HISTORICAL/TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE BIBLE
IS IT GOD'S WORD?

In his book, Is the Bible God's Word? Dr. William Scroggie of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, states:

Yes, the Bible is human, though some out of zeal, which is not according to knowledge, have rejected this. Those books have passed through the minds of men, are written in the language of men, were penned by the hands of men, and bear in their style, the characteristics of men. (Page 17)

The Bible comes in many versions. Some common ones are the King James Version, the Revised Standard Version, the New International Version, the American Standard, the Catholic (Douay) and the Good News Bible etc. If the Bible is indeed the word of God, then we need to ask, "which version is from God?" The different versions of the Bible are not merely different translations. They add and take out what other "versions" contain.

The most common among the Bibles in the world is the King James Version and its many major revisions. It was first published in 1611. It is the only Bible that has been translated in over fifteen hundred different languages of the world. The King James Version (KJV) has 66 books bound together within its covers. Compare this to the Roman Catholic Version (Douay) of the Bible which has 73 books bound within its covers. Seven whole books have been removed from the King James (a Protestant version of the Bible) that the Douay Version includes. Protestants have expunged these books from their Bible, calling them "Apocrypha" or "weak" in authority.

The Bible within its text never claims to be one uniform book. Nowhere within the text of the Bible is the Bible called "The Bible". The word Bible itself was invented to represent a collection of books. As we saw above, this collection of books was not the same among different groups. Compare this to the Koran; there is not a word of difference between two Koran's anywhere in the world. The Koran is the only thing common among Muslims of whatever nationality, sect or group. The Koran within its text names itself times as "The Koran". It also claims to be completely from God, as a whole (Koran 55:2 etc.).

There are about 24000 manuscripts of the New Testament in the Greek that are termed "original". However the fact is that these "originals" are themselves copies of documents that have now been lost. Also, no two of these 24000 "originals" are identical. They are not even self-consistent. To substantiate this claim, one need not be a scholar of the history of the Bible. Any modern version of the New Testament has footnotes that clearly state after most statements, "Other ancient manuscripts add…" or "Other ancient manuscripts delete…" or "Other ancient manuscripts insert…" Which manuscript out of these is from God and who did the additions and deletions?

The Koran in its history and transmission is very different to the Bible:

1. The Koran is present in a living language, Arabic. Over 250 million people speak the language of the Koran. Hundreds of millions more study the classical script of the book, making the Koran the "most read" book on earth (ironically the least understood).

2. The Koran has always been in the possession of the people, the masses and not only the elite, as there is no priesthood in Islam. The Bible on the other hand has always been the possession of the Church elite, where it got shaped, modified and passed on based on Church authority.

3. There is not a word of difference between two Arabic Koran's anywhere in the world. The Koran is the only unifying force among Muslims. Muslims frequently disagree on everything else except the Arabic wording of the Koran. However, in the case of the Bible, ancient manuscripts are not identical, no two "copies" of the so-called originals are the same. Footnotes in all new versions of the Bible clearly document the differences.

The Most Ancient Manuscripts:

The Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible first appeared in 1952. The editors claimed in the preface that it went to the "most ancient manuscripts" of the Bible. By "most ancient" they mean those that date 200 to 300 years after Jesus. "Ancient" manuscripts on the other hand, on which the King James Version was based, date 400 to 600 years after Jesus. All scholars agree that none of the originals of any of the manuscripts exist. All we have are "most ancient" and "ancient" copies.

