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Why do people believe the bible?


bigjim36

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Just now, ChaosRose said:

Or worse. It wanted an ant farm.

We have no way of knowing. That being the case no religion or spiritual view is correct. Its all just assumptions. 

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Just now, XenoFish said:

We have no way of knowing. That being the case no religion or spiritual view is correct. Its all just assumptions. 

And I can't believe we'd be punished by a loving God for making the wrong assumptions. 

It's not like we had a lot to go on.

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Just now, ChaosRose said:

And I can't believe we'd be punished by a loving God for making the wrong assumptions. 

It's not like we had a lot to go on.

And punished eternally for even the slightest thing. Given the finite span of our existence. Time, in terms of the cosmic scale of things. We're not even a dent. We're nothing. 

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Certain things ring true to me, like the Golden Rule.

Other stuff...wow...not so much.

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Just now, XenoFish said:

And punished eternally for even the slightest thing. Given the finite span of our existence. Time, in terms of the cosmic scale of things. We're not even a dent. We're nothing. 

I always figured if there was a loving God, it would understand us better than we understand ourselves.

And so it would be more forgiving to us than we often are to ourselves. 

I'm not buying the wrath and vengeance crap. Again...if there's an entity espousing that then it's a) not God and b ) not good. 

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1 minute ago, ChaosRose said:

Certain things ring true to me, like the Golden Rule.

Other stuff...wow...not so much.

Isn't the golden rule which has been around forever, be the only thing we need? 

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Just now, XenoFish said:

Isn't the golden rule which has been around forever, be the only thing we need? 

I dunno.

Maybe.

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It's hard to think that all this literalism and fundamentalism isn't just about ego. 

And that's not especially spiritual.

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Because it is easier to believe what you are told to believe, rather than researching and thinking it out for yourself.  People want instant wisdom on a silver  platter, but what they end up with is being controlled by those who desire power.  

 "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them."

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5 minutes ago, Grandpa Greenman said:

Because it is easier to believe what you are told to believe, rather than researching and thinking it out for yourself.  People want instant wisdom on a silver  platter, but what they end up with is being controlled by those who desire power.  

 "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them."

They want an answer for everything, and the truth is...we don't have answers for everything.

On the other hand, religion claims that it does.

So people are seeking the comfort they get from thinking they know "the way things are." (and the ego boost that thinking that gives them)

Uncertainty is insufferable to some. 

It's just that you can be as certain as you want...and also extremely wrong...at the same time. 

Edited by ChaosRose
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The reasons for believing in god are understandable.   The reasons for believing in the absolutely veracity of a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, poems, prophecies, archaic laws and somewhat befuddled, mixed up, history is somewhat less so.

But once, those who read it believed Geoffrey of Monmonth's History of the Kings of Britain was absolute fact.  Just the same.  Who knows if someone on the road to Doncaster had been struck by lighting and decided to build a new religion around it what the world might now be like?  ;) 

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To put this into the context of "Why do people believe the Bible?", I'll offer this passage from chapter 6 of the Gospel of John:

"53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum."

I think everyone would agree that, in the entire history of the world, those words are the most preposterous ever spoken by a religious figure. Think about it: Jesus sat in the synagogue of a religious group that was opposed to cannibalism, and he completely destroyed his legitimacy by telling the congregation to eat his flesh and drink his blood; not just once, but six times in a row. To make it even more preposterous, his words were recorded by his followers, and accepted as truth by the Council of Nicea.

They also recorded the results:

"66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."

He didn't explain himself or make any apologies. He simply asked his hand-picked disciples: 

"67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve."

"68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”"

I'll be the first to admit that I'm weak, I'm socially awkward, I blurt out embarrassing words, and I'm generally all-around less-than-perfect. So, knowing that I'll always be flawed and imperfect, I'm grateful to have a Redeemer that was comfortable around flawed, imperfect people. Jesus didn't walk around with a self-righteous halo on his head. He met us at our level. I can identify with a God who doesn't demand perfection, but who sets the example and says, "Follow Me." 

      

Edited by simplybill
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12 minutes ago, simplybill said:

I can identify with a God who doesn't demand perfection, 

 

Matthew 5:48  

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

 

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I always get a kick out of the "let me use these quotes from the bible to explain why I believe the bible" folks. 

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7 minutes ago, Will Due said:

 

Matthew 5:48  

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

 

Only in your head.

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20 minutes ago, Will Due said:

 

Matthew 5:48  

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

 

The words of the bible should be put into the context of the original language. This is from Barnes' Notes on the Bible:

"Originally, it is applied to a piece of mechanism, as a machine that is complete in its parts. Applied to people, it refers to completeness of parts, or perfection, where no part is defective or wanting. Thus, Job JObadiah 1:1 is said to be "perfect;" that is, not holy as God, or "sinless" - for fault is afterward found with him Job 9:20; Job 42:6; but his piety was "proportionate" - had a completeness of parts, was consistent and regular. He exhibited his religion as a prince, a father, an individual, a benefactor of the poor. He was not merely a pious man in one place, but uniformly. He was consistent everywhere. See the notes at that passage. This is the meaning in Matthew. Be not religious merely in loving your friends and neighbors, but let your piety be shown in loving your enemies; imitate God; let your piety be "complete, proportionate, regular." This every Christian may be; this every Christian must be." 

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22 minutes ago, ChaosRose said:

I always get a kick out of the "let me use these quotes from the bible to explain why I believe the bible" folks. 

Rose - I think your comment would be more appropriate if the thread title was "Why do people believe in God?" rather than "Why do people believe in the Bible." 

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1 minute ago, simplybill said:

Rose - I think your comment would be more appropriate if the thread title was "Why do people believe in God?" rather than "Why do people believe in the Bible." 

It's nothing personal, bill. It's just I've heard so much of that sort of thing.

And yes, it's about why the bible should be believed. 

Circular reasoning, ftw. 

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I remember some fire and brimstone street preacher I once got into it with.

I kept trying to get him to explain why people should believe the bible, and he just could not stop himself from using the bible as the reason.

Just kept coming back to it every which way he could.

And he just could not understand why these weren't reasons to me.

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39 minutes ago, ChaosRose said:

It's nothing personal, bill. It's just I've heard so much of that sort of thing.

And yes, it's about why the bible should be believed. 

Circular reasoning, ftw. 

I see what you're saying. I answered a rhetorical question with a personal answer. I should have added the disclaimer, "For me personally..."

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50 minutes ago, simplybill said:

Rose - I think your comment would be more appropriate if the thread title was "Why do people believe in God?" rather than "Why do people believe in the Bible." 

A lot of people believe in god because of the bible. 

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2 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

A lot of people believe in god because of the bible. 

On the other hand, the majority of posters here on UM don't believe in God because of the bibleThere are plenty of topics here on UM to discuss the reasons why. I'm happy that Big Jim has given us believers an opportunity to answer for our beliefs. 

I know that you have done the same, XenoFish, and I really do appreciate it. I didn't respond to your topics because every response I wanted to post came across as self-aggrandizement.

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1 minute ago, simplybill said:

On the other hand, the majority of posters here on UM don't believe in God because of the bibleThere are plenty of topics here on UM to discuss the reasons why. I'm happy that Big Jim has given us believers an opportunity to answer for our beliefs. 

I know that you have done the same, XenoFish, and I really do appreciate it. I didn't respond to your topics because every response I wanted to post came across as self-aggrandizement.

My only concern when it comes to people spiritual/religious beliefs is what they do because of them. It doesn't matter to me on any personal level. However I am adamantly against abusing a belief and having it bring harm. I think you can understand that, correct?

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