Should we take the bible literal?

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by Stapel


Unless God created the world with rests of 10000 year old dinosaurs in it, the whole creation story is nonsense. And first there was day and night, and a day later the sun........ yeah right!

And that story about all animals on a boat......

Problem is Phydeaux: About any story in the bible that I find utter nonsense, you can say it is a parable!

It is an endless discussion.
But if you can understand why I think it is utter nonsense, all is fine to me.

What are your trying to say about the dinosaurs?
Yes it does say that there where days be for the sun. What I think He meant was a 24 hour day. I think He was trying to say it was not mils of years, but I could be wrong. The "story about all animals on a boat" really could have happened all the animals and food could have fit on the ark and also it would explain the the rock layers.

 

[Zarn]

I say no to literal interpretation.

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by Kinniken


That's one of the best argument for genocide I've ever heard.

Me? Slaughtering innocents? Of course not, I'm only fighting their evil leader and he represents them...

What do you think God should have done, just sit and do nothing when they where running around haf naked worshipping other gods and in slaving His people? They where not in any way "innocents".

 

[Dr Jimbo]

Originally posted by Phydeaux
The "story about all animals on a boat" really could have happened all the animals and food could have fit on the ark

No they bloody couldn't!
OK - the easy question: What did all the carnivores on the ark eat? What did they eat afterwards while all the prey animals were breeding up a big enough population to hunt?
The hard question: How did they have enough genetic diversity to survive infectious disease afterwards?

bleewuuewwheh

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by jroa99
Nope.

Still, I do find it funny when oh, so many people (whether they are just protestants or theists or something else) pretend that the Church's interpretation is the "evil, wrong" one, while theirs is, of course, "the true, original" one that "reflects Jesus & his true ideas"...Gimme a break. Nobody can realistically prove any of their interpretations to be "closer to the truth".

Both are probably just as valid, if the Bible is just a collection of myths and stories (which, IMHO, due to the very fallible human condition of all its writers, looks like a very possible outcome...if there was any original truth in the revelation, centuries of human interference have made it impossible to distinguish for us), from which we better take/interpret whatever we may find useful/suits our tastes, and drop/ignore the rest (or all of it, of course. It's up to each person to decide).

Lots of believers do that already (or follow those who do/did), even if they don't admit it.

Good Day.

You don't see any greek myth the Bible is not a myth sucker. At least it does not look that way to me.

 

[polymath]

Of course the bible contains many myths. Noah's Ark is a myth. Lot's wife turning into salt is a myth. The parting of the Red Sea is a myth. The Bible is packed to the rafters with myths.

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by Dr Jimbo
No they bloody couldn't!
OK - the easy question: What did all the carnivores on the ark eat? What did they eat afterwards while all the prey animals were breeding up a big enough population to hunt?
The hard question: How did they have enough genetic diversity to survive infectious disease afterwards?

bleewuuewwheh

What we think is that be for the flood nothing ate meat. You may ask what about there sharp teeth? There are dinos and I think other kinds too that have sharp teeth but are used for eating fruit.

 

[Dr Jimbo]

Originally posted by Phydeaux
What we think is that be for the flood nothing ate meat.

They just decided not to eat meat? Did God do that? That's pretty handy. I'm sure he got round all the other awkward contradictions with unrecorded interventions too. I thought God didn't go meddling in our affairs - the whole free will thing? Oh, I forgot, the OT God is different from the NT God.

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by polymath
Of course the bible contains many myths. Noah's Ark is a myth. Lot's wife turning into salt is a myth. The parting of the Red Sea is a myth. The Bible is packed to the rafters with myths.

How do you know there mythes? The Bible says that sulfur fell from the sky on the city. I remember hearing that the place where the Bible said it happened has the most sulfur then any other place in the world.

 

[Gothmog]

The flood would not explain the rock layers and there is no evidence for a global flood since humans have been on the scene. We have very well documented climatologies from a number of independent sources that show this quite clearly. Unless of course God just decided to wipe out all evidence of the flood, and put self consistant evidence that there was no flood here as a test of faith.

 

[funxus]

Originally posted by Phydeaux
It is not only in the old testament that God was "violent" in the new testament also like when He killed the people that cheated on the tithes. He also gave the ten commandments which are the morals you are talking about. What I am saying is the people that He killed where worthy of being killed.

You are sick.

How can you say anyone is worthy of being killed? They didn't follow the ten commandments? How many can say they have never broken the 3rd and 10th commandment? And is it 5 billion people in the world not believing in him, and thus breaking the first commandment? Do you say I deserve death for not believing in God? Would you cheer at the message of my death and say I was worthy of it? The fact that we are all still alive should be proof enough that the bible should not be taken literally.

 

[Stapel]

Originally posted by Phydeaux


What are your trying to say about the dinosaurs?
Yes it does say that there where days be for the sun. What I think He meant was a 24 hour day. I think He was trying to say it was not mils of years, but I could be wrong. The "story about all animals on a boat" really could have happened all the animals and food could have fit on the ark and also it would explain the the rock layers.

