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Index to Creationist Claims,  edited by Mark Isaak,    Copyright © 2004
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Claim CH182:

The Bible is unique in that it is the most influential book of all time.

Source:

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1989. The Bible - God's Word or Man's? Brooklyn, NY, p. 8.

Response:

  1. The Bible is not unique in being influential. Historian Michael H. Hart ranks Muhammad and Isaac Newton as being more influential than Jesus Christ, suggesting that the Qur'an and Newton's Principia are at least comparable in influence (Hart 1992).

  2. Influence does not necessarily imply good qualities. Christianity achieved much of its influence by force of arms, including several cases of genocide. Part of the Bible's influence that made Christianity powerful was the fact that it allowed slavery and usury.

References:

  1. Hart, Michael H., 1992. The 100: A ranking of the most influential persons in history. Secausus, NJ: Citadel Press.
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