1. What is the last of the Ten
Commandments?
Answer: C
a. Don't steal.
b. Don't covet your neighbor's wife and property. --This is the
final commandment as listed in Exodus 20:2-17, the version often
used by Protestants and Catholics. However, these are not the "ten
commandments." (See below.) Notice the biblical sexism: women are
the property of men.
c. Don't boil a young goat in the milk of its mother. --Believe it
or not, this prohibition in Exodus 34:26 is the official tenth
commandment, from the only set of stone tablets that were called
"the ten commandments." There were three sets of
commandments:
1) The first time Moses came down from Mount Sinai with
commandments, he merely recited a list (Exodus 20:2-17), which is
the version most churches today erroneously call the "Ten
Commandments," although they were not engraved on stone tablets and
not called "the ten commandments."
2) The first set of stone tablets was given to Moses at a
subsequent trip up the mountain (Exodus 31:1
. In this
farcical story, Moses petulantly destroyed those tablets when he
saw the people worshipping the golden calf (Exodus 32:19).
3) So he went back for a replacement. God told Moses: "Hew thee two
tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these
tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou
brakest." (Exodus 34:1) Here is what was on the replacement tablets
(from Exodus 34:14-26):
1) Thou shalt worship no other God. 2) Thou shalt make thee no
molten gods. 3) The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. 4)
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest.
5) Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks. 6) Thrice in the year
shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord God. 7) Thou
shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven. Neither shall the
sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left until the morning.
9) The first of the firstfruits of thy land shalt thou bring unto
the house of the Lord thy God. 10) Thou shalt not seethe a kid in
his mother's milk.
Keep this in mind next time you are tempted to boil a goat. This
list differs, obviously, from the one in Exodus 20 (was God's
memory faulty?), but it is only this list that is called the "Ten
Commandments": "And he wrote upon the tables the words of the
covenant, the ten commandments." (Exodus 34:2
d. Love your neighbor as yourself. --Even Jesus was unclear about
the exact set of commandments. In Matthew 19:18-19 he listed them
as: 1) Thou shalt do no murder 2) Thou shalt not commit adultery 3)
Thou shalt not steal 4) Thou shalt not bear false witness 5) Honour
thy father and thy mother 6) Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. For the Jews, loving your "neighbor" meant loving your
Jewish neighbors: it did not mean loving the neighboring tribes or
other outsiders, as the intolerant and bloody Old Testament (and
Christian) history proves.
2. What is the penalty for working on the
Sabbath?
Answer: A
a. You will be stoned to death. --Isn't this an excessively violent
punishment from a supposedly "Good Book?" What is the harm in
working on the Sabbath? It seems the only harm is to the ego of the
Sovereign, who demands respect with no respect to human
needs.
"Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be
to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whoseoever doeth
work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire
throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day." (Exodus 35:2)
For the chilling application of this law, see Numbers 15:32-36,
where a man who picked up sticks on the sabbath was stoned, "and he
died; as the Lord commanded Moses."
b. Neither you nor your offspring to the 5th generation can enter
the tabernacle.
c. You should sacrifice two unblemished she goats.
d. You will be disinherited from the kingdom.
3. What is God's name?
Answer: A
a. Jealous. --This is a petty self-described insecurity from a
supposedly all-wise leader.
"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14)
b. Righteous.
c. Holy. --Sometimes the name of God is described as "holy" (see
Psalm 99:3), but the name itself is not "Holy." In Isaiah 29:23,
the name of God is given as "The Holy One of Jacob."
d. Jehovah. --The name "Jehovah" is a Christian mistake. It was
forbidden to pronounce the name "YHWH" (Yahweh), and readers of the
Hebrew scriptures were supposed to say "Adonai" in its place. "In
written texts the vowels of Adonai were combined with the
consonants YHWH to remind readers to pronounce Adonai instead of
Yahweh. The incorrect hybrid, 'Jehovah,' arose from Christian
misunderstanding in the late Middle Ages."(Harper's Bible
Dictionary)
4. How should parents treat a stubborn and rebellious
son?
Answer: D
a. He should be beaten seven times with a whip made of
horsehair.
b. He should be stripped and humiliated at the gate of the
city.
c. He should be expelled from the family.
d. He should be stoned to death. --This cruelly excessive Mosaic
law was actually enforced at one time by the Massachusetts colony
and has been used to justify child abuse and murder.
"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey
the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when
they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them; Then shall his
father and mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the
elders of the city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall
say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and
rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a
drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones,
that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all
Israel shall hear, and fear." (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)
"And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put
to death." (Exodus 21:17) "For every one that curseth his father or
his mother shall be surely put to death: he that cursed his father
or his mother; his blood shall be upon him." (Leviticus 20:9)
5. What happens if you are not a virgin on your wedding
night?
Answer: D
a. Your father must pay 100 shekels of silver to your
husband.
b. You can never approach the altar.
c. You must dress in black and leave your husband for one
year.
d. You will be stoned to death. --This barbaric punishment is still
being followed in some parts of the Moslem world, which share some
of the teachings of the Hebrew bible. There is no such penalty,
needless to say, for a groom who is not a virgin. The fact that
Christian women who have engaged in premarital sex are not being
stoned to death today shows that even believers recognize cruelty
and absurdity in their own "Good Book."
