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 37
... told the children of Israel that he received the two tables of the commandments from the hands of God , they were not obliged to believe him , because they had no other authority for it than his telling them so ; and I have no other 37.
... told the children of Israel that he received the two tables of the commandments from the hands of God , they were not obliged to believe him , because they had no other authority for it than his telling them so ; and I have no other 37.
Page 38
... told that a woman called the Virgin Mary , said , or gave out , that she was with child without any cohabitation with a man , and that her betrothed husband , Joseph , said that an angel told him so , I have a right to believe them or ...
... told that a woman called the Virgin Mary , said , or gave out , that she was with child without any cohabitation with a man , and that her betrothed husband , Joseph , said that an angel told him so , I have a right to believe them or ...
Page 47
... told that everyone descended from Adam and Eve . Would that universal progeny also include Melchisedec ? This would be doubtful since it is claimed in the New Testament that he was " without father or mother " ( Heb . 7 : 3 ) . Gen. 4 ...
... told that everyone descended from Adam and Eve . Would that universal progeny also include Melchisedec ? This would be doubtful since it is claimed in the New Testament that he was " without father or mother " ( Heb . 7 : 3 ) . Gen. 4 ...
Page 48
... told that Noah and his family entered the ark a week before the deluge; but in lines 11-13 we are told that they entered on the day that the flood began. No matter when the boarding took place, they apparently managed to leave one of ...
... told that Noah and his family entered the ark a week before the deluge; but in lines 11-13 we are told that they entered on the day that the flood began. No matter when the boarding took place, they apparently managed to leave one of ...
Page 49
... told to avoid in 1 Tim. 1:4 and Titus 3:9. Gen. 10:5, 20, 31: “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations . . . . These are the sons of Ham, after ...
... told to avoid in 1 Tim. 1:4 and Titus 3:9. Gen. 10:5, 20, 31: “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations . . . . These are the sons of Ham, after ...
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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