We all search for truth and guidance in our lives. In this search many turn to the Bible believing that God has inspired it's pages. Is this true? Does the Bible contain knowledge from a higher source? Or is it a fraud, purely containing knowledge from other humans? The book you now hold examines the claim that the Bible is the word of God, and presents overwhelming evidence why it is not. Whether you're a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, or something else, this book will prove crucial to you in your search for truth.
Why the Bible Cannot Be the Word of God
By Andre JacobsAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Andre Jacobs
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4567-2276-0Contents
Chapter 1 The Eternal Question........................................1Chapter 2 Lack of Bible Knowledge.....................................3Chapter 3 A Book That Divides.........................................11Chapter 4 Lack of Clarity.............................................21Chapter 5 The Bible and Slavery.......................................27Chapter 6 The Bible and the Mistreatment of Women.....................37Chapter 7 The Bible and Prejudice.....................................51Chapter 8 The Bible and Unbelievable Tales............................59Chapter 9 The Bible and Contradictions................................65Chapter 10 Biblical Atrocities........................................83Chapter 11 Science and the Bible......................................93Chapter 12 Making the Right Conclusion................................101
Chapter One
The Eternal Question
"The ultimate aim of the human mind, in all its efforts, is to become acquainted with Truth." -Eliza Farnham
What is the meaning of life? Is there a God? What happens when we die? Is there life after death? Does God care about humankind? Why is there suffering in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Does God communicate with humans? Does God answer prayers? Did God write a book? Is that book the Bible?
No doubt, you've asked yourself many or all of these questions at one point or another in your life. These questions trouble billions of people on a daily basis. It seems that we search and search for answers, only to find answers that leave us unsatisfied, and lead to more questions.
Throughout the ages of human existence, these questions have led people to many different conclusions. Regarding the afterlife alone, there are several different theories. Some believe that our eternal souls are sent to either heaven or hell according to our deeds. Others believe we're reincarnated into some other form of life. Still others believe death is the end of life, leading into eternal nothingness. Who is right? Who is wrong? How can anyone know the truth?
In this quest for answers, humans turn to many different sources for guidance. Many seek answers from expert religious leaders and scientists. These resources have offered many different explanations for why things are the way they are. They have written countless books addressing the eternal questions of why we are here and the meaning of life.
For countless individuals living today and in previous centuries, the book that holds the answers to life's most complex questions is the Bible. Many humans have dedicated their lives to teaching the Bible to others. Some have gone so far as to die for these beliefs.
The Bible itself claims to be inspired, or breathed of God. This means that the Bible is unique in that its author is no mortal. Rather, its pages contain the very thoughts of God and our Creator. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness."
Today, approximately 33% of the world's inhabitants consider themselves Christian. This 33% can be broken down in to several different branches of Christianity, such as Catholic, Protestant, Jehovah's Witness, and Mormon. Although these different denominations of Christians may differ on certain beliefs, almost all have one thing in common. They all believe the Bible is the inspired word of Almighty God, and they base their teachings and beliefs on this book. In the minds of countless Christians, there is no debating that the Bible contains God's thoughts, and not mans.
Many believe that a study of the Bible can give us final answers to the most enduring questions, such as what happens to us at death, who God really is, and the meaning of our existence. They believe God approves of a life that adheres to Bible teachings. On the other hand, choosing to go against the teachings of the Bible is a sin, which is the same as rebelling against God, and will ultimately incite God's wrath in some form.
For skeptics, the Bible is merely a book written by different men thousands of years ago. It has some good teachings in it, but there's no reason to believe its authors were divinely inspired.
The book you now hold examines the claim that the Bible is the word of God, and presents evidence showing why it is not. Whether you're a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, or something else, this book will prove valuable to you in your search for truth.
Chapter Two
Lack of Bible Knowledge
"The Bible is a book that has been read more and examined less than any book that ever existed." -Thomas Paine
Why do many people believe the Bible is the word of God? Here are some common reasons for believing God wrote the Bible.
I believe the Bible is from God because that's what my parents taught me.
Just because our parents taught us something does not mean it's true. For centuries, parents taught their children that the Earth was flat. Were those parents purposely trying to deceive their children? Of course not. Rather, they were limited by their own ignorance, and they passed down this falsehood because they believed it to be true. Parents are still capable of doing this today.
In order to accept something as fact, we should require additional evidence rather than relying on our parents for all our information regarding life.