"If any man take a wife, and go in unto her . . . and say, I took
this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid . . .
and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they
shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and
the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die . . ."
(Deuteronomy 22:13-21)
6. What does the bible say about witches?
Answer: A
a. Witches should be killed. --Tragically, tens of thousands, if
not millions, of innocent women in Europe and the American colonies
were cruelly accused, tortured and executed because of one single
bible verse:
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." (Exodus 22:1
"A man or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard,
shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones:
their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:27)
b. Witches are people possessed by demons and they are forever
damned.
c. Witches can be saved if they are exorcised.
d. Witches are part of the mythology of idolatrous tribes.
7. Which of these foods does the bible expressly permit you
to eat? (The others are "abominations.")
Answer: C
a. Pork. --"And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be
clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you."
(Leviticus 11:7)
b. Shellfish. --"And all that have not fins and scales in the seas,
and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any
living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination
unto you . . . ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have
their carcasses in abomination." (Leviticus 11:10-11)
c. Locusts. --Since ham and lobster are verboten to bible
believers, how about some barbecued grasshopper or steamed locust
for dinner?
"Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the
bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the
grasshopper after his kind." (Leviticus 11:22) "And the same John
[the Baptist] had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern
girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey."
(Matthew 3:4)
d. Rabbit. --"And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but
divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the hare . . .
he is unclean unto you." (Leviticus 11:5-6) Notice that the
biblical writers erroneously thought rabbits chew the cud.
8. When the Israelites conquered the Midianites, what part
of the spoils of war was given to the priest as "the Lord's
tribute"?
Answer: D
a. 50 sheep. --It was actually 675 of the 675,000 sheep. (See
Numbers 31:37)
b. 30,000 asses. --It was actually 61 of the 61,000 asses. (See
Numbers 31:39)
c. 32,000 cows. --It was actually 72 of the 72,000 beeves. (See
Numbers 31:3
d. 32 virgins. --Of the 32,000 virgins that were kept alive as
"booty" for God's warriors, 32 young captives were handed to the
priest. The bible brutally sanctifies war crimes against girls and
women that continue to this day. Who could possibly respect a
dictator who behaves like this?
"And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had
caught, was 675,000 sheep, And 72,000 beeves, And 61,000 asses, And
32,000 persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying
with him . . . of which the Lord's tribute was 32 persons. And
Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord's heave offering, unto
Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses." (Numbers
31:32-41)
9. What is the origin of the "mighty men" giants known as
nephilim?
Answer: A
a. They were the offspring of God's angels and young women. --Can't
God maintain better control over his libidinous troops? This is
scandal in high places.
"And it came to pass . . . That the sons of God saw the daughters
of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which
they chose. . . . There were giants [nephilim] in the earth in
those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came into the
daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became
mighty men which were of old, men of renown." (Genesis 6:1-4)
This is obviously mythical. The "sons of God" were angels: "the
expression clearly refers to divine beings." (Harper's Bible
Dictionary) The word nephilim "could mean 'fallen ones' and allude
to stories in related cultures of rebellious giants defeated by the
gods in olden times (cf. Isa. 14:12)." (Harper's)
Some suggest this is why Paul admonished Christian women to keep
their heads covered in church, so as not to sexually tempt the
angels: "For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head
because of the angels." (I Corinthians 11:10)
b. They were the result of an earlier, botched creation.
c. They were monsters from the evil nation of Nephi.
d. They were part of the "blessing of Abraham" that ensured
military victory to God's chosen people.
10. What happened to Korah and his family, Israelites who
thought they could talk directly with God without a human
intermediary?
Answer: C
a. They became priests.
b. They were expelled from the nation of Israel.
c. The earth opened and swallowed them up. --See Numbers 16:1-50
for the whole story, in context, of God killing 15,000 of his own
people for daring to question the authority of Moses:
"And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Separate
yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in
a moment . . ." (Numbers 16:20-21) ". . . And it came to pass, as
he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground
clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth,
and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that
appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that
appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth
closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation . .
. and there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two
hundred and fifty men that offered incense. . . ." (Numbers
16:31-35)
But it gets worse! Some who thought this was pretty harsh treatment
were killed by a plague:
"But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel
murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed
the people of the Lord. . . . And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume
them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces . . . for there
is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun. . . . Now
they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven
hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah." (Numbers
16:41-49)
Is this kind of leadership worthy of admiration? For documentation
of numerous mass murders commanded, condoned, and committed by the
god of the bible, see the reading list at the end of this
quiz.
d. They were stripped of all their belongings, houses, and
livestock.
11. According to the bible, who created
evil?
Answer: C
a. Adam.
b. Eve.
c. God. --Now we know who is to blame.
"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create
evil: I the Lord do all these things." (Isaiah 45:7)
The word "create" above is bara, the same word used in Genesis 1:1.
The word "evil" is ra, such as in Genesis 2:9, "the tree of
knowledge of good and evil." Some versions, such as the NIV, have
unjustifiably softened the implications of this verse by
translating ra as "disaster" or "calamity," although ra is used
repeatedly throughout scripture to refer to moral evil. (See Isaiah
7:14-15: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that
he may know to refuse the evil [ra], and choose the good.") But
even if the "disaster" interpretation were allowable, the verse
still depicts God as a troublemaker.
d. Satan.
