Agnosticism, Atheism, Christianity, Faith, God, social media

So Stupid

Nate

answering-religious-errorSaw this today on Facebook and my blood started to boil. First of all, it was “liked” by one of my family members — a person who won’t discuss our differences. It really ticks me off to see her “like” a statement about truth, when she won’t defend that same statement.

Secondly, the quote says that a preacher would rather offend thousands than to fail to preach the truth to even one individual. Sadly, preachers don’t realize that they’re doing both the entire time.

Finally, if you bother to check out Answering Religious Error, it’s like shifting into another dimension. Each post is wrangling over some trivial detail, seemingly oblivious to the deluge of information that makes their entire stance irrelevant. I say “seemingly” rather than “completely,” because apologists of this stripe often do know some of the information that contradicts their stance, but they try very hard to keep their followers from discovering it.

I’ve gotten some flak over the years for the name of my blog, but I view “finding truth” as something aspirational — I’m not claiming to have found it. But “Answering Religious Error” definitely comes across as arrogant, especially when they’re so demonstrably wrong.

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Published by Nate

257 thoughts on “So Stupid”

  1. “They would have been just as safe in Nazareth as in Egypt.”

    But you don’t understand, Nate – then they wouldn’t have been able to misuse that phrase that applied to the body of Israelites following the “exodus” – “Out of Egypt I have raised my son” – and claim that it instead was a fulfilled prophecy concerning Yeshua. The author had to take him to Egypt, in order to bring him out – ask the Ark-man how fiction writing works – it gets a little convoluted when you’re trying to construct a story to fulfill a prophecy.

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  2. Regarding Nate’s spreadsheet – for any of you greybeards out there – Ark – who have to put the specs on to see small print, if you’ll double-click on the spreadsheet, it will take you to it’s own page, and your cursor will develop a plus sign that will allow you to enlarge it as big as you need.

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  7. I could understand if there were just ONE discrepancy in the Bible that Christians used harmonizations to explain away. But there are so many and some, as we have mentioned, are BIG discrepancies. It is mind blowing how Christians can fail to see all these discrepancies in their inerrant holy book and still believe it is error-free.

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  8. I’ve offered this before, Gary, but I’ll do it again, in case anyone missed it:
    Contradictionsinthebible.com

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  9. I am in an odd discussion now with some dude on Answering Religious Error’s facebook page about the sandals and staff discrepancy between Mark 6, Matt 10 and Luke 9. To me, it is clearly a contradiction, but he wont budge and then calls me dishonest, silly and other names because I maintain the passages actually say different things…

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  10. William, they don’t know how to respond. They can’t agree with you, and they feel like saying “I don’t know,” or “I disagree, but I see where you’re coming from” is just as bad. It’s a shame.

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  12. William,

    I have found that when conservatives Christians are asked to look at the many discrepancies in their holy book, instead of admitting there is a problem, they turn on you and make YOU the problem:

    “You just hate God, that is why you refuse to see the truth of the Bible. If you would only repent of your rebellious, sinful arrogance, God would open your eyes to the truths of his Holy Word.”

    or

    “You are an ignorant fool. If you would take the time to read actual scholarship and not just the blog posts of God-hating atheists, you would realize just how true the Bible is and just how pathetically ignorant you really are. Here. This is a list of books by Christian scholars. Once you’ve read this (long) list of books by Christian scholars, come back and talk to me (but if you still don’t see the Truth, go read them all again. You’re obviously just too stupid to comprehend anything complicated like hermeneutics, eschatology, and philosophy so I don’t need to waste my time with you.).”

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  13. Has anyone ever wondered why when the wise men went to the Herod, that Herod did not send some troops with them ‘as protection’ so he could know where this threat to his crown was located? Or why the Chief Priests and Scribes seemed to have no interest in investigating this announcement of the birth of the Messiah?

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  14. William, I has the argument of context been thrown at you?

    Given how some folk with a smattering of scientific knowledge can persuade themselves that the world is only 6,000 years old and a that a global flood occurred despite the overwhelming contrary evidence, then we see that it is possible to let belief overcome all their reasoning ability.

    Perhaps you should ask them to provide an example of what would be the type of matter they would accept to be a clear error or contradiction.

