Some Reasons Why Humanists Reject The Bible
By Joseph C. Sommer
http://www.holysmoke.org/sdhok/hum20.htm
Contents:
- Introduction
- Importance of the Subject
- Contradictions
- Cruelties
- Teachings Inconsistent with the Laws of Nature
- Teachings Inconsistent with the Structure of the Physical World
- Unfulfilled Prophecies
- Inaccurate Statements about History
- Conclusion
Introduction:
This article sets forth some reasons why Humanists assert that the Bible is not the word of God. Humanists are convinced that the Bible was written solely by human beings who lived in an age that was ignorant, superstitious, and cruel. Humanists also believe that, because the writers of the Bible were people who lived in an unenlightened and barbaric era, they produced a book which contains many erroneous statements and harmful teachings.
A lot of criticism is directed at Humanists because they hold those positions about the Bible. Some critics of the Humanist philosophy go so far as to say that Humanists are evil or are agents of the devil. Hopefully, this article will provide some clarification as to the real reasons that Humanists have the views that they do about the Bible.
Importance of the Subject:
The importance of this subject results from the fact that in the United States the Bible is pervasively hailed as a divinely inspired book. Today, the television and radio media often feature programs that praise the Bible as being the holy and infallible word of God. Religious organizations that produce those programs distribute vast quantities of books, magazines, pamphlets, and other literature. The programs and literature promote the viewpoint that, as televangelist Pat Robertson has said: "The Bible...is a workable guidebook for politics, business, families and all the affairs of mankind."
The Bible is also promoted by many politicians. For example, in 1983 President Reagan signed into law a congressional act which proclaimed that year to be the "Year of the Bible." The law declared the Bible to be the "Word of God" and asserted that there is "a national need to study and apply its teachings."
Thousands of other religious and political leaders in communities throughout the United States engage in unabashed promotion of the Bible. In most of those communities, a voice in opposition to that view is rarely, if ever, heard.
The massive and incessant promotion of the Bible has a significant influence on the beliefs of millions of people. A recent Gallup poll showed that over thirty percent of Americans believe that the Bible is the actual word of God and that its teachings should be taken literally. Gallup found that an additional twenty-five percent of Americans view the Bible as being the inspired word of God but are of the opinion that some verses should be interpreted symbolically rather than literally.
In addition to the persons identified by Gallup as believing in the divine inspiration of the Bible, there are many people who, while having doubts as to whether the entire Bible is the word of God, still consider the book to be a source of great moral truths and regard its teachings as deserving considerable respect.
Undoubtedly, such views about the Bible are responsible, at least in part, for the fact that over two-thirds of Americans belong to churches or synagogues and forty percent attend services on a weekly basis.
Clearly, if the Humanist position concerning the Bible is correct, the millions of Americans who are Bible-believers and church-goers are wasting a great deal of time, money, and energy. The condition of humanity could be greatly improved if those resources were used to improve this world rather than being employed in the worship of a nonexistent biblical God.
Moreover, because so many people have been taught to consider the Bible to be the "Good Book," biblical teachings influence the attitudes of millions of Americans on many subjects. When those subjects involve political issues, all of us -- whether we believe the Bible or not -- can be impacted as Bible-believers make their views heard in the political arena.
Anyone who becomes politically active can soon discover that Bible teachings strongly influence the opinions of many Americans on issues relating to nuclear war, overpopulation, conservation, women's rights, homosexuals' rights, corporal punishment of children, state-church separation, sex education, science education, abortion, censorship, capital punishment, and many other important subjects.
When people accept the statements of their religious and political leaders that the Bible contains absolute truth as revealed by a just and omniscient God, and attempt to embed in the laws and social practices of this country the teachings contained in the Bible, there is great potential for serious error and harm if the Bible is actually the product of fallible human beings who lived during an unenlightened era. In that case, the Bible would not be a guidebook for attaining human happiness and well-being, but would instead be the means by which we perpetuate the ideas and customs of an ignorant and superstitious past and fail to progress beyond that level.
Such a result would surely be tragic because ignorance and superstition, as even most supporters of the Bible would agree, have caused humankind to suffer tremendous amounts of misery throughout history.
Contradictions:
The fact that the Bible contains contradictions is one reason why Humanists consider the book to be an unreliable authority. Clearly, if two statements in the Bible contradict each other, at least one of the statements must be false. Because there are numerous instances where certain biblical verses flatly contradict other verses, it follows that the Bible contains many false statements.
Contradictions appear in even the opening two chapters of the Bible, where inconsistent accounts of the creation of the world are set forth. * For example, Genesis chapter 1 tells us that the first man and the first woman were made at the same time, and after the animals. However, Genesis chapter 2 states that the order of creation was as follows: man, then the animals, and then woman.
In addition, Genesis chapter 1 sets forth six days of creation, but chapter 2 speaks of the "day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." Genesis chapter 1 states that the fruit trees were created before man, but chapter 2 indicates that the fruit trees were created after man. Genesis 1:20 says that the fowl were created out of the waters, but Genesis 2:19 states that the fowl were created out of the ground.
Also, Genesis 1:2-3 asserts that God created light and divided it from darkness on the first day, but Genesis 1:14-19 says that the sun, moon, and stars were not made until the fourth day.
Contradictions also abound in the biblical account of a worldwide flood. Genesis 6:19-22 says that God ordered Noah to bring "of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort...into the ark." However, Genesis 7:2-3 states that the Lord ordered Noah to bring into the ark the clean beasts and the birds by sevens, and the unclean beasts by twos.
Genesis 7:17 says that the flood lasted forty days, but Genesis 8:3 tells us that it lasted one hundred and fifty days. Genesis 8:4 states that, as the waters of the flood receded, Noah's ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat in the seventh month, but the very next verse asserts that the tops of the mountains could not even be seen until the tenth month. Genesis 8:13 states that the earth was dry on the first day of the first month, but Genesis 8:14 reports that the earth was not dry until the twenty-seventh day of the second month.
