Oh, ye of excessive faith

I'm sure most of us have heard theists state how their favorite book of fables proves or disproves this or that scientific theory, and every time I hear it, I can't help but wonder what makes them think people who lived thousands of years ago knew more about science than we do today. I mean, let's be reasonable, science as we know it didn't even exist. And, yet, they persist. When I point out that the bible claims pi to have a value of 3⁽¹⁾, that hares chew their cud⁽²⁾, and that bats are birds⁽³⁾, they try to tell me that I am simply taking those quotes out of context or, more astonishingly, that those statements are in fact correct.

To those who would argue that I am taking these quotes out of context, I ask the following questions:
In what geometric context could the circumference of a circle be viewed as being exactly 3x the diameter?
In what physiological context could a hare be viewed as chewing it's cud?
In what taxonomic context could a bat be viewed as a bird?

These are simple questions and, while I'll ackowledge that simple questions do not necessarily have simple answers, I'll give you a short-cut and say that responses which include baseless accusations of persecution and/or disrespect towards your beliefs are unacceptable. They are not valid responses; they are cop-outs.

To those who would argue that these biblical quotes are true and accurate descriptions of reality, I have no questions. The depth of your ignorance is truly stunning, and you deserve neither respect nor consideration. Read some textbooks and then we'll talk.

Occasionally, someone will respond to these points by claiming past translation errors. Well, if that's the case, why aren't you reading the rest of the book with an equally critical eye? Wouldn't that be the reasonable and prudent course of action? But, no. Contradictions are brushed aside by apologetics, or simply ignored, and the rest is taken at face value.

In fact, many people are so wrapped up in their chosen path of belief, that the suspension of belief is inconceivable. They simply do not currently possess the ability to recognize the error of their ways. They would rather ignore the evidence of observation and, in a desperate attempt to cling to some few valid concepts of morality and hope for paradise, live in a fantasy world of imaginary friends and comrades, all the while refusing to accept even the most basic examples of truth. You have my pity, but you will never have my respect.

Too many of you cite Moses, John, Matthew, Peter, Paul, Jesus, Yahweh, and others as the ultimate sources of truth and knowledge while ignoring the fact that their very existence cannot be confirmed, that their lessons were, at best, dubious, and believing that an appeal to an unqualified authority is valid. Too many of you are willing to believe that their alledged teachings must not be ignored for fear of a presumed punishment. Well, I have a few names of my own to mention: Archimedes, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Al- Khawarizmi, Newton, Faraday, B. Franklin, Tesla, Pavlov, Einstein, R. Franklin, Watson, Crick, Clarke, Asimov, Hawking, etc. Do any of these names sound familiar? They should. Look them up. Research what they accomplished. You'll be amazed. I don't believe the lessons taught by any of them because I don't have to believe. No one does. The facts of reality discovered by these people can be reproduced and verified. Which is to say, we know they were correct. We can confirm this fact. That is the difference between you and I. You rely on unqualified authority, while I rely on reproducible results.

What makes you think you know more than the bronze-age mystics? What difference does it make? You've been shown the path to knowledge by every free thinker since then. So, start thinking for yourselves. Conduct experiments. Confirm past realizations. Stop believing. Start knowing.

Unqualified authorities will deceive you.



⁽¹⁾ 1 Kings 7:23 "He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it."

⁽²⁾ Leviticus 11:5 "The coney (hare), though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you."

⁽³⁾ Leviticus 11:13-19 "These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat."