# Atheists: favorite Bible passages, and why. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 18, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722 "2008-05-18T05:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/41 "2008-05-19T18:52:10Z")
This is from Corinthians love chapter, it is not KJ, but from one of the newer translations. It is my favorite verse. > [@](#): > > “Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love doesn’t demand its own way. It’s not irritable or touchy. It doesn’t hold grudges and will not notice when others do it wrong. It’s never glad about injustice, but rejoices in truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends”. – Saint Paul. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/42 "2008-05-19T20:35:59Z")
From St. Paul: “If Christ be not risen, our faith is in vain!” ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/43 "2008-05-19T21:11:47Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] I think what you’re confused about is that I didn’t say that was what the writer _meant_ - just that he hit upon a real truth, like a blind squirrel finding a nut. I _did_ say “you _know_ he was all about the nihilism” but that’s commentary, not interpretation. [/QUOTE] Ah, OK. I thought you were saying it was some kind of crypto-nihilism for early Jews. I still don’t agree, but no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/44 "2008-05-19T21:35:17Z")
I’m an atheist, and yets I have three of them. Numbers 11:19-20 ‘And you will eat it not for one day, or two, or five, or ten, or twenty, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and sickens you.’ It just amuses me to imagine a big booming voice shouting this. Also, birds out of your nose. Eww. Genesis 6:1-2 When people began being numerous on earth, and daughters had been born to them, the sons of God, looking at the women, saw how beautiful they were, and married as many of them as they chose. In those days, and even afterward, giants lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with human women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes mentioned in legends of old. I dunno, it just sounds cool. Somehow Conan-esque. Also, when Elijah is talking to Ahab: “Have you murdered and also inherited?” It’s about the best smack-talking in the book and yet I can’t remember what section…I think Kings… ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/45 "2008-05-19T21:45:13Z")
My favorite is from The Book of Peter, I think… It’s the one when Jesus swallows the puzzle piece and The Man in the Big Yellow Hat has to drive him to the hospital… ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/46 "2008-05-19T21:55:46Z")
[QUOTE=Love Rhombus] I’m an atheist, and yets I have three of them. Also, when Elijah is talking to Ahab: “Have you murdered and also inherited?” It’s about the best smack-talking in the book and yet I can’t remember what section..I think Kings… [/QUOTE] 1 Kings 21:19. If you liked that, you’ll probably like [this](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=10&chapter=12&version=31) Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/47 "2008-05-19T22:40:36Z")
[QUOTE=zev\_steinhardt] 1 Kings 21:19. If you liked that, you’ll probably like [this](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=10&chapter=12&version=31) Zev Steinhardt [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” > Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, [a] the son born to you will die.” Justice tempered with mercy! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/48 "2008-05-19T22:48:14Z")
Judges 1:19 (I think it is) - \*And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. \* As long as I’m in my car, I need not fear the wrath of the (not very) Almighty God. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/49 "2008-05-19T22:58:20Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] Judges 1:19 (I think it is) - \*And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. \* As long as I’m in my car, I need not fear the wrath of the (not very) Almighty God. [/QUOTE] Or as long as you’re in a country that _has_ cars, either. (Which might explain a few things.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/50 "2008-05-20T03:17:39Z")
As – not simply an atheist, but an anti-Yahvist – a very important passage in the Bible to me is [Genesis 22, the Binding of Isaac.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_isaac) Because it reminds me of how right I am to hate the Lord God of Israel under whatever name he might be worshipped. Western civilization – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – has been on the wrong path ever since the day Father Abraham chose his god over his son. Yes, Isaac was spared, but that’s not the point of the story; the point is that Abraham was **willing** to do it because God demanded it. Marginal annotations in the King James version describe the story as, “God tests Abraham.” Yes, and he **failed** that test. He should have said, “If you would demand that of me, you are not God!” There may be a God in the universe who is worthy of honor and obedience and love, but the god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed is not that God. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/51 "2008-05-20T04:02:28Z")
