5 Atheist Urban Myths

Aren't these also things that Christians of some stripe either currently believe (1 - 4)

or at one time believed (5)?

I've never heard anyone refer to #3,

but you seem pretty sure, maybe you can tell me why atheists would think that.

Did someone wake up cranky today?

1. Everything in the Bible is a Divine command.

2. The Bible says the Earth is 6,000 years old.

3. The Bible doesn't say that Jesus is God.

4. Salvation, (and thus Heaven) is earned.

5. The Bible condones Slavery.

I don't believe anything in the bible is a divine command.

I know.

So far, we're not off to a great 

In your view, does anything in the bible qualify as a divine command?

So yes, there are Christians who believe all commands in the bible are divine commands.

THere aren't any atheists who think the bible is full of divine commands. 

there are definitely Christians that believe the earth is 6000 years old

Atheists don't believe this at all. Certain sects of Christianity do, though.

The bible was used in equal parts to both support and condemn the practice of owning slaves,

I get that this makes you really sad and uncomfortable inside,...

It would seem strange for them to own slaves if the bible, their inerrant moral code source, actually prohibited slave ownership, right?

No atheist believes 1 or 4,...

you seem to completely misunderstand the usage of the term 'urban myth,'

Who said there weren't? Stop boxing that strawman and address the topic of the thread.

Aren't these also things that Christians of some stripe either currently believe (1 - 4)

No. These are things atheists mistakenly think Christianity teaches

 But atheists keep asking why don't we stone homosexuals. They think even the societal laws in Leviticus are divine command.

So you, an atheist, believe that Christians believe this. OK. Lol!

The bible was used in equal parts to both support and condemn the practice of owning slaves,

So was your constitution.

How do you know this? Every theist on this site reading this almost chokes. It's so obviously wrong I need say nothing.

Are you saying there are literally zero Christians that believe you can earn salvation?

Where are the atheists asking why Christians don't stone homosexuals? 

And no atheists think anything in the bible is a divine command. Otherwise they wouldn't be atheists. 

Right, and when society figured out this was wrong, they changed the laws so no one could think you can own slaves anymore.

There are literally zero atheists who believe these things, and they aren't urban myths. 

Once again...another own goal for Ethan. Awww.

It would be sad if you weren't such an ass to everyone all the time, but...alas. 

atheists quoting a bible they have not read.

ATHEISM is "an absence of belief in the existence of deities."

That's the only characteristic that atheists hold in common. 

but none of the claims are inherently atheistic in nature.

ethang5 is essentially complaining that some people make false assumptions about his beliefs regarding the bible because they assume he shares all the beliefs of some other Bible believers.

Americans overall to know that the U.S. Constitution says “no religious test” shall be necessary to hold public office."

--> @oromagi

Reply

ATHEISM is "an absence of belief in the existence of deities."

That's the only characteristic that atheists hold in common. 

I beg to differ. They are cynical, rude, ignorant, militant, and disrespectful.

but none of the claims are inherently atheistic in nature.

I didn't say they were.

ethang5 is essentially complaining that some people make false assumptions about his beliefs regarding the bible because they assume he shares all the beliefs of some other Bible believers.

Not quite. ethang5 is essentially saying that some people make false assumptions about the bible regarding Christianity because they assume it  shares all their beliefs of some other Bible bashers.

I love it when atheists start quoting the "evil, immoral" bible to support their charge of immorality. Lol.

More big generalizations that are easily disproved.

You will disprove nothing if you use the posts by atheists on the religion board. Consider Ludo's first post in this very thread. He ends by calling me "cranky". That he sees the OP as cranky is a function of his bias, there is nothing cranky in the post.

Your little fantasy world where atheists are all intelligent, polite, and well read, is just that, a fantasy. A quick scan of the atheist's posts here will show they are rude, ill-informed, cynical, and militant. 

but none of the claims are inherently atheistic in nature.

You did quite explicitly when you titled your list : "5 Atheist Urban Myths." 

So the belief in YE is only held by Bible bashers?

I would naturally expect any debater arguing that the Bible promotes immorality to quote from that Bible.

