For people who stopped reading the Bible due to perceived errors, what specific passages or stories triggered their doubts?

 

This one did it for me - Numbers 15: 32–36:

“While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses”

What a horrid, cruel thing to do to someone. You might think that in ancient societies, who were more brutal in their treatment of supposed criminals, this was not an extreme penalty for heinous crimes.

So what was the terrible ‘crime’ this man committed? Did he murder someone? Rape women? Torture slaves?

No. It wasn’t even a crime. All he did was gather some firewood to keep his family warm.

And God decreed that he must be stoned to death.

This is the kind of God that Christians worship. Stoning was also decreed for other misdemeanors such as:

• adultery (Deut 22:22)
• idolatry (Deut 13:11)
• blasphemy (Lev 24:14)
• cursing God (Ex 22:27; 1 Kings 21:13)
• sorcery and divination (Lev 20:27)
• disrespect for parents (Deut 21:18–21)
• a bride found not to be a virgin on her wedding night (Deut 22:20–21)

(This is not an exhaustive list)