12. According to the bible, what is God not able to
do?
Answer: C
a. Save the very worst sinners from hell.
b. Make a rock so huge he can't lift it.
c. Repel chariots of iron. So much for omnipotence.
"And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of
the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the
valley, because they had chariots of iron." (Judges 1:19)
d. Make people tell lies. --"Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath
put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the
Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee." (I Kings 22:23) "And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie." (II Thessalonians 2:11)
13. According to the bible, where does God
live?
Answer: B
a. On a throne in the seventh heaven.
b. In darkness. --How can the "God of light" live in
darkness?
"Then spake Solomon, the Lord said that he would dwell in the thick
darkness." (I Kings 8:12. Repeated in II Chronicles 6:1) "And he
made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick
clouds of the skies." (II Samuel 22:12) "He made darkness his
secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and
thick clouds of the skies." (Psalm 18:11) "The Lord reigneth; let
the earth rejoice . . . clouds and darkness are round about him."
(Psalm 97:1-2)
This contradicts I John 1:5: "God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all . . . If we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another."
c. Above the clouds.
d. On a planet between the sun and the stars. --The Mormon
religion, in fact, considers God to be a natural being living on a
planet.
14. According to biblical biology, what is a
bat?
Answer: A
a. A bird. --Biblical biology rates an 'F.' Bats are mammals, not
birds. This is another good reason to keep bibles out of science
classes.
"And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the
fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle,
and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture . . . And the
stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat."
(Leviticus 11:13-19, where "fowl" is oph. Repeated in Deuteronomy
14:11-20, calling the same list "birds" [tsippor] and "fowls"
[oph])
b. A mammal. --The biblical writers did not understand the
classification of animals, and the concept of "mammal" is absent
from their writings. The bible was clearly not inspired by an
all-knowing god.
c. An insect.
d. A mythical creature.
15. According to biblical anatomy, where does thinking
happen?
Answer: A
a. In the heart. --Biblical anatomy also rates an 'F.' The heart is
an organ that pumps blood--it does not process thoughts, although
the biblical writers erroneously thought it did. The word "brain"
appears nowhere in the bible.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually." (Genesis 6:5) "As he thinketh in his heart, so is
he." (Proverbs 23:7) "And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their
heart, took a child, and set him by him." (Luke 9:47) "For the word
of God is quick, and powerful . . . and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) See also
Deuteronomy 15:9, Judges 5:15, I Chronicles 29:18, Esther 6:6, Job
17:11, Psalm 10:6, Psalm 33:11, Jeremiah 23:20, Isaiah 10:7, Daniel
2:30, Acts 8:22.
The word "heart" in the bible was not used in the modern sense of
"emotion" because it is depicted as having thoughts, intentions,
and imaginations. The emotions were usually considered to be in the
kidneys (see below).
b. In the brain. --Tellingly, the word "brain" appears nowhere in
the Bible. The bible was clearly not inspired by an all-knowing
god.
c. In the kidneys. --In biblical times, the kidneys ("reins") were
the seat of the emotions. "Reins" was used roughly then as "heart"
is sometimes used today: "Thus my heart was grieved, and I was
pricked in my reins." (Psalm 73:21) "Yea, my reins shall rejoice,
when thy lips speak right things. Let not my heart envy sinners."
(Proverbs 23:16-17) "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins,
even to give every man according to his ways." (Jeremiah 17:10)
"All the churches will know that I am he which searcheth the reins
and hearts." (Revelation 2:23)
d. In the lungs.
16. How did Gideon demonstrate his family
values?
Answer: C
a. He lived with a young boy named Jether.
b. He and his wife Ophrah had three sons who became spiritual
leaders.
c. He fathered 71 sons through many wives plus a mistress in
Shechem. --So much for monogamy and fidelity. Is this how the
hotel-bible Gideon Society expects us to demonstrate family
values?
"And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for
he had many wives. And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also
bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech." (Judges
8:30-31)
Did Gideon not have any daughters? Perhaps daughters were just too
insignificant to mention.
d. He remained single, becoming the inspiration for St. Paul.
17. After Jephthah was victorious in battle, what sacrifice
did he burn on the altar, as he had vowed to the
Lord?
Answer: D
a. Himself.
b. His livestock.
c. Two unspotted lambs.
d. His virgin daughter. --Another example of family values from the
"Good Book." Jephthah's nameless daughter is burned as a sacrifice
in order to appease the wrath and flatter the vanity of God, who
tacitly accepts and never denounces this horrible practice.
"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt
without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it
shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to
meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall
surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
. . . And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and behold, his
daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and
she was his only child; . . . And it came to pass at the end of two
months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her
according to his vow which he had vowed." (Judges 11:30-39)
The bible sanctions child sacrifice here. Notice how everyone
assumed the correctness of Jephthah's actions: there is no
denunciation of this pointless murder from God, or from anyone in
Jephthah's community, or from the biblical writers. It was the
right thing to do.
The ultimate child sacrifice, of course, is the story of Jesus
being put to death to appease the wrath of his offended father.
