Why I No Longer Believe in the God of the Bible

After 20+ years of pastoring, studying, and being a part of the church (wonderful churches in fact)…

Here are my reasons for no longer believing in the God of the bible.

1. Lack of fulfilled prophecies.  
In Isa 41:21, God challenges idols (gods that are not) with this statement, “Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods” In other words, a god (a real god) can prove that he/she is a God by stating what is going to happen before it happens. That makes sense. I hung my Christian hat on this nail for decades. But here is my problem… There is not a single concrete example in the Bible of God being “outside of time.” I can not point to even one undeniably fulfilled prophecy.

None of the New Testament prophecies have taken place (e.g. Matthew 24) and it’s been 2000 years (come on already). And every supposed fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy can be explained as either:
            A. The “prophecy” was written after the fact (e.g. Daniel 11) or

B. It was snatched from its original context and misapplied (either ignorantly or with intentional deception) by New Testament writers (e.g. Matt 2:15).

Jesus is recorded as having said, “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” Well, that’s the problem. He didn’t. So I don’t.

                                   

2. Christianity is a product of Theological Evolution
Christianity is, for those who care to see and admit, nothing more than the religious views of the Jews, Greeks and Persians shacking-up and having a baby. Many of the central doctrines of Christianity (satan, demons, resurrection, hell, and good ultimately triumphing over evil) came from sources outside Judaism. The Immortality of the soul, the final judgment, and rewards/punishments after death, were not recognized by the Jews until late in their history and AFTER their exile. In other words, Christianity is the product of a theological evolution of sorts. I invite my readers to do some research on Zoroastrianism’s effect on Judaism (and therefore Christianity) - this was big piece of the puzzle for me.

3. The Bible is full of contradictions
I used to HATE it when people would say that. It is an accusation frequently leveled against the Bible by people who have an axe to grind and (usually) only cursory knowledge of the scriptures. Often times the things that are pointed out as “contradictions” are, upon closer inspection, not. However, that being said, there are in fact many contradictions in the bible - and their existence deliver a deathblow to the idea of inerrancy (God’s ability to deliver a reliable message).
 And I would submit that - any god who cannot deliver a reliable message is no god at all.

Below are just a small few of the many contradictions contained in the Bible. None of them, on their own, is a smoking gun, but when you add up the many dozens…

1 Samuel 16:10-11 vs. 1 Chronicles 2:13-15
1 Sam clearly says that Jesse, the father of Israel's King David, had at least eight sons, of which David was the eighth. But 1 Chronicles 2:13-15 indicates that Jesse had only seven sons, and that David was the youngest.  Which is it?

Matthew 2:13-15 vs. Luke 2:22-40

This passage depicts Joseph and Mary as fleeing to Egypt with the baby Jesus immediately after the wise men from the east had brought gifts. But Luke 2:22-40 states that, after the birth of Jesus, his parents remained in Bethlehem for the time of Mary’s purification (which was 40 days, under the Mosaic law). Afterwards, they brought Jesus to Jerusalem "to present him to the Lord," and then returned to their home in Nazareth. 

SIDE NOTE: This section has ALWAYS smelled funny to me. These events seemed very unlikely and contrived. During my entire career, the flight to Egypt sounded like someone (Mathew) was TRYING to fulfill Hos 11:1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.”

Matthew 27:5 vs. Acts 1:18

Matthew states that Judas took the money he had received for betraying Jesus, threw it down in the temple, and "went and hanged himself." However, Acts 1:18 claims Judas used the money to purchase a field and "falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."

SIDE NOTE: I know there is a way, through mental gymnastics and wishful thinking, to force these two passages to “reconcile.” I have heard that done by others. I have done so myself. But trying to get these verses to not be at odds with one another is yet another example of the illogical lengths a person (my former self included) will go to believe what they so desperately WANT to believe.

Matthew 27:46 vs. Luke 23:46 vs. John 19:30

Regarding the last words of Jesus while on the cross, Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 quote Jesus as crying with a loud voice, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Luke 23:46 gives his final words as, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." John 19:30 alleges the last words were, "It is finished." Which is it?

