Can we have both? By Lee Salisbury It is understandable why Christians insist on biblical infallibility. The questioning of any bible verse calls into question the Christian’s faith in an omniscient God. Any threat to the bible is a threat to their faith, their commitment to Jesus, and ultimately their self-identity. For believers, the bible must to be true, regardless of contradictory evidence. Some go so far as believing the earth must be flat because the bible states the earth has four corners. In the interest of what we hope is a mutual desire for truth and integrity by all concerned, the following is a sample of questionable bible verses with comments in italics for the inquirer’s consideration: Jos 15:21 "And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur, And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah, And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and He...

"Many believers have been taught that Scripture is the ultimate measure of truth, never imagining that the bible itself might come under a higher measure of truth, under the scrutiny of reason." Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith, page 92 The Bible is the foundation of the Christianity. It is viewed by fundamentalist Christians as the crystal pure, clear, infallible word of their god. They claim that it is absolutely the most wonderful collection of books in the history of the universe, that it is as perfect as any written document could ever be. My question is this-have they ever read the thing? I have read the Bible, and it just does not measure up to this sensational billing. In fact, it falls quite short of it. To be perfectly blunt, the books of the Bible are not materially different from other books written during the same time period. The books of the Bible merely reflect the primitive ideas and questionable morals of the ancient people who wrote them. All Christians wi...

by Lee Salisbury How many people have never heard about Jesus of Nazareth? Of course everybody has heard of Jesus. The bible tells us his fame spread throughout the lands of Palestine and Syria. This is the god-man / savior of the world performed miracles only a God could perform: He turned water into wine; fed thousands with a few pieces of bread and fish; walked on water; stilled the raging storm; healed the blind, the deaf, the infirm, the withered hand; the demon-possessed; and raised the dead. His moral teachings are said to surpass anything ever taught. Rejected by his own Jewish people, the Romans brutally crucified him. But, that didn’t stop Jesus. At his crucifixion the bible tells us the heavens and earth affirmed his deity, causing a 3 hour eclipse of the sun over all the earth, an earthquake causing Jerusalem’s temple curtain to be split in two, and many Jewish saints resurrected from their graves appearing to the people in Jerusalem. Within three days, the Son of God, defe...

There is quite possibly no greater threat to the believer than the existence of the apostate. In order to reduce dissonance, the true believer must assume that their own particular system of faith is so obviously true that no open-minded seeker who is fully appraised of the facts can fail to accept it. The apostate represents the real-world disconfirmation of this assumption. It is possible to ascribe the existence of non-believers to several sources – the work of the Enemy, or a deliberate (and thus rebellious) close-mindedness or even, in some cases, non-election. The apostate, however, is in a different class altogether. The apostate is defined as a person who, at one time, fully accepted the dogma and tenets of the particular system, who participated in its rituals, and who defended it from the attacks of unbelievers. However, the apostate at some point reached the conclusion that the system was intellectually bankrupt, and defected from the faith, either for another tradition, or ...

I have a bumper sticker that makes fun of a common religious bumper sticker. It looks very much like the more famous one, but it says "Religion stops a thinking mind!" Of course, this is only used for shock value. I'm well aware that people who are religious aren't mindless zombies - under most circumstances. However, there are times when their eyes glaze over and the ability to think is tossed overboard faster than they tossed Jonah into the ocean. In a conversation, most of the time, you can discuss any subject with a religious person, and they will use normal thinking skills, using their ability to rationally approach the subject at hand. They have their opinions on any subject other than religion, and if they learn something that conflicts with what they thought was true, they accept that they were wrong and internalize that fact. I have often been in conversations with deeply religious people who had simple misconceptions about the subject of astronomy, for insta...

Adams, John "The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find a precept for Creeds, Confessions, Oaths, Doctrines, and whole carloads of other foolish trumpery that we find in Christianity." [John Adams] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The question before the human race is, whether the God of nature shall govern the world by his own laws, or whether priests and kings shall rule it by fictitious miracles?" [John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" [John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816] ----------------------...

"In those parts of the world where learning and science have prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in those parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue." [Allen, Ethan; Reason the Only Oracle of Man, pamphlet, 1784] "I have generally been denominated a Deist, the reality of which I never disputed, being conscious I am no Christian, except mere infant baptism makes me one; and as to being a Deist, I know not strictly speaking, whether I am one or not." [Ethan Allen, preface, "Reason the Only Oracle of Man"] "While we are under the tyranny of Priests [...] it will ever be their interest, to invalidate the law of nature and reason, in order to establish systems incompatible therewith." [Ethan Allen, "Reason the Only Oracle of Man"] "There is not any thing, which has contributed so much to delude mankind in religious matters, as mistaken apprehensions concerning supernatural inspiration or revelation; not cons...

"You desire to know something of my religion. It is the first time I have been questioned upon it. But I cannot take your curiosity amiss, and shall endeavour in a few words to gratify it. Here is my creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His providence. That He ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render Him is doing good to His other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental principles of all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them. "As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, the best the World ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupt changes, and I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinit...

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just." Thomas Jefferson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...difference of opinion is advantageous in religion. The several sects perform the office of a common censor over each other. Is uniformity attainable? Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced an inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth." Thomas Jeffersion, "Notes on the State of Virginia [1781-1785] also George Seldes, ed., The Great Quotations, Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1983, p. 363. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Let us, then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us rest...