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Post by Patrick on May 5, 2010 1:54:35 GMT -5
That's fine. My argument is that the Bible is packed full of mortal, here and now wisdom (especially the books that Solomon and David wrote). Many atheists love the Bible because of much practical wisdom that it offers. Most Christians don't believe that you can, but many people pick and choose what they believe from the Bible, and only take the practical wisdom from it. The Bible is not just full of far-fetched theological garble that even most Christians and Jews have a hard time with, but it has very practical and proven advice. Who cares whether the Bible was written by God or not other than devout Christians and Jews. Much of it's advice just rings true to many people whether the believe in God or not.
A lot of level-headed, and well-balanced people are convinced about the Bible's theological matters because the practical wisdom it offers.
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Post by Brent on May 5, 2010 2:05:09 GMT -5
Yeah, who cares. Yeah.
I would say anyone who is level headed and balanced wouldn't need to take advice from a book that says to beat your children if they disrespect you, but cool dude.
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Post by Muffy on May 5, 2010 9:14:54 GMT -5
I have a suspicion that the bible was written to satisfy a human need for a fantasy. Everyone has something they like to exaggerate... maybe the guy that wrote most of the old testament had heard only misconstrued and twisted stories by the time he wrote them down, and then after that, writers just kept adding on to it with their own personal experiences that they could tie in.
I like how some like to say that God used men to write the bible, thus it is "holy". Another convenient truth. The Bible was written by men.
Just because a lot of religions have borrowed/shared beliefs and stories doesn't mean that biblical christianity is true, and those others are not. Maybe they're all f**king wrong?
Assumptions and convenient truths... that's all it is to me.
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Post by Jeremy on May 5, 2010 11:11:11 GMT -5
This thread is filled with biblical scholars
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Post by Patrick on May 5, 2010 14:50:18 GMT -5
Yeah, who cares. Yeah. I would say anyone who is level headed and balanced wouldn't need to take advice from a book that says to beat your children if they disrespect you, but cool dude. What scripture is that?
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Post by Brent on May 5, 2010 17:11:26 GMT -5
1) If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness. (Proverbs 20:20 NAB)
2) All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense. (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)
was worse than I thought, not beating, but killing.
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Post by Patrick on May 5, 2010 18:23:27 GMT -5
Haha, no one follows everything in Leviticus anymore. Not even the so-called Fundamentalist Christians or the Orthodox Jews. Such things were ancient practices used to teach Israel while they were still a new nation the difference between right and wrong. Those practices didn't even last long in Judaism.
There are a few disturbing scriptures in the Bible, but as there always is, there's another side of the story. Later on I will post some of the scriptures that revolutionized the way people see morality, and also some common sense wisdom from the Bible. Everything must be taken in context. The valuable scriptures outnumber the disturbing ones about 99 to one.
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Post by Brent on May 5, 2010 18:29:13 GMT -5
That's my point, no matter any way you slice it, there are horrific verses in the Bible and if it is of divine origin, your god is not perfect. If he was perfect, those verses of rape, torture, and murder in the Bible (there are a lot) would have not existed, even in the old testament
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Post by Azrael on May 6, 2010 19:03:17 GMT -5
That's my point, no matter any way you slice it, there are horrific verses in the Bible and if it is of divine origin, your god is not perfect. If he was perfect, those verses of rape, torture, and murder in the Bible (there are a lot) would have not existed, even in the old testament It's only because people have so completely removed everything from its traditional context to the point of hilarity. I have an actual Bible (NASB). I have full annotations. Each page is half annotations. Believe me, none of the standard "RAEP IS GOOOOOD SO SATH THE LAAAAARD" verses mean anything. Your dogged persistence in clinging to the delusion that the Bible is completely devoid of symbolism and interpretive significance is one of the reasons you don't get Christianity. I'll leave you with what one of your contemporaries has to say on the topic of rape. Please enjoy the lulz and many contradictions. Rape is good, so long as your society doesn't have a definition of the word "rape."
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Post by Brent on May 6, 2010 19:41:14 GMT -5
That's my point, no matter any way you slice it, there are horrific verses in the Bible and if it is of divine origin, your god is not perfect. If he was perfect, those verses of rape, torture, and murder in the Bible (there are a lot) would have not existed, even in the old testament It's only because people have so completely removed everything from its traditional context to the point of hilarity. I have an actual Bible (NASB). I have full annotations. Each page is half annotations. Believe me, none of the standard "RAEP IS GOOOOOD SO SATH THE LAAAAARD" verses mean anything. Your dogged persistence in clinging to the delusion that the Bible is completely devoid of symbolism and interpretive significance is one of the reasons you don't get Christianity. I'll leave you with what one of your contemporaries has to say on the topic of rape. Please enjoy the lulz and many contradictions. Rape is good, so long as your society doesn't have a definition of the word "rape." mhm
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