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Index to Creationist Claims,  edited by Mark Isaak,    Copyright © 2004
Previous Claim: CH135.2   |   List of Claims   |   Next Claim: CH182

Claim CH181:

The Bible is unique in its popularity. It is an all-time best seller, available to 98 percent of the world's population in over 1800 languages. No other book comes close to its circulation figures.

Source:

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1989. The Bible - God's Word or Man's? Brooklyn, NY, p. 7.

Response:

  1. Popularity does not indicate reliability. Indeed, the opposite is more likely. Other best-sellers, such as Spock's Baby and Child Care, Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods, The Atkins Diet, and Linda Goodman's Sun Signs, range from seriously flawed to downright bogus.

    Longevity is a better indicator of quality. The Bible rates well in that category, but it is surpassed by several other works, such as the Iliad and Odyssey and the Hindu Vedas and Epics. And even then, the quality that matters is mostly in how the ideas are expressed, not in scientific accuracy.

  2. To a significant degree, the Bible achieved its large circulation by conquest, not merit. Native cultures were subjugated or murdered by Christian missionaries, and their works were destroyed.

    Even today, many so-called Christians try to force the Bible on others through political dominance; for example, by trying to get it taught in science classes of public schools. They act as though the Bible cannot succeed on its own. This is a reason to reject the Bible, not approve of it.

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created 2003-5-2