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Preface
For nearly two billion people, the Bible is a holy book containing the revealed wordof God. It is the source of their religious beliefs. Yet few of those who believe in theBible have actually read it. This must seem strange to those who have never read the Bible. But anyone who hasstruggled through its repetitious and tiresome trivia, seemingly endless genealogies,pointless stories and laws, knows that the Bible is not an easy book to read. So it isnot surprising that those that begin reading at Genesis seldom make it throughLeviticus. And the few Bible-believers that survive to the bitter end of Revelationmust continually face a disturbing dilemma: their faith tells them they should readthe Bible, but by reading the Bible they endanger their faith.When I was a Christian, I never read the Bible. Not all the way through, anyway. Theproblem was that I believed the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant word of God,yet the more I read it, the less credible that belief became. I finally decided that toprotect my faith in the Bible, I'd better quit trying to read it.I think most Bible-believers find themselves in that position -- although few willadmit it. Not even to themselves.The most popular solution to this problem is to leave the Bible reading to the clergy.The clergy then quote from the Bible in their writings and sermons, and explain itsmeaning to the others. Extreme care is taken, of course, to quote from the parts of the Bible that display the best side of God and to ignore those that don't. That thisapproach means that only a fraction of the Bible is ever referenced is not a greatproblem. Because although the Bible is not a very good book, it is a very long one.But if so little of the Bible is actually used, then why isn't the rest deleted? Whyaren't the repetitious passages -- which are often contradictory as well -- combinedinto single, consistent ones? Why aren't the hundreds of cruelties and absurditieseliminated? Why aren't the bad parts of the "Good Book" removed?Such an approach would result in a much better, but much smaller book. To make ita truly good book, though, would require massive surgery, and little would remain.For nearly all passages in the Bible are objectionable in one way or another. But with
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a little luck and much careful editing, perhaps a small pamphlet could be producedfrom the Bible -- one that could honestly be called good.Perhaps. But to the Bible-believer the entire Bible is inspired, and has God as itsauthor. Each passage contains a message from God that must not be altered ordeleted. So the believer is simply stuck with the Bible. He or she has no choice but tocall it good, true, beautiful, and perfect. When the Bible seems otherwise, as itnearly always does, the problem lies with the believer's interpretation of the Bible --not with the Bible itself.The believer's defense of the Bible is assisted by those who publish it. They areinvariably believers as well, and are interested in promoting and defending the Bible.They do so in many ways, but their efforts usually include at least some of thefollowing:Point out consistencies between the redundant passages, while nevermentioning the contradictions.Provide explanations and excuses for the absurdities, cruelties, vulgarities,and insults to women -- when they choose not to ignore them entirely.Emphasize the relative few passages that present a decent image of God.Attach footnotes to explain away any difficulties.Millions of such Bibles are published and distributed each year by believers in theirtireless and tiresome effort to propagate their beliefs. Consequently, nearlyeveryone, whether believer or skeptic, has at least one copy in his or her possession.Among these Bibles will be found many different versions, but all have one thing incommon: all are believer-friendly editions that support, promote, and defend theBible.
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible
attempts to remedy this imbalance. It includes theentire text of the King James Version of the Bible, but without the pro-Biblepropaganda. Instead, passages are highlighted that are an embarrassment to theBible-believer, and the parts of the Bible that are never read in any Church, Biblestudy group, or Sunday School class are emphasized. For it is these passages that testthe claims of the Bible-believer. The contradictions and false prophecies show thatthe Bible is not inerrant; the cruelties, injustices, and insults to women, that it isneither good nor just.The SAB will help those who believe in the Bible to honestly reconsider that belief. Itwill help those who are unfamiliar with the Bible to resist the temptation to believe.And it will help those who have already rejected the Bible defend their position.
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It is time for us all to stop believing in, or pretending to believe in, a book that is sounworthy of belief.
–
Steve Wells
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the SAB available in book form? Is the SAB available in a form I can access from my hard drive? Why do you use the King James Version? What do you have against sex, anyway? Sex is an important part of humanlife, so why shouldn't the Bible contain passages dealing with it? History is filled with violence and the Bible is, at least in part, a history book.So why shouldn't it contain violence? Most Christians are not fundamentalists. Why do you insist on a literalinterpretation of the Bible? Since you are a skeptic and don't believe in the Bible, why have you spent somuch time creating the SAB? What training do you have? Why should I believe what you say about the Bible? You say that the Bible is not inerrant. What do you mean by that? How doyou define inerrant? Why do you highlight the nitpicky stuff? The Bible has plenty of seriousproblems to point out. By including the marginal verses you make it easy forbelievers to discredit the site. Do you allow believers to present opposing views at the SAB?
Is the SAB available in book form?
Not yet, but I hope it will be someday. When it is available in print, I'll announce it onthe SAB homepage.
Is the SAB available in a form I can access from my hard drive?
Yes, it is now available in CD-ROM.The CD-ROM version may be of interest to those who don't have access to theinternet or would like to limit their time online. In addition, depending on the speedof your internet connection and your CD reader, you may find that some of the files
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Contradictions in the Bible from the Skeptic
Contradictions? In the Bible? Bah... and yet there they are!
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