Read the Bible

From Here & Back Again

By Jim Coufal

In his June 9, 2013 column, the Rev. Billy Graham urged his readers, especially believers, to read the Bible, something that many studies have shown is not commonly done by most Christians. As an atheist I also urge believers and religious searchers to read the Bible, for reasons I’ll describe below.

Let me remind you that the First Amendment and freedom of speech means that some things said and/or written will be offensive to someone, someplace, at sometime. It’s the price we pay. If the only things we could write or say were those that were inoffensive to anyone there would be no need for freedom of speech and there would be very little need to write or speak. There is enough confirmation bias in the world already. Dissent and criticism are patriotic, including in the field of religion. They are the essence of what creates advances in any field. If you are likely to be offended by honest commentary on the bible, read on.

The first thing I ask of anyone reading the bible is to be aware of how many people are killed therein. I’ll save you the trouble of keeping count, since many tallies have been made. They all come up with about 2,270,000+ for those actually listed by number. When estimates are made for such uncounted events as Noah’s flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, and other such events the number goes to at least 25 million. With those numbers as given, do be very aware of the capricious, malicious and immoral reasons God uses for directing such killings. One example from 2 Kings 2:23-24: “And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.”

Saying nothing about the rape and incest, permission to hold slaves, the degradation of women, and others such things, the violence in the Bible would likely cause it to end up in the banned book list if looked at rationally.

Many Christians will say most of the killing occurred in the Old Testament, and that is true. Jesus also said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Mat. 10:34. Also, note that he said that he and the Father are one, so it’s logical to presume his hand is in the Old Testament.

The Ten Commandments, the Creation story and other such articles of faith held to be absolutely true and necessary to believe and follow also occur in the Old Testament.  And watch in your reading that Jesus says he has not come to destroy but fulfill the law of the prophets, and the law of the prophets is that of the Old Testament (Mat. 5:17). There is continued discussion of what “fulfilled” means, but notice that Jesus adds, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled’ (Mat. 5:18). If fulfillment means the second coming, no jot or tittle of the Old Testament can be put away until then. Read also Luke 16:17.

Turning to the commandments of the bible, there are of course The Ten Commandments, coming in at least two versions. But there are 613 other commandments in the so-called “Law of Moses” scattered throughout the bible. While sorcery and magic are forbidden in the bible, much is made of the fact that there are 365 negative commandments—the number of days in the year—, and 248 positive commandments—the number of bones in a human body. (And is it fair to ask how many bible readers also read their horoscope?)  In Judaism, only 77 positive and 194 negative commandments are to be followed today, but for Christians remember jots and tittles.

Think about how well the following commandments are lived by today.  Be careful with that haircut: “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.” (Lev. 19:27). Be careful of what you eat: Speaking of pigs, the bible says, “You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.” (Lev. 11:8.). No bacon!

Currently many people wear tattoos. Leviticus 19:28 reads, “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves”.  Twos seem bad. “I am the Lord. You are to keep my statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.”
(Lev. 19:18-19). Think of the many garments you wear of polyester and wool or cotton, etc. Think of the various breeds of cattle so common. Is this an argument against genetically modified foods?

Here is a very big one in today’s world, whose words are so oft repeated in ceremony. Mark 10:9 reads, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” The U.S. divorce rate is estimated at about 50%. A recent study by the Barna Group found that divorce is as common in evangelical groups as in the general population, and divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than that of atheists and agnostics.

Men, had an accident or disease? Certain kinds make you unwelcome: Deuteronomy 23:1 reads, a “man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off may never join the assembly of the Lord.” Ouch and double ouch! Concern with sex and sex parts goes way back. And if you have used them improperly, your offspring are to suffer for generations; Deuteronomy 23:2 reads, “No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord.” That’s a long time to carry a grudge.

One last example of specific commandments most people do not obey. If you like shellfish and certain other creatures of the sea you need to show restraint. Leviticus 11:10 reads, “But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you.” Red Lobster is out.

I’d say look for contradictions as you read the bible. While they are many and real they are not as easy to pick up on as how many people are killed. Look up how Judas died, and don’t stop with just one version. Ask whether we work from an original of the bible or from copies, and even copies of copies?

I suggest that reading the bible with an open mind causes one to ask such questions as whether the god portrayed is worthy of worship? As beautiful as much of it is, is it real? How original are many of the stories, like the creation story? Who actually wrote it? When? Why are there so many versions of the bible, and over 3,500 denominations of Christianity?

So why do I encourage people to read the bible? Because it is the surest way to create non-believers.

Jim Coufal of Cazenovia , NY is a part-time philosopher and full-time observer of global trends.