I believe the Bible is from God because this belief brings me comfort and hope. It makes me feel better about myself.
This type of reasoning can be likened to a man who discovers he has cancer. In his grief, he visits his best friend and tells him the bad news. His best friend then proclaims, "I have the cure. Snap your fingers three times and you'll be cured." The cancer stricken man then snaps his fingers three times and believes he is instantly cured.
Although this belief will bring the man comfort and hope, it's obvious that he hasn't solved his problems. This fake cure can be extremely dangerous because it can deter the man from seeking the real solution to his cancer, namely professional medical treatment.
Many people today state that they get comfort and hope from other "holy" books, such as the Koran. Others take comfort and hope from other sources, such as self-help books, or modern science. Does this mean that self-help books are somehow divine in nature? It would be ridiculous to think so.
Just because a belief in the Bible can bring comfort and hope to certain individuals does not in any way mean the Bible is from God.
Lots of other people believe the Bible is from God. There must be some truth to this if lots of people believe it.
The fact that lots of people believe something does not necessarily mean it's true. If human history has taught us anything, it's that large groups of people can share a false belief. Here are some examples:
–The Earth is a flat disk-like object.
–The Earth is the center of the Universe.
–Certain races of people are superior to other races.
–The mighty god Zeus is able to hurl lightning bolts to the Earth.
–You should wait an hour after eating before you can safely go swimming (a common myth even today).
A belief shared by a large group of people can many times be completely false.
Reasons for this book
I'm sure many will assume that the purpose of this book is to discourage people from reading and examining the Bible. In reality, the intent is the exact opposite. The goal of this book is to focus attention on the Bible. Only by educating ourselves about what the Bible actually says can we individually and collectively free ourselves from the myth that it is the word of God.
Many people come to the conclusion that the Bible is the word of God based on the reasons listed above. This amounts to deciding on the basis of blind faith. Making any important decision without first examining all the facts can be irresponsible, and in many cases dangerous.
Imagine that you are serving on a jury for a complex murder trial. If you're truly interested in coming to a correct verdict, you must hear all sides of the issue in its entirety. Both the defense and the prosecution must be given equal opportunity to present their cases. Then each individual juror must decide based on the facts. It would be wrong to simply come to a conclusion without hearing both sides. It would also be wrong for a jury member to agree on a verdict simply to go along with the majority. Rather, each member must hear all the evidence, and come to his/her conclusion, even if it means disagreeing with the majority.
This is the type of approach we must take when we inquire into the Bible's source. It's not good enough for us to believe the Bible is from God without fully examining all the evidence for and against divine authorship. It is not enough for us to believe simply because:
–Our parents believed it was from God.
–Millions today believe it is from God.
–Our religious leaders tell us it is from God.
–We want to believe it is from God.
–It is easier to just simply believe it's from God than to examine all the evidence.
The same reasoning holds true in a trial. How wrong would it be to convict a person of murder because:
–Our parents believe he's guilty.
–The majority of the jury believes he's guilty.
–Our religious leaders believe he's guilty.
–We want to believe he's guilty.
–It's easier to just simply believe he's guilty, than to examine all the evidence.
In both cases, if we're truly interested in coming to the correct conclusion, we must examine all the evidence, instead of merely relying on the conclusions of others.
Many of us grew up being taught the Bible is the inspired word of God. However, one thing that wasn't generally presented to us was evidence against the Bible's claim of a godly author. Many religious leaders only teach their followers why the Bible is from God. These leaders teach that any other viewpoint regarding the Bible is wrong, and that finding fault with the Bible is like finding fault with God directly. Even today, some people are afraid to question the Bible because they fear a reprisal from God, or out of fear of being thought as ignorant by peers.
Obviously, it's not in a church's best interest to educate its followers on both sides of the issue. It would be a tough sell to try and justify why it is lawful to own slaves and to stone children (Deuteronomy 21:18-21), while in other verses rapists walk virtually free from their crimes (Deuteronomy 22:28-29).
Evidence against the Bible
If you go to any bookstore, evidence for the Bible being the word of God is plentiful. Contrary evidence has been scarce throughout the ages. Why is this? Well, there are a few reasons.
The Church
The Church has had a lot of power over people throughout the ages. At certain points in history, Bible reading was restricted only to select religious leaders. This prevented the common people from having a copy of the Bible to examine for themselves the claim of divinity.
