Do you think just because you believe in god you have to believe in the bible and if so why? What makes you believe that book? Now i'm not asking if you believe in god at all, just the bible? Do you question how some of those stories are possible or do you just ah it's in the book it must be true?

Personally, I believe the bible to be the true and living word of God. Why I believe this is because in my time of reading the Bible I have found it to be true and reliable in all situations of life.

Some (indeed many) will disagree, but I have yet to find a genuine contradiction within its passages. I do not wish to start another contradictions thread, so let us leave it as I believe it to be so and that's the end of it. Thanks

I guess in the end it comes down to faith. ANd that is something i cannot explain in words that anyone can logically understand.

All the best,

PA that's fine that you can find that the stories are helpful to your personal decisions but so are urban legends in helping to show you what to do and what not to do......The question is do you question the stories at all? or just take them as being true for some unknown reason?

Can you explain how the world was re-populated after the flood? There was only Noah and his wife left right? So how long did it take and how?

How can you not question things like that? How can you take that book as fact?

Believe it or not, I question everything.



Read one of my many posts on the possible non-literal explanations of Genesis. I'm sure you know the ones i'm talking about. It is possible that it was a flood which covered the known world at the time...... Whether the stories are 100% true and accurate or not we will never know - we weren't there, right. For my mind though, the rest of the Bible, in context, along with my own personal experience has led me to a place in my life where I see truths in the bible which is impossible to ignore.



As I said in my first post, i guess it all comes down to faith. "The thing about faith is that if you don't have it you can't explain it. If you do have it, you don't need to explain it" (taken from Col. Kira in an episode of DS9)

Bacca, those that believe the literal word of the bible do not need to question or explain the book. It is enough for them to say that "God did it" and leave it at that.

For my own experience, the more of the book I read, the less cedible I found it to be. But that is just my point of view.

As always, if your belief and faith bring you comfort, then good for you, enjoy your life, and have a good afterlife.

I definitely believe in a Creator, but I see nothing of redeeming value in the bible. It is a collection of Bronze Age mythology (OT) mostly made up whole cloth or borrowed/plagiarized from older neighboring religions and of even more fantastic illogical Iron Age mythology (NT) spawning a religion that has caused more suffering and death than any other belief system over a period of 2000 years. Belief in a Creator does not predicate a dogma, a set of scriptures or a desire to convert the world - the bible is all of that and more; used by the leaders of the religions based on it to hurl the innocent against the innocent in horrific bloodbaths! One has no need for the bible! - CD

Very poetic CD

Disagreed with everything you said, but it was still very well written. Full marks for language.

I agree as well except that many, if not most, of the Biblical legends originated before the Bronze Age. One can find many existant Bible stories in the Epic of Gilgamesh, for example, and on clay tablets from the library of King Ashbinapal.

well, i think all those familiar with history can agree that christianity was just a repackaging of older ideas.

Early Bronze Age....also more than 1100 years prior to the existence of Israel and more than 1500 years before the codification of the bible. All your disagreement with what I said will not give succor to those innocent victims of the crusades, the victims thrown on bonfires as heretics, or those innocent natives slaughtered in the name of God, with the survivors enslaved to work the lands stolen from them. In the final judgment by the Creator (not that Deists beleive in that manure) the Christian religion and it's adherents will have much to answer for! Rather than finding my words well written and giving me full marks for my language, you needs consider the evil of the belief system you have embraced and what you can do to change it, ere it sinks into extinction....CD

The Bible is a very, very complex book. There is so much to it. I believe it ORIGINALLY was the original book of God. I believe the Bible to still have a lot of credit for it- yet there are some things that i believe could have been minorly tampered with, and due to the age of the book i also believe translations have changed somewhat. I find the Bible to be a great book on human nature, it is a book filled with love and grace, we are all brothers and sisters according to this book...We are all Gods. Many people take many words in the bible literal, while others dont- hence leaving a confused continuity of it- due to its language people often ask "does that line mean this- or that?".

So yeah mainly i believe the Bible was originally the true word of God and still is to a point, i dont blame any bloodshed on the book of God but on peoples evil nature. People oppose to the bible so much because they find it too strict or critical and the stories to be nothing short of a 'fairy tale' but all i can say is anything is possible...absolutely anything.

Some people only chose to see the bad- some people only chose to see the Good. You state that Christianity is a dangerous and violent religion and you blame God or the bible? Thats hypocritical, Probably thw worst sin is 'THY SHALL NOT KILL' full stop.

The bible in itself preaches love and forgiveness. As Ramster says, it is the men who have used it for their own selfishness which have created the evil.

I know i've used this example fairly recently, but I may as well again - if a scientist creates viruses and weapons with his knowledge that does not make science or the process of scientific discover evil......

I agree with the bible in some parts but think most of it is bull.
Most of it has been changed in thousands of years.
You don't have to belive in everything that is written in the Bible to belive in some kind of God.
It is an individual choice that everyone has the right to do.

Religion must not be taken this serious, it only creates fanatics that condemn everyone that disagree with the bible(and koran and so on) for example.

