QuoteBOSTON UNIVERSITY
READING GOD BETWEEN THE LINES
AN OBSERVATION PROTOCOL
SUBMITTED TO
[name omitted]
BY
Aidan08 memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3592 (http://happyatheistforum.com/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3592)
ABSTRACT
The emergence of new atheism and its bestselling books, such as Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, has led both theists and non-theists to evaluate their reception of the Bible. What is the nature of the Christian Bible? What authority does it have for the individual and the world? Beneath a veil of relative anonymity, vibrant communities of Internet forum members engage these questions with transparency and passion. This study reveals the ways the Bible is interpreted and received by the members of http://www.happyatheistforums.com (http://www.happyatheistforums.com).
Observing how the Bible was used in two different threads, one titled, “What are people’s thoughts on Jesus†and the other, “What is your strongest disproof of the Bible,†yielded a diverse collection of perspectives. Members varied from believing that the Bible is the infallible revealed Word of God to believing that it is nothing more than created stories and rhetoric intended to promote a Christian worldview. Despite diverse interpretive lenses, nearly all members spoke of the Bible not simply as a book, but as a representation and embodiment of faith. For the members of http://www.happyatheistforums.com (http://www.happyatheistforums.com), how one receives the Bible is indicative of how one will or will not receive God.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
OCTOBER 8, 2010
Introduction
The emergence of new atheism and its bestselling books, such as Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, has led both theists and non-theists to evaluate their reception of the Bible. What is the nature of the Christian Bible? What authority does it have for the individual and the world? Beneath a veil of relative anonymity, vibrant communities of Internet forum members engage these questions with transparency and passion. Websites such as, http://www.happyatheistforums.com (http://www.happyatheistforums.com) (henceforth referred to as HAF), provide members with a virtual meeting place for discussion, debate, and dialogue. On its main page, HAF displays its mission statement: “At HAF we know that atheists are often happy ethical people just like anyone else. It is our goal to help dissolve negative stereotypes currently held toward atheists and facilitate productive dialogue with those of differing viewpoints.†Offering forum categories from “laid back lounge†and “social issues and causes†to “religion†and “philosophy,†HAF allows users to express their perspectives through a variety of disciplines.
This study reveals the ways the Bible is interpreted and received by the members of HAF by observing two threads in the “Religion†forum. The first observation session was made on October 1, 2010 at 4 p.m. In order to provide a picture of the current community and debate on the site, the first thread was selected from the most recent thread topics. This thread, titled “What are people’s thoughts on Jesus?†had reached a total of 111 posts in the three weeks since its original post. The second observation session was made on October 2, 2010 at 3:46 p.m. The thread topic, “What is your strongest disproof of the Bible?†was chosen after searching the terms, “bible authority,†in the forum search tool. This thread, which spanned 77 posts over a two-week lifespan, provides a more focused picture of how members at HAF receive the Bible.
Observations
What are people’s thoughts on Jesus?
The thread titled “What are people’s thoughts on Jesus?†began with a member who asked the community to share their perspectives on whether Jesus existed as a historical person from an “intellectual atheist perspective†. In most cases, individuals shared their belief that Jesus was either a “dead Jew with insanity issues†or that he was a “political rebel that was later deified.†An early post by a user named “Poopshoot†listed chapters and verse from the New Testament to paint a picture of Jesus as one who “spit on a blind guy,†and would “give drunken men more wine.†Posts of this nature continued until members began wondering what a user named “Jac†would have to say on the subject. Jac, who one member described as “very Christian and like the others very blind,†quickly responded to the call to present his “facts.†After calling claims that deny Jesus’ existence as “silly,†Jac referenced the work of John Dominic Crossan, as well as ancient sources such as Tacitus and Josephus. For the remainder of the thread, some of the better-educated members on the subject engaged in a back-and-forth debate with Jac about the reliability of ancient sources.
In this dialogue, the Bible was regarded as a historical text of dubious reliability. The non-theist members expressed their belief that Jesus existed only in the vacuum of the New Testament. Thus, when they spoke of Jesus, they inherently spoke of the Bible. By bringing attention to the inconsistencies in the ancient sources and potential interpolations in Eusebius they built a stronger ground on which to deny Jesus’ existence outside of the Bible. From Jac’s perspective, a wealth of extra-biblical sources confirmed Jesus’ existence and therefore, historical inconsistencies in the Bible were irrelevant. As a result, Jac focused mainly on the Jesus Seminar and ancient references to Jesus in order to show that he existed and therefore, that the New Testament is based on historical reality. Unlike many of the members in the thread, Jac believed the more important questions to be exegetical i.e. “what was his eschatological position?†The nature of the discussion in the thread, however, forced Jac to respond to the Bible as a historical document in order to engage the non-theist members.
