Dear Kathy,
Since you graciously agreed (in our recent conversation) to let me present you with some examples of the Bible’s problems, I decided to do it in this way so it would have its own comment thread. As I’ve said, when I was a Christian, one strike against the Bible was not enough to shake my faith — maybe it only seemed problematic, maybe there was an explanation we hadn’t uncovered yet, maybe the historical accounts were wrong, etc. But as the problems began to mount up, I reached a point where I could no longer deny the fact that the Bible had actual errors.
A couple of suggestions before we begin. Try to be as open-minded about this as possible. As you go through these examples, ask yourself if God would allow such problems to exist in a message that he wanted all people to accept and believe? According to the Bible, whenever God sent someone a message, whether it was Pharaoh or Gideon or Nebuchadnezzar or Paul, they had no question whom it was from. They didn’t always follow it, as we see with people like Pharaoh and Solomon, but they didn’t question the source of the message or what it stated. So why would God operate differently today? Why would he want us to be so confused about his message that we’re able to question whether or not it’s really from him?
Another thing to keep in mind is that even if you come to the conclusion that the Bible has actual problems, that doesn’t mean you have to stop believing in God. There are a number of Christians who don’t believe in inerrancy. And even if you lose faith in the Christian god, that still doesn’t mean you have to stop believing in God. A number of people, including several of our founding fathers, were deists. I have a lot of sympathy for that view and plan to do a post on it soon.
Some of the items listed here will have links that provide additional information, especially when the issue is too detailed to list here. I hope that you’ll check out those links, since some of them are quite significant points. And regardless of how this article strikes you, I hope it will help serve as a great springboard to launch you into your own research.
Some of the Problems
Creation
The creation accounts in Genesis do not match what we’ve learned through science. This isn’t shocking news, but it bears looking into. Evolution and the Big Bang Theory had nothing to do with my deconversion, but I’ve learned more about both since leaving Christianity. It’s shocking how much misinformation I had been operating under. Not to say that all Christians are that way — that was simply my experience. But the evidence for both evolution and the Big Bang are far more substantial than I had ever realized. Two good resources for learning more about these issues are the following (though I’d also recommend checking out the recent Cosmos series, as well as some of the PBS NOVA specials):
Another problem with the creation accounts is that Genesis 1 says that plants and trees were made on the 3rd day, while man was made on the 6th. But Genesis 2:5-9 says that man was created before there were any plants or trees in the land. Also, the 1st chapter says that man was created after all the animals, but the 2nd chapter implies that it was the other way around. It seems strange that such discrepancies would exist only a chapter apart, but there are a number of textual clues that suggest the first 5 books of the Bible were assembled over a long period of time from various writings written by a number of different people. Many scholars believe that Genesis 1 and 2 represent two separate versions of the creation story that were both included because the compilers didn’t know which was more accurate. Whatever the reason, there’s no question that the differences exist and are hard to explain.
10 Plagues
During the 10 plagues, God afflicts all of Egypt’s livestock with a disease (Ex 9:1-7), and it specifies that it would affect the “horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.” We’re told that all of Egypt’s livestock died. But the later plague of boils was said to affect both man and beast (verse 10 of chapter 9). Maybe it meant non-livestock animals. But Ex 11:5 says that the death of the firstborn would also affect Egypt’s cattle, and in Exodus 14, Pharaoh pursues the Israelites with horses.
Hares Chew the Cud
Leviticus 11:6 tells us that hares chew the cud. They do not. Animals that chew the cud are called ruminants. When they eat plant matter, it goes to their first stomach to soften, and then it’s regurgitated to their mouth. They spend time re-chewing it, and then it is swallowed and fully digested. Ruminants (cows, sheep, goats, etc.) are recognizable because their chewing of the cud is very obvious. Hares (rabbits) don’t chew the cud; however, their mouths do move frequently, so it’s possible to see why some people may have assumed that they do chew the cud. Of course, God would know they didn’t, and this is why the passage is problematic. You can read more about this here.
Arphaxad
In the genealogy given in Genesis 11:10-12, we see that Noah fathered Shem and Shem fathered Arphaxad. At the age of 35, Arphaxad fathered Shelah. This information is confirmed in 1 Chron 1:18. But Luke 3:35-36 tells us that Arphaxad’s son was Cainan, and he was the father of Shelah.
