Why I Am Not a Bible Believer

I used to be a devout "on fire for Jesus" fanatic fundamentalist Christian, and I firmly believed that we are living in the End Times and that Jesus Christ was going to return in power and great glory to rapture his church during my lifetime. And then there would be seven terrible years known as the Tribulation period for the world while we Christians enjoyed the marriage supper of the Lamb. And after that... HEAVEN WITH JESUS FOREVER!!

But all of that has changed now. I don't believe that the Bible or the Christian faith are actually true. I don't believe that Jesus Christ was God or that he was raised from the dead. I don't believe that Jesus Christ fulfilled any prophecies. And I don't believe that Jesus Christ was the Jewish Messiah. 

I am convinced now that the Bible is just a collection of ancient religious mythology and ancient fiction. I believe that the Bible is ancient fiction that is a product of the times in which it was written. I don't believe that the Bible speaks of the distant future or our current day at all.

I changed my mind about a lot of things and walked away from my faith -- the very faith that gave me great joy and happiness and peace and hope for an amazing future. I would like to explain why I walked away.

I have been studying the Bible for most of my adult life and I am almost 59 years old. I was taught in church that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. So right away we have a serious problem.

From the very first verse of Scripture in Genesis we have a serious problem because the two contradictory creation accounts are dead wrong. They contradict everything we know from science about biology and cosmology and the origins of our species.The universe was not created by a god, and the universe and our world did not come into being simultaneously. Our universe is 13.8 billion years old and our world is 4.55 billion years old. 

THE FLAT EARTH 

The Bible clearly teaches that the earth is flat and that it is covered by a solid dome firmament in which the stars are fixed. The biblical universe is small and three-tiered. There is the firmament, the flat Earth, and the underworld, and God lives just above the solid dome firmament, which is where the Bible locates Heaven. 

From https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-flat-earth/

Top Bible Verses about Flat Earth

Isaiah 40:22 ~ It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

Revelation 7:1 ~ After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

Psalm 104:5 ~ He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.

1 Chronicles 16:30 ~ Tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Job 26:7 ~ He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.

Matthew 4:8 ~ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Psalm 93:1 ~ The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Job 37:18 ~ Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?

Isaiah 11:12 ~ He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

I find it very ironic that Isaiah 40:22 is often used as a proof for the spherical earth when it in fact clearly teaches that the earth is flat!

GENOCIDE 

There are numerous horrifying verses in the Bible where mass murder and genocide are clearly ordered or advocated by God.

https://www.openbible.info/topics/genocide

The Bible contains hundreds of meaningful contradictions, many myths and fables (the creation myths, the global Flood, and the Tower of Babel, etc.), many hilarious absurdities, and many horrific atrocities. It also contains a great deal of non-historical history. 

So... the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God? Hardly. And I no longer believe it or revere it as such. It's just a collection of ancient religious mythology and fiction. Period. End of story.

Society Flourishes Without Religion!

I have known for a long time that the less religious societies are, generally the less violent and more peaceful they are. But this morning I came across these videos on YouTube that offer sociological proof that societies where religion has freely given way to secularization are more moral and ethical and peaceful.

You can watch these videos by sociologist Phil Zuckerman here and here. 

The Rapture Is a Mythological Religious Event! It Will Never Happen!

Relax! The rapture is not going to happen today, tomorrow, on October 9th, or any other future date that rapture-obsessed Christians guess and try to make a case for.

Scripture makes it very clear that the rapture event was supposed to happen back then, not 2000 years in the future. Jesus Christ said that he would return before the people who were standing before him tasted death (Mark 9:1) and before his disciples had made it through the cities of Israel (Matthew 10:23). And the apostle Paul and all of the New Testament writers clearly expected the rapture event and the end of the world to occur during their lifetimes. The apostle Paul clearly believed that he would be alive when the rapture event happened:

1 Thessalonians 4:15 NKJV

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

And there are over 100 verses in the New Testament that make it very clear that the authors believed that they would live to see the rapture event and the end of the world.

