The bible is not the word of God

The bible is not the word of God. No other religion's sacred text is the word of God either.

Common objections to the idea that the bible is the word of God include: it was not written by God, most of it was written decades or even centuries after the events it describes, there are multiple versions, translation errors, contradictions, inaccuracies about the actual physical world, and to put it simply - - the inclusion all sorts of bad things done by God or supported by God.

For the sake of argument, let's ignore all those objections.

Even if we set all those compelling reasons aside, and agree that one of the many, many versions of the bible is 'the word of God', for all effective purposes the word of God would still not exist here on earth, because people can't agree on what 'the word' is. The word may be contained in that version of the bible, but no one knows how to retrieve it. It is for all effective purposes, locked inside.

Two of the most pious, educated religious leaders can use the bible to give them guidance on an issue, and they can come up with very different answers. It's always been that way, and it always will be. At the end of the day, the bible can mean whatever someone wants it to mean. God is not involved in the matter.

Portions of the bible get ignored as a source of guidance because they advocate or describe immoral, unprincipled behavior. There are differences in opinions regarding what should be followed and what should be disregarded.

There is nothing special about the bible. Yes, it includes inspirational passages that could be used for comfort and guidance on how to live a moral, principled life. So do countless other literary works throughout history. Essays, philosophy, novels, poems, quotes - even TV shows and movies, etc are filled with wisdom, guidance, and inspiration.

If God or some sort of supreme being existed, AND they wanted to communicate 'their word', don't you think they would have the competence and capability to communicate it in a better manner than what exists today?

When it comes right down to it, the Bible seems more like the work of the devil instead of the word of God.

If you were the devil, and you wanted to wreak all sorts of chaos and turn people against God's will, wouldn't it make sense to author a book and get people to think it was the word of god?

You would include enough good things in it to convince people that it is the word of god and they should use it for guidance, but you would also mix in bad things and make it ambiguous so there would be no definitive interpretation. People would end up weaponizing the bible and using it as a basis to harm and control others. It would end up creating division, conflict, and persecution even among Christians.

If the bible was actually a guidebook from or inspired by God, how did so many atrocities get committed by Christians? Did they forget to use it? Why is there so much division over its meaning even within the Christian community? Does God just have really bad communication skills?

If you're a Christian, I'm not suggesting that you stop using the bible for guidance or inspiration, but you shouldn't put it forth as the word of god. Nothing good will come from that. Treat it with the same scrutiny as you would any other information.

Like any other book, you should extract what has value and toss out what doesn't. You shouldn't blindly use it for guidance, or as a tool to judge what's good or bad.

The one and only way anyone can decide if something is good or bad is to evaluate it using honesty, critical thinking, and human principles. It's up to each individual to decide. It's not written down in any one book - not even the bible. No person or group will have all the answers either.

"The Bible says … " is never adequate to justify doing anything.