Although SDR is dedicated to reporting on prejudice and discrimination against atheists, it also has a second purpose, to promote understanding about our reasoning to those who do believe. This is why I shy away from confrontation or criticism of believers as a whole. I will happily and brutally criticize those who attack, insult, and discriminate again us simply for daring to express our theological disagreements. Good atheists, just like any good people, will not demonize you personally simply for believing, and we expect the same. I understand, though, that these people are not all or even the majority of religious people.
This post is for you, the religious who although we disagree, do no demonize us. Hopefully, this post can be useful to show a small sliver of our reasoning when we reject religious dogma, and therefore help religious readers understand us a bit better. This is not meant to be a complete refutation of the bible, but simply an expression of why we reject the Bible’s authority with direct examples from it.
The Questions
P.Z. Myers brought to my intention an interesting and humorous quiz, “Do You Have Biblical Morals?“ Looking at the type of questions that are asked, I suggest that practically any modern American, religious or not, would score 0% on this quiz. It’s clearly not written from the pro-religious viewpoint. There is admittedly bias in the questions, but they are consistent with the evidence from the Bible itself. It shows parts of the Bible that it would be very difficult for anyone nowadays to accept. These questions show good examples that probably won’t in themselves make someone reject the religion they hold, but can show the religious some examples of why we reject the authority of the Bible.
For example, here are the first two questions (emphasis added):
1. Two strangers visit your home, and you are kind enough to provide them with accommodations for the night. They tell you they are angels appearing on behalf of the Lord. However, later in the evening, an angry mob turns up seeking to sodomize your guests. Do you: Protect your guests and call the police. Expel your guests and call the police.
Turn your preteen daughters over to the crowd to be raped.
2. Your elementary school child discovers that she can get your attention by using profanity. In a fit of rage, she directs a stream of profanity at you that would make a sailor blush. Do you: Send her to her room to cool down, take a deep breath and carefully assess the situation, and work out your differences when cooler heads prevail. Explain to her that profanity is never appropriate, and take away television for a week.
Put her to death.