...getting generally less moral the further back in time we go

It explains the rules for owning slaves, it says how to buy them and from whom, under what circumstances. I get that this makes you really sad and uncomfortable inside, so you react by putting your fingers in your ears and stomping your feet, I understand. The bible was used in equal parts to both support and condemn the practice of owning slaves, and the disagreement at the very very least indicates the book is unclear on the matter. But it definitely lays out the expectations of slaves that weren't Israelites. Worth pointing out, as well, that many, many, many CHristians owned slaves. It would seem strange for them to own slaves if the bible, their inerrant moral code source, actually prohibited slave ownership, right? Do you always try to do things directly against what god says to do? I doubt it. 

Hello Ludo.

The book is not unclear on the matter at all. This is what an atheist activist (with radio shows, etc.) might say. But they don't even do that. I've been hung up on by one because he didn't want to deal with a vital question. But, he has a fan club who he can't disappoint. At least you understand that there are verses that condemn slavery. The problem is you want to suggest the authors were confused, or trying to pull the wool over the reader's eyes.

Anyways, I can ask you. (You won't hang up on me will you?)


1. Would you agree that the ancient Hebrew language and history is difficult to understand?


2. Or are you an expert on ancient Hebrew language and history?

3. In one of the most often used suggestions by atheist activists that the bible supports slavery, Exodus 21:20-21, there's a statement made that if the slave who had been beaten by their master recovers after 1 or 2 days he will not be punished. Why do you think it says 1 or 2 days instead of a definite time period? This question really bothered the atheist I was referring to. Yes, atheist activists have a lot of 'splaining' to do.

To put a better perspective on the question, let's place you in the master's position. You beat your slave, he's under doctor's care, and you've been told that if the slave lives you won't be punished (as opposed to being put to death). Since you assume the law favors you, and the justice system is bent on setting you (as a proud Israelite) free, you ask them how long do you have? They simply tell you 1 or 2 days. So this means that (officially) either you have 24 hours or 48 hours to know if you can go free. Now, on something as important as your life, wouldn't you want to know which? As of now you don't know if you'll be executed if the slave dies after 26 hours or not.

If you answer in the positive on questions 1 and 2, you have a huge task ahead of you to prove it. And maybe's will not cut it if you still insist the bible condones slavery.

My challenge to you Ludo, is to try and not mirror what the high profile on-line atheists are saying. It's not working anymore.

I know many Christians who have never read the Bible but I've never met a American Atheist who hasn't.  I can't find a survey of Bible readers by belief system specifically but this anecdotal info seems to be backed up by decades of Pew polling that finds that Atheists and Agnostics score higher on religious knowledge generally and Biblical knowledge specifically than the average Christian.

"Atheists may not believe religious teachings, but they are quite informed about religion. In Pew Research Center’s 2019 religious knowledge survey, atheists were among the best-performing groups, answering an average of about 18 out of 32 fact-based questions correctly, while U.S. adults overall got an average of roughly 14 questions right. Atheists were at least as knowledgeable as Christians on Christianity-related questions – roughly eight-in-ten in both groups, for example, know that Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus – and they were also twice as likely as Americans overall to know that the U.S. Constitution says “no religious test” shall be necessary to hold public office."

The only atheists they can question would be vocal atheists that are often activists,...

And this is why atheist activists often resent Christian apologetics.

Can you got the proof that the earth isnt 6000 years old.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT

Do you think you are currently in the, ☆☆☆ TOP 1000 ☆☆☆ at scripture deciphering / translating.

These comparisons are horrible. They don't question an average atheist like they can an average Christian church goer. How can they?

Where do atheists meet?

They're not thinking of the countless atheists that are virtually unknown working in factories, junk yards, etc. The only atheists they can question would be vocal atheists that are often activists,

and many are former Bible students, ministers, etc.

The problem is that the atheist activist, who feels he's an expert on the Bible, cannot learn anymore because he's at a standstill due to a conclusion he's drawn. Whereas the Bible student will at any level will eventually pass the atheist activist in knowledge because they continue to learn. And this is why atheist activists often resent Christian apologetics.

1. Would you agree that the ancient Hebrew language and history is difficult to understand?

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2. Or are you an expert on ancient Hebrew language and history?

3. In one of the most often used suggestions by atheist activists that the bible supports slavery, Exodus 21:20-21, there's a statement made that if the slave who had been beaten by their master recovers after 1 or 2 days he will not be punished. Why do you think it says 1 or 2 days instead of a definite time period? This question really bothered the atheist I was referring to. Yes, atheist activists have a lot of 'splaining' to do.