Where does Luke get this information? It disagrees with the Old Testament, so who should we believe? Some have suggested that Genesis and 1 Chronicles simply left out Cainan for some reason. But why would they do that? To further complicate it, how could Cainan have fit in there? Genesis tells us that Arphaxad was 35 when he fathered Shelah. Does it really seem likely that Arphaxad became a grandfather by 35, especially when you consider the extreme old ages that people lived to at that time?
Another explanation is that some copyist messed up when copying Luke and Cainan is just a mistake. But this is not much better. First of all, the error would have needed to occur early for it to be in all our copies of Luke. Secondly, are we really comfortable saying that we have the inspired word of our creator, but it got messed up by some guy who wasn’t paying close attention? To me, that doesn’t lend a lot of credence to the idea of inspiration or inerrancy.
Instead, the most likely explanation is that Luke made a mistake. This, of course, would indicate that he was not inspired.
Problems in the Book of Daniel
In Daniel 5, the writer refers to Belshazzar as the son of Nebuchadnezzar 7 different times. Yet we know from multiple contemporary sources that Belshazzar’s father was Nabonidus, who was not related to Nebuchadnezzar. The same chapter says that Darius the Mede took over Babylon, but this person does not seem to have ever existed. Daniel says that he was the son of Ahaseurus, and in mentioning this, the author of Daniel indicates that he was thinking of a later ruler — the persian emperor Darius the Great, whose son was Ahaseurus. This post in particular goes into the problems surrounding the 5th chapter, but if you’d like to learn about the problems in the rest of the book, you can access each article in the series here.
Jairus’s Daughter
In Mark 5:23, Jairus finds Jesus and says that his daughter is at the point of death. While they’re on their way to the house, some of his servants find them on the way and say that she has died and there’s no point in troubling Jesus further.
However, in Matthew 9:18, Jairus already knows that his daughter has died, but tells Jesus that if he’ll lay his hands on her, she’ll live. This may seem like a minor difference, but honestly, there’s only one scenario that could be true. Either the girl was already dead, or she wasn’t. And if Jairus already knew she was dead, then there was no point in his servants coming to tell him that (so of course, they don’t appear in Matthew’s account).
The Centurion
This is similar to the previous issue. Matthew and Luke both record a centurion who asks Jesus to heal his sick servant. Matthew 8:5-13 says that the centurion himself comes before Jesus to ask for help. Luke 7:1-10 says that the Jewish elders went on his behalf, and then he sent servants to follow up. In Luke, Jesus never speaks to, or even sees, the centurion at all.
Hight Priest
In Mark 2:23-28, Jesus talks about the occasion from the Old Testament when David ate the showbread, which Jesus said was in the days of Abiathar the high priest. However, in 1 Samuel 21:1-6, it appears that Ahimelech was the high priest. Some have tried to answer this problem by saying that Abiathar was alive during that particular episode, so Jesus’ statement is still true. But that’s obviously not the intent of the passage. After all, we would correct anyone who said that the tragedy of 9/11 occurred during the days of President Barack Obama. He may have been alive at the time, but that event did not happen while he was President.
430 Years
Galatians 3:16-17 says this:
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
Here, Paul says that the law came 430 years after the promises were made to Abraham. But in Exodus 12:40-41, we see:
Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions left Egypt.
If the Israelites were in Egypt 430 years, then there could not have been 430 years between Abraham’s promises and the law. God made the promises to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, and as we read on through Genesis, we see that Abraham had no children at this time. Later, he had a son named Isaac. When Isaac was 60 years old, he had Jacob (Gen 25:24-26), and Jacob had 12 sons that produced the 12 tribes of Israel. Already, we can see that some time has passed since Abraham received the promise. Once Jacob’s sons were all grown with families of their own, they finally settled in Egypt. Jacob was 130 years old at this time (Gen 47:9), and this marks the beginning of that 430 year period that the Israelites spent in Egypt.