SIDE NOTE: If the New Testament cannot even agree on something as simple and important as Jesus’ final words… how can it be trusted?

4. The God of the Bible is bit of a monster.
I know that sounds harsh and inflammatory but what else to you call a genocidal, infanticidal, slave owner?

Exodus 21:20-21: “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.

           According to God, it’s ok to beat your slave if he/she recovers within a couple days!!!

1 Samuel 15:3: Here the prophet Samuel gives King Saul this commandment from the Lord, "Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."

Understand, God (therefore Jesus), ordered the murder of babies! I know that is not news to most of you - but think about that. Think about how much we “clean up” God in ignoring stuff like that?  It’s not like when the US drops a bomb to kill bad guys and inadvertently kills innocent women, children and babies. That is unintentional and very regrettable collateral damage. But THIS is during a time of hand-to-hand combat. Think about it… A “holy God of love” ordered his followers to murder babies.

Hosea 13:16: This verse describes a punishment from the Lord: "Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up."

Numbers chapter 31: Here the Lord approves of these instructions that Moses gave to the Israelite soldiers about how to treat certain women and children captured in war: "Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."

Isaiah 13:9,15-18: This contains this message from God, "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger. . . . Every one that is found shall be thrust through. . . . Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes . . . and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them. . . . They shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not spare children."

SIDE NOTE: These passages are a good example of how the Judeo-Christian religion has evolved. These passages depict an ancient time’s, and an ancient god’s, horrific, ignorant, and primitive beliefs about women and children. We mostly ignore these passages today; scratching our heads, wishing they weren’t there, and mumbling phrases like, “God is mysterious and sovereign.” But they are there. And they are damning.

5.  Lack of the Supernatural

During my 20 years as a believer I saw no evidence of a supernatural world (nothing that couldn’t be chalked up to coincidence). No angels, no demons, no unexplainable healings or words of knowledge or people speaking in foreign languages without knowing them. Not one. Wish I had.

The church should be a place of amazing wonders and miracles. It is not. The church and the world are exactly what you would think they would be if there is no God.

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So, that's it. Well, not really. I could write much, much more (and many have). But what I have written is enough to give a cursory answer to those who have wondered, "Why did you stop believing"

To those who want to argue…

I have neither the time nor the interest to engage in endless debates. I’ve spent decades of my life discussing/debating/studying the scriptures - I really don’t want to spend any more. But I did want to answer the dozens of requests that I have received to share the reasons behind my loss of faith in the scriptures.

To those who want to ignore….

Some have said that I no longer believe because I never actually/truly believed in the first place. Others have said that I gave up my faith (walked away) because I wanted to live a life of sin. That’s fine. Believe what you want about me if it makes you feel better (you can get the real story here: What the Hell/Heaven Happened to You?).

It seems that concluding the problem was “Jim” (he believed the wrong things, in the wrong way, or with wrong motives) and not with God or the Bible makes folks feel safe about their own faith. And yes, it is convenient and easy to discount my reasoning and experience by discounting me personally. But here is the truth: I stopped believing in the God of the Bible because there is no evidence to do so.

Why Do You Believe?

Dear Christians,

I don’t mean this this to be insulting or incendiary. I am merely trying to start a conversation, and perhaps even learn something new. Really. But it was been my experience during my career as a pastor (20+ years) that very few Christians know their Bible - because very few actually read it. I can’t tell you how many times a church-attender has confessed to me how difficult it is for them to be consistent in the reading of God’s word (“It’s hard to understand” or “It’s boring” or…). In fact, I have heard it said (and also found it to be true) that, “If you want to make a Christina feel guilty? Ask them how much they pray and how often they read their Bible.” Resonate with anyone out there? Again, this is not an indictment, just an observation.

Ok now, that being said (and stick with me here, and try not to get mad at me simply for asking an important and honest question), for those of you who consider yourselves Bible-believers…
Why?  Why do you believe that the Bible is the word of God?

Someone once said, “That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

So for you, what is the evidence (proof?) that gives you certainty that God (by inspiring holy men through his holy spirit) has indeed delivered a written message to mankind?

I’m honestly and sincerely asking.

Go.