DayLight Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Just a few of ideas as to why Christianity and the Bible cannot be truth. It's a simple writing, from a non-technical person. But maybe there is something that may be helpful to anybody anyways... I used to be a Christian. And I used to think that Christianity was THE truth. That it was the reality of life. How shocked I was to find out that it is just another one of the religions, made up by people. But even so, I am not sorry that I used to be a Christian. It made me who I am today, and I am happy about that. There are good things to believe in there. It teaches you that there is somebody out there who loves you (somebody on “The other side”) and that there is a happy eternity, and that we all need to try to be good and to be nice to others. These things still hold true, even if the doctrines of Christianity are wrong and are not the reality of life. However, Christianity also has fear of hell and damnation aspect to it, which makes SOME people live in constant fear and guilt. And because of these negative aspects, for some people it’s better to find out the truth about Christianity and thus escape the fear factor. If you are a Christian and want to continue to be one, don’t read on. These things might make you doubt… Don’t think that your faith is too strong…. Faith is just wishful thinking….It has no proof. So it can be influenced by information…. But if you are ready to come out of Christianity, these things below might help you to alleviate your fears about God punishing you for not believing… My goal is to show why Christianity cannot be true. My assumption is this: if some ideas or facts are contradictory, then they are not the truth. I am going to list errors and contradictions in both ideas/beliefs and in factual data. If people assume that the Bible is 100% true, and they see contradictions, then their job is to explain away contradictions. They assume that since the Bible is true, there could be no contradictions. But if there are, then there must be a way to reconcile them. Explaining away contradictions is an art, a creative process. People who are always forced to do that become very good at doing it. Apologists get very creative in their efforts to reconcile contradictions. And if they come across contradictions which even they cannot explain (with all their skill), they resort to this: they say: my brain cannot understand it or make sense out of it, therefore it’s a mystery of God. TRINITY A really good example of an impossible contradiction would be the Trinity. Some verses say that God is one and other verses imply that God is three. It’s not possible to explain how it could be one and three at the same time. Therefore Christians say: it’s a mystery of God. Well, it COULD BE a mystery of God. BUT, it also could be a contradiction. And the way you can determine which one it is, is by observing the pattern of the writings. The pattern of the Bible is this: it is full of contradictions (I will list a few of them for an example). And therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that Trinity is just another contradiction. Here is one contradiction: Is there only 1 Spirit of God (Eph 4:4) OR are there 7 Spirits of God (Rev 3:1) ? NEVER HEARD OF JESUS contradiction But here is the biggest contradiction I think. The only way to be saved is to believe in Jesus Christ. God is just. People have free will to choose Jesus or damnation. Therefore, when people make their choice and choose not to believe in Jesus, or not to serve God, their choice sends them to hell. But God is just because they had a choice. But here is a problem: not everybody has a choice. Some people never hear of Jesus. They die. If God sends them to hell, then he is NOT just. If God does not send them to hell, but saves them, then “believing in Jesus” is not the only way to be saved. “God is just” and “believing in Jesus is the only way to salvation” CANNOT both be true. (Some Christians believe that “God is just” no matter what his actions say. He is just no matter how unjust his actions are. This is reflected in Calvinists’ beliefs. They believe that God chooses some people to save (his own choice, not people’s free will) and sends the rest (majority) to hell. And to them this is all