That means that the time between the promise to Abraham and the giving of the law was actually over 600 years. So why did Paul say 430 years? I think it’s obvious that this was a simple mistake. He remembered the 430 year figure because that’s how much time the Israelites spent in Egypt, and so he simply misspoke. It’s not a big deal… except that he’s supposed to be inspired by God.
Jesus’ Birth
There are a number of issues surrounding Jesus’ birth. First, Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts contradict one another on virtually all the details, which you can read about here. Secondly, Matthew seems to invent an episode where Herod kills all the children in Bethlehem who are 2 and under, causing Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to flee to Egypt (instead of just returning home to Nazareth, because only Luke says that they started in Nazareth). Matthew does this in order to “fulfill” some Old Testament passages that actually have nothing to do with Jesus or killing babies. You can read about Matthew’s misuse of the Old Testament here — it’s quite blatant.
The Virgin Birth is one of the most famous aspects of Jesus’ story, and it was supposedly done in fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah. But it turns out that Isaiah was prophesying no such thing — he was talking about an event that was happening in his own time, and Matthew (once again) just appropriated the “prophecy” for his own devices. You can read all the details here.
Another problem concerning Jesus’ birth narratives is that Matthew and Luke both offer genealogies for Jesus, but they are completely different from one another. Worse, they don’t match the genealogies listed in the Old Testament, either. And Matthew claims that there was a pattern in the number of generations between Abraham and David, between David and the Babylonian captivity, and between the Babylonian captivity and Christ. But to get this neat division, he is forced to leave out some names. In other words, that pattern didn’t happen. You can read more about that here.
The Triumphal Entry
While not as blatant as most of these other issues, when Matthew recounts Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he once again borrows from the Old Testament, but seems to make a mistake in his implementation. See here for more info.
Judas’ Death
Judas is well known for being the disciple that betrayed Jesus, but what’s not as well known is there are two different accounts of his death, and it’s very hard to reconcile them. According to Matthew, Judas threw his money down at the chief priests’ feet and went out and hanged himself. We’re not told where he did this. The priests then take the money, and instead of putting it back in the treasury (since it’s blood money), they buy a field to use for burying strangers. Because they bought the field with this money, it’s called the “Field of Blood.”
According to Acts, Judas bought a field with his money (we’re not told that he was remorseful), and he somehow fell down, bursting open in the middle and bleeding to death. The field was called “Field of Blood” after that because of the manner in which Judas died.
To make things more complicated, Matthew (of course) says that this happened in accordance with Jeremiah’s prophecy, but there’s nothing in Jeremiah that matches up. The closest reference comes from Zechariah, not Jeremiah.
These issues really complicate the notion of divine inspiration, and you can read more about them here.
The Crucifixion
There are several big problems with the way the gospels record the events of Jesus’ death, including the fact that different times of day are given for it, and even different days altogether. You can read more about this here.
The Resurrection
There are also a number of problems concerning the resurrection, some minor, some major. They’re too involved to get into here, but you can read all about them here and here.
The Problem of Hell
The notion of Hell is fraught with problems. It might even surprise you to learn that the Bible’s teachings on the afterlife change dramatically between the Old and New Testaments. I go into detail about Hell’s problems here, here, and here.
The Problem of Evil
Another huge problem for Christianity is the problem of evil, which I talk about here. This post also addresses the “problem of Heaven.”
The Bible’s Morality
While a number of people believe that the Christian god is the source of all morality, the Bible is actually filled with some monstrous acts that are either commanded by God, done with his consent, or carried out by him directly. I talk about some specific examples here, and I address some of the common responses to them here.
Conclusion
Kathy, there are a number of other examples that could be given, including the prophecy of Tyre that we’ve been discussing. But to me, these are some of the most significant and clear-cut problems. We could try to manufacture explanations for every one of these — some might be more believable than others. But why should we have to? If a perfect God inspired this book, why should it contain so many discrepancies? And honestly, some of these issues can’t be explained. They’re just wrong. The problems go well beyond internal contradictions and unfulfilled prophecies. There are problems of authorship, problems with the doctrines, and problems with the way the texts were written, transcribed, and compiled.