The preface to the RSV says that it was produced by thirty two scholars of "the highest eminence", backed by "fifty cooperating denominations (of Christianity)." Historically, since the RSV goes back to the "most ancient" manuscripts it is more accurate than the KJV. About halfway down the preface of the RSV, on page one, these fifty-two scholars unanimously declare:

The King James Version has grave defects…and that these defects are so many and so serious as to call for a revision (1952:1)

The Grave Defects:

A look at the New Testament section of the RSV, we see that the only "proof" from the Bible that the Christian fundamentalists had of the concept of the Trinity has been removed. The "most-ancient" manuscripts never had this passage (1st Epistle of John 5:7). However, as Christianity got Romanized and moved away from pure monotheism, the elite who possessed authority on what becomes doctrine shoved this statement in:

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." (New Testament, 1John 5:7)

Not only the RSV but also all modern versions of the Bible do not contain this statement anymore. It has been unceremoniously thrown out. By doing this the scholars are not only bringing Christianity closer to Islam, they are confirming the part of the Koran that says:

"And do not say Trinity, desist from this, it will be better for you, for God is one God (Waahid in Arabic)." (Koran 4:171)

Another thing that we notice in the RSV, that goes to the "most-ancient" manuscripts is that the word "begotten" in the famous verse in John (3:16) has been taken out. John 3:16, in the King James Version (KJV) reads:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…"(New Testament, John 3:16)

By removing the word "begotten" from this verse, the scholars of Christianity are once again coming closer to Islam. The Koran states that God doesn't adopt or beget sons or daughters. The concept of "son" and an uncreated, eternal "God" are mutually exclusive, logically speaking. God represents one who received life from no one, while son signifies one who got existence from another source. In the literal sense of the word, no one can claim to be God and son at the same time.

In the language of the Jews however, the word "son" has a metaphoric meaning as well. Thus, the term "son of God" is used in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments to signify good, righteous people. Jesus himself is quoted as saying, "Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9). The word that was causing difference in John 3:16 was the word "begotten". The scholars "of the highest eminence" are informing us that this was an interpolation, a later addition to the text of the statement.

"In their relentless search for "the historical Jesus," various Biblical Scholars argue that the Gospel stories of the empty tomb and Jesus' post-resurrection appearances are fictions devised long after his death to justify claims of his divinity." (Rethinking the Resurrection, Newsweek. April 8 1996, page 42)

"While believers through the ages have echoed Peter's faith-filled declaration, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," some modern scholars say that historical evidence reveals a much different portrait of Jesus than the one in Christian creeds." (In search of Jesus, U.S.News & World Report, April 8 1996, page 47)

In the 1952 version of the RSV, the first eleven verses of the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John have been removed. The chapter now begins at verse 12. The scholars explained that these eleven verses were interpolations, later additions to the manuscript of John. As a result they are now in the footnote and not the text of the 1952 RSV. Also taken out are the only two references in the gospels to the ascension of Jesus (Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:51). They are taken out as interpolations as well.

In 1971 they revised the RSV, and this time due to pressure from certain denominations, they added back the eleven verses of the 8th chapter of John that were taken out. This "game" of adding and taking out has been going on for centuries. The construction of "God's word" has also been a prosperous industry. It is precisely for this reason that the Koran warns us:

Woe unto those who write the book with their own hands and then say, "This is from God," that they may trade it for some miserable gain. Woe to them for what their hands do write and woe to them for what they earn with it." (Koran 2:79)

According to the doctrine of most Christian denominations, the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were "written" by Moses and are called the "Books of Moses". However, scholars don't attribute any of these books to Moses at all. Internal evidence in these books makes it clear that Moses could not have written these words. In the 34th chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, we read:

"So Moses the servant of the lord died…and He (i.e. God) buried Him…and there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses." (Deuteronomy 34:5-10)

Moses could not have written these words, written in the past tense, after he died! Also the word "since" in the verse clearly shows that whoever is writing this lived long after Moses had died. All through these five books, the structure of the sentence as well as the "third-person" reference to Moses and to God shows that neither God nor Moses wrote these words. Sentences, repeated hundreds of times, "God said unto Moses and Moses said unto the Lord," in these five books, clearly shows that a third person, someone other than God and Moses is writing these words.

Also, consider these words in the Book of Numbers, thought to have been written by Moses:

Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the fact of the earth." (Numbers 12:3)

The meekest man on the face of the earth would never say that he was meek. Moreover, the meek man does not appear to be very meek in the judgments that he gives in the same book of the Bible:

"And Moses was wroth...And Moses said unto them, "Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman, ... But all the women children ... keep alive for yourselves." Num.31: 14-18

What about the Gospels?

J. B Phillip, a prebendry of the Chichester cathedral in England, a paid servant of the Anglican Church, in his, New Testament in Modern English (1996), states in the preface to the gospel according to Matthew:

"Early tradition ascribed this gospel to the apostle Matthew, but scholars nowadays almost all reject this view...The author, whom we can conveniently call Matthew has plainly drawn on the mysterious "Q", which may have been a collection of oral traditions. He has used Mark's gospel freely"

J.B Phillip is telling us clearly that Matthew didn't write Matthew. We don't know the source or the author of this anonymous book. He is further stating that whoever has written this gospel (one that can be conveniently called Matthew), has plagiarized Mark.

Not only do modern scholars reject that idea that Matthew wrote Matthew, internal evidence in this gospel clearly shows that someone other than Matthew (and other than Jesus) wrote it. Consider the 9th verse of the 9th chapter of Matthew:

"And as Jesus passed forth thence, He (i.e.Jesus) saw a man called Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom, and he (Jesus) said to him (Matthew), "Follow me," and he (Matthew) arose and followed him (i.e. Jesus)." (New Testament, Matthew 9:9)

The "third-person" reference to Jesus and Matthew, the hes and the hims, clearly shows that whoever is writing this is not Jesus and is not Matthew. The same situation is encountered while reading the gospel of John, in at least two places:

i) "And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, and he knows that he says the truth so that you may believe (John 19:35)

ii) "This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and who wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true." (John 21:24-25)

The word "we" above clearly shows that more than one person authored the passage above. Similarly the "third person" reference to the witness of events shows that the writer is either copying or editing the narration of "he that saw it."

The author of the gospel of Luke does not claim inspiration of his gospel writing from God. He says that he wrote it because he knew of the events and it "seemed good to him" (Luke 1:1-5). Also see 1 Corinthians 7:25 where Paul, in this specific case says that he's informing without God's commandment. 2 Timothy 3:16 is presented to "prove" that the entire Bible is God's inspiration, the above 2 references apart from the many others disprove that.

"Many scholars think the gospels are unreliable records since they were written as proclamation, not objective history, decades after Jesus' death." (In search of Jesus, U.S.News & World Report, April 8 1996, page 47)

"There are, after all, four Gospels, whose actual writing, most scholars have come to acknowledge, was done not by the Apostles but by their anonymous followers (or their follower's followers). Each presented a somewhat different picture of Jesus' life. (The search for Jesus, TIME, April 8 1996, page 38)

Language of the New Testament:

Jesus spoke Aramaic; therefore the general implication that arises is that his gospel would be in Aramaic, which is very close to Arabic, the language of the Koran. However, all the manuscripts of the present-day New Testament are in Koine Greek. If Jesus spoke Aramaic, why are his gospels in Greek? Why are there gospels in the plural when Jesus spoke of one gospel (Mark 10:29etc.)? Which gospel is the "word of God" since they add or take away from each other and even contradict each other?

There are certain chapters in the Bible that are attributed to different authors, in different periods of history, yet they are 100% identical. This shows that "editors" were at work in manufacturing what would later become the word of God. For example, 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37 are identical word by word, sentence by sentence, throughout the whole chapter.

Contradictions:

According to the assumptions about God in the Bible itself, i.e. God being all knowing, and not the "author of confusion", any book that claims to be from God should be free from mistakes and contradictions. However, the Bible is full of scientific and logical errors and contradictions among and within its various books. Here are a few examples: Old Testament:

1. God or Satan?

2 Samuel 24:1 in the Old Testament of the Bible says that God incited David to take a census of the Jews, i.e. to number Israel. 1Chronicles 21:1 however, says that "Satan" inspired David to conduct the census. God and Satan are not synonyms in any religion.

2. Was Jehoiachin 8 or 18?

2 Chronicles 36:9 in the Old Testament says that a guy named Jehoiachin was 8 years old when he became king. However, 2 Kings 24:8 in the same Old Testament says that he was 18 when he became king.

3. Was it Cavalry or Infantry? Was it 700 or 7000?

2 Samuel 10:18 states that David slew the men of 700 chariots of the Syrians and 40,000 horsemen (cavalry) including Shobach the commander. However 1 Chronicles 19:18 of the same Old Testament of the Bible states that he slew the men of 7000 chariots and 40,000 footmen (infantry) and the commander Shobach. How many were they and was it infantry or cavalry? Who made the mistake, an all knowing God or humanity?

4. How many stalls for horses did Solomon have? Was it 4000 or 40,000?

1 Chronicles 9:25 in the Bible says that Solomon had 4000 stalls for horses and chariots. 1 Kings 4:26 however, states that he had 40,000 stalls for horses.

5. Did Arah have 775 sons or 652?

Ezra 2:5 of the Bible states that Arah, an exile, had 775. However Nehemiah 7:10 states that he had 652. The lists are the same, yet the numbers are different. Who made the mistake? Was it God?

6. Were humans created before or after the animals?

Man was created AFTER the other animals (Genesis 1:25-26) OR Man was created BEFORE the other animals (Genesis 2:18-19).

New Testament:

1. John the Baptist contradicts Jesus!

According to Jesus, John the Baptist was Elijah in the Second Coming (Matthew 17:11). John the Baptist however, denied being Elijah when the Priests and the Levites questioned him (John 1:19-21). Here Jesus contradicts John the Baptist. Who was lying? Jesus, John or the author who lived much after the events?

2. Cross or Tree?

Was Jesus put on a cross, Stauron in Greek (Mark 15:11) or was he put on a tree, Ksulon in Greek (1 Peter 2:24).

3. Ascension, none or some?

John 3:13 quotes Jesus as saying the no one ascended into heaven except the son of man (himself) who descended from heaven. This contradicts 2 Kings 2:11 of the Old Testament of the Bible, which says that Elijah, ascended into heaven.

4. What were Jesus' last words?

Matthew 27:46,50: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ...Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."

Luke 23:46: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit:" and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."

John 19:30: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." ,

Were the last words, "My God, my God.." or were they "Father into thy hands.." or were they "It is finished" ?

5. The Genealogy of Jesus: 41 ancestors or 26?

Matthew in describing the genealogy of Jesus gives 26 names (generations) being the ancestors of Jesus. However, Matthew describing the genealogy of the same Jesus gives only 26 names in Jesus' genealogy. A difference of 15 whole ancestors. Luke in his gospel claims that from Abraham to Jesus there were 14+14+14, i.e. 42 ancestors of Jesus, yet if you count the names that he gives, he mentions only 41 and forgot the 42nd! Both Luke and Matthew trace this genealogy through the same man, Joseph the carpenter who according to both Islam and Christianity had no part to play in the birth of Jesus. The New Testament clearly states that Joseph the carpenter was not Jesus' father, why trace a genealogy that is incorrect from the very beginning?

In these two lists, except for the name of Joseph no two names are identical

Matthew mentions that Jesus was the "seed" of David through Solomon, while Luke says that he was the "seed" of David through Nathan (Solomon's brother). The "seed" of David however, could never reach Jesus through Solomon and Nathan (his brother) at the same time. According to Matthew, Jesus' grandfather is Jacob (who was the father of Joseph the carpenter), while according to Luke it is Heli who is the grandfather of Jesus. There are numerous such contradictions in the two genealogies alone.

6. Can God be seen or not?

"No man hath seen God at any time." (John 1:18)

"And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live." (Ex. 33:20)

"Whom no man hath seen nor can see." (1 Tim. 6:16)

Compare the above to:

"And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts." (Exodus. 33:23)

"And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend." (Exodus 3:11)

"For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Genesis32:30)

7. To judge or not to judge:

1 Corinthians 3:15 " The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:"

1 Corinthians 4:5 " Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

8. The Second Coming of Jesus:

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things are fulfilled. Matthew 24:34

Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. Mark 13:30

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Luke 21:32

How many generations have passed since those words were written, yet there has been no Second Coming yet!

"For another, the post-resurrection stories contain a variety of factual discrepancies about the main characters, places, times and the messages attributed to the Risen Jesus. For example, the Gospel of Matthew has Jesus appearing first to Mary Magdalene and other woman. Luke gives the first appearance to Peter, and (with the exception of a later addition to his Gospel) Mark contains no post-Resurrection appearances at all. Luke's Gospel says that Jesus appeared to the apostles in the Jerusalem area; Matthew says it was in Galilee." (Rethinking the Resurrection, Newsweek. April 8 1996, page 44)

9. Did Jesus deliver the sermon on the mount or plain?

On the MOUNT (Matthew 5:1,2) or on a PLAIN (Luke 6:17.20).

10. Was the woman Greek or not?

Was it a GREEK woman who sought Jesus since her daughter was ill (Mark 7:26) or was it a woman of CANAAN (Mark 15:22).

Scientific Errors in the Bible:

Old Testament scholars recognize that there are two different versions on creation given in the Book of Genesis. The Yahwist narration is the older of the two, the other one being the Sacerdotal narration. Scholars have concluded that the Sacerdotal version was the work of priests living in the 6th century BC.

The Sacerdotal version contains genealogies that go back to Adam that are scientifically unacceptable because they set a figure for the age of the world (5738 years) and when man appeared on earth, that are proven to be false. The appearance of man can be measured in tens of thousands of years, while the earth is at least 4.5 billion years old.

The Biblical narration about the creation of the universe (Genesis 1) also contradicts what has been established by modern science. The Bible mentions "primordial waters", something cosmologists do not accept. It mentions "light" being created on the first day, before the creation of the stars which are responsible for the light in the universe. It mentions the existence of an evening and a morning before the creation of the earth, whose rotation causes night and day. It mentions the creation of the earth on the "third" day and the sun on the "fourth", which is incorrect scientifically. Contrary to the Bible, the Koran gives an accurate description of the creation of the universe from one unit, the expanding universe and preempts much of today's hard-earned scientific facts in cosmology (for details see http://www.rationalreality.com).

Paleontologists have established that mammals came first and then birds, yet the Bible states that the birds came on the "fifth" day and the beasts of the earth came on the "sixth". These are the results of beliefs prevalent at the time and have nothing to do with being the words of an all-knowing creator.

About Noah, the Bible speaks of a universal flood that occurred roughly 300 years before Abraham. This would correspond to the 21st of the 22nd century BC. In view of all the historical data that we have, the universal flood never happened. How can we believe that in the 21st and 22nd century, all of civilization was destroyed when the history of the Egyptian Empire is unbroken all through this time. Contrary to the Biblical description, the Koran mentions that only the people of Noah were destroyed by the flood and not all of humanity. We have historical evidence of such floods in that general area but no universal floods.

Contrary to the Bible, the description of the natural world in the Koran is amazingly accurate and pre-empts much of today's hard-earned scientific findings. Consistent with Karl Poppers Critical Rationalism, the Koran offers falsification. As such, it challenges people of learning to find fault with it and to falsify it. By discovering the Koran. For further information see http://www.rationalreality.com

The Bible & Terror:

There and many other passages in the Bible would get an "X" rating for violence and pornography from even the most lenient and liberal censors as they contain lucid details of sexuality and racially justified killing of "foreigners" (i.e. non-Jews), as commanded by "God". Consider theses:

Jesus says that he wasn't sent with peace on earth but with a sword (Matthew 10:34)

Jesus is presented as a baby-killer: "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he who searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works." (Revelation 2:22-23)

PSALMS 144:1 God is praised as the one who trains hands for war and fingers for battle.

2KINGS 2:23-24 Forty-two children are mauled and killed, presumably according to the will of God, for having jeered at a man of God.

2KINGS5:27 Elisha curses Gehazi and his descendants forever with leprosy.

2KINGS 6:29 "So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him."