Ruth Green, author of The Born Again Skeptic's Guide to the Bible,
puts it this way: "If the concept of a father who plots to have his
own son put to death is presented to children as beautiful and
worthy of society's admiration, what types of human behavior can be
presented to them as reprehensible?"
The biblical god often requested and accepted human sacrifice: "And
he [God] said [to Abraham], Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer
him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I
will tell thee of." (Genesis 22:2) "For thou shalt not delay to
offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors; the
firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me." (Exodus 22:29) "But
the king [David] took the two sons of Rizpah . . . and the five
sons of Michal . . . and he delivered them into the hands of the
Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and
they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of
harvest . . . And after that God was intreated for the land." (II
Samuel 21:8-14) "We are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ . . . But this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God."
(Hebrews 10:10-12)
18. What price did David pay King Saul for his first
wife?
Answer: C
a. 500 cattle.
b. The heads of 100 Philistines.
c. The foreskins of 200 Philistines. --David is supposed to be a
biblical role model; but how does massacre and mutilation show
moral leadership? What would Saul want with 200 foreskins? Possibly
proof that his new son-in-law was a truly macho man for his
daughter. (More likely, this reflects the pagan practice of
offering foreskins as a rain/fertility ritual.)
"Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the
Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and
they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the
king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife."
(I Samuel 18:27)
d. The swords, shields and horses of 300 Philistines.
19. How many regular sexual partners did King Solomon
have?
Answer: D
a. One wife and 300 concubines.
b. One wife. (The concubines were servants.)
c. 300 wives.
d. One thousand sexual partners. --At least one thousand. Another
fine example of family values from one of God's favorites.
"But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the
daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites,
Zidonians, and Hittites . . . And he had seven hundred wives,
princesses, and three hundred concubines." (I Kings 11:1-3)
Notice that this lifestyle is never denounced by God, Jesus, or the
biblical writers. Solomon, supposedly an ancestor of Jesus, was
praised by Jesus: "all his glory" (Matthew 6:29), "wisdom of
Solomon" (Matthew 12:42). Jesus compared himself (not so humbly) to
Solomon's greatness: "a greater than Solomon is here." (Luke
11:31)
20. What happened to 42 little children who teased God's
prophet Elisha for being bald and he cursed them in the name of the
Lord?
Answer: C
a. They were whipped by their parents.
b. They and their descendants to five generations were forbidden to
enter the tabernacle.
c. Two bears came out of the forest and killed them all. --Note
that this bloody execution for a childish prank is the work of the
God of the bible. Is a person like this worthy of worship? Is this
"pro-life"?
"And he [Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was
going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the
city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go
up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and
cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she
bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."
(II Kings 2:23-24)
d. They were forced to work seven years for the Levites, as child
slaves.
21. What reason did God give for tormenting
Job?
Answer: C
a. "Job was a sinner. He deserved it." --Job was not a sinner:
"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that
man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed
evil." (Job 1:1) "And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou
considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the
earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil?" (Job 1: "In all this Job
sinned not." (Job 1:22)
b. "I didn't torment Job. Satan did it."
c. "Satan dared me, so I destroyed Job for no reason at all."
--This is a damning confession. In a court of law, this would be
enough to convict God of the highest reckless crimes against
humanity. In addition to ruining Job's livelihood and inflicting
him with a debilitating illness, God murdered his 10 children and
his servants--"without cause."
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth
fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to
destroy him without cause." (Job 2:3)
d. "I wanted to see how far a man would bend before
breaking."
22. According to the bible, what does Satan look
like?
Answer: B
a. A skinny red man with horns and a pointed tail.
b. A red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns. --Are there still adults
in the 21st century who believe in the existence of Satan? If they
do, they are forced to picture him as a mythical 7-headed dragon,
the only physical description of Satan given in the bible:
"And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great
red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon
his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,
and did cast them to the earth . . . And the great dragon was cast
out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth
the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:3-9)
c. A garden snake. --The talking serpent that tempted Eve in the
Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-16) is not identified as "Satan" in the
Old Testament, nor does Paul make such a connection (II Corinthians
11:3). Talking animals, by the way, are the stuff of fables (see
fable in the dictionary). See documentation at the end for a deeper
analysis.
d. An angel in a black robe.
23. How does the biblical god treat haughty
women?
Answer: B
a. He makes them barren.
b. He puts scabs on their heads and uncovers their private parts.
--This is sexual harassment and molestation. "Secret parts" (below)
is poth, which means "hinged opening" (vagina). This is just one of
many biblical instances in which women are debased, immorally or
cavalierly treated as male property, subject to purchase, sale,
abduction, and even sexual assault. No wonder the biblical writers
never disapprove of such crimes when they are committed by God
himself. How can anyone possibly pretend to love a god who would
say such a thing?
"Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are
haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes,
walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their
feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the
head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover [lay
bare-ASV] their secret parts." (Isaiah 3:16-17)
c. He takes away their gold and expensive clothing.
d. The Holy Spirit causes them to feel shame for their
arrogance.
24. In dollars (shekels), how much is a woman
worth?
Answer: A
a. Half a male. --Modern sexism and inequality have their roots in
the Bible. Depending on age, a female is worth approximately half
as much as a male:
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow,
the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation. And thy
estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto
sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of
silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a
female,then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it be
from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation
shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten
shekels. And if it be from a month old even unto five years old,
then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver,
and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.
