You ever think maybe Jesus was people 2000 years ago's version of a comic book character? I mean if 2000 years from now human beings who had very limited knowledge of our time found Superman books they would probably think it was our history, or at least that we actually believed it. Ask yourselves...
Why do you believe Jesus Christ existed, when the Bible is the only historical writing that says he did?
Why do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and not just that but God at the same time? You never met the guy, and no one you've ever met met the guy. I'm guessing your response will be: it's in the Bible.
So Why do you believe the Bible? Because it's the word of God, right? The only thing that says the Bible is the word of God is the Bible. So you believe the Bible is the word of God because the Bible says it is the word of God, and you believe the Bible when it says that because you believe the Bible is the word of God, which you believe because the Bible says it? Think about that...
Plus, what is the greatest question of all? My answer: what is God? Now look at the guys who wrote the Bible. They lived 2000 years ago. That means they didn't know the Sun was a star, a giant ball of burning gasses. They had no idea what it was. They didn't know the Earth revolved around the Sun. Hell, they didn't know Earth was a planet. They didn't even know what a planet was. They had no knowledge of the periodic table, or even any grasp of Newtonian physics much less quantum physics. They had no idea what the moon was. Kids in Kindergarten have a better understanding of reality than these people did. Now, they didn't know any of this, but they were spot on 100% totally right about the most difficult question of all time and you should never even consider the possibility that they were wrong?
Plus, even people that believe the Bible is the word of God don't believe everything in the Bible (well, I guess some do, but they're mostly insane). Many even say they don't. The world being 6,000 years old, Jonah living in a big fish for 3 days, the Bible's cool with slavery, every non-believer should be killed along with their family...and all that. If the Bible is the word of God, and the Bible says that happened, it has to have happened.
God is supposedly perfect. Something that is perfect never needs to change nor should it ever change. In the Old Testament, God is big on revenge, spite, killing people, making them believe they're going to have to kill their own child, etc. But then in the New Testament he's all peace and love. What's with the change? If God is perfect, he should never change. But the Old Testament can't be wrong, because it's the word of God. Now some of you say the New Testament replaced the Old Testament. How does that work? God changed his mind? So he was wrong before?
They're just stories, same as the Greek mythos and the Roman mythos. Take it for what it is, a book of good stories and good advice.
Hell, I live my life by the Bible's teaching and I don't even believe it. Jesus' golden rule kicks ass: Love thy God, love thy neighbor. Simple rule to live by. Mad props to Jesus for that one.
I was born and raised Irish Catholic. Went to Catholic schools for 18 years. But there's a problem.
God's greatest gift to man is his ability to reason, to think rationally. No other creature possesses this ability. It is what sets us apart from all other life-forms. Yet Christianity, specifically Catholicism, tells us not to use that reason, to never question anything the Church says. Don't you think God would want us to use his greatest gift as much as possible? Especially in reference to him? Isn't not rationally thinking about God but blindly accepting what someone else tells you kind of spitting in His face? Why do you think the Catholic Church, one of the richest, most powerful institutions in history, that draws it's money by having its followers completely and totally believe what they say and because of that giving them money and doing whatever they're told, not want you to question them...? Don't get mad, just think about it.