peachy. Nothing unjust about that.) But back to Christians who believe in free will. Some people cannot believe. They really want to, but they are incapable of belief without proof. They were born that way. Is it really just to send them to hell for their inability to believe? What about mentally ill people? Is it just to send them to hell just because they didn’t have the right mind to make the right choice? And here is a biggie: why would anybody in their right mind choose eternal torture instead of eternal happiness? The choosing of eternal torture would go against people’s nature and survival instinct. You have to be insane to choose eternal torture. So why do they choose it? Perhaps because they don’t believe that God exists and that hell exists. Afterall, there is no proof. Why should they believe it? Even the Bible says that the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. (2CO 4:4) So then they do not choose God because they are blinded. Is that really fair to send them to hell without making sure first that they are not blinded to the truth? Jesus said that he spoke in parables: so that the people wouldn’t understand and repent. (John 12:40, Rom 11:10, MK 4:11-12) Is that really fair? Jesus also said that only those whom God enables, can come to Him. (John 6:44,65) So that means if God did not enable you, then you cannot come. Is that really fair? NONE of these things are fair. That means that either God is NOT fair, OR the beliefs about salvation are wrong. GOD WANTS ALL TO BE SAVED, BUT SAVES ONLY A FEW contradiction If you can come to Jesus only when God enables you (John 6:44,65), then why won’t God enable ALL? It says that God wants ALL to be saved. (1TI 2:3-4, 2PE 3:9) It says that it’s God’s choice as to who gets saved or who does not (Rom 9:18) Either God wants to save all or he does not (they can’t both be true). Either He wants to save all, OR it’s his choice as to whom to save. They cannot both be true at the same time. He CANNOT desire to save all, but choose only a few. Jesus said: “many are called, but few are chosen”. (Matt 22:14 LUK 13:23-24) (So many hear the message of salvation, but only a few are chosen to be saved? This would contradict the verse: “God wants all to be saved”) There is also a verse which says: those who were appointed to salvation believed. (Acts13:48) If only some were appointed to salvation, that means that God does NOT want to save all. (as is implied in 1Ti2:3-4). There is another verse which says: Jesus is the Savior of ALL men, especially of the believers. (1Ti 4:10) (This verse implies that Jesus would save believers and non-believers). This verse would contradict the one where it says that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt 22:14) It would also contradict the one that says: you have to BELIEVE in order to be saved. (John 3:16) ELECTION VS. MAN’S CHOICE contradiction It says that some were predestined to salvation from the beginning. (Eph 1:4,11; 2Th2:13, Acts13:48, RO 8:28-30) It says that only those whom God enables can come to Jesus (and be saved.) (John 6:44,65; JOH 8:43-44), It says that those who were appointed to salvation, believed. (Acts 13:48) It says that God chooses on whom to have mercy and on whom not to have it. (Rom 9:18) And that God hardens those he wants to harden. (Rom 9:18) It says that God on purpose hides the truth from some (John 12:40, Rom 11:10, MK 4:11-12). –all these teach that God is the one who chooses who will be saved. If God is the one who chooses, and if he chooses to send majority to hell, then He is neither good nor loving. But Christians believe that both can be true. They believe that God is good and loving AND sends majority of people to hell (people who didn’t even have a choice sometimes). Also, some verses seems to say that it’s people’s responsibility to be saved and it’s up to them. (there are more verses, I just didn’t want to spend much time trying to find them all) These would contradict the fact that God is the one who chooses whom to save. EZE 18:23 Rom 10:13 COL 1:22-23 HEB 10:36 Heb 3:15 CAN YOU FALL AWAY FROM FAITH OR NOT? These verses say that God can keep people from falling away. PSA 55:22, PSA 37:23, JUD 1:1, JOH 10:28, JUD 1:24, 2TI 4:18 These verses say that people always will fall away and did fall