I’m sure you’ve spent your time as a Christian trying to reach those who are lost. You’ve always believed that Christianity is truth, and it’s the one thing that everyone needs. But could it be that Christianity is just as false as every other religion in the world? And if that’s the case, wouldn’t you want to leave it behind? When one is dedicated to finding truth, they have to be prepared to follow it wherever it leads. It’s not always easy or popular. It’s not even a guarantee that you’re right. All it means is that you follow the evidence where it leads to the best of your ability. If you find out that you’re wrong about something, you adjust course when the evidence dictates. If God exists, and if he’s righteous, what more could he ask for than that? I’ll close with my favorite quote:
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.
— Marcus Aurelius
Finding Truth 
“What is the evidence they use to support their claim?” – Kathy
good question. And when you get a chance, provide your evidence…
you know, Troy was once thought to be a myth – but oops, they found Troy.
King Arthur used to be thought of as a myth, but oops, they found evidence of him after all
and there are other things we could point to. Sure, some are even in the bible. But if once thought myths that are current history staples was evidence of god, then Homer and whoever talked about king Arthur (Walt Disney?) would be prophets… and I don’t think anyone here would actually buy that. So maybe instead of pointing to god, it points to age – at least in those stories.
But the bible has things in it like, where Jesus said a seed had to die before it would grow – this is false. We know today through biology that this is just wrong. If a seed dies, then nothing grows.
hares chewing cuds has been covered.
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@Arch, “(Years later, watching re-runs, I would get quite a chuckle watching Matt Dillon riding his buckskin with the “mountains of Kansas” in the background! For those who don’t know, Kansas is flatter than a flounder.)”
I laugh at that too Arch. I lived in Kansas City for 24 years and traveled across Kansas many times. Never saw any big hills let alone mountains. LOL
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@Mike.
This is a bullshit answer and you know it.
Archaeologists and especially Israeli archaeologists have been digging in the Sinai since they were told to go and find the metaphorical title deeds for their promised land and so far have turned up absolutely nothing.
Allbright turned up nothing of the Exodus, and not a single archaeologist, secular or biblical has found a single piece of evidence that can be tied to the biblical story.
As for Egypt, the same story. Nothing.
You are simply making yourself look utterly ridiculous and doing nothing but poisoning the well.
So rather than sitting on the sidelines espousing irrelevant nonsense, if you truly think you have more knowledge, more experience and more scientific understanding than an archaeologist such as Finkelstein or Devers then let’s read what you’ve got.
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and on silence… sometimes “absence of evidence” is indeed “evidence of absence.” If the isrealite nation left Egypt with a bunch of Egyptian loot, it would make sense to find some artifacts, but there are none. Not in egypt or in the place they were believed to have traveled through.
this isnt proof, but it is absence of evidence that should be present. Like if you lost your keys and you searched the dining room 5 times for them and still cant find them. Do you just assume that your keys arent in the dining room, or do you continue searching the dining room because absence of evidence isnt evidence of absence?
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Let’s remember that it is not only the artifacts that should have been evident of such a huge multitude of humanity moving across the country over such a lengthy period, but also the devastating effect this would have had on the Egyptian economy. And no such collapse is even alluded to – anywhere or anytime
Aside from the logistics, one then has to square away all the magical crap described in the bible, not least the parting of the Red Sea ( which we now know was actually the Reed Sea)
Mention has already been made f the destruction of animals and how nonsensical this was, especially if Pharaoh went tearing off after the runaways using horses!
It is a story. Plain and simple.
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“This is a bullshit answer and you know it.”
Yawn…. I am never concerned with your spittle as evidence
“Allbright turned up nothing of the Exodus, and not a single archaeologist, secular or biblical has found a single piece of evidence that can be tied to the biblical story.”
Lol…..Why would there be evidence of the exodus. When have Nomads left ruins? If you had even said conquest you would make some half sense
“You are simply making yourself look utterly ridiculous and doing nothing but poisoning the well.”