To put a better perspective on the question, let's place you in the master's position. You beat your slave, he's under doctor's care, and you've been told that if the slave lives you won't be punished (as opposed to being put to death). Since you assume the law favors you, and the justice system is bent on setting you (as a proud Israelite) free, you ask them how long do you have? They simply tell you 1 or 2 days. So this means that (officially) either you have 24 hours or 48 hours to know if you can go free. Now, on something as important as your life, wouldn't you want to know which? As of now you don't know if you'll be executed if the slave dies after 26 hours or not. 

And maybe's will not cut it if you still insist the bible condones slavery.

And academics. And then they run with lop-sided comparison. The college professor atheist knows more than Joe blow the Christian.

But a quick look at history at all the great men and women who were Christian and scientist, doctors, leaders, engineers, and noble prize winners tells you it is just spin, swallowed whole by average IQ atheist desperately wanting it to be true.

That is why an atheist would park himself on a board dedicated to what he claims is imaginary, yelling to all and sundry, over and over, that there is no God.

They are as dedicated as Jehovah Witnesses!

Hi Rod! Glad you're well.

it's a telephone interview of 35,000 individuals.  They don't go out to churches.  Pew Research's religion poll is the gold standard in polling.  Pew is basically the old Sun Oil Co. billions placed in a trust for making the best non-partisan polling possible- nobody's in it for the money.  I'm not saying that makes their findings automatically accurate, I'm just saying you won't find a pollster trying harder to get it right.

It's not really the Pew Researchers I'm addressing. Research was also done probably independent of atheist organizations as well addressing nations with declining religion being more peaceful. At least one atheist organization (Pathos I believe) used their info to attempt to promote the idea that atheist nations are the most peaceful. There are no official atheist nations (atheist states). Not even China is an atheist state in the official sense. Who they were trying to associate as atheist nations were New Zealand, and the Scandinavian nations. Nations that traditionally were never directly involved in major world wars. They are not atheist nations. Having a decline in church attendance (which sometimes varies) does not constitute an
atheist nation. Even (supposedly) in the U.S. church attendance is declining.

What's interesting is that some articles include China as one of the nations with the least amount of religion. Pathos for some reason didn't include China as one of the alleged atheist nations. If anything, China would be far closer to being an official atheist nation than New Zealand, Sweden, etc.
But.....China is by no means a peaceful nation.

gay bars and grad schools.

Do atheists gather to these places to hold meetings?
 

This is consistent with my findings.  All the atheists I know started out fairly passionate about some religion.  On the other hand, I know plenty of Christians who could care less about the underlying philosophy, for whom Christianity is more about identity and belonging than philosophy.

I don't know why it would be more or less difficult to understand than any other ancient culture, and it would depend on who's trying to understand it, what exectly they're trying to understand about it, and in what context. If you'd like to be more specific, I can make a better answer. Is it required that anyone who reads the bible have some qualification in ancient Hebrew language and history? 

I have no idea. I just know that's what it says. If I had to make a guess, it's because their medical knowledge was so far behind what we know today that

they thought a death on day three might not be directly tied to the injuries related to their beating. Why do atheists have to explain why it does?

I'm not sure what you're arguing here. It seems a little like you're saying "because the time frame isn't exact, the master is being treated unfairly"? THat can't be right. Can you clarify why this paragraph is here?

So is this to say that you ARE an expert on ancient hebrew history and language and therefore your assertion that all the rules in the bible about slave purchases, treatment, terms of service, etc., is thereby correct? Those rules are there, aren't they? I'll ask you a version of a question I had in probably a different thread. Which one of the below is NOT in the bible?

A: Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

B: Thou shalt not own another human being as property.

C: You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.

D: However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you

My thought was that you have come to the conclusion that the Bible promotes (or condones) slavery....without question or need for further inquiry/study/research.

And on a side note, if the ancients were just half as stupid as you seem to think, I don't think we'd be here today. Or is it just the Israelites that were so ignorant?

You stated earlier (correct me if I'm wrong) that some parts of the bible condemn slavery whereas others promote it. 

Are you okay with voluntary servitude as practiced amongst the Israelites?

A: Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

B: Thou shalt not own another human being as property.

C: You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.

D: However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you

Exo 21:16 - And he that steals a man, and sells him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

1Ti 1:10 - For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, slave traders, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;