And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then
thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten
shekels." (Leviticus 27:1-7)
This devaluation of women is reflected in the "double uncleanness"
of giving birth to a daughter:
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man
child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days
of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. . . . But
if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks . .
." (Leviticus 12:1-5)
More documentation of the bible's treatment of women at the end of
this quiz.
b. The same as a male.
c. Twice as much as a male.
d. Irrelevant. The Bible does not put a dollar value on human
life.
25. What happens if a man rapes an engaged virgin in the
city, and no one hears anything?
Answer: D
a. The man should pay her father 100 shekels of silver.
b. The man is stoned to death.
c. The woman is stoned to death.
d. They are both stoned to death. --What if she was gagged, or had
laryngitis, or the neighbors were out of town? Is it fair to punish
the victim of a crime, much less mete out the death penalty to a
victim of violence?! The bible primitively and unfairly frames rape
as a crime committed by a man against another man's property.
"If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a
man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring
them both out unto the gate of the city, and ye shall stone them
with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being
in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's
wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you." (Deuteronomy
22:23-24)
And if the woman is not engaged, she is forced to marry her rapist!
The rapist simply pays a fine:
"If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed,
and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the
man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty
shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath
humbled her, he may not put her away all his days." (Deuteronomy
22:28-29)
26. What is the Mosaic Law punishment for being
handicapped?
Answer: C
a. You will be stoned to death.
b. You must sacrifice two additional doves on the altar.
c. You are not allowed in church. --This is an ancient,
unenlightened view, treating the disabled as inferior people.
Shouldn't an all-loving God be bigger than this?
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying,
Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any
blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. . . .
a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing
superfluous. Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or
crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be
scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a
blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer
the offerings of the Lord made by fire . . . he shall not go in
unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a
blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the Lord do
sanctify them." (Leviticus 21:16-23)
d. You must bathe for two months before entering the
tabernacle.
27. According to the Bible, when may a husband have sex
with his wife?
Answer: B
a. As often as he likes. She is his property.
b. Not during her menstrual period. --Another example of biblical
sexism: women are "unclean." This is also an example of
disproportionate punishment, as being "cut off" from the tribe for
this "crime" (see below) was likely a death sentence in a nomadic
culture.
"And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood,
she shall be put apart seven days . . . and if any man lie with her
at all, and her flowers [impurity] be upon him, he shall be unclean
seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean."
(Leviticus 15:19-24) "And if a man shall lie with a woman having
her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered
her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and
both of them shall be cut off from among the people." (Leviticus
20:1
c. As often as he likes until the first son is born, then by mutual
agreement.
d. As often as the wife allows it.
28. How should you feel when you dash babies against the
rocks?
Answer: A
a. Happy. -- Is this "pro-life"? This is one of numerous examples
of god-ordained genocide. Even if you coldly feel there is justice
in killing the innocent infants of people deemed "evil" by your
religion, would you be happy to do it, as the bible declares? If
this is not evil, then what is?
"O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be,
that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that
taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." (Psalm
137:8-9)
b. Ashamed.
c. It depends if the babies were guilty or innocent.
d. Nothing. It is all in God's hands.
29. How many human generations were there before
Jesus?
Answer: D
a. "More numerous than the stars."
b. 144,000.
c. 412.
d. 62. --The bible got it wrong by two orders of magnitude. History
and archaeology prove that there were more than a mere 62
generations before Christianity. The species Homo sapiens has
existed for 100,000 - 200,000 years, which would be at least 5,000
generations.
Luke 3:34-38 lists 20 generations between Adam and Abraham:
Abraham, Thara, Nachor, Saruch, Ragau, Phalec, Heber, Sala, Cainan,
Arphaxad, Sem, Noe, Lamech, Mathusala, Enoch, Jared, Maleleel,
Cainan, Enos, Seth, Adam. Then Matthew 1:17 gives 42 generations
between Abraham and Jesus: "So all the generations from Abraham to
David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying
away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying
away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations."
Matthew and Luke also contradict each other: both genealogies claim
to go through Joseph, the father of Jesus (Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23.
Why Joseph? Wasn't God the father?), yet their lists disagree in
length and in names--except for Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, an
intersection that proves they were not intended to be separate
lines. They also contradict the Old Testament genealogies,
conveniently deleting and adding in order to make the numbers fit a
pattern.
30. What Christmas tradition is expressly forbidden in the
bible?
Answer: C
a. Singing carols house-to-house.
b. Exchanging gifts.
c. Christmas trees. --Many other Christmas traditions have their
roots in pagan practices, such as the holly wreath, a fertility
symbol. Even the date of Christmas, near the winter solstice, is
linked to sun worship. Modern Christians have stolen Christmas from
the pagans.
"Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not
dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at
them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a
tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with
the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it
with nails and with hammers, that it move not. . . . They are
altogether brutish and foolish." (Jeremiah 10:2-
d. Kissing under the mistletoe.
31. According to Jesus, what must you do to have eternal
life?
Answer: B
a. Obey the law and keep all the sacraments.
b. Sell everything you have and give all the money to the poor.