No you are and I’d say rather transparent . I posted this
“The ammonites were suppose to be a mystical creation of the bIble but then ooops evidence was found.
the kingdom of David was supposed to be mythical but oops then they found evidence for that
Belshazzar that Nate mentions (and claims to know for fact was not related to Nebuchadnezzar) was for claimed for MANY years according to Skeptics a completely made up character but then ooops they found evidence of that and then
He was never a ruler of Babyon but oops that held up too”
As an indicator of the track record on skeptics such as yourselves making big claims of what was mythical and going bust
and the factualness of it sent you into full foam at the mouth mode (not that I care.After you see enough drool you get desensitize I guess 😉 ) . My point wasn’t even that archaeology supports the Bible as Nate alleged I said but that barfs like yours have proven to be false over and over again
Shucks give you decade or two back and you would be going on about David being mythical. So Dude pound as much ground as you want . What I posted was factual. Live with it or don’t , It don’t matter me none.
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“Lol…..Why would there be evidence of the exodus. When have Nomads left ruins? If you had even said conquest you would make some half sense”
ruins? is this a joke? I cant believe you even bothered leaving this…
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“As an indicator of the track record on skeptics such as yourselves making big claims of what was mythical and going bust”
yes and in time I’m sure even the koran will be proven true. I mean it hasnt been yet, but that’s just because skeptics like us are too impatient to act without evidence first.
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“Belshazzar being the son of Nabonidus instead of Nebuchadnezzar”
Provided that Belshazzar was any offspring of Nebuchadnezzar the word for father would apply. You claimed earlier that Belshazzar was no relationship whatsoever. Put up the primary evidence for that claim and by Primary I don’t mean wikipedia says so or this historian said so . I mean proof. Make your case from artifacts and comtemporary witness because everything I have read indicates Belshazzar’s parentage is not well known
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“ruins? is this a joke? I cant believe you even bothered leaving this…”
No your reply is one. tell us oh great swami what long term archaeological record do nomads leave in their trail. I’d say I can’t believe you have that little sense but…….
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and no Wiliam I am still not reading but the occasional short sentence from you but I will JUST for your next post IF it has any sign of coherence at the beginning.
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Really, you are sounding more and more like the backside of the biblical talking donkey, Mike.
And, once again, you have neatly done the theological two-step and managed to avoid addressing the relevant issue.
The Egyptian captivity is fiction, the Exodus is fiction, Moses is fiction, the receiving of the Ten Commandments from ‘Yahweh’ is fiction, the conquest of Canaan is fiction.
Now, you dispute this against every secular historian, every secular archaeologist every secular Egyptologist, most of mainstream Judaism and, surprisingly, a fair amount of mainstream Christian scholarship.( those that have been honest enough it admit it, that is).
It is taught as fiction in schools in Israel.
And of the above: Jews, and Christians have quite a large amount of vested interest in the Pentateuch being true. Yet, they have admitted it is, by and large, fiction.
That takes courage.
So, who is the average person likely to believe?
The wealth of scientists across the board of relevant disciplines and a great many religious officials or a rather silly Christian apologist who cherry-picks his way through a book of fallacious text merely to stroke his ego?
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“No your reply is one. tell us oh great swami what long term archaeological record do nomads leave in their trail. I’d say I can’t believe you have that little sense but…….” – mike
trash. pottery. All sorts of things. Arrow heads. wagon wheels. broken tent poles. lost coins. etc, etc. This is pretty basic stuff. But none has been discovered. With the vast quantity of people, who were supposedly carrying are large bounty of egyptian goods, something should have been found. Again, not finding anything isnt necessarily proof, just as finding things wouldnt necessarily be proof of the exodus, but as far as evidence goes…. absence is evidence of absence.
or so the experts say. experts other than yourself, that is.
but not to worry. I’m sure you can easily dismiss this by thinking it either hasnt been found YET, or god made sure they wouldnt lose anything – because, after all, the bible is right.
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“and no Wiliam I am still not reading but the occasional short sentence from you but I will JUST for your next post IF it has any sign of coherence at the beginning.”
thanks for the clarification. I think the efforts you made in the post really show that you pay me no attention at all.
I would suggest reading though. It may help make your comments a little better?
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“The Egyptian captivity is fiction, the Exodus is fiction, Moses is fiction, the receiving of the Ten Commandments from ‘Yahweh’ is fiction, the conquest of Canaan is fiction.”
