Jack the Bodiless

We can know with certainty that the Biblical God does not exist.

Even most Christians now accept this: as they aren't inerrantists, their God isn't really the Biblical God anymore.

Nuwanda

The call was for "proof," not platitudes and athiest wishful thinking ("Even most Christians now accept this...").

llDayo

A man cannot survive for any long period of time in the belly of a whale. That contradicts natural limitations.

Jack the Bodiless

The Biblical contradictions are the proof you seek.

And do you seriously imagine that most Christians are Young-Earth Creationists? Maybe so in Phoenix, but the southern states of the US aren't exactly representative of Christianity worldwide.

Nuwanda

Having traveled Europe extensively and living in Holland for a summer I'll admit you are hard-pressed to find a non-liberal Christian (if your lucky enough to find a Christian). But your post makes a major assumption, which I believe is false, namely that just because one slaps the title "Christian" on their profile that they believe the teachings of Christ. "Christian" is a very diluted word and in todays vernacular means almost nothing. This is why I don't refer to myself as a Christian but rather a follower of Christ.

Which supposed Biblical contradiction do you find most worthy of "proof" that God is non-existent? And for the others who are quitely sharpening their stones while reading these post, before you attack, I mean, reply please take the word "proof" seriously. Some athiests in here claim they have proof that the Judeo/Christian God does not exist - let them present the proof.

Nuwanda

Is your proof then: God is non-existant because natural limitations cannot be broken by man and the Bible is full of these sorts of stories (argument against miracles). Is this a fair interpretation of your post?

Jack the Bodiless

It's difficult to pull out a single contradiction or error that worthy of being cited as "the" reason - there are so many! But the falsehood of the Genesis creation and flood stories is a biggie (the ancient Egyptians didn't seem bothered by being underwater for a while, and the fossil record is a rather major problem too). And there's the fact that Luke's Jesus was born at least a decade after Matthew's Jesus (the Herod/Quirinius problem). And the Babel incident (no common worldwide language in archaeological records, no sudden worldwide change in written records when God "confounded the languages"). And the failed prophecies, such as Tyre (discused extensively here). And the doctrinal contradictions, such as God punishing children "unto the third generation" (or sometimes more) for the sins of their parents while declaring that this is wrong, God lying and "sending a lying spirit" but the Bible declares that God cannot lie...

llDayo

Since the Bible mentions nothing about God providing some sort of life support system for Jonah while in the belly, one can only assume (from a literal reading) that Jonah had to survive on his own.

Nuwanda

Excellent post! For the sake of a readable, to the point post let me address one point at a time. First the flood.

Consider the following:

In a book called The Deluge Story in Stone (1968), 41 ancient accounts record catastrophic destruction by flood including:
Assyria-Babylonia, Alaska, Andaman Island, Asia Minor, Aztecs, Brazil, Cherokee, China, Cree, Egypt, Esquimaux (Canada), Fiji, Greece, Hawaii, India, Italy, Lapland, Lenni Lenape, Lithuania, Leward Islands, Mandan, Michoacan, Nicaragua, Papagos (Mexico), Persia, Peru, Pimas, Russia, Scandinavia, Sumatra, Syria, Takoe, Thlinkut, Toltecks, Wales.

An even larger collection of Flood stories is to be found in Folklore in the Old Testament (1919). 11 Hellenic stories from ancient Greece, 6 European stories, 29 Persian and Indian stories, 31 Australian, Southeast Asia, and Pacific stories, 63 North, Central, and South American stories, and 3 African stories; a total of 143 Flood stories.

Coincidentally, China’s ancient flood story records a man named Nuwa who built a boat to survive the flood. Ma is an ancient word for “water.” Nu could have various origins including the god of the atmosphere in ancient Egypt. Wikipedia says this, “Shiji, Chuci, Liezi, Huainanzi, Shuowen Jiezi, Siku Quanshu, Songsi Dashu, and others, as well as many folk myths, all contain references to a personage named Nuwa.” A quick study of Chinese characters used to create the word “boat” and “flood” are also pretty interesting.

Would it be proper to throw out the possibility of a catastrophic flood regardless of how many ancient stories exist to testify of one? Your answer will have major implications for ancient history as a whole.

Nuwanda

Actually, Jonah 1:17 says that "the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah."

God prepared the whole situation, which includes some sort of life support for Jonah. You may have a problem with miracles but identifying miracle stories in the Bible does not disprove God. Disprove the possibilities of miracles and half your job is done.