I was listening to a recent speech that Matt Dillahunty gave in Australia (listen here if you’re interested), and in part of it he brought up the story of the Tower of Babel, found in Genesis 11. It’s a story I’ve thought about several times since leaving Christianity. I don’t recall everything Matt said about it, though I know I’ll be making some of the same points he did. I haven’t been a Christian for about 5 years now, and it’s sometimes hard to imagine that I ever believed stories like this one, though I definitely did. And a number of other conservative Christians do as well.
A few days ago, I asked my wife if she remembered what God was angry about in this story, and she gave the same reason that I thought: God was angry because people were being prideful. In case you’ve forgotten, the crux of the story is that several generations after the flood, mankind was growing numerous, and they all had one common language. They decided to build a tower that would reach Heaven (see how prideful?), so God put a stop to it by confusing their language. This caused the various groups to split up, each person going along with whomever could understand him or her.
However, after looking at the details a bit more, it turns out that my recollection was a bit off. First, the people weren’t actually being prideful at all. Instead of trying to build a tower to Heaven — God’s abode — they were just trying to build a tall one to make it easier to stay in one geographic area:
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
— Genesis 11:1-4
The phrase “in the heavens” is just talking about the sky, not the realm of God. For just a moment though, let’s pretend that they really had been trying to reach God with their tower. Why would that be such a bad thing? Doesn’t the Bible repeatedly tell us to seek after God? Furthermore, would they have succeeded? On September 12, 2013, Voyager 1 actually left our solar system. In all those miles, it didn’t bump into Heaven. No earth-based tower would ever run the risk of reaching God’s home. So not only were the people not attempting that, even if they had been it wouldn’t have succeeded, and it actually would have been flattering toward God.
So if God wasn’t angry at them for being prideful, why did he confuse their language and force them apart? The next few verses give us the answer:
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
— Genesis 11:5-9
Essentially, God was just being a jerk. He was like a kid stirring up an anthill. I mean, God forbid (literally) that people advance technologically, right? Wouldn’t want them discovering things like the germ theory of disease, after all. And why prevent wars by keeping people within the same culture? Much better, I guess, to create different cultures so mistrust and bigotry can form. Furthermore, if this was such a problem at the time, why hasn’t he stopped us again? We’ve figured out ways to overcome language and culture barriers now. We’ve done so much more than just “build a tall tower.” God’s motivation in this story simply makes no sense at all.
However, if you step back for a moment and stop trying to view this as literal history with an actual god, things become clearer. Imagine living thousands of years ago and trying to make sense of the world around you. You think the world is flat and that the sun revolves around it. You don’t understand the cause of thunder storms, earthquakes, or volcanoes. You can’t imagine how animals and humans got here without some kind of creator. And if there’s a creator, why didn’t he make life easier? Why does he allow disease and starvation? There are so many difficult questions that just have no answer. And so people began to formulate answers as best they could. It’s easy to see that one of those questions may have been “why didn’t God (the gods) give us all the same language?” And so they came up with an answer.
Looking at it from that perspective, it’s much easier to understand how a story like this came to be. These people were dealing with the world as they saw it — and to them, the only reason they could think of for God not wanting everyone to have the same language, is that they would accomplish too much. They had no idea that humanity would one day find a way around that problem, rendering their explanation invalid.
Speaking as someone who grew up believing that stories like this were actual history, I know how easy it is to just go along under that assumption without question, especially if those around us believe as we do. It’s not stupidity; it’s either isolation and ignorance, or it’s stubbornness. We can help the isolated and ignorant by just being available to discuss these things when they come up. And with the Bible, there are plenty of examples to be found.
Finding Truth 
Jesus lied:
John’s Jesus:
Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.
John 18:20
Mark’s Jesus
He strictly ordered them that no one should know this.
Mark 5:43
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Mark’s Jesus is ALWAYS telling his disciples and those he heals to keep his deeds secret. John’s Jesus swears under oath in front of the Jewish Sanhedrin (high court) that he has said nothing in secret.
This is a blatant lie.
To Jews, God cannot lie, therefore this is absolute proof to them (and it should be to Christians) that Jesus was not God.
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“In fact most of the Jews stayed in the land.” – Only the elite, those who posed the greatest threat if the Jews regrouped – were taken to Babylon.
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Gary I was interested to see what The Holmen Apologetics commentary said about John 7:38.
Their comment is as follows:
“There is some question as to which particular OT passage is in view here. Some have concluded that the reference in verse 38 pertains not to any specific passage of Scripture but to common prophetic teaching (e.g. Calvin 1959, 198-99). This is possible, but several OT passages seem relevant to the discussion. Potential scriptural allusions include those promising spiritual blessings, including the blessing of the Spirit, in line with the feast itself. The phrase ‘He said this about the Spirit’ appears to echo occasional OT passages where water is used as an emblem for the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa 44:3; Ezek 36:25-27; Joel 2:28). Mana or water and the gift of the Spirit are linked in Nehemiah 9:20 (c.f. 9:13, 15 see Carson 1991, 329-328; Shidemantle 2001).”
