You Wouldn't Believe That. Would You?

Here's a comment I wrote over at Christian Cadre:

What I find very strange is that if someone told you a snake or ass talked, you wouldn't believe they talked just because someone told you they did. But you believe they did and everything in the Bible precisely because it's in there. You would be skeptical of every single claim in the Bible if someone came running up to you and said an old lady turned into a pillar of salt, or that lifting up the hands of Moses caused a military victory. You wouldn't even believe it if someone else came up to you and confirmed it. You would want to see for yourself, wouldn't you? Or are you truly a gullible person? But you are more than two millenia removed from such claims and all you have is a text that says these things happened. Where are your critical thinking skills? Be consistent. Be as skeptical about those claims as you are about the same claims today. Test these claims as an outsider. If you conclude Christianity is false, then see what you believe, like I have. But I cannot be asked to believe these things actually took place without good evidence. You do realize how superstitious these ancient people were, who heard the messages of the prophets and apostles, don't you? [I have a long chapter in my book relating such incidents as these]. Then why believe those same stories just because they did?