The last time I read the Bible I did so with the attitude of wanting to learn what it is really about. To the best of my ability I set aside any preconceptions and interpolations I carried, pro and con, and simply made note of what was between the covers. I slowly and methodically progressed, front to back, underlining and scribbling in the margins as I read.
One thing I discovered was that the huge tome was not about "the God," but rather about "a god." In my book, The Naked Bible, I point out that numerous Bible verses refer to other gods, and those verses provide one reason to conclude that the Bible god is not "the God" but "a god."
In my most recent re-reading of the Bible I discovered this additional reason for concluding that the Bible is about "a" god: How that god is described. Rather than simply declaring, "God said such-and-such," hundreds of Bible passages clarify which god said it. They variously describe the god as a god of a group of people or, much less frequently, a god of all people.
When reviewing my notes, I found five general ways the Bible god is described as being "of."
1. the god of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob/David
2. the god of (y)our father
3. the god of the Hebrews
4. the god of both Jew and gentile (god of all)
5. the god of Israel/Israelites
Here are a couple sample verses for each of the five ways.
1. God of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob/David
May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.(Genesis 31:53)
This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. (Isaiah 38:5)
2. God of (y)our fathers
I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.(Genesis 46:3)
The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers. (2 Chronicles 36:15)
3. God of the Hebrews
The God of the Hebrews has met with us. (Exodus 5:3)
This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go. (Exodus 10:3)
4. God of Jews & Gentiles
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile -- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him. (Romans 10:12)
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel. (Ephesians 3:6)
5. God of Israel/Israelites
They provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols. (1 Kings 16:26)
Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim. (Ezekiel 9:3)
To get an estimate of the proportion of verses dedicated to one category versus the others, I checked my notes, cognizant of the fact that I had caught but a mere fraction of the total for each, and tallied the following numbers:
Lord/God of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob/David -- 9
Lord/God of (y)our father -- 9
Lord/God of Hebrews -- 2
Lord/God of Jews & Gentiles -- 5
Lord/God of Israel/Israelites -- 51
It seems obvious to me that rather than being about "the God," the Bible is about "a god" -- the god of a people, the Israelites. Four of the five categories are basically about that god. Certainly, in parts the New Testament reflects a transition, as the band of radical Jews with their nascent religion wanted to bring the uncircumcised (Greeks and other gentiles) into their folds. Yet that inclusive language doesn't show up with any consistency until the last 10% of the Bible, in the book of Romans and beyond.
Some people argue that, sure, the Old Testament was about the god of a select group of people, of "the chosen." But when Jesus appeared on the scene he opened his arms to all. Yet many New Testament verses contradict that phony truism.
Luke 1:68, for one, reads, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.
His people. Not all. His. If the Bible deity is a god of a people, other people must/can have their own gods.
As people did then, we live in a polytheistic world. A god for each group of believers. At least if you bother to look more closely.
[recycled material - first appeared here]
It is high time for those opposing evolution to wave a white flag, adjust their worldview, and get on with their lives. The massive mountain of evidence supporting evolution is growing by the day. And the strength of that evidence is likewise increasing.
Consider this gem of recent research. The finding involves genetic mutations in bacteria that have been tracked. And guess what -- yes, "random" mutations can be beneficial.
Lenski, Hannah Professor of Microbial Ecology at MSU, started growing cultures of fast-reproducing, single-celled E. coli bacteria in 1988. If a genetic mutation gives a cell an advantage in competition for food, he reasoned, it should dominate the entire culture. While Darwin's theory of natural selection is supported by other studies, it has never before been studied for so many cycles and in such detail.
And the results? As told in, Time In A Bottle: Scientists Watch Evolution Unfold -
By the 20,000-generation midpoint, researchers discovered 45 mutations among surviving cells. Those mutations, according to Darwin's theory, should have conferred some advantage, and that's exactly what the researchers found.
Booyah! Yes, species evolve. And this has been observed. Numerous times.
It seems to me that evolution deniers look at the "crime scene," so to speak (if they bother to look at all) and say -
Yes, you have Evo's fingerprints on the scene, the weapon, bloody tracks leading out the door and back to Evo's home, and DNA evidence that is accurate to one part in billions, but you don't have a motive nor an eye-witness. Besides, the crime can be explained by the actions of a Suspect with a motive in a parallel universe. So I'm not convinced.
What we have in our population is not a hung jury, but a stadium-sized panel of judges (scientists) who have ruled in favor of evolution. As for the jury of citizens, they are hung only so far as some members are so hung up on their worldview that they exercise not reasonable but irrational doubt when viewing anything that challenges their favored worldview.
As a critical-thinking atheist, the following science article struck me as borderline ridiculous, riddled with assumptions:
Angry at God? If so, you're not alone, says CWRU psychologist
From scientist (and I use that term somewhat loosely here) Julie Exline we learn,
"Many people experience anger toward God," Exline explains. "Even people who deeply love and respect God can become angry. Just as people become upset or angry with others, including loved ones, they can also become angry with God."
First question: which god? Second question, are they angry at a real entity (if so, how was its realness empirically confirmed)? Or is this "God" an idea, a mental phenomenon? Also note the social aspect. This god is not just a creator, but one people have personal feelings about. Which I find quite telling.
More surprisingly, we learn that even atheists can be angry at this undefined god-thing! Which is a bit curious, for it is strikes me as analogous to being afraid of Sasquatch, despite the fact you don't believe in him.
According to Exline's findings, Protestants, African Americans, and older people tend to report less anger at God; people who do not believe in God may still harbor anger; and anger toward God is most distressing when it is frequent, intense, or chronic. (bold added)
So, what, we atheists "harbor anger toward God" because we lack a relationship with him? I wonder if Exline controlled for the possibility that atheists are irritated by the notion of "God," because it strikes them as ridiculous and/or a serious impediment to social progress.
Finally, we get this recommendation by the 'scientist':
Overcoming anger at God, she says, may require some of the same steps needed to resolve other anger issues.
Third assumption: anger at this god thing is bad; it needs to be overcome.
With science like this, who needs religion?
Just saw this cartoon from atheistcartoons.com.
Tsunami anyone? Earthquake? Hurricane, blizzard, drought? These are natural phenomena that show no favoritism.
Through good times and bad, religion persists. Why? Because a god's love is unfalsifiable. Either he loves and blesses you, or he is testing or punishing you. Heads I win, tails you lose.
[recycled material - first appeared here]
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Brandeis University research in the Journal of Religion this month shows that over the last four decades, medical studies of intercessory prayer—the prayer of strangers at a distance—actually say more about the scientists conducting the studies than about the power of prayer to heal.
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