21. What reason did God give for tormenting Job?
Answer: 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."
My Comments:
It would be damning, if that was what God said. Let's take a look at several translations to see if the FFRF has accurately understood God's words. First, in the translation they uses, the King James Version, we see:
"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)
You can kind of see how the archaic English of the KJV might lend itself to such an understanding, but let's see if that holds up in a highly accurate modern translation, the New Revised Standard Version:
The Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason."
On this closer examination it seems that Satan tried to get God to destroy Job, but it didn't happen. Let's take a look at a final version, The Message paraphrase version, which is noted for skillfully rendering the subtle shadings of the original languages of the Bible into English:
GOD singled out Satan, saying, "And what have you been up to?" Satan answered God, "Oh, going here and there, checking things out." Then God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him, is there--honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil? He still has a firm grip on his integrity! You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn't work."
It's a clear case of sloppy Bible reading. Where the FFRF says God is saying "I destroyed Job without cause" God is actually saying the opposite.
So, if this isn't the confession the FFRF says it is, why does Job suffer? Is it because God wants to test him? Is it because Satan wants to destroy him? Is it just because bad things sometimes happen to good people?
The frustrating thing about this book is that Job never learns the reason, and neither do we. When God finally speaks to Job there's no explanation, only a mystery. In fact, God slams the armchair theologians who have been trying to explain things to Job for speaking about things they don't understand. Job's honest questioning is praised while the false self-assurance of the 'friends' is repudiated. The question of suffering is a mystery, but we are left with the assurance that God is with Job, and with us, even when we suffer.
22. According to the bible, what does Satan look like?
Answer: 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.
My Comments:
This is correct. Revelation is a book of symbols and visions so this is a metaphoric rather than a literal image, but is it still the only description of Satan anywhere in the Bible.
23. How does the biblical god treat haughty women?
Answer: B - He puts scabs on their heads and uncovers their private parts.
This is sexual harassment and molestation. "Secret parts" 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?
My Comments:
The problem addressed here is pride and more than pride, injustice. The haughty women are a symptom of what is happening in Israel in Isaiah's time. The poor suffer while the wealthy indulge themselves with luxuries. The corrective that is that the proud are humiliated.
I agreee that the image is a disturbing one, and I agree that the treatment of women in the ancient Hebrew culture was sexist and exploitative. While I dislike the image, though, I hope modern readers can see past it. The eart of the passage is a call for justice and an attempt to shame the wealthy into showing more compassion and justice for the poor and oppressed.
24. In dollars (shekels), how much is a woman worth?
Answer: 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:
This devaluation of women is reflected in the "double uncleanness" of giving birth to a daughter.
My Comments:
There is no denying that there is a huge amount of sexism in the Bible. It improves in the New Testament, but even there women are devalued in disgraceful ways.
The only statement I will take issue with here is the claim that the Bible is the root of modern sexism and inequality. This would mean that non-Christian countries would be free of sexism. Sadly, that is not the case; sexism is a world-wide problem and crosses national, cultural, and religious boundaries.
25. What happens if a man rapes an engaged virgin in the city, and no one hears anything?
Answer: 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.
And if the woman is not engaged, she is forced to marry her rapist! The rapist simply pays a fine.
My Comments:
This time the FFRF nailed it. It's impossible to justify this terrible attitude about women, even in the context of the ancient world. To try to apply this in the modern world would be inexcusable.
Sometimes the Bible reflects cultural values that we are well-rid of in the modern world.
26. What is the Mosaic Law punishment for being handicapped?
Answer: 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?
My Comments:
I have to agree. Fortunately, Jesus also agrees and made it a focus of his ministry to include and heal the mentally and physically handicapped.
27. According to the Bible, when may a husband have sex with his wife?
Answer: 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" was likely a death sentence in a nomadic culture.
My Comments:
I have to agree with this one too. These ancient purity rules don't make sense, and didn't even back then.
28. How should you feel when you dash babies against the rocks?
Answer: 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?
My Comments:
This is a deeply disturbing passage from the Psalms. For what it is worth, this was written during the Babylonian Captivity when the people of Israel had been conquered by the Babylonian Empire. Imagine that the European Jews of World War 2 had to write a Psalm about how they felt living under the Nazis. They might well have included some similarly hateful and violent language, as would most people in their position.
I think the image of dashing babies to death is horrible no matter what the situation, but I don't think calling this "genocide" is in any way fair. The Jews were powerless under the Babylonians and incapable of genocide, except in their darkest fantasies. They were the ones in danger of being wiped out.
29. How many human generations were there before Jesus?
Answer: 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.
My Comments:
This one is pretty much right on. Trying to measure the age of humanity, or the age of the earth from the dates in the Bible is an exercise in futility. The Bible wasn't written with this sort of question in mind.
The genealogies in Matthew and Luke are symbolic, by the way. Matthew was written for a Jewish audience and the genealogy was meant to show continuity with Jewish tradition so it traces him back to Abraham. By contrast, Luke was written for a mainly Gentile audience and created a lineage going back to Adam to show that the Gospel was for all people.
30. What Christmas tradition is expressly forbidden in the bible?
Answer: 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.
My Comments:
There are Fundamentalist Christians who imagine that this passage is talking about Christmas trees but this is actually a reference to a Middle-Eastern fertility worship object called an Asherah pole. So, unless you're using your Christmas tree for ancient fertility goddess worship, you're okay as far the Bible goes.
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