Cherry Picking

Cherry Picking

I've always wondered about how cherry picking the Bible came about. But then I realized that it's just human nature to want to read the good stuff and ignore the bad.

I think our species, for the most part, keeps a positive outlook.  So it figures that we would not want to think about bad things, especially when it comes to something as important as 'our creator'.  I mean, who would want to think 'our creator' was a monster.

From what I know of our history, even back in the caves we thought about more than us. The primitive art on the cave walls is very telling.  They show the hunt for food and the excitement of the challenge.

We wouldn't have formed tribes, countries or any society unless we are basically a positive people. 

Now, here's the problem.  When our Christian friends start debating how good their god is and how omnibenevolent it is, we must be prepared to show them where the evil is in their holy book.  Quite often they don't even know it's there. 

And worse, there are believers who know it's there and still choose to believe. I scratch my head at that one but that's for another post I guess.

Start by asking if they've read the Bible and then, gently, proceed to show them the quotes.  And don't forget to show the verse identifier.  Oh, and don't forget the "out of context" argument.

If our fundie friends can cherry pick, we can 'evil pick' just as well.

Walk the Path in Grace