2KINGS 9:30-37 Jehu has Jezebel killed. Horses trample her body. Dogs eat her flesh so that only her skull, feet, and the palms of her hands remain.

2KINGS 10:7 Jehu has Ahab's seventy sons beheaded, then sends the heads to their father.

2KINGS 10:14 Jehu has forty-two of Ahab's kin killed.

2KINGS 10:17 "And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord ...."

2KINGS 10:19-27 Jehu uses trickery to massacre the Baal worshippers.

2KINGS 14:5, 7 Amaziah kills his servants and then 10,000 Edomites.

2KINGS 15:3-5 Even though he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, the Lord smites Azariah with leprosy for not having removed the "high places."

2KINGS 15:16 Menahem ripped open all the women who were pregnant.

2KINGS 19:35 An angel of the Lord kills 185,000 men.

2CHRONICLES 13:17 500,000 Israelites are slaughtered.

2CHRONICLES 21:4 Jehoram slays all his brothers.

ISAIAH 49:26 The Lord will cause the oppressors of the Israelite's to eat their own flesh and to become drunk on their own blood as with wine.

EZEKIEL 6:12-13 The Lord says: "... they will fall by the sword, famine and plague. He that is far away will die of the plague, and he that is near will fall by the sword, and he that survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I spend my wrath upon them. And they will know I am the Lord, when the people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak...."

EZEKIEL 9:4-6 The Lord commands: "... slay old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women...."

EZEKIEL 20:26 God commands infanticide? In order that he might horrify them, the Lord allowed the Israelites to defile themselves and amongst other things, the sacrifice of their first-born children.

EZEKIEL 21:3-4 The Lord says that he will cut off both the righteous and the wicked that his sword shall go against all flesh.

EZEKIEL 23:25,47 God is going to slay the sons and daughters of those who were whores.

HOSEA 13:16 The "Lord" says: "They shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up."

MATTHEW 11:21-24 Jesus curses [the inhabitants of] three cities who were not sufficiently impressed with his great works.

Book of Judges 3:29 The Israelites kill about 10,000 Moabites.

BOOK OF JUDGES 3:31 (A restatement.) Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with an ox-goad.

BOOK OF JUDGES 4:21 Jael takes a tent stake and hammers it through the head of Sisera, fastening it to the ground.

BOOK OF JUDGES 7:19-25 The Gideons defeat the Midianites, slay their princes, cut off their heads, and bring the heads back to Gideon.

BOOK OF JUDGES 8:15-21 The Gideons slaughter the men of Penuel.

BOOK OF JUDGES 9:45 Abimalech and his men kill all the people in the city.

BOOK OF JUDGES 11:29-39 Jepthah sacrifices his beloved daughter, his only child, according to a vow he has made with the Lord.

BOOK OF JUDGES 14:19 The Spirit of the Lord comes upon a man and causes him to slay thirty men.

BOOK OF JUDGES 15:15 Samson slays 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass.

BOOK OF JUDGES 16:27-30 Samson, with the help of the Lord, pulls down the pillars of the Philistine house and causes his own death and that of 3000 other men and women.

BOOK OF JUDGES 18:27 The Danites slay the quiet and unsuspecting people of Laish.

BOOK OF JUDGES 20:43-48 The Israelites smite 25,000+ "men of valor" from amongst the Benjamites, "men and beasts and all that they found," and set their towns on fire.

BOOK OF JUDGES 21:10-12 The "Lord" says: "... Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword and; also the women and little ones.... Every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall utterly destroy." They do so and find four hundred young virgins whom they bring back for their own use.