What is your strongest disproof of the Bible?
The second thread titled, “What is your strongest disproof of the Bible?†was an invitation to the non-theist community to help a Christian user named, “Minstrelofc,†complete a project of faith. Minstrelofc asked that users post their “strongest scientifically provable disproof of the Bible†. Once Minstrelofc had collected enough strong replies, he claimed that he would personally investigate them and decide once-and-for-all whether he would believe the Bible was perfectly true. Minstrelofc revealed that there was much as stake for him because “if the Bible isn’t perfectly true, who’s to say which of it is?†Many members expressed their appreciation of Minstrelofc’s project and offered what they felt was compelling evidence that disproved the Bible.
Most of the evidence offered attempted to point out biblical inconsistencies. Rather than attempt to question the Bible as a sacred text, members replied with points that drew the historical reliability of the Bible into question. The lack of evidence of a global flood, for example, was one offered disproof. One member explained that, “atheists will use inconsistencies to show that if it [the Bible] is the word of God and God is infallible, either God isn’t infallible or it is not the word of God.†Other replies implied an interpretative lens that viewed the Bible as a collection of hyperbolized stories and fairytales that lacked any semblance of realism. Many members asked Minstrelofc whether he thought it were actually possible for a human being to walk on water or whether a single touch could make the blind see. Thus, in order for the Bible to be perfect, it should represent phenomena that exist in our human experience.
Needless to say, these types of replies did not meet Minstrelofc’s criteria for a strong disproof. Working from the framework that the Bible is the revealed Word of God, Minstrelofc believed that miracles in Scripture, while seemingly unrealistic, remain valid because he believes in a God of miracles. By the end of the thread, Minstrelofc listed four critiques of the Bible that he felt were strong enough to research: whether Jericho was actually a walled city at the time Joshua was written; the dates of transmission of NT books; Jesus as Horus 2.0; and Neanderthal DNA. Each of these proofs reveals that for Minstrelofc, the authority of the Bible would be compromised if it either misrepresents the world as it actually exists or if it misrepresents itself. If Jesus can be proven to be “Horus 2.0†for example, Jesus’ may not be the unique Messenger and Son of God. From the perspective of most non-theist members in the thread, such a disproof of the Bible must mean that God could not exist.
Analysis
The discussion raised on both threads on HAF revealed that the Bible was received in a myriad of ways. Members varied from believing that the Bible is the infallible revealed Word of God to believing that it is nothing more than created stories and rhetoric intended to promote a Christian worldview. Despite diverse interpretive lenses, nearly all members spoke of the Bible not simply as a book, but as a representation and embodiment of faith. While engaging the Bible, members of both threads often spoke of it not as a physical book with pages and chapters, but as a symbol. In the consciousness of non-theist members of HAF, the Bible is representative of the perceived illusion of religion. From the theistic perspective, even while granting that the Bible may contain inconsistencies, the Bible reveals something about the veracity of religion. Though Minstrelofc echoed Augustine in his concern for the implications of untruths in the Bible, he expressed his conviction that even if it could be disproved, he would likely retain his belief in God.
Overwhelmingly, it was clear on HAF that how one receives the Bible is indicative of how one receives God. Whether the Bible was interpreted as a historical book or a sacred text, engaging the Bible was in essence, engaging God. Thus, for atheist members, their reception of the Bible as an unreliable history replete with unbelievable supernatural phenomena makes them unwilling or unable to receive God. For theist members, there is little or no distinction between receiving the Bible and receiving God: God is in or behind the text. Despite these vastly different understandings of the Bible, the members of HAF were able to engage in a fruitful and (mostly) respectful dialogue. Though the Bible is symbolic of many things to many people, HAF is one example that engaging one another in our multiple receptions has great potential for understanding.
Aidan08 has expressed interest in discussing any of your comments as he has been replying to me privately please be respectful if he is slower to respond than expected as he's not a post and run member.
I'd be interested to know what prompted the observation and the subject the author is studying.
Presuppositions:
Quote...makes them unwilling or unable to receive God.
Quote...how one will or will not receive God.
I think there should have been some numbers. How many atheists, agnostics, theists, etc. posted in the threads; some bullets perhaps. Percentages of this or that.
This line:
QuoteFor the members of http://www.happyatheistforums.com (http://www.happyatheistforums.com), how one receives the Bible is indicative of how one will or will not receive God.
Cannot be reconciled with the bible, yet is used as a 'control' so to speak.