Call me Legion, for we are many. - Mark 5:9 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth beast say, “come and see”. And I beheld a pale horse, and his rider’s name was Death and Hell followed with him. -Revelations 6:7-8 And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy My brother. And you will know My name is the LORD when I lay My vengeance upon you." - Ezekiel 25:17 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. - I don’t recall chapter and verse, but I think it’s the best thing about Christianity. FWIW, Rob ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/52 "2008-05-20T04:24:45Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] As – not simply an atheist, but an anti-Yahvist – a very important passage in the Bible to me is [Genesis 22, the Binding of Isaac.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_isaac) Because it reminds me of how right I am to hate the Lord God of Israel under whatever name he might be worshipped. Western civilization – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – has been on the wrong path ever since the day Father Abraham chose his god over his son. There may be a God in the universe who is worthy of honor and obedience and love, but the god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed is not that God. [/QUOTE] > [@VarlosZ](#): > > However, as a preface, for those who would be unable to refrain from mentioning how stupid/evil they find the Bible and/or Christianity to be, I’d like to formally invite them not to participate in that capacity. It’s just nicer if not every thread on religion has to be about that. And you were doing so well with your first couple of comments too! ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/53 "2008-05-20T04:39:58Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] As – not simply an atheist, but an anti-Yahvist – a very important passage in the Bible to me is [Genesis 22, the Binding of Isaac.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_isaac) Because it reminds me of how right I am to hate the Lord God of Israel under whatever name he might be worshipped. Western civilization – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – has been on the wrong path ever since the day Father Abraham chose his god over his son. Yes, Isaac was spared, but that’s not the point of the story; the point is that Abraham was **willing** to do it because God demanded it. Marginal annotations in the King James version describe the story as, “God tests Abraham.” Yes, and he **failed** that test. He should have said, “If you would demand that of me, you are not God!” There may be a God in the universe who is worthy of honor and obedience and love, but the god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed is not that God. [/QUOTE] I agree wholeheartedly. A god that would trick a man in such a fashion is not the god for me. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/54 "2008-05-20T05:24:05Z")
Of course Abraham failed the test. That’s why his descendents aren’t called “Abrahamites” - Instead, they’re named after his grandson Israel (AKA Jacob) who got the name by kicking an angel’s ass. Alternately, Abraham went along with it because _he_ was testing _God_. God passed. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/55 "2008-05-20T08:32:46Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] As – not simply an atheist, but an anti-Yahvist – a very important passage in the Bible to me is [Genesis 22, the Binding of Isaac.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_isaac) Because it reminds me of how right I am to hate the Lord God of Israel under whatever name he might be worshipped. Western civilization – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – has been on the wrong path ever since the day Father Abraham chose his god over his son. Yes, Isaac was spared, but that’s not the point of the story; the point is that Abraham was **willing** to do it because God demanded it. Marginal annotations in the King James version describe the story as, “God tests Abraham.” Yes, and he **failed** that test. He should have said, “If you would demand that of me, you are not God!” There may be a God in the universe who is worthy of honor and obedience and love, but the god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed is not that God. [/QUOTE] That reminds me of my favorite seafood dish: shrimp. It gives me the dry heaves and then makes my throat swell shut. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/56 "2008-05-20T23:06:04Z")
A number of my favs have already been mentioned, particularly **Matthew 6** – which formed part of a reading at my wedding (fun juggling my lack of faith with bride’s family’s firm Methodism – FIL is a minister). > [@](#): > > 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly 🙂 > [@Liberal](#): > > That reminds me of my favorite seafood dish: shrimp. It gives me the dry heaves and then makes my throat swell shut. Odd synchronicity and sequentiality as I was going to quote **Leviticus 11:10** > [@](#): > > And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you I like the humour of “[God hates shrimp](http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/)”; and it forms a nice counterpoint to the small few who would quote other parts of Leviticus in defence of their hateful intolerance. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/57 "2008-05-20T23:18:18Z")
My favorite Bible passage, which I sorely wish was taken more seriously by people who call themselves “Christian”: Matthew 5: 3-12 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/58 "2008-05-20T23:30:13Z")
