3:2 False Claims
It is no secret that the Bible contains some accurate claims, relating to topics and knowledge that were commonly known by man at the time. However, the Bible also contains a great deal of falsehoods ranging from failed prophecies and historically inaccurate claims to downright embarrassingly false claims about nature.
Failed Prophecies
The Bible's extremely vague prophecies are commonly thought as "fulfilled" because they're easily applied to a plethora of events, like daily horoscopes. The descriptive prophecies of the Old Testament that have been fulfilled have done so only within the stories of the New Testament. None of the descriptive prophecies have been fulfilled outside of biblical stories and several of them were not even fulfilled at all. The lesser discussed unfulfilled prophecies range from failed claims about past future events to expired promises.
FAIL: Damascus is still inhabited today with well over a million people and there was never a time where it ceased to be a city. It is widely known as being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.
FAIL: The river mentioned here is the Nile which never dried up and is still one of Egypt's greatest natural resource.
FAIL: There are still uncircumcised people living in Jerusalem even today.
FAIL: Ezekiel predicts that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon will conquer Egypt utterly destroying it, slaying and scattering its people. Nebuchadnezzar killed many Egyptians and even the Egyptian king Necho II during a battle in Carchemish, but he never conquered Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar attempted conquering Egypt in 601 BCE and failed. In 568 BCE he tried again but Egypt still survived and the pharaoh Amasis II continued his reign from 570 until 526 BCE.
Egypt was conquered by the Nubian King Piy in 728 BCE, the Persians in 525 BCE, and Alexander the Great in 332 BCE. Never by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.
FAIL: Never in its long history has Egypt been uninhabited for forty years.
FAIL: Jesus states in Matthew that all the signs marking the end of the world would be fulfilled before his generation ended, before the people that were standing in front of him "taste death." Those people have been dead for over 2000 years and the world did not come to an end, neither have all those signs been fulfilled.
Babylonian Exile
The Babylonian Exile only lasted 48 years, from 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed until the return of the Israelites to their promised land in 538 BCE after Cyrus overthrew the Babylonian Empire. Jeremiah 29:10 & 2 Chronicles 36:21 falsely say the exile lasted 70 years.
Jericho
The Bible says Joshua destroyed the wall of Jericho around 1400 BCE but Archaeological evidence shows that an earthquake destroyed the wall in 2300 BCE. The city was also thoroughly destroyed by a fire and then abandoned in 1600 BCE. Jericho was not inhabited again until 700 BCE. There was no wall to tumble down or citizens to destroy at Jericho within centuries of when the Bible says Joshua was there.
Belshazzar
Daniel 5:1-2 says Belshazzar was king of the Chaldean Empire (Babylon), and son/successor of Nebuchadnezzar. In reality, Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor was Amel-Marduk. He was assassinated by his Brother-in-law Nergal-Ashur-Usur, who took the throne. His reign was followed by his son Labashi-Marduk, who was opposed by a faction that overthrew him and placed Nabu-naido on the throne. Belshazzar (whom's name was actually Bel-shar-utsur) was the son of Nabu-naido. He was NEVER king, but crown prince, and was not related to Nebuchadnezzar.
Zombie Uprising
Matthew 27:52-53 claims that when Jesus died graves were opened as zombies rose from them and this was seen by many people. If a city under Roman occupation was invaded by zombies don't you think at least one contemporary historian would have written about it? Needless to say, there is not one historical documentation of an actual zombie uprising.
There Was No Exodus
The Bible's story of Moses and the Israelites' exodus from ancient Egypt is purely fictional. Not only is there no evidence for the exodus but it also contradicts known history. Evidence shows that there was no major increase of people in Israel at the end of the supposed exodus. There were also no Jews, Israelites, or Hebrews in ancient Egypt. It was not until almost 2,000 years after the Great Pyramids were finished that we see the earliest record of Jews in Egypt. These Jews were also not slaves, they were soldiers who fought alongside the Pharaoh's soldiers.