--Heaven will be very empty, it seems. How many Christians take
seriously this direct command of Jesus?
"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good master, what good
thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? . . . Jesus said
unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come
and follow me." (Matthew 19:16-21. See also Luke 12:33)
c. Attend church regularly and tithe ten percent of your income to
God. --Christian tithing is difficult to support biblically. In Old
Testament times, when church and government were united, the tithe
was the state tax, often used to support the non-working Levites
(priests). But there is no consistent explanation of tithing in
Hebrew scripture or in other nations. Babylonians used the tithe as
a secular tax for royal purposes. In America, where state and
church are separated, Christians should not tithe--unless they want
to be doubly taxed! There is nothing in the New Testament to
support tithing. Jesus mocked the scribes and Pharisees who tithed
(Matthew 23:23). The writer of Hebrews affirmed that the tithe was
to be paid to the Levites, admitting that times are different now:
"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a
change also of the law." (Hebrews 7:5,12)
d. Confess your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart.
32. According to Jesus, how should Christian disciples
treat their parents?
Answer: C
a. Parents should be loved, honored and cared for.
b. Parents should be taken care of by the church community.
c. Parents should be hated. --More family values from the "Good
Book."
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own
life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26) The word "hate"
here is miseo, the Greek word for "hate," from which we get the
prefix in "misanthropy" and "misogyny." The same writer uses miseo
in such verses as: "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you." (Luke
6:22)
The concept of devaluing your family is reflected by Matthew: "And
a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew
10:37-3 Why not love your
family first? This sounds like something an uneasy dictator would
say.
d. Parents should be ignored--"Let the dead bury the dead"--because
when you are born again, God becomes your true parent.
33. According to Jesus, how should slaves be
treated?
Answer: B
a. They should be beaten daily to keep them in line.
b. They should be beaten for disobedience, but not more severely
then they deserve. --Jesus never denounced slavery: he endorsed it!
He incorporated it into his teachings as if it were the most
natural order (which it was for the biblical writers who didn't
know any better). Why doesn't the bible--supposedly inspired by an
all-loving deity--ever hint that there is something wrong with such
a brutal social institution? If it were not for the influence of
the bible (see answer 'd' below), the appalling American slave
trade might have been curtailed, along with the bloody Civil
War.
"And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not
himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of
stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." (Luke 12:47-4 The entire context
(Luke 12:41-4 shows that this is not
part of a parable--it is the explanation of a parable, after Peter
asked a question. But even if it were a parable, it would carry the
same weight as a teaching of Jesus.
The word "servant" above is doulos, which means "slave" in Greek,
and is correctly rendered "slave" by the NRSV, NAS, Scholar's
Version, and others. "Shall" meant "should," as Jesus adds: "For
unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required."
(Luke 12:4
c. They should be treated humanely, as members of the family.
--Paul did urge Philemon to treat his slave Onesimus as a brother
(Philemon 15-16), but he was not speaking for Jesus, and Onesimus
was a special case, a personal friend. Paul never denounced
slavery.
d. They should be set free because slavery is wrong. --The Bible
nowhere states that slavery is wrong. Slavery is ordained by the
Bible: "Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn
among you, of them shall ye buy, . . . and they shall be your
possession . . . they shall be your bondmen forever." (Leviticus
25:45-46) "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve:
and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing . . . And if a
man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as
the menservants do." (Exodus 21:2,7) "Servants [slaves], obey in
all things your masters." (Colossians 3:22)
34. What did Jesus say about peace?
Answer: B
a. "Peace on earth, good will toward men." --This Christmas message
from Luke 2:14 contradicts Jesus himself.
b. "Don't think that I came for peace on earth. I came to start
wars." --Are these the words of a good man?
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to
send peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34) "I am come to send fire
on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have
a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be
accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I
tell you, Nay; but rather division." (Luke 12:49-51) These words,
by the way, come immediately after Jesus talked about beating
slaves. (See Question 33)
c. "Each person makes their own peace, according to their faith and
how they treat others."
d. "There is no peace apart from God." --Paul sometimes wrote about
peace (see Romans 15:33), but this also contradicts Jesus.
35. Which one of these phrases did Jesus not say about
witnessing?
Answer: B
a. "Thou shalt not bear false witness." (Matthew 19:1
b. "God is my witness." --Paul wrote: "For God is my witness, whom
I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son." (Romans 1:9)
Notice that Jesus contradicts himself below.
c. "If I bear witness of myself, it is true." --"Jesus answered and
said unto them, though I bear record [martyria] of myself, yet my
record [martyria] is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I
go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and wither I go." (John 8:14)
Martyria means "bear witness" (NAS) or "testify" (NIV, NRSV), the
same word used in the contradictory John 5:31 (below).
d. "If I bear witness of myself, it is not true." --"If I bear
witness [martyria] of myself, my witness [martyria] is not true."
(John 5:31) Martyria means "bear witness" (NAS) or "testify" (NIV,
NRSV), the same word used in the contradictory John 8:14
(above).
Needless to say, Jesus was not very reliable, nor was he very
clear.
36. What personal sacrifice for "the kingdom of heaven" was
Jesus talking about when he told his disciples, "He that is able to
receive it, let him receive it"?