Another favourite: > [@James 2:14-18 (Contemporary English)](#): > > My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food, you shouldn’t just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead! > > Suppose someone disagrees and says, “It is possible to have faith without doing kind deeds.” > > I would answer, “Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them.” PS: **VarlosZ** , apologies if my earlier post above violates your “unable to refrain from mentioning how stupid/evil they find the Bible and/or Christianity” restriction request – I don’t bear those feelings towards Christians in any general sense, just towards those that would mis-represent their own holy scripture for hateful ends. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/59 "2008-05-21T00:21:49Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] As – not simply an atheist, but an anti-Yahvist – a very important passage in the Bible to me is [Genesis 22, the Binding of Isaac.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_isaac) Because it reminds me of how right I am to hate the Lord God of Israel under whatever name he might be worshipped. Western civilization – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – has been on the wrong path ever since the day Father Abraham chose his god over his son. Yes, Isaac was spared, but that’s not the point of the story; the point is that Abraham was **willing** to do it because God demanded it. Marginal annotations in the King James version describe the story as, “God tests Abraham.” Yes, and he **failed** that test. He should have said, “If you would demand that of me, you are not God!” There may be a God in the universe who is worthy of honor and obedience and love, but the god of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed is not that God. [/QUOTE] I think you are perhaps slightly misinterpreting the story, though - or rather, missing the whole picture. You should remember the context: child-sacrifice was in fact quite widespread in the Ancient ME where Judaism developed. The point of the story was not simply “test” Abraham, but rather to demonstrate conclusively that in this religion, _child sacrifice, a very common religious ritual in the religious background from whence Judaism sprang, is not a part of the religion_. The Wiki cite references this interpretation: > [@](#): > > But according to Rabbi J. H. Hertz (Chief Rabbi of the British Empire), child sacrifice was actually “rife among the Semitic peoples,” and suggests that “in that age, it was astounding that Abraham’s God should have interposed to prevent the sacrifice, not that He should have asked for it.” Hertz interprets the Akedah as demonstrating to the Jews that human sacrifice is abhorrent. “Unlike the cruel heathen deities, it was the spiritual surrender alone that God required.” In Jeremiah 32:35, God states that the later Israelite practice of child sacrifice to the deity Molech “had [never] entered My mind that they should do this abomination.” And in the section “modern interpretations”: > [@](#): > > Some have argued that the narration should be read in the context of ancient Near Eastern culture. In the time and era in which Abraham lived, he was surrounded by cultures where the sacrifice of animals to gods was the normal way of showing devotion and loyalty. Abraham lived among some cultures that sacrificed human beings to their gods - sometimes even their own children. It was, one would suggest, a “just so” story - answering the question, “why _don’t_ we sacrifice kiddies like the neighbours?” The answer being “God used to demand that, but just as a test - he doesn’t _really_ want kiddie sacrifice”. It is difficult for us to appreciate nowadays, as it only makes sense in context of a culture in which child sacrifice was seen, not simply as horrific, but rather as powerful and prestigious. The _lack_ of child sacrifice (or indeed any form of human sacrifice) in a religion was what needed explaining. In short, you are seeing what was a big step _forward_ for humanity (the effective end of a horrific tradition with a very long history) as a step back. Civilization was “on the path” of _real_ child sacrifice before the time of the story of Abraham - it demonstrates the exact moment of turning _aside_ from that path. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722/60 "2008-05-21T01:06:54Z")
[QUOTE=Apollyon] PS: **VarlosZ** , apologies if my earlier post above violates your “unable to refrain from mentioning how stupid/evil they find the Bible and/or Christianity” restriction request – I don’t bear those feelings towards Christians in any general sense, just towards those that would mis-represent their own holy scripture for hateful ends. [/QUOTE] Nah, I don’t think anyone’s going to have a problem with that post (#56) around here – it’s a jab at people who are inconsistently literal and dogmatic in their reading of the Bible, apparently for the purpose of legitimizing their bigotry. That’s much different than saying, for example, “this passage is great because it reminds me of how stupid and evil the whole concept is.” The former isn’t going to offend anyone on the SDMB, but the latter is. (Incidentally, I saw post #50 coming **a mile** away. No fooling, I wasn’t sure which Bible passage would be cited, but I knew exactly the form the first wholesale condemnation of Western religion would take, and there was a short list of Dopers who were candidates to post it. I wish I’d PM’ed the prediction to someone beforehand; I’d look like a genius.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722.md?page=4)