We often go over the evidence-free stomping ground of whether there’s any evidence that the Bible is anything OTHER than made up (the very best anybody ever provides, and it’s not good when you get into any detail, is prophecy)… and that other [more popular] favourite whether there’s any evidence that the god of the Bible exists (look at the trees!). Today, instead, I’d like to consider the case against the Bible, rather than for it; if you’re the sort of person who is used to saying, in such arguments when the boot is on the other foot, “you have been shown the evidence, you just deny it [in your unrighteousness]”, welcome to a response to that position! The TLDR response is: you have been shown the evidence [that the Bible is made up], you just deny it [in your delusional worldview].
Some points to consider:
The Bible is not, despite what apologists love to label “internally consistent”, internally consistent.
The Bible contradicts known history.
The Bible contradicts known science.
The Bible contradicts any semblance of decent moral compass.
The Bible contradicts itself.
The OT is a patchwork quilt of interwoven mythical writings evolving over time alongside evolving religious sentiments in a particular region that was set right in the midst of the greatest empires of the Ancient Near East. Set between the Egyptians, Sumerians, Assyrians, Greeks, Persians and eventually the Romans, to name but a few, the region was constantly conquered and reconquered. Many of the memes found in the Bible today have their origins in one of these various mega-cultures from the childhood days of the Iron Age.
So the question before us is this:
Is there evidence that the Bible is made up?
I offer one piece of evidence: the order of creation in Genesis 1 directly contradicts the order of creation in Genesis 2.
What do YOU think is the most convincing evidence that the Bible is man-made? Or are you tempted to make the bold statement “there is no evidence that the Bible is man-made”?