Many call it “The Good Book”
No one should ever be afraid to study and learn for themselves. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center (view the survey here), show conclusively that atheists know the Bible contents significantly more than even evangelical fundamentalists. In fact, many Christians will be shocked when they review the answers to the following questions, yet very few atheists will be.
Each question may contain more than one right answer. Answers are at the end of each question, with the Scriptural references given. This author only quotes from the New American Standard Bible, reputed to be the most accurate translation.
1.) After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed, God decreed three separate punishments. What were they?
A. The death penalty as required by God’s unchangeable law
B. The death of his newborn baby after seven days of sickness
C. Removing him from being king
D. Causing his wives to be raped in broad daylight
E. The violent deaths of three of his sons
F. 40 slashes
2 Samuel 12:13–15 states, Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” So Nathan went to his house. Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. 12:19 finds the child dead. 2 Samuel 12:11 states, Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. See 2 Samuel 12:10, 13:29,18:14 and 1 Kings 2:25 for the prophecy and killing of three of David’s sons. Answer is B, D, and E
2.) What was God’s stated penalty if a man raped a virgin who was not married or engaged?
A. Stone him to death
B. A payment of 50 shekels of silver paid to the girl’s father
C. Imprisonment
D. Required to marry the girl who he raped
Deuteronomy 22:28–29 says, If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days. (This is one of many verses that clearly indicates that God gave women to men to own and control as mere property. The daughter’s virginity lowered the price he could later obtain from a future husband) Answer is B and D
3.) What took place according to God’s law to a married woman after she gave birth to a newborn baby?
A. Was given 30 days to rest and recover
B. Was decreed to be unclean and barred from the sanctuary
C. Was rejoiced over by the entire community
D. Was unclean double the time if she had a girl and not a boy
Leviticus 12:1–5 states, Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: ‘When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean. On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days. Answer is B and D
4.) A “bath” is a measurement used in the Old Testament. It approximates two U.S. gallons or 7.6 liters. How many baths did the molten sea in Solomon’s temple hold?
A. 1000
B. 2000
C. 3000
D. 4000
1 Kings 7:26 states, it was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths. 2 Chronicles 4:5 disagrees and says, it was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold 3,000 baths. This may sound trivial, but a perfect God could not possibly make mistakes. If there are mistakes and contradictions, then a perfect God could not have inspired it. Answer is B and C
5.) What did God declare was an abomination?
A. Pride/proud heart
B. Lying lips
C. Slander
D. Gay sex
E. Oppressing the poor
F. Adultery
G. A woman who wore men’s clothing
H. Charging interest when lending money
I. Commercial fraud/using false balances
J. A person who was devious
Answer is all the above. A simple examination of a Bible concordance will even show a few more.
6.) Many passages in the Bible we hear God instructing the Israelites to kill every man, woman, child, and sometimes the animals too, but to keep the young virgin girls. What did He tell them they were to do with them?
A. Provide medical care and good food
B. Allow them to become educated
C. Shaved their head
D. Trim their nails
E. Give them a month to mourn for the death of their father and mother, and then take them as wife’s
F. If a man is not happy with a girl after taking her as his wife, God said he can let her go
Deuteronomy 21:10–14 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take them away captive, and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself, then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house, and mourn her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. It shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money, you shall not mistreat her, because you have humbled her. Numbers 31:17–18 says, Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves. Numbers 31:32–35, Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33 and 72,000 cattle, and 61,000 donkeys, and of human beings, of the women who had not known man intimately, all the persons were 32,000. Answer is C, D, E, and F
7.) When did the disciples notice that the fig tree Jesus had cursed had withered?
A. Later that night
B. Immediately
C. The next morning
Matthew 21–18–19 states, Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered. But we find in Mark 11:20–21 just another contradiction among hundreds. As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” Answer is B and C
8.) Did anyone besides Jesus ever ascend without dying?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Both
2 Kings 2:11 says, as they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
Hebrews 11:5, By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.
John 3:13, 13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
Answer is all the above
9.) When some of the men returned from Babylon with happy wives (who were not Israelites) along with their happy children, what did God instruct His leaders to do/demand?
A. Required them to build more schools
B. Made sure they had plenty of good food and warm clothes
C. Plucked out the beards of the men
D. Demanded that they immediately put away their wives
E. Arranged for the children to be adopted by Israelite families
F. Made all the children be put away leaving them without their father
Ezra 10:2–3 says, Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. So much for family values. Answer is D and F
10.) When did Mary Magdalene first discover that the stone had been removed?
A. Before sunrise
B. After sunrise
Mark 16:1–4 states, When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. But we read in John 20:1, Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.
You may want to read that again. John tells us very clearly that she saw the stone removed while it was dark but in Mark, we see her going to the tomb after the sun came up wondering who would move the stone for her to get in. Any attempt to reconcile this will only dig the hole deeper. Answer is both A and B
This author will publish regular articles about contradictions found in the Bible, in addition to historical and scientifically proven errors, in addition to the stories that are just not moral by any definition.