Let me summarize your response.
rhetoric,
rhetoric
rhetoric
and umm
rhetoric,
If we were 15 years back this is how your rhetoric would read
“The Davidic monarchy is fiction, the rule of David is fiction, David is fiction, etc etc. all the experts agree, all scientists agree. you dispute this against every secular historian, every secular archaeologist every secular Egyptologist, most of mainstream Judaism”
but then ……ooops
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Once again, you omit such relevant details as the Egyptian captivity, the magical nonsense and of course, the Canaanite conquest.
Moses is a fictional character. This is established fact.
Why are you not dealing with this?
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“trash. pottery. All sorts of things. Arrow heads. wagon wheels. broken tent poles. lost coins. etc, etc. This is pretty basic stuff. ”
O really so lets leave out the exodus since this is umm such basic stuff. How often do we find “broken tent poles” in those areas left by nomads hundreds of years ago William. I mean over a few hundred years even without an exodus people would pass over
and um why would would some coin being left by nomads be identified as having to be from the exodus?
“but as far as evidence goes…. absence is evidence of absence. ”
Nope Your logic is as usual fallacious – absence of evidence is absence of evidence
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“Moses is a fictional character. This is established fact.”
ROFL…… David was too
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@Ark & William, Here is some reading material for you my friends and a link to its Jewish Source.
There is still considerable controversy regarding when the various documents at the disposal of the Deuteronomists were first written down; but there is no doubt that, in weaving their material together, the seventh century author-editors were considerably influenced by the circumstances of their own time.
The saga of the Israelites, as told in the Bible, was designed as a morality tale to prove the importance of faith in the One God. The stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Joshua demonstrate that the Israelites were rewarded when they obeyed God, but were punished when they strayed.
The historical evidence to back up these events is sparse, and, in some cases, contradictory. In particular, the account of Joshua’s conquest of Canaan is inconsistent with the archaeological evidence. Cities supposedly conquered by Joshua in the 14th century BCE were destroyed long before he came on the scene. Some, such as Ai and Arad, had been ruins for a 1000 years.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/davidjer.html
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@Mike
Okay, you are behaving like the talking donkey’s backside once more.
What next?
You going to cite chariot wheels on the floor of the Red Sea, Mike? Maybe show us evidence from one of Ron Wyatt’s digs perhaps?
Or maybe you are going to tell us that Noah and the flood were real as well?
I believe you should dispute the Exodus with Herzog or Devers, or Finkelstein or Wolpe?
Seriously,if you can’t come up with anything better than this diatribe then you should rather go and peddle your nonsense to those on AIG.
They will embrace you with open arms.
Truly, you are a very silly person.
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They do engage in coprophagia sometimes, but so do pigs, and the Bible says pigs don’t chew the cud.”
No nate not the same thing if you had bothered to read the link and is confirmed elsewhere
http://www.ao.uiuc.edu/courses/ANSC207/week13/Rabbits/web_data/file4.htm
“Rabbits, are unique in the sense that they practice cecotrophy. Cecotrophy is the act of eating cecotropes or “soft feces”. This sounds similar to coprophagy, but it is not the same process. In the rabbit, small fiber particles are “selected” in the GI tract and sent to the cecum where they are fermented to synthesize proteins and vitamins, which will be part of the cecotropes. On the other hand, large particles are sent to the colon to form the regular or hard feces. Cecotropes are different from feces in that they are higher in moisture and protein than feces. Cecotropes are consumed directly from the anus in the early morning hours, therefore making difficult to see these feces. The function of cecotrophy is to provide the rabbit with the proteins and vitamins that were synthesized in the cecum and prevents these nutrients from being lost. It is a very important process, because it can provide up to 20% of their daily protein requirement.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecotrope
“The process by which cecotropes are produced is called “hindgut fermentation”. Food passes through the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, where nutrients are initially absorbed ineffectively, and then into the colon. Through reverse peristalsis, the food is forced back into the cecum where it is broken down into simple sugars (i.e. monosaccharides) by bacterial fermentation. The cecotrope then passes through the colon, the anus, and is eliminated by the animal and then reingested. The process occurs 4 to 8 hours after eating. This type of reingestion to obtain more nutrients is similar to the chewing of cud in cattle.”
