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.)
re: Connor Payne
"God gave them a chance, but they didn't listen"
So they didn't listen. Are we to presume that a benevolent God's only (and best) solution was to wipe out an entire planet, save for one small family? I find this to be highly suspect of a god we're supposed to view positively. Consider his behavior after that. Given that god hardened the Pharaoh's heart eleven times so that he could continue showing off his tyranny on the Egyptian people, we find that God appears to enjoy exerting devastating power for the sake of his own vanity. That sort of violent arrogance is not a trait that goes hand-in-hand with any sensible definition of benevolence.
There's a lot wrong with this. No one said that it was wrong to get drunk before Noah got drunk, so how could he be unrighteous by that? God probably told Noah what animals were clean and unclean. The sin that man had at that time affected the whole planet, animals included. Sin is a big issue to a Holy God. That's about as far as I read since I don't have time to go through all of the theological and philosophical mistakes this website has to offer, but I bet the rest of it is just as wrong as the annotations I corrected
So do we really need a god to tell us that it's not a good idea to get drunk and then curse your grandson (and all of his descendants with slavery) when your son sees you drunk and naked? It seems like a just and perfect man would know not to do this.
You say God probably told Noah which animals were clean and unclean. Did he do that for each of the 350,000 species of beetles?
And sin, you say, is a big deal to God. It even affected the animals. Why would that be? Does God punish animals for things that humans do?
God's view of righteousness here comes before Moses and the Israelites' trip to Mount Sinai. The standard God uses to determine the wickedness in people is essentially an unfair assessment from mankind's point of view. If it's merely the case that eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil has caused wickedness in humanity (original sin), then Noah wouldn't be exempt from this hereditary wickedness either. God, however, states that Noah is a "just and perfect man." (Genesis 6) Noah's apparent actions have placed him ahead of all other humans of the time, but there's no indication up to this point as to how he attained such a status in God's eyes.
God's literally preparing to annihilate the Earth, save for a guy and a handful of his family, yet the Bible doesn't bother to explain what makes Noah special. Chronological inconsistencies and backtracking is all throughout the Bible, but given that this is the first book of Moses, and thus, the origin story of all that we know, it would seem imperative to describe why Noah gets to survive a devastating catastrophe and others are bound for death... BUT NO.
Was it two of each 'kind', or seven for the clean and two for the unclean? Even the Bible itself isn't sure, as it zigzags between both numbers.
Anyways, Noah gets himself, his family, and all the animals onto his Ark, closes the door, and waits. Meanwhile, God is in the process of committing omnicide, killing everything (including babies and children) except for whatever Noah could shove up his ark.
Omnibenevolent my ass.
It was both. It's sure and doesn't "zig zag" between anything
That doesn't invalidate God's Omnibenevolence in any way. Sin is serious to a perfect and holy God. They did evil and wouldn't listen to Noah. God gave them a chance, but they didn't listen