lpetrich

Some atheists and agnostics and freethinkers describe themselves as having gotten that way because they have read the Bible. I wonder if anyone has ever tried to find out how common that is.

Certainly, reading that book is an eye-opener. It's anything but a perfectly-virtuous, carefully-written instruction manual.

I myself remember reading a modern-English version of the New Testament, and being particularly turned off by these oddities:

Jesus Christ cursing a certain fig tree for not bearing figs for him even though it was out of season. That struck me as appalling immaturity.

Romans 13:1, which claims that all governments are set up by the Biblical God -- implicitly including that of the Roman Empire(!)

That the wisdom of the world is foolishness, as stated in one of the epistles.

The Book of Revelation, which reads like one big drug trip.

Danya

While I was growing up no one really talked about God or the Bible much although they claimed to believe. I tried to read it once at age 11. I couldn't get into it. I thought I would get it later. Tried again a few more times while growing up. Went to a few church services. The Episcopalian incident ended that. I freaked out when people got up ands started speaking in tongues.

When I finally understood what I was reading I couldn't believe anyone would fall for this *stuff* (edited for profanity). I do love to read and when I first started I read mostly Greek mythology. I could see very little difference between that and the Bible so many years later. How arrogant these people who believe in fairy tales are. And then my sense of fairness came into it. I never dreamed God was a male chauvinist who allowed people to own slaves. Then all of the wars over these fictional Gods just made me wonder if anyone possessed a shred of rational thought. How much better off we would be without any of them.

Eudaimonist

I wouldn't say that reading the Bible made me a non-theist, but it was definitely an eye-opener. I remember reading the Gospels and wondered how anyone could see the Jesus of pure love they typically imagine exists in there, when the Jesus of the Gospels seems so much like an angry, haughty religious fanatic much of the time.

Here's a gem:

"Get out of my sight, you satan!" This is the human ideal? Someone who chastises a friend for showing horror and concern at the thought of his imminent death? Man's standards are clearly better than those of this mythical Jesus.

[ March 31, 2002: Message edited by: Eudaimonist ]</p>

Writer@Large

While reading the Bible didn't do much to push me into atheism (there were plenty of other factors at work), it certainly didn't do anything to endear me to the faith. I didn't read the actual book until college; before then, I got only versions of certain stories in children's books and Sunday sermons and PTL. Quite frankly, I liked the children's books better; less clutter and more pictures .

--W@L

Celsus

Reading the Bible cover to cover the second time round made me an agnostic, long before I discovered websites like these or Dan Barker's "Losing Faith in Faith" (which turned me atheist).

diana

Interesting question, lpetrich. I've wondered the same thing.

My take on it is that if you want to believe, the bible will probably strengthen your faith. (Notice how theists use inconsistencies as further proof of the book's authenticity?) If, however, you give yourself license to doubt, reading the bible is quite likely to push you over the brink into agnosticism and possibly atheism.

The same can be said for any holy book.

I think the bible is inspiring to those seeking to strengthen their faith because it is so unequivocal in asserting that God exists and loves them, and it is full of people who just have faith and nice things happen to them because of it. The appeal to popularity is quite convincing to the uninformed.

d

Scotty

I remember that we had "homework" to read the Bibbley. Well, they only had you reading specific pieces of it, instead of the whole thing, so I read the stuff they didn't mark up for you.
I could barely get through Genesis, all of the hatred of God and Noah just turned me off.
I eventually read the whole thing twice, but don't remember most of it now (thank goodness).
Did it help in deconverting. Oh yeah.
Was it the final straw? No.
It was the hatred of the people who followed the Bibbley that did it for me.

I just remembered another thing, my friends (Christian) were watching a "cartoon" about passover and their 3yo was watching, when they spiked and killed Jebus he was just crying his eyes out. "Oh don't worry, he comes back"
Just like the video games, it is okay to die or kill somebody, you get another chance, no big deal.
What a crock of BS, just like mind-control indoctrination, I can't believe they submit their kids to it.

What a horrible thing.

Every time I turn around, I find another good reason why I don't believe.

-Scott

Pitshade

This really belongs in Misc. Religion.

Bokonon

I became an Agnostic upon reading the Bible. I had just been confirmed in the church, and being the good believer I was, I decided I should learn more about my faith. They lost me from that week on. I always prescribed to what I now know as Liberation Christianity (Jesus was a Lord yes, but more importantly a Reformer and Revolutionary). I can't complain about my church that much. It was a rather liberal Lutheran church. No salvation talks. Evolution accepted. We even visited a Synagogue and Buddhist Temple (though we were misinformed about Buddhism {the Pastor said the Buddhists were afraid of their gods}). Hell was viewed as a seperation from god. It wasn't that much of a stretch for me to fall from Faithful to Agnostic.

cricket

I confess I've never read the Bible. I might, if I had unlimited time... but there are so many books I want to read, and this one is last on the list. I've read plenty of excerpts, and there's little to recommend it.