It's a Strange World in There

I am in the process of reading John Loftus' book Why I Became An Atheist and I came upon a wonderfully descriptive paragraph that sums up Christianity from the view of someone, I claim, who is completely unbiased and knows nothing about religion.  It is in the beginning of Chapter 7: The Strange and Superstitious World of the Bible.

"We find a world where a snake and a donkey talked, where giants lived in the land, where people could live to be nine-hundred-plus years old, where a woman was turned into a pillar of salt, where a pillar of fire could lead people by night, where the sun stopped moving across the sky or could even back up, where an ax head could float on water, where a star could point down to a specific home, where people could instantly speak in unlearned foreign languages, and where someone's shadow or handkerchief could heal people.  It is a world where a flood could cover the whole earth, and where a man could walk on water, calm a stormy sea, change water into wine, or be swallowed by a "great fish" and live to tell about it.  It is a world populated by demons that could wreak havoc on earth and aslo make people very sick.  It is a world full of idol worship, where human and animal sacrifices pleased God.  In this world we find visions, inspired dreams, prophetic utterances, miracle workers, magicians, diviners, and sorcerers.  It is a world where God lived in the sky (heaven) and people who died went to live in the dark recesses of the earth (Sheol)."


I can't believe these things happened.  Perhaps if I witnessed several of these situations, and there was a large group of people who claimed to have experienced them as well, would I begin to think "Something strange is going on here.  Maybe it's time to rethink my view of reality."  Either that or "I drank way too much Absinthe."