The rapture is a false doctrine taken from an ancient, failed apocalyptic cult. It didn't happen 2000 years ago,  and it is not going to happen during our lifetimes, and it is never going to happen. It's a false hope from a demonstrably false religion.

The non-return of Jesus Christ was a serious problem by the end of the first century and it's why the book of 2 Peter was written. And the apocalyptic message in the anonymously written Gospels was toned down over time, and the message changed from the imminent apocalypse and end of the world to eternal salvation. 

The Bible is a collection of ancient religious mythology and fiction. It contains hundreds of meaningful contradictions, myths, fables (stories involving talking animals), numerous hilarious absurdities, unicorns and satyrs and cockatrices, and lots of non-historical history. And it is a flat Earth book from cover to cover, and several major Christian doctrines depend on the cosmology of the Bible, which features a flat Earth covered by a solid dome firmament in which the stars are fixed. The Bible is fiction! It is a product of the times in which it was written, and it does not speak of the distant future or our current day at all.

The Christian faith is very easy to prove false. What we know now from science about biology and the evolution of the human species proves the Adam and Eve myth false. Adam and Eve never existed, and we were not created by a god. We evolved over the course of several million years from a long line of hominid species, and this fact is easy to verify. So... No original couple, no Garden of Eden, no fall into sin and no need for redemption. There was never a first Adam, so no need for Jesus Christ to be the second Adam. In addition to that, there is no geological evidence that a global flood has ever taken place, and there has never been a time when the human population was whittled down to just eight people on a boat.

THE BIBLE IS FICTION!

Carry on! Relax and enjoy your life and stop wasting your time and emotional energy worrying about ancient religious mythology and mythological religious events. 

The Bible and the Christian Faith Are Not True!

THE BIBLE AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH ARE NOT TRUE!!

There is exactly zero evidence that a God of any kind actually exists, and the Bible is a collection of ancient religious mythology riddled with myths, fables (stories involving talking animals), non-historical "history", contradictions, absurdities, and horrific atrocities (including accounts of God either ordering or directly committing genocide). 

MYTHS

* The two contradictory creation myths in the book of Genesis which contradict everything we know from science about biology and cosmology and how life originated and evolved on our planet.

* Adam and Eve. This myth has been completely disproven from what we know from science about biological evolution and the origins and evolution of our species. 

* The Fall of Man into sin. This mythological religious event never actually happened. Adam and Eve never existed, the Garden of Eden is a mythical place, and the story involves a talking snake and magic fruit from a magic tree, which makes it a fable rather than actual history.

* Noah's Flood. There is exactly zero geological evidence that a global flood has ever happened. And the biblical myth was borrowed from the much older Epic of Gilgamesh.

* The Tower of Babel. This mythological story depends on the primitive flat Earth cosmology of the Bible, and modern linguists know that this story is not how our many different languages originated.

* The Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. There is zero archaeological evidence for this alleged event, and the ancient Egyptians have no record of ever having enslaved the Jewish people.

* Jesus tempted by Satan. This myth depends on the primitive flat Earth cosmology of the Bible. And it involves mythological beings.

* The Zombie Apocalypse mentioned in the book of Matthew.

* The resurrection of Jesus Christ. This mythological religious event never happened, and the only evidence for it comes from four hopelessly contradictory accounts from four anonymously written gospels which were written decades after the alleged event. It also involves mythological beings (angels).

* The ascension of Jesus Christ. This mythological religious event depends on the primitive flat Earth cosmology of the Bible, with Heaven located just above the solid dome firmament in which the stars are fixed. 

* Heaven. There is exactly zero evidence that this mythological place actually exists.

Hell. Hell and eternal conscious torment are morally reprehensible concepts, and there is exactly zero evidence that such a place actually exists.

FABLES

The Bible features two different talking animals. In Genesis 3, we encounter a ridiculous myth that involves two obviously mythical people, a talking snake, and magic fruit from a magic tree. And in Numbers 22 we find a story featuring a talking donkey.

