How To Read The Bible As An Athiest
Why you shouldn’t take the Bible literally
“My point once again, is not that those ancient people told literal stories and we are now smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told them symbolically and we are now dumb enough to take them literally.” — John Dominic Crossan
I grew up in a strict Christian household. My dad is a Chaplin in the Army and my mother an evangelical preacher. We went to church every Sunday, listened to contemporary Christian music on the radio (and sometimes Christian rap), and even prayed over every meal.
From a young age, however, I didn’t believe in God. And once I made it to high school I broke the news to my parents.
“I just don’t believe in this crap, and I’m never going to believe,” I said. “The bible is full of historical inaccuracies, it can’t reconcile evolution, it’s homophobic, narrow-minded and bigoted.”
“God is dead, and no one cares.” — Trent Reznor playing on the famous quote from Nietzsche
My dad brushed all this off. He was in the same mindset around my age, he told me. It was implied that I’d have my own spiritual journey.
Yeah right.