I think it is pretty obvious the biblical creation story is nonsense. Dinos were dead, several thousands years before there were humans..... So, if humans were created on day 6(? not sure), then on day 6 there must have been rests of Dinos from 10.000 year back. Compare it with God creating a 200 year old tree in a split second.
Maybe God did do that: create a world with rests of Dinos in it. But to me that sounds ludicrous. But all can be explained that God's ways are inscrutable. And we should not question his ways.

I simply can't believe in it. Is that so weird?

But I can understand some people think different about this. But to take it literal?

 

[Kinniken]

Originally posted by Phydeaux


What do you think God should have done, just sit and do nothing when they where running around haf naked worshipping other gods and in slaving His people? They where not in any way "innocents".

Children, slaves, all culpable I say! The one-year old child of the slave-girl? Obviously a cruel pagan personally oppressing the Jews! I mean, if they worship other Gods than the True One, obviously they deserve death. And if that's not enough, they are half-naked! Now if that's not enough to warrant death, I don't know what is.
And obviously, an omnipotent God could not have gotten His People out of Egypt without killing half the population as well... I mean, what use are divine powers if you don't use them?



How some people can believe that the merciful God of the New Testament, whose son died for the whole of humanity is the same God that committed genocide in Egypt and who considered a particular tribe to be the "Chosen People", superior to the rest of the world is quite beyond me.

 

[Stapel]

Originally posted by polymath
The parting of the Red Sea is a myth.

Hmm, no.... There actually is a plausible theory that the Jews went through when the sealevel was low (happesn twice a day). The chasing egyptians (on their 2 attack points chariots ) got stuck in de muddy sea bottom and then drowned when the flood came.

If I would have whitnessed that at the time, and if I would have been a historical writer, I just might have written down there was divine influence!

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by Dr Jimbo
They just decided not to eat meat? Did God do that? That's pretty handy. I'm sure he got round all the other awkward contradictions with unrecorded interventions too. I thought God didn't go meddling in our affairs - the whole free will thing? Oh, I forgot, the OT God is different from the NT God.

They were made in the beginning to eat fruit then we are not really sure how it happened but there are some theory's, but I don't remember them , but they are much like the theory's that Evolution has I'm sure.

 

[HannibalBarka]

Oh, God no literal reading of the Bible or any other Religious book. If we do so than at least 80% of the people on earth should be slaughtered for no crime but not believing in the God in question whether he is called Jesus, Allah or Georges.

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by Gothmog
The flood would not explain the rock layers and there is no evidence for a global flood since humans have been on the scene. We have very well documented climatologies from a number of independent sources that show this quite clearly. Unless of course God just decided to wipe out all evidence of the flood, and put self consistant evidence that there was no flood here as a test of faith.

I'm not sure maybe you are right but here is some thing funny at the bottom of the layers there are those sea bugs that walk on the sea bottom it seems that maybe there at the bottom because they walk on the sea bottom, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by Kinniken


Children, slaves, all culpable I say! The one-year old child of the slave-girl? Obviously a cruel pagan personally oppressing the Jews! I mean, if they worship other Gods than the True One, obviously they deserve death. And if that's not enough, they are half-naked! Now if that's not enough to warrant death, I don't know what is.
And obviously, an omnipotent God could not have gotten His People out of Egypt without killing half the population as well... I mean, what use are divine powers if you don't use them?



How some people can believe that the merciful God of the New Testament, whose son died for the whole of humanity is the same God that committed genocide in Egypt and who considered a particular tribe to be the "Chosen People", superior to the rest of the world is quite beyond me.

I just remembered some thing the blood on the door. It's just like the blood of Jesus. The Egypt people did not put the blood on the door because they did not believe so there sin's where not forgiven because they did not confess there sin's and believe they died just like it says in the NT.

 

[S.P.Q.R.]

Originally posted by Phydeaux


In what way where they influenced by their cultural background? Did not there cultural background come from God? Have you ever even read the Bible? The Bible is a true story about people that had there life changed by God.

Actually, I think all those rules concerning what you should do, and what you shouldn't were taken out of their cultural background and NOT given by any superior being.

 

[Phydeaux]

Originally posted by funxus

You are sick.

How can you say anyone is worthy of being killed? They didn't follow the ten commandments? How many can say they have never broken the 3rd and 10th commandment? And is it 5 billion people in the world not believing in him, and thus breaking the first commandment? Do you say I deserve death for not believing in God? Would you cheer at the message of my death and say I was worthy of it? The fact that we are all still alive should be proof enough that the bible should not be taken literally.

Do you I know what they did to God when that happened I would be mad too. I remember that the people where given a chance to go with on God's side but instead they said we don't believe in that God any more we like this caf better. So God killed them. I think the OT is more bloody because there was more time, in it the NT there was only like 70 years. Those who do evil there days will end some day some time and God has given us the chance to be forgiven.