The Bible also mentions cockatrices, unicorns and satyrs. 

CONTRADICTIONS

The Bible contains hundreds of meaningful contradictions. You can explore them at the following links:

https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/biblical-contradictions/

https://infidels.org/library/modern/donald-morgan-contradictions/

ABSURDITIES

* Talking animals 

* Mythical people and animals 

* Snails melt (Psalm 58:8)

* Axe heads float (2 Kings 6:5-7)

* Insects have four legs (Leviticus 11:23)

* The moon gives its own light (Mark 13:24)

* Leprosy cured with the blood of birds (Leviticus 14)

And that just barely scratches the surface! See this link for many more:

https://infidels.org/library/modern/donald-morgan-absurd/

ATROCITIES

There are many horrific atrocities mentioned in the Bible. See this link:

https://infidels.org/library/modern/donald-morgan-atrocity/

NON-HISTORICAL HISTORY

The Bible contains a great deal of non-historical history. Just to hit the highlights: The creation myths, Noah's Flood, the Tower of Babel, the Exodus, many of the battles and conquests mentioned in Scripture, the world census mentioned in Luke 2, the virgin birth of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus by Satan, Herod's slaughter of babies under the age of 2, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the zombie apocalypse mentioned in Matthew, the ascension of Jesus Christ, the return of Jesus Christ, the rapture event, and the entire book of Revelation.

The Bible is an ancient work of religious mythology and fiction. It is not the "word" of a god and it is not true. The Bible is a product of the times in which it was written, and it does not speak of the distant future or our current day at all.

RELAX... and enjoy your life!

Rapture October 9th, 2024!

Religious people have been predicting the end of the world for thousands of years. This trend continues unabated today. The rapture event was supposed to happen in 1988, and when that didn't happen, it was for sure in 1989. Then Harold Camping came around in 2011 promising that the Bible guaranteed the rapture on May 21st of that year. Then in 2017, there was the alleged Revelation 12 Sign, and many believers thought the rapture event would happen then. And every year since then, there have been many rapture dates that have been set and then passed uneventfully. 

The rapture date speculation continues this year with October 9th being the next supposedly promising date. Daniel at the Blow the Shofar YouTube channel has produced a short film documenting his evidence, which you can view here. His buildup to this date reminds me of George at the Return of the King YouTube channel and his failed June 15th rapture event date a few years ago.

Needless to say, the rapture event will not be happening on October 9th of this year or any other date in the foreseeable future.

Scripture makes it very clear that Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, and all of the New Testament writers clearly expected the rapture event and the end of the world to occur during their lifetimes. There are over 100 time statements in the New Testament that clearly limit the rapture event and the end of the world to the first century.

Jesus Christ plainly said that he would be returning before the people who were standing before him tasted death and before his disciples had made it through the cities of Israel.

Mark 9:1 NKJV

And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

Matthew 10:23 NKJV

When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

And the apostle Paul makes it very clear that he expected to be alive when the rapture event happened.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 NKJV

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

Notice that he says WE WHO ARE ALIVE. Clearly, the rapture event was supposed to happen back then, not 2000 years in the future.

Jesus Christ is best understood as a failed first century apocalyptic prophet, and the Christian faith began as a failed first century apocalyptic cult, and rapture event date speculation continues unabated today. 

But I predict that the 100 PERCENT FAILURE RATE for rapture and end of the world predictions will continue unabated long past October 9th of this year, for as long as religious people are around to predict THE END! And Jesus Christ will continue to fail to return because he is dead, and the world will stubbornly continue to exist despite the many end of the world predictions from the faithful.

And if you prefer the snarky version of this post, this is what I posted on Facebook yesterday:

WARNING!! The end of the world is near! Jesus is coming back in 1988! Oops...I really meant 1989! May 21, 2011 for sure!! The Bible guarantees it! Oops... September 23, 2017 is definitely the time! ... Oops... Any number of dates in 2018, Um... 2019! Uuh... 2020! Um...uh....2021 is the year for sure! Uh...2022! 2023 has to be the year! Nope... it's October 9th, 2024 for sure! It's written in the stars!! Glory! 