This commentary is intended to address difficulties in the Bible. Hardly a persuasive explanation in my opinion.
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Jesus said: As[a] the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart[b] shall flow rivers of living water.’”
Sure sounds like a direct quote to me, but I’m sure that Christians will blame the discrepancy on translators.
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Jesus Misquoted or Distorted an Old Testament Bible Passage:
Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, —Matthew 5:43-44
Analysis: Jesus borrowed the first part of the statement (love your neighbor) from Leviticus 19:18 in the Torah and completely invented the second part (hate your enemy) which does not exist in the Jewish Bible. Christian missionaries respond that when Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said…hate your enemy,” he wasn’t quoting scripture. However, Jesus used the same expression in Matthew 5:21, referring to Exodus 20:13; in Matthew 5:27, referring to Exodus 20:14; in Matthew 5:33, referring to Leviticus 19:12; and in Matthew 5:38, referring to Exodus 21:24. In these verses, each time that Jesus used this expression “you have heard that it was said,” he WAS quoting scripture. Therefore, the (Christian) missionary answer is specious.
—orthodox Jewish author, Asher Norman
Twenty-Six Reasons Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus
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Biblical Scholar has just posted an interesting article on the historicity of Genesis 1-11 on his blog:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2015/05/7-problems-with-a-recent-evangelical-defense-of-the-historicity-of-genesis-1-11/
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That was a great article, Peter. Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Peter,
I too enjoyed the article. It is interesting to see the move away from a literal belief in the first ten or eleven chapters of Genesis, even by evangelicals.
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Ran across this today, Gary:
“All parts of the Bible are true until it becomes obvious that they aren’t and then a miracle happens and they immediately become things that were never meant to be taken literally to begin with.“
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Well, said, Arch. Well said.
Nate and Nan: My “Pastor Bill” politely said on my blog today that it is impossible that either one of you (nor I) were ever Christians. He is a firm believer in “Once Saved, Always Saved”, so since you say now that you are not Christian, it is impossible to him that you ever were to begin with. He, like most fundamentalist Christians, starts with the assumption that it is impossible for his Christian worldview to be wrong, and then sets out to contort the evidence to fit his bias.
He would never do that with the “evidence” for Islam, Mormonism, or Hinduism. He would take one brief look at it and then brush off the supernatural claims of these religions with a simple wave of the hand, declare them as sheer nonsense, and never give them the time of day again.
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Gary
Bruce Gerenscer has a reply to people who say that to him. ‘How come no-one ever suggested this whilst I was part of the Church?’
At the very least he concludes it shows Christians lack discernment.
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Gary, i guess an alternative to all of us having never really been real Christians to begin is that we’re all still really christians now, and dont know it, but later re-enter the fold that we really never left.
stupid? sure, but no more than the rest of it.
never was a real christian? okay, but i thought i was. i prayed. I believed. I read the bible. I had positive religious discussions. Maybe god just didnt do his part with the holy spirit – I just cant say for sure. All i know is, is that I did my part. and now, now i just dont find any of it credible.
people like mike and your preacher only make me more certain of it.
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Thanks for the heads up, Gary. I left a comment on the new post.
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William you mentioned: “Gary, i guess an alternative to all of us having never really been real Christians to begin is that we’re all still really christians now, and dont know it, but later re-enter the fold that we really never left.”
To those I’ve shared with, yes, they still see me as a Christian. OSAS. I’m still saved and not in danger of hell’s fire. So it doesn’t matter what I say they know I’m saved and saved I will always be.
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William, I’m having the same, “no true atheist/Christian” discussion on another board.
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To a fundamentalist OSAS’er, to admit that someone was once a Christian and now is not is tantamount to admitting that the entire Bible is false and their entire Christian belief system is false. The same is true for all their other Bible-based beliefs. This is why they cling so stubbornly to them: one crack in the veneer of inerrancy and the entire belief system collapses.
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Mike and many other evangelical/conservative/orthodox Christians base much of their belief in Jesus on his fulfillment of OT prophecies, including (alleged) prophecies that state that the Messiah will suffer and die to atone for the sins of the world.
But what do you do with the Bible passages in THREE of the Gospels that say that Jesus…DID NOT WANT TO DIE?? Was Jesus really the “Reluctant Savior of the World”?
