Atheism is more probable than Christianity

My opening arguments are going to be dealing with several issues. First, I am going to show why the Bible is NOT God’s Word; and secondly, I am going to show why God, as defined by traditional Theism, does not exist. Note that I make several uses of footnotes. Please read them as it may be important for future notes. I. Part 1: Why the Bible is Not God’s Word "The dogma of the infallibility of the Bible is no more self-evident than is that of the infallibility of the popes. " Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived. " Isaac Asimov (1919-1992) A. Contention 1: Biblical Contradictions. If the Bible were to be God’s word, then it should be free from contradictions. [1] However, we see that the Bible is full of contradictions. I will list two of my favourite contradictions for convenience sake. A-1. How long did Jesus’ Ministry Last? A-1-1. A few months Although it is the earliest gospel, Mark does not give an explicated time frame as to the length of Jesus’ ministry. However, Mark gives some clues as to how long Jesus’ ministry lasted. One of Mark’s most often used words is the Greek word eutheōs meaning “immediately. ”[2] By Chapter 11, we come to the last week of Jesus’ life. Because the action moves so quickly and we are told that many of his events happened “eutheōs”, we therefore get the impression that Jesus’ ministry lasted only a few months. A-1-2. Three Years Tradition reports that Jesus ministry lasted for three years. This does not come from any of the Synoptic Gospels;[3] but from the Gospel of John. John reports three different Passover celebrations indicating that at least 3 years must have passed between each of the Passovers used in the Gospel of John (Ehrman, 2009). Thus we have a contradiction: How long did Jesus’ public ministry last? A-2. Who was the High Priest when David Ate the Bread? A-2-1. Abiathar Mark 2:25-26, KJV 25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? There are two major problems with this: first, it was Ahimelech who was the high priest and secondly, it was perfectly lawful for David to eat the bread! [4] A-2-2. Ahimelech Here is what it says in 1 Samuel: 1 Samuel 21:1 21 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? In conclusion, Jesus was wrong. B. Historical Errors The Bible also contains numerous historical errors. B-1. Anachronisms An anachronism is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially in a juxtaposition of person(s), events, objects, or customs from different periods of time. For example, George Washington watching Television or listening to his iPod would be an anachronism. B-1-1. City of Dan The old name for the City of Dan was Laish and the account of its conquest and change of names is in the Book of Judges: Judges 18:27-29 27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein. 29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first. This occurred after the death of Samson. Yet Moses wrote about it years earlier? Genesis 14:14 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. II. A Case for Atheism "Theology is but the ignorance of natural causes reduced to a system. " --Baron d'Holbach, Common Sense (1772) A. Demographics of Theism 1. If the demographics of Theism are better explained by Atheism than Theism, then the demographics of Theism makes Atheism more plausible than Theism; 2. The demographics of Theism are better explained by Atheism than Theism; 3. Therefore, Atheism is more plausible than Theism. This argument begins by making the following observations[5]: 1. There are many more Muslims than Christians than in Saudi Arabia; 2. There are more Hindus in India than in any other part of the world; and 3. In the ancient world, every nation had its own distinct mythology. This pattern is very surprising on the Theistic part. Isn’t it bizarre why God would let such an important matter of faith be dependent upon the place and time of one’s birth? The fact is, atheism better explains these demographics. If God does not exist, then religions are but elaborate social constructions. Therefore, we would expect the demographics to vary based upon culture and time. In conclusion, Atheism is a whole lot more probable than Christianity. Thank you and good luck. [1] For purposes of this discussion, a contradiction is to be defined as two or more propositions which are logically incompatible with one another. For example, “X” cannot be both true and false at the same time. [2] In Greek, the word means straightway, immediately, forthwith (Strong). Examples of when this appears in the Book of Mark occurs at least 42 times (Ibid). [3] The synoptic gospels are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They are called that because they are “similar. ” [4] For the time being, I will not go into detail in this debate about the lawful part of the bread. However, I do go into depth on one of my essay (Neff, 2012) [5] Information from the following websites: . http://www.state.gov... . http://censusindia.gov.in... and . http://www.ancient-mythology.com... Bibliography Ehrman, B. D. (2009). Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them). New York: HarperOne. Neff, D. P. (2012, July 27). Internal Contradictions in the Bible. Retrieved from Why I am an Atheist: . http://whyiamanatheist.elementfx.com... Strong, J. (n. d. ). Strong's G2112 - eutheōs. Retrieved from Blue Letter Bible: . http://www.blueletterbible.org...