Conversations With An Atheist, Part II

Here's the second part of some conversations I had with an atheist that I meet on the internet. Again, I will not publish her name or her emails to me; however, I've made some minor changes so her arguments will be very plain. This will be the last one in this series I will do for a while, but check back in two to three weeks when I will show who Allah and Muhammad really are.

I agree! Plants cannot live without light. Light was created the first day. So you’re willing to accept one part of the Bible to justify your beliefs, but reject another part: that doesn’t make any sense. Again, the Bible doesn’t say the earth is six thousand years old and there are hints given in the Bible that it is not. In Genesis 2:4, it says “these are the generations of the creation of the heavens and the earth”, then it describes all of creation as, “in the day the Lord God made the earth and the heavens”, so creation was a period of time. Also, when Cain is lamenting his punishment, he says in Genesis 4:14, “and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me” and in verse 17, “Cain knew his wife”; so where did all the people come from if the Bible says the earth is only six thousand years old? Another clue is in Genesis 3:16 where God says, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception: in pain you shall bring forth children." Therefore, we can conclude that at least Adam and Eve had children in the garden. Also, Adam laterally means “the man”, so if carbon dating is somewhat accurate, human beings could have indeed been around for a very long time and the story of the Garden of Eden could be a parable: remember, Jesus spoke in parables. The Bible is a spiritual book, not a science book.

The Bible gives only one story, not two of why there are so many languages, and that’s in Genesis chapter 11. Chapter 10 tells of the genealogy of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and where their descendants settled and what nations they would found, It even mentions Babel and the generations long after Babel. Chapter 10 tells that there are many languages, but It doesn’t tell why: the why is told in chapter 11. Have you ever read a book or watched a movie where at some point in the story it tells of what happened at an earlier time? This could be because they were written down by different authors. I know the first five books of the Bible are called “The Five Books of Moses”, but the writing in those books never make that claim; or it could just be the right flow for the story.

So let me get this straight, your basic problem with the Bible is the place or status of women in the Bible? Remember, the Bible was written in the ancient world, and if you look at the laws in the Bible, women were treated very well compared to the rest of the world at that time. Although polygamy was allowed in the Old Testament, it was never condoned. In Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:7-8, "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." Wife is singular. So God's plan is one man and one woman. Read John chapter 4, the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jews would have no dealings with Samaritans, men generally didn't have conversations with women they didn't know, especially in public, and by going to draw water in the heat of the day, she was an outcast in her own village, yet Jesus talked to her. Jesus broke the norms of the day, the customs of the ancient world, and treated women and all people with respect: so should we.

If you think of life as some man woman power thing, you’re missing the boat! I know in I Timothy 2:12 It says that in matters of the church a woman is not to have authority over a man, and that’s because in verse 14 It says, “Eve sinned first.” But also in Galatians 3:28 It says, “we are all one in Christ Jesus.” So we are all equal, it’s just when it comes to matters of the church that a woman is not to have authority over a man, but it’s not some power thing. An example of those who are in authority is given in I Peter 5:3 which says, “nor as being lords over those entrusted you, but being examples to the flock.” And Jesus said in Matthew 18:4, “whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” and in verse 6, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he was drowned in the depth of the sea.” So again, it’s not some man woman power thing. Think about it, how great a place the world would be if all men followed Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her", and Ephesians 5:28, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself."

I will leave you with this one verse because I think it’s a great summation of the whole Bible and how we are to treat one another: I John 4:20, “If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”