Originally posted by scottishinnz
Lack of evidence. For example, the entire ediface of christianity is based upon the bible. But, what if it's wrong? There is nothing else! It can't be wrong because it's the word of God, and we know it's the word of God because it says so! Circular reasoning a go-go. Then there are is a whole bunch of physical evidence showing it can't be true. H ...[text shortened]... religion beats people down, lowers their self esteem, with the whole "original sin" bit.
Lack of evidence.
Untrue. There is not one field of science which has produced any credible evidence which conclusively shows even one part of the Bible as inaccurate. While there have been factions within various branches of science with its own adherents, there are no reasonable people within any of the same which can honestly claim that their research has proven that the events in the Bible did not happen.
Oh, wait. There is a branch of study which claims to be science, but---as its agenda-laden foundation is a premise most decidedly unscientific--- its over-arching claims aren't given credence by any serious students of science. Evolutionary biologists' feverish fervor to rid the world of any mention of God eliminates their 'findings' as the rantings of subjectivity.
For example, the entire ediface of christianity is based upon the bible.
That's like saying the entire edifice of Western Civilization is based upon the Justinian Code. Christianity was spreading rampantly prior to the completion of the canon in 96 AD, and continued unabated without the proliferation of mass-printing of the Bible many centuries later. In other words, Christianity is based upon the truths within the Bible, in opposition to your charge of iconoclasm.
Circular reasoning a go-go.
Various parts of the Bible declare their authourity. These have been proved by virtue of the total agreement of various sources, not simply itself. While the Bible is internally consistent, as stated before, the conclusions of varying fields of discipline have confirmed most of it and (less importantly) none have contradicted it.
How many people have you ever seen walk on water?
What you consider to be its weakness is actually the Bible's strength. How many people ever saw someone walk on water? As far as I can tell, about 12, give or take. And, more importantly, how many people were ever seen to walk on water? Just the One. What an unusual person He must be.
Paradoxically, the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ were performed for the benefit of unbelievers, and yet you as an unbeliever have the hardest time with the same. You declare (like Thomas) that you won't believe what you cannot see for yourself. And yet even in your chosen field of study, every day you see the overwhelming genius of God; evidence of the fallen nature of His creation; an aggressive push for life despite the obstacle of that fallenness; and still you persist in your disbelief... despite an inability to explain the existence of reality by any other means.
Worse, religion beats people down, lowers their self esteem, with the whole "original sin" bit.
Those who take the word of God and mix it with their personal predilections will always reach wrong conclusions. If a person begins with arrogance, they will neccessarily end up with some religious form of self-righteousness or contortion of truth otherwise. Guilt-based religions are no exception, but they are certainly not reflective of the truths found in the Bible. It was for freedom that Christ set us free, not for exchanging one system of slavish hopelessness for another.