Taking The Bible Seriously Pushed Me Towards Atheism – Patheos (blog)

I frequently hear from and read articles by Christians getting frustrated with people who take the Bible seriously whether those people are fundamentalists who view the Bible as a historical chronicle or skeptics whose journey to skepticism began with them reading the Bible. The behavior of frustrated Christians typically includes comparing atheists to fundamentalists and using the word fundamentalist as an insult. I am annoyed by this and want to address as best as I can but let me start by pointing out the obvious: if youre a member of a religion and have a problem with your religions fundamentalists maybe your religion has some problems that need to be worked out before you start antagonizing people who left your religion because of whats in your holy books.

In this discussion of the Bible have a picture of one.

When I read the Bible I took its claims seriously. The seriousness with which I took those claims compelled me to research the claims and the further I researched the claims of the Bible the more I realized that the claims the Bible made were lacking in evidence and were often doubted by historians, particularly the claims in the Old Testament. From the Exodus, to the Flood, to the supposed slaughter of the Canaanites, the historicity of the claims of the Old Testament are gradually fading away. I examined these claims throughoutmy life, believing them to be true for many years and gradually realizing that this wasnt the case and this impacted my world view substantially. I did this because even as a child I valued and value truth. I took the Bible seriously and didnt think itsclaims should be unproven but rather ought to be examined objectively by historians and either confirmed or rejected as having actually taken place.

I take the Bible seriously. I am annoyed by how much this annoys modern Christians. Supposed followers of Christ often get on my case for refusing to believe a book that has made claims that have been repeatedly seriously studied and found to be at best lacking in evidence. Theres nothing special about Christianity or its Bible, even if Christians refuse to admit this themselves. Its easy and it might be fun to claim that theres something bad about taking the Bible seriously, even among Christians nowadays but this is a weird thing to say. It reminds me of the Christians who claim to hate religion and love God, because they understand that religion is a bad word, but God isnt. This is a similar trend where being a Christian and twisting Christianity to fit a modern fold is popular but taking it seriously and refusing to conform isnt, and while this its a good thing for modern society that Christians have shown a willingness to mold themselves, at least to an extent, its frustrating that they have used this willingness to antagonize both atheists who once seriously examined the claims of the Bible and other Christians who arent as willing to leave behind their values and modernize their understandings of the Bible and their perspectives on the world at large.

I dislike that not everyone will seriously examine the Bible. I dislike that some people prefer to maintain their current worldview without an honest desire to find the truth and that that laziness can instill in them a hostility towards others who do seriously care about the truth and understand that a genuine desire to know truth means that one lives their lives perpetually seeking out new information and continuously being aware of ones own opinions and being willing to change those opinions upon gaining new information.

I am an honest seeker of truth and that that annoys some Christians is both sad and very revealing about the current state of Christianity and the dilemmas facing Christian leaders as they discuss theology and how to keep people both believing in Christianity and attending church. Once I realized that some Christians had clung to their beliefs through hallow justifications like its the morality that matters here or the lessons of Jesus were superior to the lessons of other religious figures or even when you die youll know! I realized more and more that at least some Christians didnt care about whether or not their beliefs were backed by historians, scientists, and those who study the world itself. That bothered me because I wanted Christianity to be true more than I wanted to feel like I was right, or to feel like I was safe from the threat of Hell. As an honest person I wasnt originally happy realizing I no longer had a rational reason to believe in God but I readily accepted that I had become an atheist almost by accident. That being said: as a lover of truth I needed to accept my own truth before I could begin to search for other, external, truths. And so I did. I hope that you readily accept your truth as well. And that in doing so you examine it and take it seriously, not just because its convenient.

If you care about truth, even if the conclusion you arrived at is different than the one I did I salute you because you are a rare breed. I hope that this post made you think and that we can have a neat discussion down below in the comments section!

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Taking The Bible Seriously Pushed Me Towards Atheism - Patheos (blog)