The Old Testament also contains a significant contradiction in the story of the census taken by King David and God's subsequent punishment of the Israelites. According to the story, God was so angered by the census that he sent a plague that killed seventy thousand men. II Samuel 24:1 says that the Lord caused David to take the census, but I Chronicles 21:1 tells us that David was incited by Satan to take the census.
In addition, there is a contradiction regarding the question of whether God punishes children for the sins of their parents. At Ezekiel 18:20, the Lord states: "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father...." However, at Exodus 20:5, God says: "...I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."
Moreover, the Old Testament is contradictory as to whether the Lord commanded the Israelites to sacrifice animals to him. At Jeremiah 7:22, God says that he did not give the Israelites any commands about animal sacrifices. In contrast, at Exodus 29:38-42 and many other places in the Pentateuch, God is clearly depicted as requiring the Israelites to offer animal sacrifices.
Turning to the New Testament, there are contradictions between the genealogy of Jesus as set forth in the first chapter of Matthew and the genealogy given in the third chapter of Luke. Both genealogies list Jesus' father as being Joseph (which is curious, given that Mary was supposedly impregnated by the Holy Ghost), but Matthew states that the name of Joseph's father was Jacob, while Luke says that his name was Heli. Also, Matthew tells us that there were twenty-six generations between Jesus and King David, but Luke reports that the number of such generations was forty-one. In addition, Matthew alleges that Jesus' line of descent was through David's son Solomon, but Luke asserts that it was through David's son Nathan.
In the story of the birth of Jesus, Matthew 2:13-15 says that Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the baby Jesus immediately after the wise men from the east had brought their gifts. However, Luke 2:22-40 indicates that, after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary remained in Bethlehem for the time of Mary's purification (which was forty days, under the Mosaic law), then brought Jesus to Jerusalem "to present him to the Lord," and then returned to their home in Nazareth. Luke makes no mention of a journey into Egypt or a visit by wise men from the east.
As to the death of the disciple Judas, Matthew 27:5 states that Judas took the money that he had obtained by betraying Jesus, threw it down in the temple, and then "went and hanged himself." However, Acts 1:18 reports that Judas used the money to purchase a field and "falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."
In describing Jesus being led to his execution, John 19:17 states that Jesus carried his own cross. In contrast, Mark 15:21-23 says that a man called Simon carried Jesus' cross to the crucifixion site.
Regarding the crucifixion itself, Matthew 27:44 tells us that Jesus was taunted by both of the criminals who were being crucified with him. However, Luke 23:39-43 states that only one of the criminals taunted Jesus, that the other criminal rebuked the one who was doing the taunting, and that Jesus told the criminal who was defending him: "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
As to the last words of Jesus while on the cross, Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 assert that Jesus cried with a loud voice: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Luke 23:46 says that Jesus' final words were: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." John 19:30 tells us that the last statement of the dying Jesus was: "It is finished."
There are even contradictions in the accounts of the resurrection -- the alleged event which is the very basis of the Christian religion. Mark 16:2 says that on the day of the resurrection certain women arrived at the tomb at the rising of the sun, but John 20:1 states that they arrived when it was yet dark. Luke 24:2 tells us that the tomb was open when the women arrived, but Matthew 28:1-2 indicates that it was closed. Mark 16:5 states that the women saw a young man at the tomb, Luke 24:4 says that they saw two men, Matthew 28:2 alleges that they saw an angel, and John 20:11-12 insists that they saw two angels.
Also in the resurrection accounts, there are contradictions as to who the women were that came to the tomb, whether the men or angels that the women saw were inside or outside the tomb, whether the men or angels were standing or sitting, and whether Mary Magdalene recognized the risen Jesus when he first appeared to her.
As a final example of a contradiction contained in the New Testament, the conflicting accounts of the conversion of Paul can be cited. Acts 9:7 says that when Jesus called Paul to preach the gospel, the men who were with Paul heard a voice but saw no man. However, Acts 22:9 asserts that when Paul received his calling, the men who were with him saw a light but did not hear the voice that spoke to Paul.
The foregoing examples are just a few of the hundreds of contradictions contained in the Bible. The presence of such contradictions plainly shows that the Bible contains many erroneous statements and is therefore far from infallible.
Cruelties:
Humanists also reject the Bible because it both describes and approves of the most outrageous acts of cruelty and injustice imaginable. One of the underlying principles of our legal system -- and the legal systems of all civilized societies -- is the notion that the suffering of the innocent is the very essence of injustice. Yet in the Bible we are told that God repeatedly violated this fundamental moral principle by causing numerous innocent persons and animals to be harmed.
Instances of cruel and unjust behavior by the God of the Bible are seen in even the most basic teachings of the Christian religion. Some well-known acts of the biblical God that are in fact immoral because they resulted in the suffering of the innocent include the following: he damned the whole human race and cursed the entire creation because of the acts of two people (Genesis 3:16-23; Romans 5:18); he drowned pregnant women and innocent children and animals at the time of the Flood (Genesis 7:20-23); he tormented the Egyptians and their animals with hail and disease because pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt (Exodus 9:8-11,25); he killed Egyptian babies at the time of the Passover (Exodus 12:29-30); subsequent to the Exodus he ordered the Israelites to annihilate the men, women, and children of seven nations and to steal their land (Deuteronomy 7:1-2); he killed King David's baby because of David's adultery with Bathsheba (II Samuel 12:13-18); he required the torture and murder of his own son (e.g., Romans 3:24-25); and he promised to send to eternal torture those persons who do not accept Christianity (e.g., Revelation 21:8).