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You can't be an atheist if you haven't read the bible

Someone said on an other site "You can't be an atheist if you haven't read the bible". How can you disagree with something you know nothing about?

Seems like a good question to discuss. I've never read the bible. I know stories from the bible. I've read about the bible. People have been preaching to me since I was a kid. But, I spent my youth playing, studying and being surrounded by a loving family. I'll take those experiences over the bible study and church going any day. I'm still an atheist.

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Permalink Reply by Ally on February 22, 2010 at 3:53pm

Nonsense! Of course I can!

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Permalink Reply by Faerie on February 23, 2010 at 2:25am

I've never read anything from the Bible, however I did read a bit of a children's version when I was eight or nine.

I don't bother with anything I have zero interest in unless I need to study it, and I have no reason to study Bible at the present point.

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Permalink Reply by Waylon Hedegaard on February 23, 2010 at 7:59am

It isn't that you can't be an atheist without reading the Bible. It just that you can be a better one if you do. Understanding of where we have come from as a person and a civilization will give us an edge on where we should go. We, as atheists, are the leading edge of humanity. We are the people who will drag the world forward, if it will be drug at all.
Let's use whatever tools we can find. The Bible offers some great and funny lessons on why we shouldn't believe. But also offers us weapons to fight the extreme groups of people who do. Let's not leave them on the ground

Blessed Atheist Bible Study @ http://blessedatheist.com/

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Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on February 23, 2010 at 9:24am

You can't argue that "atheism" is the default position if you also argue that reading a book is necessary.

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Permalink Reply by Agatka Radwańska on February 23, 2010 at 9:31am

Rubbish. If you know Bible and stay Christian- you are deluded and you are immoral. I'd agree with that.
But you don't have to know each and every religion and each and every god through and through to reject the concept. There's about 10000 gods that humans believe in right now. And I'm atheist regarding every single one not knowing anything about the vast majority. The whole concept simply doesn't make sense. The world is exactly as it would be if no deity existed. This makes sense.

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Permalink Reply by Waylon Hedegaard on February 23, 2010 at 11:44am

I agree, but most of these do not pose the same threat that the Yahweh of young earth creationism fame does. There is only one God in America who seems to be solidly in the way of scientific progress and education, for now anyway. Whatever honorable weapon we can use should be picked up. Using their own sacred texts against them is as honorable and effective of a weapon as we have.

Blessed Atheist Bible Study @ http://blessedatheist.com/

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Permalink Reply by Agatka Radwańska on April 11, 2010 at 11:43am

Fully agree, I use this weapon a lot!!!
I was agnostic most of my life (had a brief fling with Catholicism as a child- but I can be forgiven for that since I grew up in Poland- it ended with first communion when that magic of experiencing Jesus in my heart did not happen) and at the age of 21, going through a really, really hard time was helped financially by some church folks here in London. I attended their church for a while and they gave me a bible. I pretended to be into their beliefs and read the stuff hoping I will find god shall it exist. Bible was a total eye-opener. Now I challenge my friends' beliefs with their holy book. Slavery, rape, genocide and all the ridiculous inconsistencies.
I'd like to read Koran now to and use it in the same manner.

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Permalink Reply by Rayray on April 11, 2010 at 1:16pm

The Koran is the first five books of the Old Testament. You may already be good. :)

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Permalink Reply by Bradley on February 23, 2010 at 12:30pm

Me personally, i dont believe in the bible evreyone believes in these books but why because there around so long they were obviously written by someone you honest to god (no pun intended) best bet is to look at evreything both in science religion and your own personal experiances and draw your own opinions from them to give you a better understanding of life on a whole. You need to think for yourself you shouldnt believe what someone writes down just because its on paper. I know alot of people who strongly believe in the bibble and church will disagree with my opinions but the one thing evreyone shold start learning to do is to understand the truth even if they dont beleive in it or agree with it

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Permalink Reply by Dre Smith on February 23, 2010 at 2:33pm

Seriously, IF YOU'VE ACTUALLY EVER READ THE BIBLE YOU WOULDNT BE A CHRISTIAN!!! That is my response.

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Permalink Reply by Bradley on February 23, 2010 at 2:46pm

Yea i have to agree if you actually break down the bible the way it should be broken down god isnt really that much of a saint and in fact if the world was run how its portrayed in the bible most christians would shit themselves, for lack of a better phrase

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Permalink Reply by joseph f logston on February 23, 2010 at 2:52pm

the bible is just old fictional stories thats written by man, that scares people, people get stuck on the afterlife and hell,
it haves 2 characters G?D & DEVIL supernatral fictions, this is old crap and it was terribly written. but they are rewriting the bible to fix it. to change it there way. then you got to read it again. its all horse shit. i read the bible, it dose not make no sence.