If you still believe in God, what are your thoughts on the Bible?

by ilikecheese 34 Replies latest jw friends

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  ilikecheese

  Do you believe it's inerrant? Do you believe it's based on things that happened, but a lot of it may just be stories and it's not perfect because men wrote it? Do you think it's just a good guide? Do you think you'd find more useful life direction from Goofus and Gallant? Just curious. :)

  I think it's based on historical events, there are probably lots of things in the OT that are just parables like Jesus' stories, and that it's surely imperfect considering men wrote, compiled, edited, and translated it. Of course that means evangelicals and atheists both think I'm the worst, but oh well.
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  jgnat

  Do you believe it's inerrant? No.

  Do you believe it's based on things that happened, but a lot of it may just be stories and it's not perfect because men wrote it?

  Some yes, others are just stories. How many lions can you kill with the jawbone of an ass? I think there was a flood, widespread, but not worldwide. A boat was involved. I think a lot of stories are based on a kernel of truth.

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

  Do you think it's just a good guide? It has wisdom in there. I also believe there is no way that God turned off the tap to wisdom two thousand years ago. There are modern thinkers who have since added greatly to our understanding, our compassion, our wisdom.

  Do you think you'd find more useful life direction from Goofus and Gallant? No. I read wider sources than that! I have read early verses from Confucious and learned from him.
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  designs

  The Bible- this is what happens when you don't raise the minimum wage....
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  Finkelstein

  I think harm comes to those who don't see the bible as a written historical reference in ancient mythological study,

  fictional embellished stories mixed with some factual events, written with a lot of ambiguity as toward specific intents.

  .

  So many men have tried to unravel that ambiguity to resolve a clear and truer interpretation, cracking a hidden code as it were.

  The ending result usually producing an improbable failure.
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  Heaven

  The Bible is not inerrant.

  An example right off in Genesis... plants were created first and then the sun. This is BS.
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  The Bible- this is what happens when you don't raise the minimum wage....

  LOL.

  Or maybe more accurately, this is what happens when you don't have a minimum wage at all.
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  Phizzy

  The Bible is 99% fiction. Prove me wrong.

  It has also a very high percentage of plagiarism, not much in it is truly original, surprisingly, it plagiarizes itself to a degree, see Leolaia's posts about O.T Motifs in the N.T.

  Also, as Terry and many have pointed out on here, there is simply no way it can be trusted, due to its being derived from copies of copies of edited and redacted manuscripts, that we know have error in them, error sometimes by accident, often by design, if "god" had anythng to do with it, he soon turned the whole project over to devious and mendacious men.

  I find it nevertheless a fascinating collection of books to study from time to time, along with other works contemporaneous with the various books of the Bible.

  We don't have a plethora of material from those times, and it is interesting to see the various genre and methods in use in each book, each book being written for a particular audience, by a writer with an agenda.

  I might add to my first statement that it is not only 99% fiction, it is very poor fiction, Harry Potter is of a far higher quality.
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  jam

  The number one reason for the Bible, other cultures were

  moving up in the world. Developing knowledge, arts, ideas, tools,

  knowledge of the world we live in. The writers of the Bible were

  sheep herdsman, they knew nothing about the world we live in.

  To elevate their status among the other nations they came up with a

  great scam, our God is the God of all, He knows all and we are

  his people. He has given us special knowledge about everything on this earth, even

  how we begain as humans... So take your art, knowledge, astronomers and

  scientist and stick it where the sun don't shine.

  We are A SPECIAL PEOPLE...
• 

  Crazyguy

  The bible is like El Ron Hubbard writings that were fantasy and then later turned in to a religion. His book was about aliens the writings that the bible came from were about God's also could be considered aliens.
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  Apognophos

  Amusingly enough, I don't think one person who's responded to this thread is a theist.

  If you still believe in God, what are your thoughts on the Bible?