There is a ton more I could say but if you consider the fact that the Epic of Gilgamesh is at least 500 years older than the bible and tells a similar story about a flood, you will begin to understand that there is nothing “holy” about the bible except the fact that humans, influenced by these ancient writers and their governments, belief it so. These people constructed their God, Yahweh, from the canaanite deities; especially Hadad. It’s not a coincidence that YHWH “appeared” on a mountain or that they followed a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. They just never knew what science would later understand this to be; a volcano.
Many atheists don’t devote time into understanding what the bible really is and therefore may lack one single definite motivation for disbelieving. However, the more you know the less of a reason you will have to believe. Because belief requires the absence of knowledge. The confusion within religion is that they confuse knowledge with belief because holy books can be studied as “information” rather than simply as testimonial accounts without verification.
The problem with this is the same as with those who claim to have seen UFOs. If you believe them without evidence, there’s nothing preventing that. However, you shouldn’t lose the fact that you are trusting them and giving them credibility they haven’t earned. One story of UFOs and aliens often builds upon other stories. People think they see similar shapes and similar beings. Why? Because these things do exist. But they exist in the MIND. That is where we first create anything. And everything we create doesn’t have to become a solid object. Many of our inventions remain as “ideas”. And ideas can be viral. This is religion.
I was infected by Christianity from a young age. However, debate and study (they go hand in hand) helped me learn enough to see through religion. I still value spirituality and the forces of nature. However, the corruption caused by the pursuit of power made science and religion separate. And because religion, without science, is still very corrupt, those who feel that corruption often choose to be more “spiritual”. (An example of current corrupt is the collection of tithes- the national tax of ancient Israel-not a thing that should ever be collected by a religious institution but they teach that they have this right even though the bible never gives it)