The Bible & Women:

"When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets: then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her." (Deuteronomy 25:11-12)

Burning Women:

"And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire." (Leviticus 21:9)

Killing witches:

"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Whoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. He that sacrificeth unto any god, save to the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed." (Exodus 22:18-20)

Birth of a female child makes a woman unclean longer than the birth of a male child does:

"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean…But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days." (Leviticus 12:2-5)

Men rulers and "gods" over women:

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (New Testament, I Corinthians 11:3)

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. " (New Testament, Ephesians 5:22-24)

Women created for man:

"For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man." (New, Testament, I Corinthians 11:8-9)

Silencing the woman:

"Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (New Testament, I Timothy 2:11-14)

"God" wants to stone women and men:

"If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her, then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you." (Deuteronomy 22:24)

"God" rips pregnant women and kills infants, according to the Bible:

"Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up." (Hosea 13:16)

"God" lifts up skirts according to the Bible:

"Look, I am against you!- declares Yahweh Saboath- I shall lift your skirts as high as your face and show your nakedness to the nations, your shame to the kingdoms. I shall pelt you with filth." (Nahum 3:5-6)

Bible and pornography:

"Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses." (Ezekiel 23: 20-21)

"and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose emission was like that of stallions." (Ezekiel 23: 21, NRSV)

"Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls." (Micah 1:8)

Contrary to the Bible, the Koran, justly egalitarian in its approach, based on its emphasis on the common origin of men and women (Koran 4:1 etc), doesn't agree with the Bible where the Bible says that women were created "from and for" men nor does it say that women cannot teach nor have authority over men. The Koran also dispels the common myth among other religions in general that a woman is evil by nature and has been created to deceive mankind.

The Koran over 1400 years back gave women the right to property ownership, the right to initiate divorce, the right to legal testimony and the right to earn their livelihood if they so pleased. It emphasized equity and kindness in a marital relationship and gave women an equal right to arbitration to resolve differences with their spouses. An unbiased reading of the Koran clearly reveals that it liberated women long before modern women's rights movements were born (for more information see: http://women.rationalreality.com)

The prophets according to the Bible:

Abraham married his sister (Genesis 20:12)

Lot had incest with his daughters who begat his children (Genesis 19:30)

David/adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-7)

Solomon worshipped idols (1 Kings 11:4)

Noah was a drunkard and lay naked in his intoxication (Genesis 9:20)

Aaron led people to worship the golden calf (Exodus 32:2-11)

Jesus was seen as a wine bibber (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34)

Jacob was a deceiver (Genesis 27)

Alcohol dependency and the Bible:

Proverbs 31:6-7 "Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish, and wine to those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more."

Or this contradiction:

Proverbs 20:1 (just 11 chapters earlier):"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a raging and whomsoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Conclusion

The Koran, in establishing itself as being the word of an all-knowing God, presented a scientific test of falsification regarding books that claim to be from God. It stated:

"Do they not consider the Koran with care. If it had been from anyone other than God, it would contain many contradictions." (Koran 4:82)

This "industry" of manufacturing the "word of God" was in vogue in ancient times when religion was the most powerful institution in society. Thus the elite whenever they wanted to convince people of something, to further their economic gain, used religion. This not only distorted and ruined the genuine "words of God", it created mischief and corruption in society which ultimately got blamed on religion. It was not religion but pseudo-religion and constructed books, like parts of the Bible, that got institutionalized and caused great harm and injustice to humanity. The Koran, coming to reform such a society, presented itself as a criterion to distinguish true from false (Koran 2:185), based on the principles of science and rationality. It termed nature as being the reflections of God's will (Sunna in Arabic). It termed the careful analysis of nature and contemplation based on it, as a duty for every believer (Koran 3:195). The history of modern science began with the Koran. Muslims inspired by the Koran did pioneering foundation building work in all fields of modern science, thus sparking the European Renaissance.

The Koran knew that pseudo-religion was harmful, so it termed telling lies about God the greatest wrong anyone could do. The Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament of the Bible, regarded by many Jewish scholars as being the "most authentic" of all books of the Bible, clearly states how scribes deliberately lie with their pen to convince people of certain things that they falsely manufacture, being from God when they are in fact not:

"How can you say that we are wise and that the law of the lord is with us but behold, the false pen of the scribe has made it into a lie." (Jeremiah 8:8)

"Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth is clearly distinct from falsehood." (Koran 2:256)

http://www.rationalreality.com

 

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