for talking or trying to take a position of authority. I hate to break it to you, but the women’s movement continues to steam ahead regardless of what God and the bible has to say about it. I honestly think that are three years from seeing a woman elected into the Whitehouse (Hillary) and there are countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia that have already had women sit in as Prime Minister.

Another part of the bible that is just flat out being ignored are the passages that support the oppression of other people… in other words, slavery. The bible is pro slavery to the extreme but in today’s modern world, it’s a big no no. The majority of nations around the world have outlawed slavery and if caught trafficking humans or making them work for a less than decent wage, you could be arrested and face years in jail for your actions. The system is perfect but the fact that they are doing all this in opposition of what the bible says is proof that we as a species are slowly distancing ourselves from organized religion.

Getting back on topic, reading your book didn’t make me a believer. In fact it did the opposite as it convinced me that beyond a doubt that I had made the right decision in rejected it and becoming an atheist. I don’t support the oppression of women, slavery or killing someone for not agreeing with me… so it’s no surprise that I reject the bible as a source of a morality. The same can be said for other religious texts which are just as ridiculous and out of date with today’s world.

So this is what reading the bible does to a lot of people, its absurd stories and graphic content (like the stuff posted above) doesn’t make them believers at all despite what people keep telling me. So when someone informs me that they intend to read the bible, I say go ahead… cause we need more atheists and nothing gets you there faster than reading the damn bible.

Peter