097 – Bad Things in the Bible – A Discussion with Two Ex-Christians

Friendly Exmuslim Podcast

I am discussing with Derek Lambert of @MythVision Podcast on YouTube and Dr. Josh Bowen of @Digital Hammurabi. Derek Lambert has an amazing YouTube channel with many high-profile interviews of academics discussing the Bible and history. Dr. Joshua graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Ph.D. in Assyriology in 2016 and has authored many books.

MythVision: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVCimOe67LOfyi9PjUeGgA

Digital Hammurabi: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQo27DbqeB-xG17-kekrdQ

NEW! The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament
Joshua Bowen (2021)
(https://tinyurl.com/4jj2tcny)

YouTube version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/EKDscqP-SHE

Timestamps for the podcast:

0:00 Introductions
1:52 Derek’s religious background
6:53 Dr. Josh’s academic and religious background
9:35 What does the phrase ‘heavens and earth’ mean as used in the Bible and Quran
12:52 Genesis 1 and the creation story.
18:35 Why do apologists try to reinterpret the religious text to make them fit the current scientific understanding of the universe?
20:01 Quranic verses that speak to the creation of heaven and the earth. Parallels between these stories and the creation stories in the Christian worldview.
23:24 How the Scientific method builds on previously known information from previous generations
27:30 The impact of reading religious text in a more literalistic way.
29:22 Dr. Josh’s channel – Digital Hammurabi
30:44 The epic of Gilgamish (continued)
32:02 The problem of taking the religious text as infallible.
34:57 Responding to comment in the chat on whether the Bible contains any good things.
36:32 The problem of child sacrifices
46:43 How does the child sacrifice make sense – The atheist’s handbook to the Old Testament by Dr. Josh
52:40 Channel announcements.
53:10 The problems of the God in the Old Testament – First Samuel 15
55:13 What are Nephilim?
59:34 Responding to comments from the chat
1:00:36 God’s evolvement in some of the atrocities in the Bible.
1:08:55 Does the Bible endorse slavery or just describe the way of life in the old times?
1:15:34 God commanding people to commit atrocities.
1:17:18 Legalistic portions of the bible on slavery. Did chattel slavery exist in Israel?
1:22:18 Slavery in the New Testament. 1st Timothy 1:10. Ways for acquiring slaves
1:32:18 Treatment of slaves according to the Bible.
1:37:15 Super chats. Parallels between slavery in Islam and slavery in Christianity
1:40:33 Galatians 3:28
1:42:25 Exodus 21 – Rules for freeing debt slaves.
1:44:00 Differences between the rules on the treatment of slaves in Christianity and Islam.
1:48:34 The role of the church in the abolishment of slavery – Gregory Nyssa
And other religious leaders
1:50:41 What is humanism all about?
1:52:15 Why did Dr. Josh name his channel Digital Hammurabi
1:55:45 Abdullah’s final remarks.
1:56:26 Derek’s final remarks.
1:58:40 If Jesus absolved us of our sins, why is homosexuality forbidden?
2:01:28 Dr. Josh’s final remarks