Answer: D
a. Leave your family. --Yes, Jesus did encourage followers to leave
their families (Mark 10:29-30), but not using that phrase.
b. Pluck out your eyes. --Yes, Jesus did talk gruesomely about
plucking out eyes and cutting off hands (Matthew 5:29), but not
using that phrase.
c. Become poor. --Yes, Jesus did encourage poverty (see Question
31), but not using that phrase.
d. Castrate yourself. --No wonder we don't hear sermons from the
entire New Testament--how many preachers actually take this ghastly
advice seriously?! Although some have prudently tried to interpret
this as celibacy rather than castration, the early church father
Origen read it literally and took a knife to himself. There were
entire monastic orders, and church choirs in need of sopranos known
as "castrati" based on this teaching of Jesus. Literal or not, the
face value of this verse is physical mutilation:
"But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save
they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so
born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which
were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made
themselves eunuchs from the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is
able to receive it, let him receive it." (Matthew 19:11-12) The
Scholar's Version has: "There are castrated men who castrated
themselves because of Heaven's imperial rule. If you are able to
accept this (advice), do so."
Tragically, every year there are reported cases of Christian
followers mutilating themselves because "the bible tells me
so."
37. According to New Testament medical advice, what should
you do if you are sick?
Answer: B
a. Seek medical help from doctors ordained by God.
b. Ask the church elders to apply oil to your skin and pray for
you. --Verses like these have resulted in the needless deaths of
adults and criminal-neglect deaths of children from treatable
illnesses that were left untreated because of prayer. Why couldn't
the biblical deity have dispensed some useful medical advice to the
human race instead of placebo prescriptions for prayer?
"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church;
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of
the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up." (James 5:14-15)
c. Ask Jesus or the elders to exorcise the evil spirits from your
body.
d. Kneel down before a brass serpent wrapped around a pole. --The
Old Testament contains this absurd alternative medicine remedy for
snake bite: "And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a
pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man,
when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." (Numbers
21:9)
38. What does Paul prohibit a woman from wearing in
church?
Answer: B
a. A hat, or any head covering. --(See Question 9)
b. Gold. --How many Christian women know they are breaking God's
law by wearing gold wedding rings to church? Or pearls or braids or
expensive clothing? This is all part of the biblical plan to keep
women in their place (see Question 39).
"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest
apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety; not with broided
[braided] hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array." (I Timothy
2:9) Paul was not simply giving his own personal advice here; he
introduced these verses with: "Whereunto I am ordained a preacher,
and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not
a teacher of the
Gentiles in faith and verity." (I Timothy 2:7)
c. Necklaces, bracelets or anklets.
d. Men's clothing. --The Old Testament indeed prohibits cross
dressing: "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a
man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all who do
so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 22:5)
Are women's pantsuits and men's earrings an abomination?
39. According to Paul, what is the role of women in the
church?
Answer: C
a. Women are equal to men in all respects.
b. Women do the praying, singing and testifying, while men handle
the preaching and finances.
c. Women must keep silent. They should learn from their husbands at
home. --This sexist admonition continues to be invoked by Catholics
and patriarchal Protestant denominations to turn women into
second-class citizens.
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not
permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under
obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing,
let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to
speak in the church." (I Corinthians 14:34-35) "I would have you
know that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the
woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (I Corinthians
11:3) "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is
fit in the Lord." (Colossians 3:1 "Let the woman learn
in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach,
nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." (I
Timothy 2:11-15)
For more on this topic, see Woe To The Women: The Bible Tells Me So
at the end of this quiz. For a word analysis showing that Paul
indeed commands women to be in "subjection" to men, see "The Rising
of the Women" at the end of this quiz.
d. Women are not allowed in church except on high holidays.
40. What does Paul say about marriage?
Answer: A
a. "I wish everyone were single like me." --As author Ruth Green
put it, the "Christian family" is a "Christian fantasy." Paul's
belief that "it is good for a man not to touch a woman" (I
Corinthians 7:1) led to the doctrine of celibacy and other warped
teachings on sexuality. Nineteenth-century feminist author Matilda
Joslyn Gage pointed out that this teaching directly led to such
woman-hating abuses as the witch-hunts.
"For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath
his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after
that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for
them if they abide even as I." (I Corinthians 7:7-
b. "Celibacy is a pagan practice."
c. "Elders and deacons may have more than one wife." --Paul seemed
to acknowledge that some Christian men below the rank of Bishop or
Elder had more than one wife: "A bishop then must be blameless, the
husband of one wife." (I Timothy 3:2) "Ordain elders in every city,
as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one
wife, having faithful children." (Titus 1:5-6) But he did not
prohibit or permit polygamy.
d. "If your feelings are only sexual, then don't get married." --On
the contrary! According to Paul, if you can't contain your sexual
urges, you are better off getting married: "I say therefore to the
unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to
marry than to burn." (I Corinthians 7:8-9) Is this what parents
should teach their children?
41. Paul forbids divorce, but Jesus allows it under
one circumstance. What is that circumstance?
Answer: B
a. If the husband has sex outside of marriage.
b. If the wife has sex outside of marriage. --Sexism illustrated:
in Christianity, only a male can divorce a cheating spouse.