Fear of Physical Harm or Imprisonment
At other points in history, speaking against the accepted view of the Bible was a capital offense, resulting in imprisonment or even death. The result of these brutal tactics is that many people never questioned the Bible out of fear, at least not publically. Due to this fear, published works against the Bible have been scarce. Today, because of religious freedom, freedom from reprisal, and developments such as the Internet, there is much more readily available information refuting traditional claims about the Bible than at any other time in human history.
Fear of Social Harm
For many people, expressing beliefs against the Bible may result in damage to relationships with parents, siblings, grandparents, spouses, and close friends. People can be extremely passionate in their beliefs, and anyone raising questions is immediately viewed as a threat to one's relationship with God. As a result, rather than expressing doubts, many keep these doubts deep inside because they're afraid of how others might react.
Proving the Bible is from God?
Carl Sagen once said, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof," and he was right. Anyone claiming that a book is from Almighty God must be willing to back up this claim with lots of proof.
How does one go about proving the Bible is the word of God? Well, how does one go about proving any book is written by a certain individual?
If you want to determine who wrote the book you're reading right now, how would you go about proving it? Well, first off you'd look for the author's name on the front cover. You might further contact the publisher of this book, and verify that the name on the front matches the name in their records of authorship. Finally, you could contact me and discuss my book in person.
Our approach for discovering the true author of the Bible must be different. Obviously, we can't go to the original publisher of the Bible. If the writer of the Bible truly is God, then a face-to-face meeting with God is out of the question. So we're left with the question, how can we determine who the author of the Bible is?
Here is an illustration. Let's say a friend gives you a book and states he recently found it in a secondhand bookstore. He states that it's a journal written by Mohandas Gandhi. Would you automatically believe such a claim without even taking a look inside the book? Of course not. Obviously, since you cannot contact Gandhi himself, the greatest witness of authorship would be found in the pages of the book itself. You can ask yourself, "Are the statements in this book consistent or inconsistent with the facts known about Gandhi?"
Let's say you open the book, and you read the various journal entries that seem to bolster your friend's claim.
May 1883 – "Today I am going to marry Kasturba Makhanji." September 1888, "Today I am going to begin school at the University College, London ..."
These statements are consistent with the facts we know about Gandhi. However, as you read on, you see other, more confusing entries. You see several entries in which Gandhi goes into great detail on why he believes war is the best method of solving any conflict. He also explains why he believes peace is never an option, and during any conflict genocide is the best method of solving disputes between nations. You read further, and you find certain journal entries that directly contradict other facts known to be true about Gandhi. In one section of the journal Gandhi claims to be a Buddhist. (Gandhi was a Hindu.)
Clearly, these entries aren't consistent with the historical record concerning Gandhi. Gandhi's life showed him to be a pacifist. Based on the words found in this book, we could quickly determine that this book was not written by Gandhi, but by someone else claiming to be Gandhi.
Now let's say this same neighbor gave you another book and told you it was written by God. Of course you'd be skeptical, but how would you go about proving this claim false or true?
Well, anyone can claim to have a book written by God. In fact today we have many such books which claim to be divinely inspired, such as the Koran and the Book of Mormon. The point is, just because certain people claim a book is inspired, such a claim by itself is in no way proof of divine inspiration, since anyone can make this claim about any book.
Take this moment to ask yourself, "What evidence would I need to really prove a book is written by God?" Is it enough for my parents and grandparents to tell me it's the word of God? Is it enough for the majority of Christians to believe a book is inspired? Is it enough for me to believe just because it feels good, or do I need more?
Perhaps one individual needs supernatural evidence before believing. For others, definitive evidence may be a great moral code that one can use to live by.
One thing is for certain: Anyone seeking to convince you a book is written by God should be willing to present extraordinary evidence, because this is an extraordinary claim.
We have many different secondhand sources telling us the Bible is the word of God. These sources include religious leaders, religious books, and perhaps our friends and families.
We cannot talk with God to settle our questions about the Bible for us directly, so we have to go to the next best thing. We should let the Bible speak directly for itself. In effect, we're allowing the Bible to take the stand and testify on its own behalf in a trial to determine who wrote it. In a trial, firsthand testimony from the defendant can often be powerful evidence.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Why the Bible Cannot Be the Word of Godby Andre Jacobs Copyright © 2011 by Andre Jacobs. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
