A lot of people justify their belief in a certain religion by claiming that there is basically no difference between believing in religious texts and believing in commonly accepted historical texts. They'll say something like, "What's the difference between believing in the Bible and believing all the written accounts of the Civil War, for example? You choose to believe those accounts, even though you weren't actually there, just like I choose to believe in the Bible even though I wasn't actually there. Therefore, they both deserve the same respect with regard to their validity." However, this comparison just doesn't hold water.

The fundamental difference between believing in the Bible and believing in, say, historical accounts of the Civil War is that when you accept the Bible as being true without a shadow of a doubt, you are also accepting without a shadow of a doubt that those who don't believe in the Bible are subject to eternal damnation for not doing so. This is HUGELY different from believing in historical accounts of the Civil War. Nobody is saying that if you don't believe said accounts you'll be subjected to eternal damnation. Also, opponents of the commonly accepted accounts of the Civil War would not claim that you'll be subjected to eternal damnation for believing in what you believe about the war.

I don't want to hear any more religious people justify their belief that non-followers of their religion will endure eternal pain and suffering simply for not "accepting" Jesus (or Muhammad, or whoever) by saying that it's the same as believing any historical text. It's simply not even close to being the same, and anybody who offers such justification is way off-base.
KevinFinnerty Reviewed by KevinFinnerty on . Argument made by religious people that just isn't valid A lot of people justify their belief in a certain religion by claiming that there is basically no difference between believing in religious texts and believing in commonly accepted historical texts. They'll say something like, "What's the difference between believing in the Bible and believing all the written accounts of the Civil War, for example? You choose to believe those accounts, even though you weren't actually there, just like I choose to believe in the Bible even though I wasn't Rating: 5