away. Matt 24:10, Heb 6:4-6, Rev 3:16, 2TI 2:12, REV 3:2 This one says that you can fall from your “secure” position - 2Pe 3:17 SAVED BY FAITH OR BY WORKS MT 7:21, RO 2:6, 13, JA 2:24 We are justified by works, not by faith. JN 3:16, RO 3:20-26, EP 2:8-9, GA 2:16 We are justified by faith, not by works. GOD KNOWS ALL OR HE DOESN’T? God supposedly knows everything. But he keeps regretting things and changing his mind. Why? Didn’t he know in advance? And besides, some verses do say that he doesn’t change his mind because he is not a man. But others show how he changes his mind. NU 23:19-20, 1SA 15:29 God does not change his mind. GE 6:6. EX 32:14, 1SA 15:35, 2SA 24:16 He does. 1SA 9:15-17 The Lord tells Samuel that Saul has been chosen to lead the Israelites and will save them from the Philistines. 1SA 15:35 The Lord is sorry that he has chosen Saul. God knows everything. And yet, he repented about making a man. (Gen 6:6-7) He wiped them out with flood. (Gen 7:4) But then decided not to punish men for their sins with such destruction again. (Gen 8:21) (And yet, He has prepared a wiping out of mankind according to these verses: 2Pe 3:7, Revelation’s 7 seals, trumpets and bowls) So the verses about God knowing everything contradict the ones in which God changes his mind or regrets doing something. ERRORS IN FACTS If the Bible is 100% truth, how can there be errors? There are errors in facts. Why did God allow errors? If the Bible is 100% God inspired, why are there contradictions in ideas? I am listing just a few of the errors in facts (there are lots more on the huge lists from the internet): 1SA 17:12 /1CH 2:13-15 7 / 8 sons; 1SA 16:19-23/1SA 17:55-58 knew a person/ didn’t know him at that time 1SA 21:1-6/MK 2:26 Ahimalech/ Abiathar 1SA 31:4-6/2SA 21:12 killed himself / killed by the Philistines 2SA 6:23/2SA 21:8 (KJV) Michal was childless/ had five sons 2SA 24:1/1CH 21:1 The Lord inspired David / Satan inspired 2SA 24:9 / 1CH 21:5 800,000 and Judah 500,000 / 1,100,000 and Judah 470,000 2SA 24:24/1CH 21:22-25 50 shekels of silver/ 600 shekels of gold 1KI 4:26/2CH 9:25 40,000 /4,000 horses 1KI 5:16/2CH 2:2 3300/3600 1KI 7:15-22/2CH 3:15-17 18 /35 1KI 7:26/ 2CH 4:5 2000/3000 "baths" 1KI 9:28 /2CH 8:18 420/450 talents 1KI 15:14 Asa did not remove the high places. 2CH 14:2-3 He did remove them. 1KI 16:6-8 Baasha died in the 26th year of King Asa's reign. 2CH 16:1 Baasha built a city in the 36th year of Asa's reign. 1KI 22:42-43 Jehoshaphat did not remove the high places. 2CH 17:5-6 He did remove them. 2KI 9:27 Jehu shot Ahaziah near Ibleam. Ahaziah fled to Meggido and died there. 2CH 22:9 Ahaziah was found hiding in Samaria, brought to Jehu, and put to death. 2KI 16:5/2CH 28:5-6 Did not conquer Ahaz / did conquer Ahaz. JE 34:4-5 Zedekiah was to die in peace. JE 52:10-11 Instead, Zedekaih's sons are slain before his eyes, his eyes are then put out, he is bound in fetters, taken to Babylon and left in prison to die. EZ 26:15-21 God says that Tyre will be destroyed and will never be found again. (Tyre is still inhabited.) MT 1:16 Jacob was Joseph's father. LK 3:23 Heli was Joseph's father. There were Nephilim (giants) before the flood and after the flood (even though they shouldn’t have survived). Gen 6:4, Gen 7:21, Num 13:33 CONTRADICTIONS IN IDEAS (again, I am listing only a few): Gen 32:30, Exo 24:9-11, 33:11 Men see God and live. EX 33:20, JN 1:18 No one can see God and live. 1KI 8:12, 2CH 6:1, PS 18:11 God dwells in thick darkness. 1TI 6:16 God dwells in unapproachable light. 2CH 18:22, 2TH 2:11 God himself causes a lying spirit. PR 12:22 God abhors lying lips and delights in honesty. Gen 7:1, Job 2:3 Noah and Job were righteous RO 3:10, 3:23, 1JN 1:8-10 No one is righteous 2KI 2:11 Elijah went up to heaven. JN 3:13 Only the Son of Man (Jesus) has ever ascended to heaven. 