If your beloved WIkipedia can see it as simliar process to chewing of the cud there is no reason 2500 years ago that a civilization could not have used the hebrew phrase it uses to denote the same kind of reingestion
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“Okay, you are behaving like the talking donkey’s backside once more.”
Yawn…the thing about someone who is always going off with fury and spittle all the time is that after awhile its like all caps. it means nothing its just par for the course with them. You buy an umbrella and say ho hum….whats new?
“What next?
You going to cite chariot wheels on the floor of the Red Sea, Mike? Maybe show us evidence from one of Ron Wyatt’s digs perhaps?”
Yawn an appeal to Ron Wyatt I never brought up. Shall we talk about WIlliam hung next? Anyone watch American Idol?
“Or maybe you are going to tell us that Noah and the flood were real as well? ”
I could live with that especially local…Never was a whole world only kind a guy
“I believe you should dispute the Exodus with Herzog or Devers, or Finkelstein or Wolpe?”
Sure bring em over. We’ll do lunch. they got to be better than you
“Truly, you are a very silly person.”
Here Ark
http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/
I’m thinking if you expand your vocabulary it might add more style to your rhetoric.
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Arch said:
“And over the course of that 50 years, literally thousands of writers have written for one or more episodes of the many series and movies – but it’s STILL fiction.”
Thanks for the Star Trek trivia.. I did enjoy it, but as far as it supporting your argument.. it failed. No one died to testify to the truth of Star Trek.. in fact.. I’m pretty sure the creators of ST ADMIT it is fiction.. there are no claims that ST was based on real life. So, I don’t and never do understand these comparisons that atheists so often give.. no one died for the unicorn, the FSM, Spiderman.. etc etc.. no gospels written for any of these.. and not even a single claim that they are real.
On your other comment about the author of “Genesis 2” etc.. it’s always amusing to hear what atheists manage to come up with to try and explain away the Bible.. I appreciate you sharing this “information” but it holds absolutely no value without references to your sources.. again, the misinformation and just plain outright lies by true enemies of God are rampant in the atheist community. With this relatively new electronic age with social media, the atheist community has become stronger I’ve noticed.. and they, no doubt would/ do soak up everything you stated as fact.. which is such a shame. Not saying that you are lying.. but I AM most def. saying that what you are saying is false.. either due to outright lies or bias/ lack of objectivity.
But, there is definitely a “market” for anything anti Christian. And many are capitalizing on that… which just fuels the lies & misinformation.
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Yet people have died for Allah, for Krishna, for Zeus, etc. Would you maintain that their dying for those gods makes those religions true? All the Bible shows us is that people wrote down stories they had been told — as far as I know, no one questions whether or not these authors actually believed what they wrote. I think most would agree that they believed, but that doesn’t make them correct.
Kathy, you’re once again claiming that atheists are not being objective when you haven’t studied these issues in detail yet. How do you know who’s being objective? How do you know whose position is false? Most everyone here has tried to be polite to you, because you usually seem to honestly want to discuss the issues. That’s all we want as well — even if we’re unable to agree. Why label one another as lacking objectivity?
I truly don’t understand your continued assertion that atheists are spouting misinformation, when you haven’t had time to research it yet…
Oh, and since you asked about evidence for the Documentary Hypothesis (which is what Arch was talking about), you can start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_hypothesis
Most people acknowledge that the DH is just that — an hypothesis. It’s not saying exactly how the Pentateuch was written and compiled, but it’s probably something similar. Again, there are many reasons for thinking this, and to really grasp them all will require some detailed research. The information is not hard to come by, though.
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About Belshazzar, I never said that he absolutely had no familial ties to Nebuchadnezzar. I said that his father, Nabonidus, did not:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cylinder_of_nabonidus.aspx
I’ve never seen a Christian source question that. Some have argued that Nabonidus’ wife was Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter, which would make Belshazzar the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. But there is no historical evidence to back up this claim, and it has only been suggested in an effort to explain the way Daniel 5 refers to them.
Furthermore, another book from the 2nd century BCE (the same time period Daniel was most likely written in) shows this same misconception about the Babylonian kings:
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