---
title: "Christopher Hitchens on The argument from scripture"
description: "Hitchens argued that scripture is a transparently human product — contradictory, morally primitive, and historically unreliable."
canonical: https://opendoubt.com/people/christopher-hitchens/on/argument-from-scripture
source: html
---

# Christopher Hitchens on The argument from scripture

> Hitchens argued that scripture is a transparently human product — contradictory, morally primitive, and historically unreliable.

Position

# Christopher Hitchens on _The argument from scripture_

Argues againstJournalist and author

Hitchens argued that scripture is a transparently human product — contradictory, morally primitive, and historically unreliable.

Hitchens approached scripture as a literary critic and journalist, not a theologian, and found it wanting on every count. The Bible and the Quran, he argued, bear all the marks of human authorship: internal contradictions, moral barbarism, factual errors, and the unmistakable fingerprints of the political and cultural contexts in which they were produced.

He was particularly forceful on the moral content of scripture. The God of the Old Testament commands genocide, endorses slavery, and punishes entire populations for the sins of individuals. The New Testament introduces the concept of eternal punishment — infinite suffering for finite transgressions. Far from being a source of moral wisdom, Hitchens argued, scripture is a moral obstacle that humanity has spent centuries working to overcome.

Hitchens also challenged the argument from prophecy, pointing out that the Gospel writers had access to the Old Testament and could (and did) craft their narratives to fulfill predictions. Self-fulfilling prophecy is not prophecy at all.

Key quotes

> “The Bible may, indeed does, contain a warrant for trafficking in humans, for ethnic cleansing, for slavery, for bride-price, and for indiscriminate massacre.”

> “One must state it plainly. Religion comes from the period of human prehistory where nobody had the smallest idea what was going on.”

Continue exploring

[

Christopher Hitchens

Full profile — positions, quotes, and key moments.

](/people/christopher-hitchens)[

The argument from scripture

The full argument — stated fairly, then answered.

](/arguments/argument-from-scripture)

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