Slaves Did Not Build the Pyramids
It is estimated that 10,000 men built the Great Pyramid over a span of 30 years. Archaelogical evidence shows that they lived in good housing at the foot of the pyramid, and when they died, they received honored burials in stone tombs near the pyramid in thanks for their contribution. They also ate well, received the best medical care, and were well paid. Egypt had no shortage of labor, especially during the months when there was no work to be done in the fields. The builders were recruited from poor communities and worked shifts of three months, distributing the pharaoh's wealth out to where it was needed most. Each day, 21 cattle and 23 sheep were slaughtered to feed the workers, enough for each man to eat meat at least once a week.No Post-Exodus Population Increase
If there were a great Exodus to Israel as the Bible claims we would obviously have seen a population increase, there was none. Surveys of ancient settlements--pottery remains and so forth--make it clear that there simply was no great influx of people around the time of the Exodus (given variously as between 1500-1200 BCE). In Israel at that time, there was no population explosion. There was also no sudden change in the kind or the volume of pottery being made. If people suddenly arrived after hundreds of years in Egypt, their cups and dishes would look very different from native Canaanites.No Jews In Ancient Egypt
No Egyptian records contain a single reference to anything in Exodus which is no surprise since there were not Jews in ancient Egypt. It wasn't until almost 2,000 years after the Great Pyramihorriscopesd received its capstone that the earliest known record shows evidence of Jews in Egypt, and they were neither Hebrews nor Israelites. They were a garrison of soldiers from the Persian Empire, stationed on Elephantine, an island in the Nile, beginning in about 650 BCE. They fought alongside the Pharaoh's soldiers in the Nubian campaign, and later became the principal trade portal between Egypt and Nubia. Their history is known from the Elephantine Papyri discovered in 1903, which are in Aramaic, not Hebrew; and their religious beliefs appear to have been a mixture of Judaism and pagan polytheism. Archival records recovered include proof that they observed Shabbat and Passover, and also records of interfaith marriages. In perhaps the strangest reversal from pop pseudohistory, the papyri include evidence that at least some of the Jewish settlers at Elephantine owned Egyptian slaves.Other documentation also identifies the Elephantine garrison as the earliest immigration of Jews into Egypt. The Letter of Aristeas, written in Greece in the second century BCE, records that Jews had been sent into Egypt to assist Pharaoh Psammetichus I in his campaign against the Nubians. Psammetichus I ruled Egypt from 664 to 610 BCE, which perfectly matches the archaeological dating of the Elephantine garrison in 650.
Sources include http://www.examiner.com/atheism-in-philadelphia/the-jewish-exodus-from-egypt-never-happened & http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4191
Placement of Events
The Bible does not say what year Jesus was born but it does tell us during which specific historical events his birth took place. Matthew says Jesus was born in Judea during the reign of Herod the Great and Luke says Jesus was born during the major tax census while Quirinius was governor of Syria. These are both documented historical events but they are also separated by at least 10 years making it historically impossible for Jesus to be born during both events.
During 6 CE
Luke 2:2 places the birth of Jesus during the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria for taxation purpose. The only census that was even close to being large enough to fit the Bible's description happened in 6 CE, so according to Luke 2:2 Jesus' birth could not have been before then. Also Quirinius was not governor of Syria until 6 CE, so again Luke is placing the birth no earlier than 6 CE.
Apologists have tried to cover up this historical contradiction by making up the claim that there was an earlier census AND that Quirinius was also governor of Syria twice. However Quirinius was never the governor of Syria prior to 6 CE and was the governor of Pamphylia-Galatia (in modern Turkey) during the last years of King Herod. Also there was not another large census within 100 years prior to 6 CE.
Before 4 BCE
Matthew 2:1 says Jesus was born in Judea, during the time of King Herod (aka Herod the Great). King Herod died in 4 BCE so according to Matthew Jesus could not have been born after 4 BCE which is 10 years before the census by Quirinius.
Some apologists claim that in Matthew 2 "King Herod" refers to Herod the Great's son, Herod Antipas. However, Matthew 2 is in fact talking about Herod the Great. It mentions that Herod is king of Judea and only Herod the Great was king of Judea. Antipas only the ruler of Galilee and Perea. Also Herod Antipas lived until 39 CE yet the Herod talked about in Matthew died while Jesus was a child according to Matthew 2:19.
Tower of Babel
The Bible places the events of its Tower of Babel story around 1000 BCE. According to Genesis before this time "the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech". In reality there were many spoken and written languages prior to the Tower of Babel events. Chinese was developed prior to 1200 BCE and speakers of several Semitic languages developed the abjab and consonantal alphabet prior to 1500 BCE. The oldest known text in the Sanskrit language, the Rigveda, dates to 1700-1100 BCE. Egyptian hieroglyphs date back to about 3100 BCE and Sumerian writings date as far back as 3200 BCE.
The Flood Never Happened
The book of Genesis claims that a catastrophic worldwide flood occurred which covered all of the highest mountains and killed off all living creatures that were not on Noah's Ark. This flood never happened and the 35 million people who inhabited the planet went on with their lives unaffected. There is no evidence for a global flood in the archaeological record, zoogeography, tree rings, or the polar ice caps. There is only extensive evidence for the contrary.
Top 8 Reasons Why We Know...
The Flood Never Happened
8. Tree Rings
Tree ring records tell us of climate changes over the past 10,000 years and they don’t show that such a catastrophe occurred during the supposed time of the “Great Flood,” or at all.7. Polar Ice Caps
Ice cores from Greenland have been dated back more than 40,000 years by counting annual layers. A worldwide flood would leave a layer of sediments, noticeable changes in salinity and oxygen isotope ratios, fractures from buoyancy and thermal stresses, a hiatus in trapped air bubbles, and other evidence yet no such evidence exists.6. Fresh Water Fish
Most fresh water fish can’t live in salt water, if the Earth was covered in water then all the fresh water would have been mixed up in the salt water. Such a flood would also cause the water to be extremely polluted with dirt which would kill off most modern species of fish.5. Modern Plants
Many plants that are around today, including their seeds, would be killed if they were submerged in water (especially salt water) for 150 days. Most plants also require established soils to grow which would have been stripped away by the flood.4. The Ark Could Not Float
The Bible says the ark was made entirely of wood and was about 450 feet long but as history (and any boat manufacture) will tell us, a wooden vessel that size would not stay afloat. An ark of that size and made of wood will break apart right away from all the stress, even without all the animals on it. Wood is simply not strong enough to prevent separation between the joints. The longest wooden ships are only about 300 feet long, 150 less than Noah’s, and even in ancient times they required reinforcing with iron straps. Even then they still leaked so badly they constantly required pumping.3. Impossible Water Supply
According to the Bible the entire world was covered in water during the flood, even the top of the highest mountains. To cover the Earth like that it would take 5 times the amount of water in the oceans. Where did all that water come from?Did it come from Rain? Nope, even if it rained nonstop for 40 days and 40 nights there would still not be enough water.
Did it come from Geysers? The Bible mentions that the earth opened up and water for the flood spat out of the geysers. If all the underground water was released then the Earth’s crust would have crumbled and formed into quicksand. Geysers also pump out mass amounts of sulfuric acid. If that many geysers were active at once there would have been so much sulfuric acid in the air that Noah, his family, and all the animals would have been unable to breath and died on the spot.
Did it come from Ice Caps? Nope, we know how much water is in the ocean, in the atmosphere, in the rocks, and in the polar ice caps. If we combined all that water together it would still not be nearly enough.
Did it come from Comets? Comets contain a lot of water and some creationists like Kent Hovind claim the water for the flood came from such a comet. In order to have enough water to flood all of Earth the comet would have to be 1,000 miles wide. The impact from such a comet would force the Earth’s temperature to 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s even hotter than the surface of the sun. Every living creature including Noah would have been instantly wiped out. It would not make a difference if it was one giant comet or thousands of smaller comets.
2. Atmospheric Pressure
Since all natural means fail, let’s say that God magically made enough water appear. That solves the problem of where all the water came from but unfortunately just having that much water causes another huge problem. The amount of water needed to cover the planet would have dramatically changed the Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere would have a massive amount of water vapors dissolved in it, so much that Noah would have literally drowned just by breathing. Plus there would be so much atmospheric pressure that his lungs would have been crushed. The obvious fact that humans exist today proves that there was never that much water on Earth in human history.Source: The Discovery Channel's "Noah's Ark: The true story"
1. 35 million people unaffected by supposed flood
The biggest problems with the Bible’s story of a world wide flood is its claim that the entire human race and all other living creatures were wiped out with the exception of the lucky few who were abord the ark. There is no such evidence for a global catastrophe in the archaeological record, only extensive evidence for the contrary. Had there been a disaster that reduced the world’s human population to a mere handful while destroying most cultural artifacts, it must inevitably have taken at least centuries to get civilization back up and running again. The newer civilizations would have also been considerably different from the old as no one ever rebuilds something exactly the same as it was before. Finally there would have only been a single civilization after the flood since Noah’s family would have been the only ones around to get things going again for the human race. Alas, the archaeological record shows us that various civilizations around the world and the human race carried on in a steady fashion before, during, and after the flood supposedly took place with no evidence of such a disaster. Nowhere in the history of modern man has life ever been bottle-nosed down to just 8 people.Zoogeography The same applies to animals, modern species have also never been bottle-nosed down to just one pair. If the story was true Zoogeography would show us a common point of origin for all species in the Middle East since that is the disembarking point for Noah’s ark. Obviously though, this is not the case. Zoogeography and the fossil record shows us the opposite, that species were not limited to just two of a kind (or 7 of a kind) in the past 10,000 years.
Above is the historically accurate world population of humans from 10000 BCE to 2000 CE followed by what this chart would look like if you insert claims from the Christian doctrine. The Bible completely ignores the massive human population before 4000 BCE and claims that there are only two people in existence at this time. Later around 2000 BCE the Bible claims the human population dropped down to just 8 people, Noah and his family. Needless to say the Bible is off by a colossal factor.
False Ark Remains
While not addressing and ignoring the reasons listed above of why it is known for a solid fact that the Great Flood never occurred a few apologetic groups devote their lives searching for the remains of the fabled Noah's ark. Some apologetic groups even claimed to have found the remains of the ark but none of the claims were honest or valid as demonstrated below. They also contradict each other since each apologetic group claims that a different object is the ark. Even if the ark did once exist it would be long gone by now. Wood rots away in just a couple centuries so it would be impossible for such a structure to still be intact, especially where it is claimed to reside.Ark Remains Found at Mt. Suleiman!
Well, not really. The would-be wood remains are actually rocks, silicified sandstones.
The Christian archaeologist group Bible Archeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claims that a 400 foot long formation at Mt. Suleiman in Iran could be Noah's Ark! Although the formation looks like wood, it is really just rock. It's made up of iron-stained sedimentary rocks that are probably thin beds of silicified sandstones and shales. The thin layers in the sediment were mistaken for wood grain by BASE and the layers for beams of wood. The ark-shape is actually due to the oval shape folds and oil traps that are commonly found in Iran.
Ancient Wood Found on Mt. Ararat!
Ancient but not old enough, the wood dates to be from 4,000 years AFTER the supposed time of Noah and his ark.
Photos of Noah's ark on Mt. Ararat!
The aerial photos are actually just proof of hopeful imagination running wild.
In 1949 airplanes photographed the summit of Mt. Ararat and rumors spread of a boat shaped structure in the ice. In 1995 the CIA finally released photos to the public because of the Freedom of Information Act. Unfortunately for those who desperately want to find remains of the ark these photos show no evidence. The images are only natural mountain formations that can be found all over the world. The curve shape is merely the result of snow fall, not a boat. This and similar photos are no more evidence of Noah's ark on Mt. Ararat than other photos are evidence of pirate ships in clouds. It is just wishful thinking.
Yeung Wing-Cheung & NAMI
Yeung Wing-Cheung, a Chinese Christian filmmaker also claims to have found Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat. Yeung Wing-Cheung and his team from Noah's Ark Ministries, a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based Evangelical media group, released a film that was supposedly of the inside of Noah's Ark. They also claimed to have carbon-dated wood samples and determined that the age matches with the story's timeframe. So what's the problem? Yeung Wing-Cheung refuses to let anyone know the location of this secret ark hiding spot and also refuses to let anyone outside of the group test the supposed wood samples to see if he is actually telling the truth. Yeung Wing-Cheung claims he has nothing to hide while he continues to hide everything from the public and refuses peer-review.Origin of the Story
Flood stories are quite common in ancient mythologies around the world. Each of these myths arise in areas where independent local floods occurred. The flood story found in Genesis is based on a local flood in the Mesopotamian area, or more specifically it is based on other stories of such a flood. Learn more »
Big Blue Sky
If the Bible were true then there would be a giant body of water that's identical to the sea sitting above the heavens. Every time NASA sends a space shuttle to outer space it would have to pass through a massive "sky-sea" before reaching outer space.
Genesis 1:6-10 "And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day."
Source Of Rain
If the Bible were true then rain would be caused and stopped by the opening and closing of windows in the sky. Today we know that rain is actually the result of a four stage process, called the Water Cycle, involving evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.
Genesis 7:11-12 "...the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth ..."
Genesis 8:2 "...the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;"
The Moon
If the Bible were true then the moon would be a source of light like the sun, only dimmer. We now know that the moon only reflects light from the sun yet the Bible specifically says the moon is a "lesser light" and that the light belongs to the moon.
Genesis 1:16 "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also."
Isaiah 13:10 "moon shall not cause her light to shine."
The Stationary Earth
If the Bible were true Earth would sit motionless in the center of our solar system. Our home planet would be held up by actual pillars and attached to a literal foundation. Again and again the Bible tells us that Earth is immovable, in a fixed position, and attached to a foundation upon pillars. The book of Joshua even tells a story based on this false "geocentric" belief where the sun and moon stop their orbit around Earth and stood motionless in the sky for a day.
A foundation is a base on which a structure rests upon. Only stationary objects have a foundation. Both Psalm and Job claim that Earth has a foundation.
Apologists claim the type of foundation the Bible refers to is "a beginning" in reference to the earth having a beginning, not a "literal foundation" that something is attached to. However, the Bible specifically says the foundation IS the type of foundation something is "fastened" to.
Pillars Holding Up Earth
The book of Samuel claims that God placed Earth upon a set of pillars and Job even tells us that these physical pillars tremble when the earth shakes.
Apologists say that since "pillars of the earth" is just a figure of speech everything the Bible says about the pillars should be discarded as a figure of speech also. It is true, "pillars of the earth" is a figure of speech in MODERN times but it was not in ancient times. The men who wrote the Bible, lived in that time, and who "God talked to" believed the earth was literally held up by pillars. Also the mention of these pillars are not written as a "figure of speech" in the context of the Bible.
Not only does the Bible say that Earth sits stationary upon pillars, Psalms and 1 Chronicles claim that it can't even be moved.
The Sun & Moon Stood Still
Joshua says the sun and moon stood still for a whole day. This is only plausible the sun and moon, in the story, are objects the orbit around Earth.
Apologists claim that Earth stood still making the sun appear to be the one that stood still. If Earth did halt its 1,000 MPH rotation everyone would have been killed and flown off of the face of the planet. This apologetic excuse also requires changing what the Bible actually says so it will sound true and overlooks that the Bible says the moon stood still too. A few others say that it is to be taken in a figurative sense but the book of Joshua does not read in a figurative manner.
The Flat Earth
The Bible constantly describes Earth as being a flat object just as the writers were convinced it was. The Bible claims that Earth has a top and a bottom, ends which can be grabbed on to, is shaped like a circle, and that people only live on the top side of it. All these stories are directly contrary to the real life scenario of a spherical planet and would only apply if the story placed such events in a flat earth scenario
The Bible claims that Earth is a circle which is a round but flat object.
Apologists claim that since a circle is round and a sphere is round then a circle is the same thing as a sphere. Could they be more dishonest? A circle is a flat round object and a sphere is a three dimensional object. A circle is not a sphere. A sphere also does not have top or bottom so God could not "sit above" a sphere but one could be above a flat round object like Isaiah states. Proverbs even says the circle [Earth] was drawn on the face of the deep [ocean] which perfectly describes Earth as a flat circular island sitting on top of the ocean like the men in ancient times, who wrote the Bible, imagined it. "One Sided" Earth
The book of Daniel says the king saw a giant tree at the center of the earth. This story only works in a one-sided flat earth scenario since trees obviously would not exist in the center of a spherical earth. This tree was also said to be so tall that it could be seen all over the world. Again, this concept only works if the author is writing about a one-sided flat earth scenario. On a spherical earth it does not matter how tall or high up something is, it can't be seen by people on the other half of the planet. Matthew and Revelation also make claims of objects so high up that they can be seen by everyone in the world.
The Bible claims that Earth has "ends." Since a spherical object has no ends these verses could only refer to flat round object. Job 11 says the earth's length can be measured from corner to corner yet spherical objects are measured using its radius or diameter, not its length like a flat object. Job 38 also claims that grabbing the physical ends of Earth and shaking it will cause the wicked to be shaken out of it.
Note: Although "ends of the Earth" is a figure of speech in modern times it was taken literally in ancient times when the Bible was written.
- 1:1 The Need To Discuss Christianity 1:2 Christianity Isn't Harmless 1:3 Has it Caused Good? 1:4 Christianity's Immoral Teachings
- 2:1 Why Christianity Can't Be True 2:2 God 2:3 Jesus Christ 2:4 Souls & the Supernatural 2:5 Why So Many Still Believe
- 3:1 Closer look at the Bible 3:2 False Claims 3:3 Contradictions 3:4 Bible Stories
- 4:1 History of the Faith 4:2 Creating the Bible 4:3 Changes & Lost Gospels 4:4 Inventing Christ
- 5:1 Living For This Life 5:2 What Godlessness Means 5:3 Atheism & Humanism 5:4 Stories of De-Conversion 5:5 Answers & Concerns
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