I am an Atheist because I read the bible. I never believed in a god, and I have no problem with those who do. As a young person, I had the same questions about the bible as young people have today. I want young people questioning religion to know they are not alone. “It may come as no surprise that the influence of Christianity in the United States is waning (especially Gen Z, 1999-2015). Rates of church attendance, religious affiliation, belief in god, prayer, and Bible-reading have been dropping for decades.” Atheist is no longer a dirty word for these young people. https://www.barna.com/research/atheism-doubles-among-generation-z/

Church and Sunday school didn’t make much sense. Stories such as Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, and the battle of Jericho didn’t add up. How can we be descended from Adam and Eve when they only had two sons? From science classes, I reasoned flooding the earth to a depth of seven miles, the depth required to submerge Mount Everest or for the sun to stand still at the battle of Jericho would be impossible. No wonder I am an atheist.

Through logic and critical thinking courses, I learned a negative claim could never be proven, and the burden of proof lies with those making a claim. So, for example, one cannot prove a god doesn’t exist, but the burden of proving one does lie with believers. Yet, there has never been any empirical evidence showing any of the gods from antiquity to today exist. I Am An Atheist

Anyone can believe whatever they want but can’t do whatever they want based on those beliefs. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia separated religious belief and behavior in Smith v Oregon (1990). He argued if religious beliefs allowed everyone to do whatever they wanted, everyone would become a law unto themselves; the result would be anarchy. Despite the ruling, courts frequently rule in favor of religious defendants under the guise of freedom of religion, often denying secular plaintiffs their freedom from religion. Because everyone is subject to these religiously biased decisions, religious freedom is compromised. I Am An Atheist

Because there are so many biblical textural critiques, I reasoned the existence or non-existence of a god is a serious question in many people’s lives. How one answers that question depends on one’s worldview. Some rely on multiple sources to determine if something they read is accurate. In contrast, others rely on the opinion of one source, especially if that opinion is from a religious leader. Knowing if something is true is fundamental to understanding the bible and the world around you. Science makes claims too, but unlike religion, every claim is supported by objective evidence. Science does change claims, but those changes, supported by newer, factual evidence, show the scientific method of asking questions still applies. In short, science is questions that may never be answered, but religion is answers that may never be questioned. I Am An Atheist

Everything your parents say is accurate when you are a child. However, as people grow and begin thinking for themselves, they realize their parents are just human beings, subject to the influences of cultural, religious, and political biases that affect everyone. Scribes who copied the bible were influenced by these forces as well.

Bart Ehrman, Ph.D., a New Testament scholar at the University of North Carolina, said biblical scholars know scribes changed biblical text because, when comparing ancient manuscripts to later copies, we see how different they are. Scribes often changed the biblical text to align with the theological arguments of their day. As an example, Mark wrote Jesus was in agony on the cross, only speaking, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ just before he died, Luke wrote Jesus was calm, knew everything that was happening to him was part of god’s plan, and says ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ just before he dies. These fundamental differences cannot be reconciled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misquoting_Jesus

Mark wrote Jesus suffered, but Luke wrote because Jesus was god, he couldn’t suffer. In addition, later manuscripts show scribes inserted passages in Luke’s writings that were not there in earlier copies. For example, two verses about Jesus “sweating like great drops as of blood” in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:24) were added to show Jesus did suffer. Scribes made these changes when theologians were arguing that Jesus had to suffer because, without suffering, there would be no salvation, a concept at the core of Christianity. These conflicting and unresolvable accounts are why I am an atheist.

So for those questioning Christianity, please know your questions are valid. Should anyone dismiss your concerns, know they are just defending the undefendable.

Tom Waddell is president of the Maine Chapter of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. He welcomes comments at president@ffrfmaine.org and  https://ffrfmaine.org.