The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament, Volume 1

By: Joshua Bowen

Narrated by: Seth Andrews

The Old Testament is a fierce battleground for atheists and Christian apologists, with each side accusing the other of taking challenging and troubling passages out of context. In this handbook, Joshua Bowen not only provides the background to the Old Testament and the ancient Near East, but engages with hotly contested topics like slavery, failed prophecy, and the authorship of debated Old Testament books.

This book provides:

• clear and straightforward explanations to complex topics
• direct engagement with hot-button Old Testament issues
• specific arguments to help you in a debate or discussion

Whether you are looking to debate problematic Old Testament issues on social media or have a relaxed, meaningful discussion with a family member over coffee, The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament is an indispensable resource for you.

©2021 Joshua Aaron Bowen (P)2021 Joshua Aaron Bowen

Critic reviews

"Exhibiting an enviable depth of knowledge across a wide range of texts and topics – and with more than a dollop of humor spread throughout – Bowen has written a useful and much-needed overview to some of the most significant topics in the study of the Hebrew Bible. You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight, and you shouldn’t go into a debate about the Bible without your copy of this book handy." (Dr. Joel Baden, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Yale Divinity School)

"This is more than a book about the Hebrew Bible. And it’s more than a book for atheists. It’s a masterclass in how to read and understand the Hebrew Bible on its own terms - and not those imposed by modern-day believers. An Atheist’s Handbook to the Old Testament digs down deep into those biblical texts so often used by fundamentalist Christians to render the Hebrew Bible a prophetic guidebook to their God - and turns their own arguments on their head. This book is essential reading for anyone who’d like the tools to excavate the Hebrew Bible for themselves with precision, skill and intellectual integrity." (Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion, University of Exeter)

"Bowen's book reminds us that the Hebrew Bible is not precise, and the evidence is overwhelming that it wasn't written by Moses. This assembled compilation of works from unknown authors, editors and redactors promotes barbaric cruelty, and it contains failed prophecies and irreconcilable contradictions, such that a literal interpretation of all of it is untenable." (Aron Ra, Host of the Ra-Men Podcast, Board of Directors for American Atheists)

The Good Book

There was a lot of content but Seth Andrews' narration made it easy. I love history, and I really enjoy biblical related topics, so this was a perfect combination for me. The book is worth the money, and the price is not all that much to start with. My recommendation, get the book

Definitely eye opening

Blazes through an overview of topics that come up all the time in the Atheist v Apologist discussion. I cant wait to get my hands on Vol 2

Extremely Well-Researched and Analyzed

Dr. Josh out together an amazing wealth of information from the best available academic and theological sources in this field. I learned a huge amount from his hard work and ability to look at all sides of an issue fairly and truly weigh the evidence.

Great listen 👍

I loved it, and had a great time listening to the breakdown of the arguments in historical and archaeological realms. thank you Dr. Josh.

Great resource for athiests....

...and anyone else who gets tired of bible literalists proclaiming the infallibility of their book and the"Word" there in. I had a general idea of all the typical anti-apologetics currently used in modern epistemological and theological debates, but now I have someplace to look up the details to support the arguments.

Seth Andrews is a great pick for narrator, too. He has the smooth relaxing tone and cadence of an soft rock FM d.j. as well as an understanding of the subject matter not commonly found in a narrator.

Fascinating history!

I loved hearing the book before I go back to read through Joshua Bowen's book!

Window into modern critical scholarship

Dr. Bowen does a phenomenal job briefly surveying contemporary scholarship on a wide range of complex issues, all the while maintaining a refreshing sense of humility and deference to the work of subject matter experts. As a recovered Christianaholic, I found it fascinating to go back and look at some of these issues like the authorship of the Pentateuch, the authorship of the Book of Daniel, the treatment of slavery, and an example of "failed prophecy" regarding Tyre in the Book of Ezekiel. He obviously only scratches the surface of these issues, on which entire works can or have been written, but he also gives recommendations for those wanting a deeper dive. He doesn't overextend his arguments, and it's refreshing to hear him both acknowledge the POSSIBILITY of finding a way to make the conservative or traditional interpretations work, while examining the evidence and relaying how modern critical scholars do not find these excuses to be the most PROBABLE. The distinction between possibility and probability I thought was a great point on which to focus.

The two more critical points I'd make would be 1. The narration, which is really just a personal preference thing for me (as Seth Andrew's narration sounds a bit robotic to me), and 2. The hypothetical conversations. Though I myself have had similar conversations both on the Christian side and Atheist side, they come across a little too contrived for my taste. Fortunately he really only uses them briefly to introduce particular topics.

All in all I loved this book and whole heartedly recommend it to everyone, regardless of religious persuasion or lack thereof. To the former Christians like myself (and Dr. Bowen for that matter), it's interesting to learn about the scholarly take on the stories with which we grew up, and where those stories might have come from. To the liberal Christians, there is really nothing inflammatory or earth-shattering here regarding their beliefs. I think many modern Christians have become comfortable with modern critical analysis in a way in which it doesn't detract from their faith. For the conservative/evangelical Christians, I think it important to learn about the 'other side' of more critical scholarship, even if you remain unconvinced by it.

Rigorous and informative

As someone who was familiar with many of the topics from a religious upbringing, this was a fascinating, enjoyable, and respectful exploration of some of the scholarship and archeological insights now available to us. I highly recommend it to everyone, regardless of beliefs.

The narrator was not my style however and I found myself constantly questioning his pronunciation choices. I hope it's just because I'm used to traditional mispronunciation from my former religious tradition and not incompetence on his part. It was however worth pushing through in any case.

Very detailed review.

I enjoyed the comparative and contrasting parallel histories in the Bible and secular scholar evidences.

A concise contextualization and history

Now you can know factually and not only intuitively why and how the Old Testament is a man-made fallacy.