Let me guess, that is why the bible says that God told the Israelites to kill everyone except for the females that had not known man, these the warriors could keep for themselves! This is why a bear was sent to kill the 40 young boys for laughing at the bald man, why God told theIsraelites to kill everyone of the enemyand the livestock too….Yep, God of love alright. This is why the supposed savior made the comment that he had come to set brother against brother and father against son, why he said to sell your coat if you have to, but have a sword and be willing to use it….definitely a God of love! Why did these men do evil? Was it because they were greedy? Or could it be they were emulating their blood-thirsty God? Looking at the horrific actions by God and his followers in the Bible, I would believe the latter!

Nope, your God is, he says Thy Shalt not Kill and then that seems to be all that he does for most of the OT and advocates it in the NT - That my friend is hypocracy - and by your God no less! - CD

CD - It's 1am and I'm heading to bed. You need to read the Bible as a whole and in context. I've picked out a quote (entirely out of context) from your post which illustrates my point perfectly.



Glad you gree with me

Been there done that, many different times....still is nothing but illogical mythology. Mythology that isn't backed by history (even of the church)!

If science has constantly advocated horror and violence as does the OT, then science would indeed be a tool of evil - AS IS the bible and the religions that spring from it!

glad you agree with me...God is a god of love - NOT!

From an archaeological persepective, much of the Old Testament is either wholly wrong or only very loosely based on reality. It's also believed to have been written around the 7th and 6th centuries bce.

But this doesn't mean that there isn't a God

cheap shot there PA.

But at least you stated the quote was lifted out of context.

but the question is why do you believe in that book? A quote from it makes no difference if the book is fiction then a quote from it sure makes no difference. And why would i believe a book just because the book itself seems to say that it MUST be followed or else you burn....it's like the never ending chain letter

Bacca I think the Bible gets it meaning from the peron who interprets it, based on the interpretation to me tells alot about how the interpreter is comrehending God, Take the Adam and Eve story alot of religious people take that as original sin the fall of man (alot not a few beleive the snake was the devil grown men beleive this as man was tempted by woman who was made of adams Rib ( to mean man is better) you get what I'm saying, My take is Adam and Eve was the names we gave first humans and that woman being made of man talks of oneness and the yin yang energy that runs through all of nature, we are all connected, the snake is symbol of completedness ( all things lead to the same place in this instant the snake is that wisdom the garden of eden Relative realm dualism our dualistic nature Temptation Choice the birth of free will I see the Fall of man as the original blessing its a matter of how you comprehend God what you understand of God and it wouldn't be much if you see this as the fall of man. you beleive in the seperation of man not the oneness. IMo Namaste Sheri

As I said - faith. Nothing more. Nothing less.

faith will be the death of humanity.

What you see as death of humanity i see as salvation of humanity.

All the best,

history will be the judge of that! here is a hint: think of a group *cough* christianity *cough* that has a track record for guiding man to his destruction

Hippies!

Whatever belief system seems to need a written guide much like a manual, whether it be a collection of tales or merely a series of moral mandates. Even more amazing is that millions of people have dedicated their lives to reading and studying one book and still admit that they don't understand it all. Now that's a slow learner!

It's probaably because there's so much symbolism in the Bible, it's hard to figure out what everything means, and if it's symbolism or not

Don't you find it kinda? strange that the same God who gave Commandments in very compelling, simple terms then "inspires" men to write in abstract, symbolic forms? It's like, who needs parables? Tell me the facts in the same straightforward manner as the Commandments.

All religious arguement is based on misinterpretation and lack of awareness of the intellect, Any dedicated student has access to immediate higher levels of truth and are capable of reaching their own conclusions, All that is truly of God brings peace and harmony and love and is devoid of all forms of negativity, A spiritually aware person realizes that they can only carry the message, for the inner truth is the teacher.


Recently France passed a law to "stop abuse of the state of ignorance or a situation of weakness""The french see they have a resposibility to society to STOP spiritual rape by self serving religons or cults To the french the falsity of religoins and violence is obvious to everyone. One day we will look back and cringe at the absurdity of beleiving in religions. Namaste Sehri

I think it rather absurd to believe that "God" is so powerful, so all knowing, that "He" contracted a bunch of "ghost writers" who couldn't even write a series of books that mostly could be agreed upon by "His" followers as to the message and instructions. The people who write the IRS rules and regulations could have done as well.

Well i believe God is real and his love is what is so powerful, As far as the bible goes, i think it was wrote by men for men..(Vatican)!

If the Bible is God inspired, then its teachings should always be fresh right? I mean, it's not like Cat in the Hat which you can read in five minutes and have everything you need. It constantly challenges and teaches.

Unless you are implying followers of these books are stupid. In which case I would like to point you to a member of my church as a case study. She is a doctor. She came fourth in our state in the Higher School Certificate. Her University Admissions index was something like 99.99. Slow learners?????? I don't think so.

oh please PA, don't go down that path!

dont forget the language and culture gaps.

Nope, seems like it is being said that even some of the smartest still need a crutch to face life!

I believe in a god, consider myself Christian (though a very strange and eclectic one), and believe that the Bible is an interesting historical read and has some good fables in it (that's teaching stories). I believe that god guided the hand of the writers of the Bible just as much, but no more, than he guided the hand of Pearl Harwood who wrote a very nice story about some people perservering thru the fog to rescue some kids in trouble in a harbor.

I just used that as an example as it is currently my son's favorite book.