Intro:
This series is an atheist's review of an important anthology critical of Christian beliefs called, "The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails" (TCD), that is likely to be popularly discussed across the web. I'll be reviewing the book in light of just about every other response to TCD on the web (pros and cons) and responding to new Christian objections as I find them. I think this will be the best that I personally can contribute to improving the online dialogue between Christians and non-believers on popular battleground issues.
Chapter 5, "The Cosmology of the Bible" by Ed Babinski (part 1 of 4):
This is a very strong chapter and a great lead in to rocking the boat of Christian confidence in the inerrancy of Scripture. While Babinski didn't address outlandish young earth creationist theories like Russell Humphries' White Hole Cosmology (where the firmament is actually 14 billion light years away, surrounding the entire universe) as I might have initially preferred (or just been looking forward to), he presented such a preponderance of evidence that it is really easy to see how the view fails. In other words, it's a strong case that seems prepared to knock down just about anything that gets in its path. The discussion is interesting. The footnotes are good. And all around, I'm happy with this chapter.
Babinski was even kind enough to answer all my random questions in email, provide some extra material for my reading consumption that he had to leave out of his chapter, and donated some images to spruce things up a bit. Many thanks! All in all this familiarized myself with the content in some detail and may be engaging reading for anyone who really wants to duke it out on either side of the issue. And I think I've shown how apologetic responses fail. Enjoy.
Contents of My Review (the "CliffNote" version):
2. Ancient Hebrews lacked certain mundane words (like "sphere" and "air"): Is a deficient vocabulary an excuse to get things wrong?
3. The Hebrews weren't really thinking about what they said (J. I. Packer): Did the Hebrews manage to never conclude anything about cosmology?
4. The Bible used phenomenological language (non-literal language of appearances): Isn't the language of appearances really the beliefs based on appearances?
5. The Bible was vague: Is the Bible always that vague when it comes to its cosmology?
6. The Bible used poetic language: Can't Bible writers use poetry along with their fake cosmology?
7. We don't know what the authors were thinking: Do we have to be historically psychic in order to know what the Bible authors probably meant?
8. Not all characters in the Bible are inspired: Don't the uninspired voices merely contribute to the overall false picture we get from all the voices in the Bible?
9. The Bible speaks for itself only: Does it matter what the Hebrews' neighbors believed?
10. The Bible used equivocal language (saying things it didn't mean): Could the Bible ever say anything wrong and not get away with it?
11. The Bible can refer to things that are no longer the case: Did things change or did the Hebrews just believe things that were always false?
12. An incredibly weak argument here is acceptable because of other strong evidence (Jason Engwer): Is there a better case for inspiration and inerrancy that overrules the preponderance of evidence here?
13. Bible cosmology is intentionally a metaphor for the temple (G. K. Beale): Is Biblical cosmology really just a metaphor for God's temple?
14. The Bible is actually describing a bizarre young earth creationist scheme (Russell Humphries): Is the firmament 14 billion light years away?
15. It was so easy to figure out the earth is a sphere, that the Bible would never advocate a primitive view (Steve Hays): Would everyone always figure out the shape of the earth no matter what they actually say?
Follow Up Posts on Chapter 5:
(book review) "The Christian Delusion" - Ch. 5: The Cosmology of the Bible (part 3)
(book review) "The Christian Delusion" - Ch. 5: The Cosmology of the Bible (part 4)
(book review) "The Christian Delusion" - Ch. 5: The Cosmology of the Bible (part 5)
[Note: Links to future posts will not work until they are made public.] Continue reading
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