From: “Twenty-Six Reasons Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus”:
Did Jesus want to die? Surprisingly, there are clear indications in the Gospels that Jesus didn’t want to die. Therefore, Jesus apparently did not believe that there was a messianic prophecy that required his death. This undermines the credibility of the verses attributed to Jesus requiring his death in “fulfillment of Prophecy.” John, Mark, and Matthew reported that Jesus used a “cup” analogy to deal with the issue of his potential death:
John: At Jesus’ arrest, Peter took out his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant, Malchus. Jesus then said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup which the father has given me?” (John 18:3-12)
Mark: Jesus prayed, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36)
Matthew: Jesus said, “…my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.” Jesus prayed, “O my Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Analysis: It seems clear from these verses that Jesus didn’t want to die.
Mark’s Jesus said, “Take this cup away from me…not what I will.” Matthew’s Jesus said, “O my Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will.” In both cases, Jesus clearly stated that his own death was, “not what I will.” In each case Jesus implored God to “take this cup away from me.” Clearly the cup symbolized the requirement that he must die. These verses make clear that Jesus didn’t want to die but was willing to do so if God required it.
Christian theology teaches that belief in Jesus is the basis of “salvation” for sin because Jesus intentionally “died for our sins.” Therefore it is highly significant that it was not Jesus’ will that he must die, but reluctantly would do so if God required it. This is extremely problematic, since according to Christian theology Jesus was a deity, the “son of God” who came into the world to intentionally die for our sins. If, in essence, Jesus died against his will and merely acquiesced to God’s will, can Christians really claim that Jesus intentionally died for their sins? Finally, Christian theology asserts that Jesus is a member of a divine trinity and that each “person” in the trinity has the same essence. If this is true, how could the will of Jesus be different from the will of God?
—orthodox Jewish author, Asher Norman
“Twenty-Six Reasons why Jews don’t Believe in Jesus”
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Gary, all good points, but I am not as certain.
“If, in essence, Jesus died against his will and merely acquiesced to God’s will, can Christians really claim that Jesus intentionally died for their sins?”
it occurs to me that people often have conflicting wants. a soldier wants to be warm and rested and full, but some still volunteer for jobs and missions that will ensure them being hungry, tired and cold.
parents want freedom, but also want their children well cared for, which ensuring their care, limits their freedom. Jesus could have wanted to save everyone, yet still wanted to avoid the pain that came with it.
but i am no advocate for Christianity any more.
to me one big issue is why he had to die. why did god make a hell, and the make a rule that said that he had to sacrifice his own son to save people from that hell he created? god could have literally made any rule he wanted. and he chose this rule, and then demands that everyone love him for it.
perhaps I am just more loving and merciful than god- because I wouldnt have created an eternal hell, if i made one at all, and I certainly wouldnt have created a rule that said I had to let my own son die an awful death in order to save mankind from a hell I created, while sending most people there anyway.
nonsense.
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Furthermore, William, (can’t recall exact book, chapter and verse) there is one passage in one of the Gospels, where Yeshua tells his disciples that one of the reasons that he speaks in parables, is that it is written that the people had ears, but did not hear, implying that not everyone was intended to get his message. Why would a god deliberately withhold soul-saving information from people, in order to fulfill a prophecy – how much more honest and forthright to speak plainly, so that everyone will understand, with an “immortal soul” at stake?
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William,
Jesus may have wanted to simply avoid pain, but he specifically asked God to allow him not to go through with it and not die…if it were God’s will.
So we are asked to believe that: God sent himself to earth to suffer and die for the purpose of placating his own anger for our ancestors’ crime of eating his forbidden fruit. But, when it came time to die, he was afraid to go through with it because it would hurt, so he asked himself if he could get out of it…if it was ok with himself to do so???
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hey guys, I injured my back last week pretty bad and was bedridden for 8 days. during that time I watched almost exclusively Christian television, all day all night.
I’ve never heard so much lying, hate mongering, fear mongering, gay bashing and grifting in my life.
what I heard very little of was the teachings of jeezzuuusss t lve your neighbor and your enemies.
, it was mostly old testament or the writings of paul.
anyway, the most prevalent theme running throughout the programming was that the almighty all powerful all knowing god, well, he really, really, really wants to bless you and anoint you and heal you, but he can’t unless you be obedient and send in your seed money. his hands are tied if you don’t. if you don’t send your money, you don’t get your miracle.
I also heard about a dozen or so preachers claim to have brought dead people back to life.
lots of politics, for instance, did you know that the crisis with ISIS in the middle east is the direct result of “those people that elected a community organizer for president?”
and were you aware that Christianity gave women equal rights?
also, despite what the athiests say, the bible has NO errors or contradictions whatsoever, it’s just your inability to understand the meaning.
oh, and gays don’t really want to get married, they just want to destroy the fabric of society.
i could go on for hours, but why bother, Christians are a bunch of lying assholes.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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So injuring your back, Paulie, wasn’t torture enough? Didn’t sleep on a bed of nails too, by any chance —
You know what hurts worse than a bed of nails? A bed with one nail.
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I thought SPG was a woman!
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And you’ve been here HOW LONG, Gary –?
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