Reddit reviews Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)
We found 9 Reddit comments about Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
This is the best book I have read on the contradictions. Bart explains them in an easy to understand way. I HIGHLY recommend this book for getting around the contradictions.
Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TKD4XA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lH9UCbXXWZW6E
And if you want to get around the Bible a little better, Bart's books are amazing. I've read like three or four of them.
I was an evangelical for 27 years, from age 18 to 45. I wouldn't say that there's one profound argument against Christianity; I would say that Christians and atheists are not even talking the same language. And most of that has to do with Christians having their conclusions in mind when they investigate, whereas atheists are willing to be led wherever the evidence and reason lead them. The end result is that atheists and Christians have completely different mindsets about what constitutes evidence and what they are willing to consider.
The first book I would recommend is Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliot Friedman. Friedman is, himself, a Christian. The book deals with what scholars know about the construction of the first few books of the Bible.
Second book I would recommend is The Bible Unearthed by Neil Silberman and Israel Finkelstein. Have you ever wondered what the archaeological support is for the stories of the Old Testament? Dr. Finkelstein is one of the leading archaeologists in Israel today. This is an excellent place to start. (Here's a 90 minute video if you prefer.)
Third, pretty much any book by Bart Ehrman. Here's a good one, though -- Jesus, Interrupted. Dr. Ehrman is very respected in the scholarly community, and what he writes here, for the most part, represents where the majority of scholars are.
Fourth is A History of God by Karen Armstrong. Ms Armstrong tells the story of how the God the Jews, Christians, and Muslims got his start in Canaan. There is a quick summary of the book here.
u/SwordOfRighteousness touched on this already, but just to drive the point home...There are layers to what you do or do not believe. The top layer is JW doctrine. The second layer is the Bible. The third, foundation layer, is the belief in Jehovah God (or theism, at the very least). You can remove your belief in the top layer, the JW doctrines, and still have belief in the Bible and Jehovah. But if you remove your belief in the Bible itself then you can not retain belief in JW doctrine. So I would suggest starting there. Prove to yourself what the Bible is. How would you do this?
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To start, I can not recommend highly enough the free online Yale Bible course: Yale Bible Course
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This is a level of critical Bible study most witnesses are completely unaware even exists. It's not anti-Bible, setting out to disparage it. It simply deconstructs what we know, and what we don't know, about the origins of the Bible itself. Start with the OT course, it's fantastic. And then, read. Read like your life depends on it because, in a way, it does. At least, what kind of life you have depends on it. Books that really helped me:
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Who Wrote the Bible
The Bible Unearthed
Jesus, Interrupted
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These aren't some flat-earth type nut jobs spewing non-sense. They are well respected Biblical scholars who have devoted their lives to the Bible. Personally, they destroyed my second layer of belief, and made my views on the top layer almost irrelevant.
> attested by several independent sources
"corroboration without collaboration" is key.
Those are not independent sources, since we have evidence they were collaborating with each other. Ehrman explains that: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Interrupted-Revealing-Hidden-Contradictions-ebook/dp/B001TKD4XA
I find the books written by Bart D. Ehrman to be both informative and interesting. I have read three of them: Forged: Writing in the Name of God - Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
Misquoting Jesus
Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)
All three of them are solid reads.
Online Bible Links:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/
https://www.biblegateway.com/ (over 100 versions and 50 translations of the bible, including audio.)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (with Cross-References) [Kindle Edition] [free]
(edit:formatting to make it easier to read)
Actually, I think Jesus Interrupted and Misquoting Jesus By Bart D. Ehrman would give better insight to christianity/bible.
Peopel have already mentioned Friedman and Ehrman, but I have to give my enthusiastic plug. For any Mormon or Christian who wants to understand the origins of the Bible, I enthusiastically recommend two books: Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Elliot Friedman, and Jesus Interrupted by Bart Ehrman. Ehrman has several good books, but I think that one is an excellent starting point as a well-rounded introduction to New Testament history, origins, and issues.
These are both excellent books, well written and accessible, with top-notch scholarship, and they radically changed how I view both and Old and New Testaments.
Yeah man, deconversion is really hard. It takes years to get through the whole process. Or did for me. A couple years for the doubts to really take hold, a couple years of digging and second guessing everything I was finding, and a couple more years to feel comfortable with my new identity. It was probably three years of myself calling myself agnostic before I was willing to say, even just in my own head to describe myself to myself as atheist.
> How can I be sure the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit? [...] why are Christians so fervent on defending their Bible through "evidence"?
Check out some Bart Ehrman books. He's a former Christian and biblical scholar who breaks the Bible down in terms of historicity. I feel like it really helps you understand where the religion comes from and how the way Christians cherry pick small bits of it out of the full context all the time can really get you hooked on the feel good parts while ignoring how it doesn't add up as a whole. I can recommend this one in particular.
Glad your girlfriend has your back. I was going to mention one of the hardest parts of being atheist in the Midwest was dating. So, so many times it would be going fantastic for a few dates, and then religion comes up, and they instantly cut me off. "I could never date an atheist." And say the word with disgust behind it, it was unreal.
You also have the option of reading books written by actual bible scholars, like Bart Ehrman.
Try for example "Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are" (https://www.amazon.com/Forged-Writing-God-Why-Bibles-Authors-ebook/dp/B004IWR3JW) or "Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)" (https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Interrupted-Revealing-Hidden-Contradictions-ebook/dp/B001TKD4XA/). Both books discuss real and deep problems with the Bible that are quite difficult to dismiss.
And there is also "The Invention of God" by Thomas Römer (https://www.amazon.com/Invention-God-Thomas-R%C3%B6mer-ebook/dp/B01985ZGGA) which presents evidence on how the abrahamitic god evolved as an amalgamation of several gods from the arabian/middle eastern desert, all explained by using the Bible itself as a source. Beware, though, that this book is a much heavier read than the ones by Ehrman.