Atheos Dialogue: Biblical Perfection

The Bible is literally true & without error.

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The Christian God has a Law & the penalty for breaking His Law is death. I don't want you to die & go to Hell.

Have you broken any of these so-called Laws?

I don't want to die either, but I accept that it will eventually happen. Can we discuss how you came to believe this?

Do you actually think Hell is a real, physical location?

If what you're saying is true, it would be a worthy message to spread. How do you know it's true?

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I just need to declare what He said. It's up to you to decide what path to choose.

I understand you want to convey this message, but can you please answer my question: How did you know this is true?

Rather than focus on me for now, can we examine how you decided this was true?

You seem to be saying that I have a choice in the matter. Does this have anything to do with free will?

Which God said this? Jesus? Zeus? Ba'al? Vishnu? Man has created a lot of Gods for people to follow, right?

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The gift of Jesus will give you ever-lasting life.

That sounds like a horrible plan—who really wants to live forever?!

Who gave that gift to Jesus to give to others in the first place?

That's interesting. Can you help me understand how you know this?

Why do you think this is true?

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It all starts with the Bible, which is the spoken Word of God.

What did people do before the Bible? How did they manage to live their lives?

How have you come to the conclusion that the Bible is true & accurate?

Are there other ways to learn about the Word of God besides the book called the Bible?

So, God just spoke & the Bible was poofed into existence?

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You don't understand. Jesus is the Son of God!

Athena is the daughter of Zeus. Just asserting something doesn't make it true.

Did God have any other children?

I would truly like to! How do you know it's actually true, dude?

I'd love to understand how you've come to believe this. Please elaborate.

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I have studied the Bible extensively & found that there are absolutely no contradictions.

That's impressive. Would discovering a contradiction in the Bible cause you to re-examine your belief that Jesus is the Son of God?

What do you mean by 'contradiction'. What would be an example of a contradiction?

Whether a book has contradictions or not has no bearing on the truth of its claims, does it?

Seriously? I can recite several contradictions from Genesis alone!

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No. Jesus says He is the Way, the Truth & the Life. You can only learn about this from the Bible.

Don't you think a responsible God would rely on more than just a book to convey His message?

Are you telling me that you really have just one data source for these extraordinary claims?

Hmm. Would you be able to help me understand why that's actually true?

Yes, I can see you believe that, but it doesn't tell me why that's true. Why should anyone think that's true?

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Well, a contradiction is when one thing is said here, but something different is said there & the discrepancy isn't explained in the Bible.

I've heard better definitions, but that will do for the purpose of our conversation.

Would you apply that same standard to other holy books, like the Qu'ran?

That's a good definition we can work with. How would finding a contradiction in the Bible affect your belief?

Thank you. That's a great definition. How many contradictions would it take to affect your God belief?

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If I discovered one contradiction in the Bible, I would have to seriously re-examine my beliefs.

How much time would you spend re-examining how you arrived at your belief? An hour? Five days? A year?

That's all it would take? Seems like your beliefs are on pretty shaky grounds to begin with, right?

Thanks. How would you identify a contradiction as such?

How would you go about 're-examining things'? I mean, how specifically would you go about it?

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Would you say a prayer with me right now?

Can we get back to the number of contradictions it would take to reflect on your belief?

I'd really like to understand how many contradictions you would accept before you changed your belief about the divinity of Jesus.

Sure, but let's make it quick.

Will any animals be harmed in this process?

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Hold on now. If there are no contradictions in the Bible, would you accept it & follow Jesus?

This isn't about me, it's about you.

A book that has no contradictions isn't necessarily true. 'Harry Potter' has no contradictions, I wouldn't accept that as true.

We could get into that, but I'm much more interested in your ideas & thoughts now. If that's still okay.

No.

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Give me a contradiction from the Bible.

Hmm. Let's see. In Genesis 1, man is made after the animals, but in Genesis 2, man is made before the animals.

I'm reluctant to do so because my example might not match what you're thinking. How would we both agree that something is a contradiction?

My example may not meet your definition. How could we agree that it's actually a contradiction?

Where to start! Should we talk Old Testament or New Testament?

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Um. (long pause). I'm not sure. I would probably re-read the Bible.

Would you consider reading other holy books as well, like the Qu'ran or the Vedas?

Hmm. It sounds like you'd go to the Bible to help you re-examine how you felt about the Bible. Do you see any potential issues there?

Does that really seem like a good course of action? To go back to the very book that caused you to hold the belief in the first place?

Hmm. In order to determine how to react to a contradiction in a holy book, should one turn to the same book?

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The Bible is the Word of God. I told you already, there are no contradictions & you have to choose Jesus or you'll go to hell.

Hmm. Really? I'd like to learn more about how the Bible became the Word of God.

It's clear you believe due to the lack of contradictions. But it's not clear how one should respond to even one biblical contradiction.

That's what you claim, but I bet we could find 20 people around us that would disagree.

Okay, your belief is based on a lack of contradictions. But I'm unclear how one should react if even one biblical contradiction was found.

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Contradictions in the Bible aren't really important to me.

Earlier the lack of contradictions were the reason you believed in Jesus & heaven & hell. Do you still believe?

Aha! I got you! You just said the completely opposite thing just a few minutes ago.

I don't think you're being honest with me. Contradictions in the Bible were important to you & now they aren't.

At the start, the lack of contradictions were why you believed. Do you still believe as strongly as before?

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Yes.

Me neither. But I doubt you'll find your answers in the Bible.

Of course you don't.

Then the lack of alleged contradictions were not the reason you believed. Why do you still believe?

I really appreciate your time.