Flaws in the Scriptures

Hello Willow,I am atheist. I do not consider the Bible a myth; and that is not my starting position of bias. My break with 'faith' began while I was training to become a minister of my (former) church. You are correct to say that "Everyone has an axe to grind regardless of what they claim." You must realize, of course, that this applies to yourself as well.Just thought you should know that many hard atheists have been produced by virtue of deep Christian experience and superior familiarity with scripture. I realize how strange this probably sounds to you but I am honest and sincere in my dis-belief. At the same time, I am profoundly moved by the contents of the Bible, and obsessively engaged in its study. Enigmatic? Perhaps. But to the few and proud who share this boat, it is perfectly understandable. Pitiable? Probably. For we are haunted by the demons of our religious past and attracted to forums such as this, like moths to the flame.Here we share thoughts which we cannot comfortably reveal to friends and family. Here we discover the strengths and weaknesses of our logic. Here we encounter new reasons to (un)believe . Here we experience the cameraderie of like minds, meet esteemed champions of the opposing veiw, and thrill upon the triumph of our occasionally successful arguments. We also take our lumps here. For better or worse, we are still learning, or should be. And it is people like yourself: sincere, concerned, intelligent opponents who provide us with the hours of challenging entertainment we find on this site. Therefore: Thank you for being you.BTW. Since this is my first response to your posts: Hello! And welcome to EvC. db