"It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give
her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, that whosoever
shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that
is divorced committeth adultery." (Matthew 5:31-32) Not only did
Jesus contradict Paul (I Corinthians 7:10), he admittedly
contradicted the Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 24:1), which allowed
divorce on much broader grounds.
c. If either has sex outside of marriage.
d. If the wife fails to produce a son.
42. What group of people will make it into the heavenly
choir?
Answer: D
a. Those who are "poor in spirit."
b. Those who confess their sins and accept Jesus as their
savior.
c. God's chosen people, the Jews.
d. 144,000 male virgins who have not been defiled with women. --No
women allowed! Notice the sexism: women "defile" men.
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with
him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name
written in their foreheads. . . . And they sung as it were a new
song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders:
and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four
thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which
were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they
which follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth." (Revelation
14:1-4)
No Christians allowed! These singers are made up of 12,000 from
each of the 12 tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:4-.
43. Which one of these words is in the
bible?
Answer: B
a. Trinity. --Although the word "trinity" is used by most Christian
groups, it appears nowhere in the bible, and the concept is
difficult to support biblically. It was first used by Christians
more than a century after the birth of Christianity, probably by
Tertullian (145-220). The current doctrine of "one God in three
persons" is not found in the bible, although some think they find
it in verses where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mentioned
together. (See II Corinthians 13:14).
b. Liberal. --In the King James version of the bible, "liberal" is
a good word. The word "conservative" appears nowhere in the
bible.
"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be
watered also himself." (Proverbs 11:25) "The vile person shall be
no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful."
(Isaiah 32:5) "But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by
liberal things shall he stand." (Isaiah 32: "Whiles by
the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your
professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your
liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men . . . Thanks be to
God for his unspeakable gift." (II Corinthians 9:13-15)
c. Christmas.
d. Rapture. --"Rapture" is a term used by some Christians to refer
to what will happen to believers when they are "caught up" to
heaven: "The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord." (I Thessalonians 4:16-17. See also I Corinthians 15:52.)
The word "rapture" does not appear in bible. Notice also the
primitive flat-earth cosmology: heaven is "up in the clouds."
44. Where does the bible say that all men are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable rights?
Answer: D
a. The laws of Moses.
b. Jesus's Sermon on the Mount.
c. The Book of Revelation.
d. Nowhere. --Nowhere in the bible will you find an acknowledgement
that human beings have inherent rights to life, liberty, happiness,
dignity, fairness, or self-government. In the bible, humans are
sinners, worms, and slaves--God has all the rights.
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof
are the ways of death." (Proverbs 14:12) "Lean not unto thine own
understanding." (Proverbs 3:5) "Bring into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ." (II Corinthians 10:5) "Captivity" is
not freedom. The U.S. Declaration of Independence is a humanistic,
anti-biblical document.
45. Should Christians allow nonbelievers into their
homes?
Answer: No
Yes.
No. --Acting inhospitably is the Christian thing to do. Notice how
this verse unfairly equates unbelief and diversity with evil: "If
there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him
not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth
him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." (II John 10-11)
46. Should Christian men kiss each other?
Answer: Yes
Yes. --Why do we not see men kissing in church, then? "Greet all
the brethren with an holy kiss." (I Thessalonians 5:26. See also
Romans 16:16; I Corinthians 16:20; II Corinthians 13:12; I Peter
5:14)
No.
47. Should Christians always give what they have to anyone
who asks for it?
Answer: Yes
Yes. --In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "Give to every man
that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them
not again." (Luke 6:30, repeated in Matthew 5:42) Try asking
Christians for their houses and possessions, and see how faithful
they are to the teachings of Jesus. Borrow a Christian's car and
see if they ever ask for it back. Modern believers know that Jesus
was wrong and the bible is not to be taken literally.
No.
48. Do the Ten Commandments prohibit incest or
rape?
Answer: No
Yes.
No. --The "ten commandments" (see Question 1) do not condemn any
sexual acts. The only sexual practice prohibited by the list in
Exodus 20 is adultery, which, although a valid marital concern, is
a legal act between consenting adults. The violent and degrading
crimes of rape and incest surely should have rated a "top ten"
list, but they do not appear. Adultery in the Old Testament was
considered a crime that could only be committed by a wife. Harper's
Bible Dictionary explains: "The law was probably intended to ensure
that any child born to the wife was really the husband's child,
since it was considered crucial for the husband to have offspring,
so that the family name could be perpetuated." Adultery had bearing
on the patriarchy, while more violent crimes did not.
49. If you lose a lawsuit, should you pay exactly what the
court decides?
Answer: No
Yes.
No. --You should pay twice as much! In the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus commands: "And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take
away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall
compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." (Matthew 5:40-41) Are
bible-believing Christians really paying double court-ordered child
support? Or are they wiser than Jesus?
50. Can Christians ask their boss for a
raise?
Answer: No
Yes.
No. --It is unChristian to ask for a raise: "And [John the Baptist]
said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And
the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we
do? and he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse
any falsely; and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:13-14) Modern
Christians who love their families know better than this: it is not
responsible to deny yourself a fair market wage, especially if you
have children to support. Real family values transcend the bible.
[John the Baptist was "preparing the way" for Jesus when he
supposedly spoke these words.]
