1. Actually, reading the bible was the affirmation I needed to NOT believe. When you factor in all the stories about God's wrath (performed because of his infinite love) and the LSD induced fantasy world of Revelation, the answer kind of falls into place.
2. Hmmm... Well the proof that Columbus existed can be found in numerous documents both signed and written by him along with many others detailing his voyage, crew, etc. The artifacts also help. Basically, physical proof. For Jesus, you've got four contradicting narratives of how a man rose from the dead.
3. No, we cut down answers because the bible contradicts itself on so many levels, especially when talking about the love of your god. The whole "being gay is just as bad as eating shellfish so you are going to burn in hell if you do both, but God still loves you" is more than a little upsetting.
4. No, I've read it. The whole thing. There are verses that are inspiring/ uplifting and that do send a good message about how people should live. But then, like I said before, there are all the contradictions. Then, people who claim to be Christians talk about how they wish the end of the world would occur, just so I could burn in hell. I see the hypocrisy and the bullshit that surrounds you people and your 'holy' church (because I went to church for the first 13 years of my life) and I see the very people who are supposed to follows those rules about compassion and charity, and they don't count for shit, apparently. And, yeah, there are good, caring people out there, don't get me wrong, but they are overshadowed by the bigoted, morally decadent majority.
5. Went on a little bit of a rant before hand. See comment 4
6. No, I'm not searching for an excuse. I wish there was a god. I realy wish there was some truly compassionate spirit that guided all of us and that truly made the world a better place, but there is not. All you have to do is turn on the news to know. Just observe the world around you. There is and has been so much suffering and so much sadness done in the name your god and other gods. That is my excuse. In this world filled with so much bullshit, that is my excuse. In this world where god is supposedly watching over us all and rape, murder, genocide, incest, torture, and inequality, that is my excuse. But wait, your god condoned or blatantly commanded most of those actions according to the bible, didn't he? Hmmmm.... maybe I have a valid excuse after all.