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  15. I don’t see a contradiction at all. In fact, it is puzzling to me how hard an effort was made to imagine a contradiction in these accounts at all. I knew you were not looking at the accounts correctly or talking about the exact same moment and place, and then you listed the scriptures and proved me correct while posing that you had actually found Jesus being silent at the same moment he was “chattering.” You guys should be ashamed.

    Look again: 33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” This is private, away from the Jewish accusers. Verse 38 after the so-called “chattering” of Jesus in private with Pilate, Pilate goes back out to the Jewish accusers and tells them he found no fault in this man. Where was Jesus when talking? In private talk with Pilate. Where was Jesus when He kept silent? 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Pilate is not the one accusing Him. The Jewish leaders were the accusers. Jesus kept silent before them. When Pilate called Jesus into private talk, there was conversation. So, what is the contradiction? It is simply in the imagination of these Bible accusers just as Jesus being worthy of rejection and death was only in the hardened heart of his false accusers. Bible accusers and Jesus’ accusers look just alike here. Isn’t that interesting? Maybe, this crowd here is comparable in some interesting ways. May the chemicals work in your favor!

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  18. Terry,

    Take a look at the pronoun in this passage from Matthew:

    But he gave HIM no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
    — Matt 27:11-14

    In this passage Jesus is refusing to answer Pilate, not the Jews.

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  19. Only in John do we see Pilate walking in and out of his headquarters, giving the impression that at first he is talking to Jesus in private on the inside and then takes Jesus outside in front of the Jews, and then back inside. If you read the Synoptics, the reading of all three is as if all the questioning is done in the presence of the accusing Jews. No shuttling between the two parties.

    Is it possible that you are reading John into the Synoptics, Terry?

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  21. And Terry, consider this:

    If Pilate and Jesus were having a private conversation, how would the author of the Gospel of John know what was said? If you say, “the Holy Spirit told the author”, then why didn’t the Holy Spirit give the same information to the authors of Matthew, Mark, and Luke who fail to mention these critical statements by Jesus??

    Isn’t it obvious: The author of John, the last Gospel to be written, was not an eyewitness. He embellished the original story as told in the Synoptics with alleged quotes of the Christ that assisted his theology, but were never said by Jesus.

    I believe that this fabricated embellishment to Jesus trial before Pilate is proof that the author of the Gospel of John is NOT a reliable source for anything that Jesus said.

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  22. Terry,

    Thanks for the reply. I think Gary’s point to you about Matthew saying Jesus gave “HIM” no answer is pretty important and still causes your position problems. But for what it’s worth, I think your explanation does a decent job of at least explaining how the gospels could fit with Isaiah 53.

    I’d be curious to see what you think about Gary’s point, though.

    Also, did you happen to see the other contradictions we’ve been discussing? Specifically, we’ve mentioned the discrepancy concerning 430 years found in Galatians and Exodus. We also spent time talking about Jesus’s reference to Abiathar when it should have been Ahimelech, the contradictory genealogies given by Luke and Matthew, and also contradictions in Luke’s and Matthew’s birth narratives.

    I know that’s several to throw at you at once, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re at least passingly familiar with them. Any thoughts?

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  23. Gary, how could John know the private conversation between Jesus and Pilate? Well, you mentioned one of the ways. Read John 16:13. The other way was for Jesus to have told him all about it after His resurrection. Did you forget that part when you asked. Also, that Pilate asked a question in front of the Jewish accusers and Jesus stays silent is no big mystery. That Jesus goes into private with Pilate and talks is no big mystery. Is this a real problem? Only if, like Jesus’ accusers, you are seeking just anything you might can use. May the chemicals work in your favor.

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  25. that Pilate asked a question in front of the Jewish accusers and Jesus stays silent is no big mystery. That Jesus goes into private with Pilate and talks is no big mystery.

    But Terry, consider the following:

    And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
    — Mark 15:4-5

    If Jesus is only silent in front of the Jews, but then answers all of Pilate’s questions in private, as John claims, then what is Pilate amazed about?

    Also, as I mentioned earlier, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the other issues that have been brought up — I think they’re a little more striking than this particular example.

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