Why do you believe the bible? or not?

by AiAi 86 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  the-illuminator81

  My biggest problem with believing in the bible (apart from many other smaller ones) is that God often states that he is loving and righteous, but his actions show otherwise. Just look for example how many times he made the pharaoh's heart obstinate so he could kill him and many of his people.

  Let's say that I convince George W. Bush to invade Iraq, and then proceed to kill him, his soldiers and every firstborn US citizen because of it. Am not I to blame?

  This is just one example of the many unrighteous and hateful actions of God detailed in the bible.
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  Heaven

  Heaven please show some proof...

  Compare the gospels of Mark and John regarding the accounts of Christ's death and resurrection.
• 

  PSacramento

  To be fair, there is proof of an historical Jesus

  Here is one example:

  "Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence (Studying the Historical Jesus)"
  Robert E. Van Voorst
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  AiAi

  Sorry Heaven I should have used the word examples instead of proof, but you seem to have gotten the idea. My starting to question the bible began with contradictions such as what u meantioned about Christ, If they saw it first hand and couldnt get it right how can we trust anything else they say?

  OTWO after beginning to question the bible I stumbled across all the things you meantioned and they all confirmed my suspicions

  the-illuminater 81 you brought up a very good point. Ive always wondered about that. god seems like a real dick in the bible sometimes
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  OnTheWayOut

  OTWO: "Nobody, absolutely nobody, ever lived in ancient times under the Mosiac Law Code."

  Well, ofcourse they didnt do it in the desert of egypt :-). But it made me think -- i wonder if you are referring to some specific "positive" argument that rule out the option?

  I am not sure what you are asking, so let me just be clear.

  No Jews in the desert of Egypt, no Jews in Israel before King David, no Jews in Israel after King David, NOBODY, ABSOLUTELY NOBODY ever lived under the Mosiac Law code. There may be a few Jewish priests in the past that claimed they did, but they did not. NOBODY EVER did. Find a people that lived under the Mosaic Law Code. Find them using "their" writings or using archeaological methods, find them. You won't.
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  AiAi

  What do you mean noone followed the mosaic law? I have never even thought about it, but is it true? and what does that mean? just another example of how unfaithful isreal was or is there something more?
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  Heaven

  'The books we read choose us'..........well that explains my Library, I was wondering how they got there

  Tee hee hee!

  Actually, I feel this saying is a romantic way of stating that the books we choose to read have a resonance, an attraction, a magnetic pull for us personally. Hence the 'they choose us' idea.

  I have never felt this with the Christian Holy Bible. Have you?
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  Heaven

  Sorry Heaven I should have used the word examples instead of proof,

  How about absence of proof? Let's talk the flood.

  It is a complete fabrication. Outside of the fact that there is no geological proof, if that much water had descended upon the Earth, everything would have been crushed. And then, what about the caves? How come the caves are not filled with debris, mud, and silt? Why have cave wall paintings not been washed away? How did indigenous species arrive on islands (like Australia)?

  Anyone have any other cool questions related to the global flood of the Bible that cannot be answered except to say that the flood never happened?
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  OnTheWayOut

  What do you mean noone followed the mosaic law?

  I cannot possibly take you by the hand to that conclusion. You have to be willing to find it and learn it for yourself.
  I can start you out.

  Archaeology offers a controversial glimpse into how the Hebrews lived in the days of David and Solomon that is contrary to the Bible.
  Even the Bible shows that after Solomon, the Hebrews were still worshipping other Gods.
  YHWH was one of many Gods and the canon of scriptures containing the Mosaic law did not exist. Maybe some of the writings did, but not in any canon yet until during and after the captivity to Babylon.
  Back up a bit: The Ten-Tribe Kingdom and the Two-Tribe Kingdom never ever were a Twelve-Tribe Kingdom. Never. David and Solomon may have ruled over small tribal kingdoms or even a large kingdom, but it was only the Two-tribe Kingdom. Very controversial is the idea that Josiah introduced the idea that all these tribes were under one rule at one time, this so that he could gain territory whose people he hoped would rather return to their (bogus) historic past than become part of Egypt's expansion. Josiah "found" the lost laws that nobody was living under before his time. The Bible shows that the people did not live up to that law very well after Josiah "brought it back" (euphemism for "invented it.") Many probably lived by some of it then.
  The Hebrews that left Babylon for Israel and the people that remained were not under a true rule by God or a Hebrew king and the Mosaic Law was not in force upon them. Oh, they may have lived by the festivals and the principles (like Christians do today) and many probably followed the dietary restrictions but they did not go to all the extremes within the law.

  Both in the time before the Babylonian conquest and after the return, necessary work was done on the sabbath and farmers rarely left a portion of their field for gleaning. They certainly did not refrain from growing according to the 7th years and jubilees, nor did they likely set slaves free in those years. And Hebrews, like other cultures, slowly lost their multiple gods.

  Probably the closest people got to living under the Mosaic Law would have been priests leading up to the beginning of the Common Era. But that was a showy display for the people and that's a violation of the Law.

  Again, this is all controversial and I will get arguments from plenty of people. Don't believe me. Fine. But take your spiritual journey for yourself.
  If you want to disagree, fine. It's a big part of my spiritual journey.
• 

  bohm

  Anyone have any other cool questions related to the global flood of the Bible that cannot be answered except to say that the flood never happened?

  well here are three:

  1) ice floats

  which mean the polar ice would have had to been rebuild in just 4000 years. which is kind of difficult to explain given it contain more than 40'000 layers and one layer is added per year; not because there is one snowfall per year (which creationists want you to believe), but because there is one melt/frost cycle per year corresponding to summer and winter.

  if thats not good enough, there are several independing dating methods which confirm its age; and one can perhaps argue they are all wrong independently, but its very hard to say they are ALL wrong in EXACTLY such a way they happend to agree.

  which is why a search for ice cores will give zero hits on the WT cd.

  2) trees usually dont grow beneath water:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_trees

  3) even if we assume the egyptions managed to live underneath water for a year, its quite strange they didnt saw it fit to mention the fact in any of the writings from that period.