Do you believe the Bible? (page 2)

poppers

In fact the English Football team are more believable.

Not the way they played today - sorry, couldn't resist.

cyberjesus

I dont believe the Bible but I believe "The Bible unearthed".

Why? My process went like this.

1.- I found out that Freddy Franz(tm) and his posse had inserted the name Jehovah in the NT. So I was lied about something as important as the purity of the bible.

2.- I found out who put the bible together (canon) and why and realized I was lied about the "Sacredness" of the book.

3.- I found out I was lied about who wrote the bible and when.

Then I asked myself, why should I believe a book full of lies?

I concluded that people who have imaginary friends have some sort of mental problems.

AG:

That and the event when David cut off 200 penis tips from philistines he had just killed

it must have been so difficult, cuz I dont think they died excited!

In Genesis, Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and God clothed them with animal skins? hmm isn't that a bit primative for an Almighty God? Why not some descent suit or pair or pants and shirt for Adam and a dress or something confortable for Eve? Doesn't bunch of animal skins make Adam and Eve look like a pair of cavemen-like individuals?

To stop Adam and Eve from eating from the fruit of life there was a burning blade guarding a tree? Why not a forcefield or a laser or something more than a primative sword?

And this is only from the first couple chapters of a book that just doesn't make a lot of sense when one isn't a blind believer. Bible was probable made by religious leaders taking stories from older cultures and those that followed build on the previous writtings and what became a bible that we have today was chosen by those in power to suit their needs at the time - to control their flock. I would love to see a miracle and have my faith rebuid but what's the chance of that happenning? I'm more likely to win a lotto than see a miracle performed by so called god.

ssn587

As per AGs's comment about David cutting off the foreskins of peckers, one wonders does that make him a pecker neck lover or what? He must have loved the peckers of dead men, what a sick dude, makes one wonder what the hell he was doing with the sheep in his sheep herding days.....hummmmmmmmmmmm?

Palimpsest

Depends on what you mean when you say "believe." Do I believe in its message, veracity, or "holiness"? No. Do I believe it's a fantastic piece of literature? Yes. Do I believe it gives us incredible insight into the social priorities and concerns of the people of its time, and that that's why it's so valuable to us? Yes.

sspo

Not anymore,

According to chronology of the bible the flood happened in 2370 BCE, that's only 4380 years ago

when everything was destroyed.

Way too much evedince Chinese, Asians, Indian coltures have been around much longer than that.

Animals on every continent have been around a lot longer than what the bible wants us to beleive.

Darth plaugeis

Believed EVERYWORD, EVERY STORY!!! 10 years later Psalms, Proverbs great books, the rest..... come on?? I believe there was a Jesus, a man at that time, but don't buy any of the myths and stories of these miracles.

So I'd give a thumbs down............ Spoiler alert!!!!!!!!!!!!

Satan did it!!!!

glenster

The choice of either being an advocate of cruelty and literalism to believe in
the God of the Bible or discount it is a forced choice--it depends how you do
it.

Bible interpretations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_consistency_of_the_Bible
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_inerrancy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_infallibility

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_homosexuality#Views_favorable_to_homosexuality

A few of my basics are not to alter the known things (this refers not just
to things like saying the Flood was literal instead of allegory but believers or
non-believers lying and propagandizing about others). I also recommend "How to
Think About God" by Mortimer Adler about how to regard the possibility of the
basic God idea. Beyond that, belief in God is a faith--a hope for a possible
God beyond the see-able, knowable things. Know it as such if you go there.

It reminds me of loving a song. I don't know how to prove anyone else has to
like it--I believe in freedom of subjective reaction to music and such. You
could make a case that you don't have a literal need for it and I might even see
your case. But that doesn't stop me from loving the song.

A couple other basics of mine are that people shouldn't be too 'centric about
whatever group, including believers and non-believers, they're in so as to be
unable to be friendly to others, and nobody should be hurt over belief and non-
belief choices.

I can have these outlooks and find a belief in a possible God beyond the see-
able known things in the Bible.

My understanding of the Psalm quoted above is it's by a Jew after his people
were cruelly taken into captivity by Babylonians--he's wishing the same for them
eye for eye style. God isn't given as granting his wish and Jesus later teaches
you've heard it said eye for eye but I say turn the other cheek, etc.

A few basics about the Bible God and cruelty:

It makes a big difference to add prerogative to the God idea. Also the Job
outlook of seeing the good and bad (just one or the other isn't credible) in
life and being glad for life and what good you find in it applies to God or
life. An all-beneficent or all tyrant God isn't any more credible than an all
good or all bad life idea. If you can have Job's outlook on life you can have
it about God.

The NT drops a lot of the OT rules which wouldn't be the case if they were
ethical basics like don't lie, steal, or murder. Christians don't have them as
rules for Christians, just old history. One explanation the NT gives is that
God worked with people whose hearts were hardened, were set in their ways, so
only tried to change them so much while trying to work with them.

Jesus says something about that regarding Mosaic law on divorce at Matt.19:8.
Likewise, the Canaanite belief in other gods only seems to have been stopped in
the time of Isaiah, etc.

You're finally left with an outlook to spread the word without giving offense
among the Jews and Gentiles (not just a 'centric view of one's own group but all
kinds of people) without giving offense without needing a nation with it as law
of the land and a military to defend it (separation of church and state).

The final cruelty usually brought up is Hell. Depends which one. If you want
the least cruel one, there's Christian Universalism, the most popular view of it
for the 1st 600 years or so of Christianity. By it, only the human systems of
gov't and religion are destroyed, the non-believers are converted, and everyone
goes to heaven.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Universalism#Ancient_Church

Now I want to get back to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven.

http://sites.google.com/site/glenstersite/

exwhyzee

shopaholic

Do I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God? No.

However, I think it has good stories with good lessons that will benefit the masses. But then again so does books written by Joel Olsten, Tony Robbins and Suze Orman.

Do you believe the Bible?