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_iam_that_iam_ t1_j2s57k4 wrote

The Bible has some lovely parts. Just some nice poetic and philosophical stuff. My favorites are Genesis, Isaiah, some of the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, the Gospels, and some of the non-Pauline epistles (Peter & John). Scattered throughout the rest of the Old Testament are many interesting and fun little stories (The Exodus, David & Goliath, Samson, Joseph, Daniel, Esther, etc.) but it is mixed in with a lot of boring and/or WTF stuff. For beginners I would recommend Genesis and the Gospels as the most accessible books. The Poets and Prophets are hard to grok without a study guide.

My last read-through of the Bible convinced me that there is no God. I know that's not the way it is supposed to go, but what can I do? Jesus does have some great teachings and we would all do well to consider both his personal example of rejecting the prevailing religious dogmas of the day, and his teachings to be merciful and generous even to our political enemies.

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jcddyer OP t1_j2tgy61 wrote

Thanks for this - Great reading recommendations.

Since you are so familiar with the Biblical texts and have such an interesting screen name (yhwh inspired?), I’m genuinely interested in what books or ideas most convinced you toward atheism. I ask in part because I personally struggle less with issues in the text itself and more in my own experiences. For example, I wonder why if there is a Holy Spirit that’s supposed to make me more like Jesus, why I’m still so often such a jerk.

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_iam_that_iam_ t1_j2tla7u wrote

Yes, my handle is definitely a biblical reference. For me I think reading the Bible cover-to-cover made me realize that it just doesn't add up. If God is unchanging, he wouldn't ever command people to commit genocide. He wouldn't command to kill non-Israelite children and then later condemn the killing of Israelite children.

When I allowed myself to take a step back from the Bible and analyze it the same way I would the discussion of Greek Gods in the Iliad, or Native American traditions, or whatever, it became obvious to me that they are all fables. Why try to bend the reality of world history, archaeology, evolution, etc. to try to match a fable? Noah's Ark? Come on.

FWIW, I don't think you're a jerk OP. ;)

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jcddyer OP t1_j2u4jln wrote

Thanks for sharing. Blessings to you.

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