October 9th passes uneventfully and October 10th arrives without the rapture event or any other mythological religious event having occurred. 

Who will guess the next date so they can be wrong too? Stay tuned... 😂🙄😂

The "Minimal Witnesses" Hypothesis

I find this "Minimal Witnesses" hypothesis, a naturalistic theory for the rising of the Christian faith from the Paulogia YouTube channel,  extremely compelling. His twelve main points are as follows:

1) In the early first century, among the apocalyptic preachers active in Judea was one Jesus of Nazareth.

2) This Jesus said or did controversial things which led to his crucifixion on a cross, a common practice at the time.

3) The resting place of Jesus’ body was unknown to his followers.

4) This Jesus had some followers while he was alive, but most disappeared into lives never recorded by reliable history, never to be heard from again… all except Simon Peter and possibly John.

5) Distraught after the death of his mentor, Simon Peter became sincerely, albeit mistakenly, convinced that Jesus had appeared to him.

6) James the brother of Jesus became part of Peter’s Jesus Movement. Perhaps also one of the disciples named John.

7) Stories about Jesus spread through person-to-person evangelism, with the focus on recruiting new followers rather than accurately transmitting historical events.

8) Paul (Saul), a Pharisee who had been persecuting the new Christians out of a sincere belief that he was serving God, experienced a non-veridical vision of the allegedly-resurrected Jesus.

9) Paul met Peter (and John), but they didn’t see eye-to-eye.

10) Several decades later, Greek-speaking individuals who had never met Jesus or Peter began documenting the circulating stories about Jesus, the sayings attributed to him, and their interpretations of these narratives.

11) Occasionally, some early Christians engaged in disruptive behavior and faced consequences as a result.

12) Centuries later, in 303 AD, Christianity was temporarily outlawed in Rome, but it gained legal protection ten years later and soon became the Roman Empire’s first official religion, marking its transformation toward the institution we know today.

I believe that this theory explains the origins and rise of the Christian faith very well and it makes much more sense and is much more realistic than supernatural explanations. 

For an excellent elaboration on all of these points, please see Dr. Bart Ehrman's blog post here. For the excellent video from the Paulogia YouTube channel, please click here.

Proving Christianity False

This is reason #1 from my recent post on why I don't believe the Bible, and it's enough to prove that the Christian faith is false.

"The two contradictory creation myths in Genesis contradict everything we know from science about biology and cosmology and the origins of our world and the diversity of life in it. We were not created by a god. We evolved over the course of several million years from a long line of hominid species. This fact is easy to verify. And biological evolution is an indisputable fact that has been confirmed many times over the course of many years. And science and what we know from it has completely disproven the Adam and Eve myth. The universe and our world did not come into being simultaneously and the earth is not 6000 years old nor is it flat. And the world is not the way it is because a talking snake convinced two obviously mythical people to eat magic fruit from a magic tree."

The Adam and Eve story is foundational to the Christian faith. Without it, there is no fall into sin and no need for a savior or redemption. And Jesus Christ was called the second Adam. But if there was never a first Adam, then there can never be a second Adam. 

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 NKJV

And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. [46] However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. [47] The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. [49] And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

Jesus Christ's mission as the second Adam was to undo the damage caused by the first Adam and Satan.

1 John 3:8 NKJV

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Without Adam and Eve, the Christian faith falls apart. There is no original couple who began the human species, no fall into sin, and no need for redemption from sin, no mission for Jesus to accomplish, and no need for the crucifixion or the shedding of Jesus's blood as an atonement for the remission of sins.

What we now know about human origins from science (that we evolved over the course of several million years from a long line of hominid species) reveals the Bible to be a work of ancient religious fiction and that is exactly what it is. It's ancient religious mythology and fiction from cover to cover.