The following are just a few of the reasons that I am not a Christian. I may compile a more complete list at some point, but these are some of the most obviously problematic verses to me. As usual, if I make an error, in reasoning or facts, please let me know.
All verses are from the NIV Bible unless otherwise stated.
Prayer
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. – John 14:12-14
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” – Matthew 21:22
“He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20
Okay, so these verses make it pretty clear that if you believe, you’ll get whatever you ask for. Well, that is simply not true, I believed for a long time, and I definitely had some prayers that never came true. I would even say that most of them didn’t.
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. – Luke 11:9-10
“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. – Matthew 18:19
These ones don’t even require belief, only asking. Well, my roommate and I just agreed to ask God for a few hundred dollars to appear, but it hasn’t happened. I can only conclude from this and my other experiences that these verses are false.
The Teachings of Jesus
“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. – Matthew 5:42
“Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. - Luke 6:30
So you are supposed to follow God’s supposed example and always give people what they ask of you. I would propose that any Christian does not believe this. If you do… could I have a few hundred dollars? I’d really appreciate it. Just send me an email and we can work something out. :)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:26
I assume my reader does not hate their family, so they apparently wouldn’t make a very good Christian.
“But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. – Matthew 5:39
This means that you shouldn’t defend yourself from a robber. Even running away would be resisting. Think about Hitler, wouldn’t the world have been a much better place if nobody resisted him?
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:48
To set such an impossible standard in front of people is to ensure that they will either fail and then feel guilty, or not even try, in which case why say it?
God’s Laws
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:17-19
When I point out that they aren’t following a Biblical law, like the one against eating pork, Christians often like to say that those were old testament laws, and aren’t as valid since Jesus came. Well, according to this verse those people will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven. Let’s have a look at some of the laws Jesus said we should be following:
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid. -
“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you… If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver.(about $250) He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives. -
“For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. –
“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. – Leviticus 20:13
“If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death – Deuteronomy 13:6-10
“If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money. – Exodus 21:7-11
I don’t think I really need to comment on why each of these laws is vile and ridiculous, but I think it’s safe to say that you probably don’t follow most of them. A couple of them would actually have me killed, so I don’t mind. I think it’s kind of funny that Jesus actually broke a few of them, and taught others to do the same. I guess he is called least in the kingdom of heaven. :)
I had more that, but I think that is enough for the moment. Perhaps I’ll do another one of these at some time.