Thoughts on Christianity and God

I've tried to approach the subject with a very logical mindset, and have struggled to remain objective, thorough, and precise. I hope that we have grown beyond the level that caused Thomas Aquinas to say, "But in the things of God natural reason is often at a loss."

Please note that I am a weak atheist (doubts the existence of God), but have tried to be as objective as possible. I agree with most of the Bible's teachings, and certainly agree with the spirit of the New Testament. Nevertheless, I'm sure my own viewpoint has biased my thoughts, and I encourage criticism. Simply click on my e-mail address at the bottom of any page to send me comments.

If you are a Christian, please do not take my statements personally. I am not attacking you, but rather exploring the whole issue of Christianity, warts and all. My being an atheist does not make me an anti-theist, as some would like to label me. Please read What It Means To Be An Atheist below for an elaboration on this.

These writings are in roughly chronological order, and they show the development of my thoughts as I have been studying this subject. The first topic I tackled was the literal inerrancy of the Bible, and have since delved into issues on morality. As a result, my thinking has changed over the course of about a year, which makes some of my earlier writing unrepresentative of my current viewpoint. In particular, many of my early writings were aimed toward the factual basis of Christianity, and ignored issues regarding spirituality and faith. I've written the page on liberal Christianity to consolidate some of my current thoughts.

All Biblical quotations are from the New International Version, except where noted. They are offset from the main text as block quotes, and the reference is given parenthetically at the end. Ellipses are used to indicate omitted text before or after the quoted text.

My First Steps in Contemplating Christianity

• Introduction
• The Role of Skepticism in Religion
• What do I know?
• The Proof of God via Personal Experiences

The Inerrancy of the Bible

• Does the Bible Have Factual Errors and Internal Contradictions?
• Does the Bible have Contradictions with Our Morals?
• If the Bible is Contradictory, What Does It Mean? (My conclusions.)
• The "All of the Above" Strategy for Resolving Contradictions

Personal Questions and Problems with Christianity

• Questions I have regarding Christianity
• Problems I see with Christianity
• My major hangups regarding Christianity

Arguments For and Against Christianity

• A Catalog of Arguments for and Against Christianity
• The Historical Argument for Christianity

Various Essays on the Bible

• Similarities between Jesus' Life and the Old Testament
• Harmonizing the Gospel Accounts of the Resurrection
• Addressing the Use of "Almah"

Modern Christianity

• Liberal Christianity: A Possible Resolution to Many Thorny Issues
• Results of a Survey: "Where Do Christians Stand On The Big Issues?"
• A View From the Outside: Christianity Needs a Face Lift

Creation and Evolution

• Hoyle's Calculation of the Odds of Life

Miscellaneous

• Quotes from Visitors
• What It Means To Be An Atheist
• A Question Session With a Professor of Divinity
• A Very Biased Opinion Regarding the Success and Origins of Christianity
• Some Definitions
• Christian, Atheist, Creationist, and Evolutionist Resources

Last changed March 23 2024 22:20:53. David Coppit, david@coppit.org