Expert: Austin Cline - 8/4/2007

Question
Hi there. My question is can one believe in God, but not believe in the teachings of the Bible? I believe in God, but I view the Bible as a tool of oppression against women, and I think it is one of the most hateful, misoginistic books I have ever read! But when I say this, my Christian family and friends say that the Bible is the word of God, and therefore one can not believe in God, and discredit the Bible at the same time. What is your opinion? And if you do not draw your beliefs from the Bible, what do you use as your moral and ethical foundation and guide? Thank you for your time.

Lisa

Answer
You can believe in some god (be a theist) without accepting the Bible. If you mean by "God" the traditional deity of orthodox Christianity, however, that is based on the Bible. You can't have one without taking the other.

If you mean by "God" simply a single deity with perhaps a few of the characteristics of traditional, orthodox Christianity, then you might be able to do this. However, the problem is in justifying those characteristics and such a belief without relying on the Bible or Christian tradition. If it's just something you hit upon because you find it personally appealing, well that's not a very good basis for a very reasonable belief, is it?

As for morality, I rely upon reason, empathy, and experience. Reason helps me work through ethical issues, how others will be affected, etc. Empathy means that I care about the effects on others as if they were effects on me. Experience is the basis for both reason and empathy.