Most theists place great emphasis on a holy book (or several books). Christians, for instance, venerate the Bible. Churches have bibles available to read, and many Christians have their own bibles at home. A Christian group called the Gideons strives to make bibles available around the world. If you’ve ever checked into a hotel and found a bible in the bedside drawer, that’s because of the Gideons.
It makes me wonder: What would an atheist bible look like? More specifically, what would a humanist bible look like? (Humanism is a form of atheism which explicitly values virtue.)
My first thought is that there can never be one Humanist Bible. Christians (and other theists) believe that their holy book is divinely inspired, and thus there is no need to make changes or create variations. Humanists, on the other hand, believe that all books are written by people, and thus there is always the chance of error. If anyone wrote a Humanist Bible, it wouldn’t be a definitive work. Likely there would be changes made and updated versions produced. So you would see a “Humanist Bible, Second Edition” for instance. And if anyone attempted to write Humanist Bible, everyone else would be just as entitled to write their own bibles. So then you might see titles like “The Humanist Bible according to Bob Johnson, Third Edition”. And that’s just the way it should be; a whole mess of different bibles circulating and changing, reflecting the increasing knowledge and conscience of humanists at large.
Some will argue almost every book could qualify as a “Humanist Bible” to some degree. Since Humanists don’t recognize any book as being divinely inspired, then every book must be equal, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, all books are non-divine, and Humanists wouldn’t really object to the placement of random novels in hotel drawers. But I’m looking for something that fulfills a similar function to the Christian Bible.
The Christian Bible has several purposes. It is intended to answer basic questions about the universe and philosophy. It’s also supposed to contain many wise sayings and moral teachings. More than anything, the Bible is intended as a general guide to life. That’s why the Gideons put bibles in hotels; the idea is that any random traveler can open the bible and find some sort of guidance.
The actual Bible is a real mess, and falls short of these high ideals. There are nuggets of deep wisdom sprinkled in a sea of superstitions, falsehoods and contradictions. I think we can do better.
So what exactly would we find in Humanist bibles? Well it wouldn’t be one long anti-theist rant, if I have anything to say about it. It’s perfectly fine to point out the flaws of theism, of course. (I do it all the time!) But that can’t be the entire book. Remember, we’re supposed to be crafting a general guide to life. If we forget that, the reader is liable to finish the book and say “Ok, so there’s no logical reason to believe in God. But I still don’t know what to do with myself!”.
Humanist Bibles should consist of stories, fables, essays, quotes, parables and poems. Fictitious stories are fine, so long as they are understood to be fictitious. We should feel free to borrow liberally from old tales, if they happen to teach a valid point. I would include several stories based on Aesop’s fables, such as The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I would also include the parable of The Good Samaritan from the Christian Bible. In effect, I’d be extracting the wisdom from past traditions, religious or otherwise, and leaving behind the nonsense that traditionally goes along with them.
Tales would often be modified from their original form. In the case of the Good Samaritan, for instance, I might remove Jesus and instead cite an unnamed “Teacher” as the storyteller. (In fact, a “Teacher” character might work pretty well in general, as it would signal the reader who to focus on.)
Other tales might be modified drastically. There is one tale from the Bible where Jesus walks on water and a disciple briefly joins him, demonstrating the power of faith. I might write a story where a man thinks he can walk on water, attempts to do so, and nearly drowns. The lesson would be reversed: Instead of encouraging blind faith, my story would caution against it.
Of course, many tales (and other entries) would be invented from whole cloth. Humanist authors would be free to invent all kinds of things. You could also recount events from your own life, if you felt they demonstrated an important concept. Or perhaps you’d like to recount the events of history. For instance, you could demonstrate why Freedom of the Press is so important, by recounting the censorship efforts of a real-life despotic regime.
I suggest that most entries consist of simple language, similar to Aesop’s fables and the parables of Jesus. Simple language is easier to understand, easier to translate, and easier to memorize.
Some entries would illustrate basic moral concepts, such as honesty. Others would take a more cerebral approach, describing the basic logical underpinnings of Human Rights, for instance. Still others would simply provide encouragement for those who are in crisis. Perhaps a few would simply hold practical advice, teaching you how to save your money, or how to eat a healthier diet, or something like that.
Imagine the potential impact. Perhaps a cancer patient reads a Humanist Bible entry about hope, and her hope is renewed. Perhaps a man struggling to repair his marriage reads a passage about love. Perhaps a girl reads several humanist bibles in her youth, and develops a greater understanding of purpose and virtue.
Remember that there would be many different bibles existing at any one time, containing many different entries. Some of them would be poorly written, I’m sure. Others would be outright corrupt. But in time, the best stories would become the most popular, and together they would comprise the best bibles. (Copyright law could become an issue, so I suggest that the various humanist authors make use of Public Domain status or Creative Commons licenses. )
If you ever read something you didn’t like, or felt that something was missing, you’d be free to make your own bible! Cobble together whatever entries you enjoy, make whatever changes you find appropriate, and have it printed. Maybe pass it down to your children someday.
Some bibles would be small, containing only the very best entries, or entries about a particular topic. Other bibles would be huge, multi-volume affairs, attempting to cover as much of the human experience as possible. None of them would ever be perfect or absolute, but many of them would be a great help to people all around the globe.
I would like to see that happen.