How to use the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB) website
I've tried to make the function and navigation of the SAB website as intuitive as possible. And so, hopefully, not much explanation is necessary. However, there are a few things that I've recently added (and that I'm currently working on) that I should mention.
The images on the SAB homepage link to the homepages of each of the four scriptures that are presented at the SAB website: the Bible, the Mormon Scriptures, the Quran, and the Bhagavad Gita. Clicking on an image opens the homepage for that scripture. The link below the image opens a drop-down table. This is a way to quickly access individual books or chapters in a particular scripture.
The header displays links to selected verses and trivia questions, which are randomly selected from the four scriptures. The images in the bookshelf on the right are links to the home pages for each scripture. And, of course, the SAB logo on the left side of the header links to the SAB home page.
Links to The Bible in Fewer Words are in the upper right. This is a podcast that my wife, Carole, and I did which covered the entire Bible in 309 episodes - but in fewer words. It is available on the usual podcast platforms as well as on YouTube. There is also a link to the text and notes for episodes
with embedded YouTube videos. This allows you to read the text along with us as we do each podcast episode.
The rest of the links on the homepage probably need no explanation, except for, perhaps, the Scripture Comparisons link. This compares how various topics are treated in the scriptures. But be sure to notice the images of the books in the lower right. These are books that I have published, with links to the SAB bookstore where the books are for sale. There is also a link to our Patreon page below the links to the SAB bookstore.
The Bible homepage includes links to the books of the Bible, as well as the Apocrypha / Deuterocanonical books. Under the header on the left side is a drop-down table that allows quick access to the books and chapters of the Bible.
As on the SAB homepage the links are fairly self-explanatory. However I would like to mention a few that seem most important.
- Contradictions: A list all of the Bible contradictions that I have at the site. Each link goes to a contradiction page that includes the passages that are involved in the contradiction, with links to the biblical text.
- Categories: This link goes to a page listing the sixteen categories at the site. They are shown in the left column with the total number of items in each category in parentheses. Clicking on a category list will open a list of the items in that category in biblical order. There is also a Table View that shows the number of occurrences for that category in each book of the Bible.
- Drunk with Blood: God's killings in the Bible: Includes links to the 160 killings by God in the Bible, as found in my book of the same title.
- Strange Flesh: The Bible and Homosexuality: Links to the text of my book.
- Every Jot and Tittle. All the commandments in the Bible: A list of the 1652 commandments in the Bible. (Along with Maimonides famous 613.)
The Mormon Scriptures includes the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Each of these is presented in a similar manner as discussed for the Bible homepage.
The Quran consists of 114 chapters or surahs. Each surah is presented in a way that is similar to the way the chapters are presented in the books of the Bible and in the Mormon Scriptures.
The Gita is the shortest of the four scriptures. It consists of 700 verses in 18 chapters. The chapters are presented in the same way as in the other scriptures.
Outline Pages
Each book in the Bible has an outline page that includes a list of the chapters of the book, along with the sections within each chapter, with links to the chapters and sections. The left panel includes links to an introduction to the book, selected verses, Drunk With Blood killings, trivia questions, and Bible in Fewer Words episodes. Category links are shown below, ordered by the number of items in each list, with the number shown in parentheses.
Chapter pages
In the header of every chapter page you'll find a "Bible Books" drop-down menu that displays the books in the Bible, with links to the chapters in each book of the Bible and Apocrypha. This allows you to go to any chapter in the Bible from any chapter page. And there are forward and back arrows at the top and bottom of every chapter page that will take you to the next chapter of the book.
There is also a small scripture book icon on the upper right corner of each chapter page. Clicking that will open a pop-up that provides links to all the chapters in that chapter's book. Clicking on the book icon again will close the pop-up.
Each chapter includes one or more section headings on the left, with category icons on the right. Clicking on these icons displays a list of category items in that section. (I am currently working on this feature, so some of the chapter pages will display the category items for the entire chapter, rather than for the section alone.)
1:1-6
1:7-10
When I was a toddler, my parents gave me baths to keep me clean. Those baths were designed to act as upkeep, performed every day or so to prevent build up of filth. If I went without hygienic attention for long enough, it'd be very apparent and would call for immediate cleansing of my body. As an adult, I don't feel guilty for being dirty as a little kid. Filth builds up as a result of daily living; I shower and keep myself clean as a matter of upkeep...and my shower today isn't going to amount to much twenty years down the road because it works in the here-and-now; a way to stave off an accruing of filth. The story of Jesus dying on the cross and his blood "washing away our sins" is ridiculous to say the least. Those not even born can't accrue filth, just as they shouldn't be held in contempt for sins of birth. However, to the Bible-believing Christian, you're born dirty and the only way to be clean is to admit you're dirty and be forgiven ("put on the hook") every single time you misstep and find yourself soaked in a spiritual mud puddle.
I honestly have no idea why the idea of spiritual atonement, human sacrifice, and generational guilt should be tossed into a casserole and eaten by millions around the world...and proudly. Is it really because we fear death and we'll take the morbid stupidity of Christianity if it means being able to see our favorite grandparent in paradise after we die? My goodness, I should have gotten into the bridge-selling business a long time ago.