Godless Wonder

(Tried to post this once before, but I guess I failed . . . 2nd try.)

As a lifelong atheist, Christianity is puzzling to me. Supposing that I looked around at talkorigins.org, and lots of other evolution and abiogenesis research, etc, and weighed it all up in my mind, took a leap, and decided that it was probably bunk, and that there must be a god or gods of some kind responsible for the universe, and life, etc.

To my mind, it is still a huge leap, an even bigger leap, to get from the assumption that there is a creator god of some type to the point that you think that the God described in the Bible is the real God. What's so special about the Bible that makes people think it must be describing the real God? I seriously don't get it at all, everything I read in, and about, the Bible leads me to think it's mythology. What's so great about the Bible?

Kingdomovehearts

Here are my three theories:

You know how some kids, when they are taught Santa was real when they were kids? They believed it cause they were gullible. Just like (american) parents teaching their kids the bible, and kids grow to believe it.

Some people think the bible has historical facts, such as Josephus (Which is invalid cause of a christian copyist) and all that mumble bumble. And some from person expierence (Like "miracles)

Back then, like in the 1700s, people did not know the origins of earth (Im not a historian so correct me if Im wrong) so they used the bible as proof of God who created us, and they believed it from generation to generation.

That's my 2 cents...

breathilizer

Which leads to the reason ancient Europe rejected science and jailed many people who eventually became famous for their discoveries and theories. Even today, Christians reject science. Everytime science answers their question (i.e. Where did Earth come from?), they pop up with another question (i.e. Where did the universe come from?). Now that the big bang is a known fact, they ask what came before it. When are Xtians gonna stop pushing the issue and realize their faith is ill-grounded?

How about you theists let me play that game?

Where did God come from?

Kingdomovehearts

he was always here :-P (revelations 22:13)

There is no million years before he created Earth, there is no time to God (2 peter 3:8)

Remember, tell them:

Failure to solve a riddle does not mean there is no solution...

Also: That is based on ignorance and not facts (From dan barker)

or tell them:

If God can always be here, why not the universe? The first law of thermodynamics says Matter cannot be created nor destroyed, if it cannot be destroyed, it has no end, if it cannot be created, it has no beginning. I might me wrong.

Xtians are closeminded most of the time, they ask other non christians like muslims to read the bible but they dont bother to look at the koran!

Godless Wonder

Hmm, no answers from theists. Maybe I should post this on ChristianForums.com or the like, instead.

Kingdomovehearts

Also ask why the bible is more valid than the Koran!

How you live in Houston me too! haha

conkermaniac

Well, as a Christian, I believed that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worshipped the same God, so as long as you were one of those, you had a shot at going to heaven (you would also have to do good works, of course). And this argument seemed perfectly logical to me, since half the world belonged to one of these religions. In layman's terms: mob rule.

BuffaloBill

For many, it's the only source that contains the directions for obtaining immortality and the effortless way in which to achieve it. Stir in a little fear and, voila, instant irrationality.

rlcjhardesty

The Bible is special because it presents a message that goes against everything that drives this world. For example...

Every religion, and I mean EVERY religion, is based on man's attempt to please someone, arrive somewhere, attain, secure or accomplish something, control someone, etc... all the while boasting that all is done by his own merits. Even in Christian circles, when believers get off track and begin bragging that they do this or that, and that they're a member of this or that church, they're displaying religious tendencies that have nothing to do with the message of the Bible.
Ephesians 2:8 - God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

There is no difference between religion, the sports world, the business world, the law of the jungle and war. They're all about being number one. Survival of the fittest.
Philippians 2:3 - Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.

The fact that you struggle with the Bible is evidence enough that there is something special about it:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. "There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished".

Godless Wonder

I also struggle with the Koran, and with leprechauns, and unicorns. So there's something special about those too?