POST OVERVIEW. A tactic for the follower of Jesus to use when debating with an atheist the alleged inconsistencies or contradictions in the Bible.

Ben Shapiro, a committed Jewish person, was debating the issue of biblical slavery with a committed atheist. The atheist seemed to be getting the best of Mr. Shapiro, as he was quoting passages from the Old Testament that suggested either that the God of the Bible condoned slavery or that God contradicted Himself by saying one thing in one passage that seemed to be at odds with something else, which He had said in a different passage. Shapiro argued that God would occasionally accommodate a practice that existed at the time by giving instructions and guidelines about that practice to mitigate the damage (which is close to what a believer would argue about some of these thorny passages in the Old Testament).

It was obvious that both men were brilliant and were extremely skilled in this sort of debate, but perhaps because his opponent had a British accent and Shapiro was American, it seemed that the Brit’s arguments were superior.

But how should a disciple of Jesus address these kind of questions from an atheist? What do we do when an atheist brings up these difficult passages from the Bible?

PRINCIPLE: If the Bible is the subject of debate, the atheist’s denial of the existence of God spells doom to their every argument.

Let me explain.

In this debate with Ben Shapiro, the atheist cited the example of Deut. 21 where women of conquered nations could be taken as wives after they had been cleansed of all their uncleanness and had mourned their family for a month. But in Numbers 31, it was only the virgins of Midian who were allowed to live. (The text implies that these virgins could become wives of the Israelite men.) The atheist argued that it seemed arbitrary and contradictory that, in one situation, any woman, virgin or nonvirgin, could be spared if she were attractive, but in another situation, it was only the virgins that could be spared.

THE TACTIC PRESENTED

Whether these were the exact passages that the atheist chose and whether or not his argument was a strong one is irrelevant to the tactic I am proposing. It is the fact that the atheist is arguing from the Bible that gives the believer all the ammunition that he needs to end the debate.

Here is the dialog I would use.

BELIEVER: “So, you are saying that what the Bible says here in these passages seems to be arbitrary and/or contradictory, is that right?” (NOTE: Try to use your opponent’s own words here when you are introducing your point.)

ATHEIST: “Yes, that’s right.”

BELIEVER: “And, at least as far as we can understand it, this presents at least a logical problem and may constitute a moral problem. Would you agree with that?”

ATHEIST: “I would agree with that.”

BELIEVER: “I think I see your point. (PAUSE) I notice that you have been quoting from the Bible. In your opinion, who wrote the Bible?”

Now the atheist is in an impossible position. At this point, he has one of two choices. He either must acknowledge that the Bible was written entirely by men independent of any help or inspiration from God, which would be an answer consistent with his atheistic worldview, or he must concede that God inspired the Bible and is therefore responsible for its contents, an answer that would deny and demolish his atheism.

Without the time to think about the implications of this answer, the atheist will almost certainly opt for a reply like,

ATHEIST: “Well, the Bible was written by ordinary Jewish men a long time ago.” Something like that.

BELIEVER: “So, if I understand you correctly, your opinion is that God did not inspire the writing of the Bible. In fact, you would say that the Bible came into being independent of God. Is that correct?”

ATHEIST: “Yes, of course.”

CHECKMATE.

BELIEVER: “Well, if God was not the author of the Bible, then He also did not write the passages that confuse you. God cannot be held responsible for something He did not write. In fact, if God did not write the Bible, then He really should not be a part of any conversation about the Bible. If God did not inspire the Bible, then any difficulties you have with what the Bible says do not involve God at all but involve whoever it was that wrote the passages that confuse you. Bringing up these passages from the Bible, which, according to you, were written by some unknown Jewish men a long time ago, is really a futile exercise. Because what point could we possibly be making – if, in fact, God did not write the Bible.” (PAUSE)

BELIEVER: “I, on the other hand, am of the opinion that the Bible is breathed out by the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and that every word of this book is true BECAUSE it is God-breathed. My inability to understand every detail of this book from the mind of God does not mean that the book is somehow flawed. It simply means that God’s thoughts are higher than my thoughts.

“So, you have no point in debating the contents of the Bible, because any perceived difficulties are simply the flawed writings of ordinary men, and I believe that all the contents of the Bible are true and without error. It seems to me that our debate is over.”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 12/14/2023                 #683