Christian No More: A Former Devout Christian Dismantles Christianity by Jeffrey Mark

Author:Jeffrey Mark [Mark, Jeffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Reasonable Press
Published: 2008-08-12T05:00:00+00:00

These are two totally separate events that didn’t occur at the same time. For example, the events described in Genesis were not written down during the time they are supposed to have occurred. Rather, they were written down several centuries later. Further, the stories in the Bible consist of both mythological or supernatural events that were clearly influenced by earlier myths, along with actual historical events that have been verified archeologically.

I am not therefore, claiming that the Old Testament was written after the time that Christ supposedly walked the Earth. Archeology and other history has proven that the people of Israel really existed and that the books of the Old Testament most likely did exist prior to the time of Jesus.

What I am disputing, however, is the claim that the ancient supernatural stories of the Bible are original. In fact, they are clearly based in earlier myths. Further, I’m disputing the notion that much of the Bible was written around the time that the stories supposedly took place.

It’s easy to lose sight of the time span covered in the Bible. For example, people claim Moses existed around 1200 BC. Archeology has demonstrated—nearly proven—that much of the texts about Moses were written around 600 BC. That’s a difference of 600 years. Think about our times today and what happened 600 years ago. That’s a huge time span. Six-hundred years ago Christopher Columbus was a child and hadn’t yet come to America. Six-hundred years ago, America was inhabited only by the indigenous people, and no settlers had yet arrived. And does anybody alive today remember that time? Of course not. And what do we know about from the time of Christopher Columbus? We know a great deal because of what was written about it at the time Columbus existed, and shortly thereafter.

Some people claim that many of the stories in the Old Testament were passed down orally, and somehow remained totally intact. Suppose some stories were passed down orally from the time of Christopher Columbus. Can we really believe that after all these years and generations the stories would be intact? Of course not. Here’s a good comparison: Consider today’s modern stories of George Washington, for example. Legend says that as a child, George Washington cut down a cherry tree. When confronted about it by his father, he admitted to doing it, saying he could not tell a lie. That story never actually happened. Historians know that for a fact. It’s made up. And it has been passed down orally, and there’s no way to know just how it originated. It may have been based in some early story, and it was likely embellished greatly over decades.

Oral tradition simply isn’t reliable. Of course, the Christians who talk about the oral history also like to say that God watched over it and made sure that the stories remained consistent until they were finally written down. And I’ve also heard claims that the ancient Hebrew people were incredibly careful and meticulous in their retellings, to make sure the stories didn’t get modified over generations.

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