2KI 4:32-37 A dead child is raised (before Jesus). AC 26:23 Jesus was the first to rise from the dead. PS 78:69, The earth was established forever. HE 1:10-11, 2PE 3:10 The earth will someday perish. EX 34:7, NU 14:18, DT 5:9, IS 14:21-22 Children are to suffer for their parent's sins. DT 24:16, EZ 18:19-20 Children are not to suffer for their parent's sins. DT 5:17, RO 13:9, JA 2:11 God prohibits killing. EX 32:27, DT 7:2, 13:15, 20:1-18 God orders killing. EX 23:7 God prohibits the killing of the innocent. NU 31:17-18, DT 7:2, JS 6:21-27, 7:19-26, 8:22-25, 10:20, 40, 11:8-15, 20, JG 11:30-39, 21:10-12, 1SA 15:3 God orders or approves the complete extermination of groups of people which include innocent women and/or children. EX 20:14 God prohibits adultery. HO 1:2 God instructs Hosea to "take a wife of harlotry." GE 17:7, 10-11 The covenant of circumcision is to be everlasting. GA 6:15 It is not needed anymore. PS 104:15 God gives us wine to gladden the heart. RO 14:21 It is good to refrain from drinking wine. TS 1:2 Num 23:19 God is truthful. Joh 8:44 The devil is the father of lies. 1KI 22:21-23 God condones a spirit of deception. EX 34:6, DT 7:9-10, TS 1:2 God is faithful and truthful. He does not lie. 2TH 2:11-12 God deludes people, making them believe what is false, so as to be able to condemn them. EZ 14:9 A prophet who is deceived, is deceived by God himself. EX 34:6-7, JS 24:19, 1CH 16:34 God is faithful, holy and good. IS 45:6-7, LA 3:8, AM 3:6 God is responsible for evil. LE 3:17 God himself prohibits forever the eating of blood and fat. MT 15:11, CN 2:20-22 Jesus and Paul say that such rules don't matter--they are only human injunctions. 1CH 29:11-12, LK 1:37 God is all powerful. JG 1:19 Although God was with Judah, together they could not defeat the plainsmen because the latter had iron chariots. (What? God could not help them defeat because of some chariots?) DT 24:1-5 divorce is allowed MK 10:2-12 divorce is not allowed In the old testament, it was ok to divorce. In the new it’s not. Which is good in the eyes of God? Both? Does “good” or “evil” depend on which time period the person lives in? Does “good” and “bad” in the eyes of God change with different times? Or perhaps this is a contradiction. Two different groups of people believed opposite things. Jews believed one thing. Christians believed the opposite. It’s like mixing the two different faiths together. It’s like adding apples and oranges. They do not mix. EX 21:23-25, LE 24:20, DT 19:21 A life for a life, an eye for an eye, etc. MT 5:38-44, LK 6:27-29 Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies. In the old testament it was ok to hate enemies (David sure does) and to kill enemies. In the new testament it’s prohibited. So since God does not change, ask yourself, in the eyes of God, which one is good and which one is not? To kill is not good? Then why did he say to do it in the law? How can the same thing be good and not good at the same time? Why does the time period matter as far as determining what is a good thing and what is an evil thing? I would say: these are contradictions in ideas. The same God could not have said that the opposite things are both good. It’s good to hate and to kill. And it’s not good to hate and to kill. And that’s a problem with not only what’s “good” or “bad”. The same problem applies to what a “good” God should be and what a “bad” God should be. It’s interesting to note that the God of the old testament is pretty much the same as the “hate your enemies, kill your enemies” idea. That God is into killing his enemies and hating his enemies. On the other hand, the God of the New Testament, is all forgiving and loves enemies, according to our new rules given to us in the new testament. And we are called to imitate God, in other words: to love even our enemies. In other words, God himself loves enemies and we are to imitate him in doing the same thing. So does God love his enemies or hate his enemies? Does God forgive or is he into “payback” and vengeance? God, who teaches us to control our anger and to forgive our enemies cannot control his own anger? Some of the things that God did (as written in the old testament) are so cruel. If these were done by a person, we would consider that person cruel. But then why do we consider God loving when he did these same things? Does the fact that he is God give him the right to be cruel? Maybe. But then he should have admitted that he is cruel and that he wants everybody to worship him no matter what. But he didn’t admit that. He keeps claiming that he is perfect, just and good and forgiving and loving. Therefore, these ideas are contradictions. These verses show the God of the old testament. And he is nothing like the God of the new testament. God of the old