Unholy Writ:: An Infidel’S Critique of the BibleAuthorHouse, 2011 M11 7 - 824 pages During our brief and perilous journey ex irritum ad irritum, how are we to find, what the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (Sein und Zeit) would call, the true approach to being? How do we answer the question posed by the Apostle Thomas when he asked how can we know the way (Jn. 14:5)? In other words, how should we fill that parenthesis of infinitesimal brevity, which James Joyce (Ulysses) maintained, demarcates each of our lives? The Bible has often been put forth as a supposedly infallible guidebook charting the correct path to an authentic existence (e.g. 2 Tim. 3:16-17). According to its proponents, Scripture is an absolutely dependable life-manual because it is the word of God (Summa Theologica, First Part, Q. 1, Art. 10). However, close inspection of the Bible calls into question its divine authorship; and, thus, its reliability as an accurate roadmap for the soul. In fact, under close examination it proves to be nothing more than a mundane and cobbled together collection of archaic superstitions beginning with the outlandish speculations of Moses concerning the creation of the world and ending with the maniacal ravings of John regarding its destruction. Exposing the true nature of Holy Writ was the main purpose for writing Unholy Writ. The modus operandi for this expos involved a thoroughgoing critical analysis of Scripture. The results from such a careful consideration of its contents clearly demonstrated that any claim that the Bible is some sort of sacrosanct ethical vade mecum is completely invalid. Specifically, the multiple contradictions and absurdities contained in the Bible confer an unreliability upon it that undermines its function as a guide for anything, let alone as some sort of moral map for the journey through life. Furthermore, many of the ideas that are promoted in Holy Writ are actually spiritually harmful. In addition, unless the condoned misogyny, violence, intolerance, injustice, and cruelty can be removed, then it is difficult to view the Scriptures as anything like an unwavering celestial beacon that clearly lights the way through the moral fog that at times engulfs our lives. Moreover, the many errors that it contains, including those about the natural world, undermine the pivotal claim that the Bible is divinely inspired. |
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Page 5
... that blessed things I'd liefer not have be . O , doth a bird deprived of wings Go earth - bound , willfully ! Thomas Hardy ( 1840-1928 ) The Impercipient i. Dedication. ii. First Epigram. iii. Key to Abbreviations. iv. 5 First Epigram.
... that blessed things I'd liefer not have be . O , doth a bird deprived of wings Go earth - bound , willfully ! Thomas Hardy ( 1840-1928 ) The Impercipient i. Dedication. ii. First Epigram. iii. Key to Abbreviations. iv. 5 First Epigram.
Page 46
... earth.” It is usually assumed that the creator of the universe mentioned here is God the Father. However, in certain verses in the New Testament the ex nihilo creation of the universe is apparently attributed to God the Son. For example ...
... earth.” It is usually assumed that the creator of the universe mentioned here is God the Father. However, in certain verses in the New Testament the ex nihilo creation of the universe is apparently attributed to God the Son. For example ...
Page 47
... earth . " As a punishment for killing his younger brother , Abel , God declares that Cain will be " a fugitive and a vagabond . " Yet within just a few verses ( Gen. 4 : 16-17 ) , instead of being a homeless wanderer , Cain settles down ...
... earth . " As a punishment for killing his younger brother , Abel , God declares that Cain will be " a fugitive and a vagabond . " Yet within just a few verses ( Gen. 4 : 16-17 ) , instead of being a homeless wanderer , Cain settles down ...
Page 48
... earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive” [italics added]. Gen. 7:8-9 also ... earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.” It is claimed in this ...
... earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive” [italics added]. Gen. 7:8-9 also ... earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.” It is claimed in this ...
Page 54
... earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” In this verse God forbids making any artistic reproductions. Yet later He seems to have forgotten His own edict since He provides detailed instructions for their manufacture (Ex ...
... earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” In this verse God forbids making any artistic reproductions. Yet later He seems to have forgotten His own edict since He provides detailed instructions for their manufacture (Ex ...
Contents
12 | |
27 | |
45 | |
Melting Snails and Other Absurdities | 121 |
The Ravings of a Maniac | 158 |
False Prophets and False Prophecies | 170 |
Breaking the Commandments with Impunity | 187 |
Cruelty Mayhem Murder | 200 |
God Omnipotent Loses a Wrestling Match | 310 |
Deus Caritas Est a Contradictio in Adjecto | 319 |
God as the Source of Evil | 325 |
the Transmogrifying God | 344 |
Believe or Be Damned | 355 |
Dear Einstein God Plays with Loaded Dice | 362 |
Salvation Damnation and the Immortality of the Soul | 370 |
Salvation through the Passion | 441 |
the Bible as Gods Rap Sheet | 212 |
the Bitter Water Test | 227 |
Sexual Ethics or the House of him that hath his Shoe Loosed | 243 |
the Craving for a Community of Worship | 265 |
As a Drunken Man Staggereth in his Vomit | 274 |
Cloven Footed Cud Chewers and Road Kill | 282 |
Stoning the Ox | 294 |
Such Language Less than Edifying Biblical Imagery | 303 |
Theophagy and other Scripturally Based Rituals | 449 |
Creationism and Intelligent Design | 457 |
Beshrew the TwoBacked Monster | 495 |
Phinehas Javelin Throw | 520 |
Thoughts of an Unregenerate Apostate | 533 |
An Apologia for Religious Infidelity | 566 |
Postscript | 586 |
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