Preface

Author’s Notes for the Reader

The Two Translations Used

As I set out to write a book that analyzes the Bible, I had to make a decision as to which translation to use. This is a choice that needs to be made carefully, since some factions of Christianity favor one translation while rejecting others as inferior, corrupted or unreliable. For example, some Fundamentalist Christians believe in using the King James Version (KJV) while more progressive Christians look upon that translation as outdated and prefer more recent editions.

One such modern translation of scripture is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). This version is not only easier for the reader to understand (it uses colloquial English instead of the Jacobean style found in the King James Version) but it also was created as a direct translation of some of the oldest source material the editors could find through painstaking research. As they explained:

“The King James Version has serious defects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the development of biblical studies and the discovery of many biblical manuscripts more ancient than those on which the King James Version was based made it apparent that these defects were so many as to call for a revision.” [1]

-NRSV, Introductory Essay, "To the Reader"

The new edition has upset some conservative Christians. Concerned Women for America, an outspoken radical right wing organization, has condemned the NRSV. An article they published on the topic had this to say:

“A new edition of the popular New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) commentary reinterprets key sections of the Bible to negate or water down orthodox Christian beliefs about homosexuality, Jesus Christ’s sovereignty, and the sanctity of life.” [2]

-Al Dobras, Concerned Women for America

To be thorough, I decided to use both translations. Neither camp of Christians should be afforded the comfort of claiming that I wasn’t familiar with their favored version of scripture.

Each time I found a verse in the KJV that was logically absurd, self-contradictory or morally bankrupt, I compared it to the same verse in the NRSV. If the newer edition corrected it, the verse was either omitted completely or the difference was noted.

After reviewing both the King James and New Oxford versions of the Bible, I have no doubt that the KJV would be an easier target for any skeptic who seeks to debunk the divine authority of the Bible. The NRSV offers a more progressive theological view and doesn’t refer to quite so many mythological creatures (such as unicorns) as the KJV. Nevertheless, the Bible, even when presented through the most kind and progressive edition, still contains many absurdities, contradictions and moral problems. These flaws are what we might expect from a collaborative work of human mythmakers who lived in a more primitive and ignorant society than our own. The editors and translators who helped produce the NRSV still get an “A+ for effort” but ultimately, as this book will demonstrate, they failed to transform the mythmaker’s lead into divine gold.[3]

Why I Fight

I dream of a day when all of humanity is set free from the shackles of faith, especially the more dangerous forms like Christianity and Islam.[4]

The reason is not, as some Christians might like to think, that I was hurt by hypocritical self-professed Christians or had some bad experience in church. I've never been a Christian. Neither is it the case that I'm “angry with God” (quite to the contrary) nor am I clinging to my heathen ways because of selfish motives.

I fight because I believe that these two religions are the greatest causes of misery, stagnation and bigotry in all of human history. I fight because of how much happier and more productive human civilization would be without them. I fight because if we don't bury our beliefs in Jesus, Mohamed and the Devil, they will bury us.
Sectarian atrocities are not, as Christian and Muslim apologists like to claim, unusual occurrences brought on by those who don't understand the “peaceful” nature of their religion. They are the inevitable consequences of believing that your religion serves a perfectly good god and that the only other power is a devil who seeks to destroy that religion. This worldview creates an inherently paranoid faith that will literally demonize all infidels and apostates. By process of elimination, if you don't serve the good god, you must be in league with the devil (or at least duped by him). All it takes is the right religious leader who's smart enough to split the right theological hairs and charismatic enough to rally others to his “righteous cause” to set off the powder keg once again.

However, if all you do is review the atrocities of these religions, you won’t get a complete picture of their cost to humanity over the ages. In addition to terror and bloodshed, these faiths also bring sociological and technological stagnation. It’s no accident that the period in Western civilization when Christianity ruled supreme is called “The Dark Ages”. Neither should it be any surprise that once this Christian stranglehold on the mind and imagination of humanity was finally broken, this period was called “The Age of Enlightenment”.

I don’t hate the Christians or the Muslims. They are the minds that I’m trying to save. It is the institutions, these viral memes, that are my enemy. Through rational discourse, I believe they can be brought down. As Soviet-style Communism peacefully collapsed one day when its adherents finally got tired of living under its yoke, I hope that these malevolent faiths will also go peacefully in the night.

As I studied Renaissance art in school, I heard that some of the great painters would allow their apprentices to finish a small corner of their works. If true, this is an example of the proper way to serve God. Life presents us with the opportunity to impact our own little corner of Creation for good or ill. If we can find a way to leave this world better off than when we found it, that accomplishment will be our lasting tribute the Creator, one which will resonate more profoundly than all the hymns, prayers and shouted amens combined. This is what motivates me. This is why I fight.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to the authors of different skeptic websites and information resources that I frequently visited as I came to a greater understanding of my own spiritual outlook. The insights they provided were invaluable, not just to me but to others as we all search for the truth. Among these web authors are:

• Steven Wells who wrote the Skeptics Annotated Bible (skepticsannotatedbible.com), which was of great help in pointing out many of the absurdities and contradictions of the Bible.
• The “Rev” Brendan Powell Smith and his ingenious work with Lego to tell the Bible’s story, including some of the passages most embarrassing to Christians. His website, thebricktestament.com was of great assistance to me in pointing out some of the more absurd and morally bankrupt passages of the Bible.
• Cliff Walker, the author of his “labor of love”, Positive Atheism (positiveatheism.org) for the exhaustive list of famous quotes, including those of our founding fathers. I also thank him for helping to expose the fraudulent founding father quotes, disingenuously spread by certain conservative Christians.
• Kenneth Humphreys, who authored both the “Jesus Never Existed” book and website (jesusneverexisted.com), for his tireless and exhaustive historical research into the Jesus myth.
• Brian Fleming for his documentary about the Jesus myth, “The God Who Wasn’t There” and his advice and assistance as I sought to publish this book.
• Reginald “The Infidel Guy” Finley for his informative radio program.

I’d also like to thank the following people who contributed to my own spiritual journey that ultimately led to this book:

• My mother and father, who raised me without indoctrination into any religion and taught me to have the courage to pursue the truth for myself.
• Thomas Paine who had the courage and conviction to write “The Age of Reason” and champion the cause of deism.
• Countless intelligent freethinkers I met and explored ideas with, whether in person or online. Any free exchange of ideas brings us closer to the truth. I’m grateful to each one of them, be they atheist, agnostic, pantheist, or whatever philosophical view, for their help in my own spiritual search.

I’m grateful to the talented Dana
Bistrow (now Dana Armstrong) who created the artwork for this book. She did such a great job, I married her.

Most of all, I thank God, Who, in a way, is the hero of this story. I make no claim to fully understand Its motivations but am profoundly grateful that It saw fit to create.

[1] New Oxford Annotated Bible, Third Edition, New Revised Standard Edition, Editor Michael D. Coogan, (New York, 2001), “To The Reader”, page xvii

[2] Al Dobras, “Oxford’s New Pro-Homosexuality Bible a Hit with ‘Gay-Activists’”, Concerned Women for America, September 11, 2002, Page 1.

[3] Or, as the saying goes in Kentucky, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”

[4] Author’s Note: My next book will be “God vs. the Koran”.