testament: GE 4:15, DT 32:19-27, IS 34:8 God is a vengeful god. EX 20:5, 34:14, DT 4:24, 5:9, 6:15, 29:20, 32:21 God is a jealous god. LE 26:7-8, NU 31:17-18, DT 20:16-17, JS 10:40, JG 14:19, EZ 9:5-7 The Spirit of God is (sometimes) murder and killing. NU 25:3-4, DT 6:15, 9:7-8, 29:20, 32:21, PS 7:11, 78:49, JE 4:8, 17:4, 32:30-31, ZP 2:2 God is angry. His anger is sometimes fierce. EZ 6:12, NA 1:2, 6 God is jealous and furious. He reserves wrath for, and takes revenge on, his enemies. "... who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and rocks are thrown down by him." God of the new testament: 2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is love. 1Co 13:4 Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; 1Co 13:5 love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; 1Co 13:6 love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. 1Co 13:7 Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. GA 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The two descriptions cannot be of the SAME God. The descriptions of a god were according to those people’s beliefs. Whatever Jews believed in their time, that’s how they described their god. Whatever Jews/Gentiles of 2000 years ago believed, that’s how THEY described their God. So these were not God inspired writings about God Himself. These were people’s ideas about how God is or should be or could be. In other words, these are simply rumors about God. 2 different pictures: somebody who destroys enemies, rejoices at vengeance time, pays with evil for evil OR somebody who loves and forgives enemies and overcomes evil with good… Which one is God? NU 25:9/ 1CO 10:8; NU 33:38 /DT 10:6; NU 33:41-42 / DT 10:6-7; DT 23:1/ IS 56:4-5; JG 4:21/JG 5:25-27; DT 7:9-10 God destroys his enemies. MT 5:39-49 Do not resist your enemies. Love them. Be perfect, like God. PS 58:10-11 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees vengeance. PR 24:16-18 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls or stumbles. MT 5:39-49 Love your enemies. Rom 12:21 Overcome evil with good. THE GOD OF LOVE vs. creation of hell So God is either love, or God is cruel (as described in the old testament.). Christians claim that it’s both. Although they don’t say cruel, they say “holy”. But it’s equivalent for all practical purposes. It’s a contradiction in character. If God is love, then he did not create hell. Creating an eternal place of torture for anybody, even for enemies, is not a characteristic of a God who is love itself. God-Love loves enemies. God-love would not create hell in the first place. Punishment for corrective action is different than destruction and eternal torture. God-love could not have prepared such a place for any lifeform. If he did, then he cannot possibly be God-Love. Mafia leaders love their own family members (as long as those are faithful to them), but they are pretty cruel to all others. And we don’t call them loving. We call them cruel. So a God who is loving towards the few that perhaps love him, but cruel to the majority, also cannot be considered: perfectly good and loving. Let’s say that hell is not a created thing, but simply a pain of being separated from God. But in this case, why did God give men free will? Wouldn’t it be more merciful to force them to believe in him? Didn’t he know in advance that majority of the people would be in pain for the rest of eternity? Some – because they simply couldn’t believe in God. Others – because they never got to hear about Jesus. First of all, God could have made sure that ALL would hear about Jesus. And second, He didn’t have to give men free will if he knew very well how harmful it would be for them. Love does not seek its own. God-Love would not put his needs and desires above the people if he is love. If there was a place of torment (of any sort) he should have not created the people (for his pleasure) OR he should have made sure that ALL got saved. But he is not doing either. So either he is NOT LOVE, OR there is no hell (either created or uncreated.) It cannot be both. It’s a contradiction of a character. For a continuation of this article, please click here: http://spirituality....rt-two-t13.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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