Maybe mana has alcohol. It was a drunkard’s walk.
[QUOTE=Philliam]
I’ve always been stumped that they didn’t stumble upon the Gulfs of Suez, Aden or the Med. Sea in all that time, by accident if not intent. Not much more than 100 miles from the center of the Sinai in most any direction you choose. Couldn’t have been looking too hard. Why do I think the 40 years must be allegorical?
[/QUOTE]
Probably because the 40 days and nights/40 years thingy is code for ‘well, it took longer than I could count…and I couldn’t really count all that high’. 
-XT
First of all, your friend is incredibly rude in his response. Not exactly what I consider to be loving thy neighbor.
Anyway, he writes:
“NEVER EVER READ ANYTHING OUT OF CONTEXT AND ASSUME THAT ONE SENTENCE IN A LARGE BOOK LIKE THE BIBLE CAN BE UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT CONSIDERING 1. THE DATE AND TIMES BEING DISCUSSED 2. THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THAT TIME 3. WHO THE AUTHOR IS AND 4. WHO THE INTENDED AUDIENCE/READER IS.”
He then adds:
“Also, a final note to remember, ( and you must trust me on this): anyone or anything that tries to undermine the credibility of God, Jesus or the bible is OF SATAN. At the risk of sounding like a religious fanatic, please remember I have read the ENTIRE bible 6 times now from cover to cover. I KNOW WHAT IT SAYS AND WHAT IT DOESN’T SAY. I know for a fact THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF THE ONE, TRUE GOD. Anyone or anything that tries to persuade you otherwise is trying to rob you of the gift of salvation that Jesus offers for believing in him.”
This reeks to me of wanting to have it both ways. If something you object to is pointed out in the Bible as being wrong, it’s clearly wrong and horrible and sinful and you go to hell. If the Bible supports something you don’t like, oh, well, let’s look at the context and the period and in short it was okay back then but not now. Yeah, no. There are lots of things that were mentioned in the Bible that are very different culturally than today. Slavery is one. Homosexuality is another. Yet, Biblical literalists will hem and haw that well of course they don’t mean that slavery should be OK, but those queers are definitely going to Hell, boy howdy!
If you’re going to say, as he does, "There is no gray and no middle ground. It is an all or nothing proposition. " then you need to accept the Bible as whole cloth. You don’t get to point to one thing and say it’s the inerrant word of God and at another thing and say, “Well, that was just the times”. If there’s no gray area, there’s no gray area. But of course, that sort of inerrancy breaks down pretty quickly.
If the Bible is literally the word of God, then God (being omniscient) should know that the Bible was going to hang around quite a long time after it was written. Clearly, if it’s the inerrant Word, then there’s no reason we need to apologize for it - God said what He meant, and cultural comparisons aren’t relevant, as God was intending it as a guide to life for for thousands of years to come. It’s only if you accept that the Bible is a fallible document that you need to consider social and cultural contexts in this manner.
Does that mean I have to be gay to get to go to Hellboy?? Other than this, which I consider to be highly unfair (I want to go to Hellboy!!), I think you nailed it on the head that the author of that screed wants it both ways (which says something about the guy right there…wink wink, nudge nudge)…
-XT
I have read that the Hebrew words for 40 and for many are similar and that sometimes one is translated as the other; somebody who knows Hebrew may be able to speak to this. Meanwhile, the fact 2 million people wandered around a small area for 40 years without leaving any significant archaeological trace of themselves shows that they were incredible neat freaks; their cess pits alone would have been the size of a canyon.
I’ve brought that up before in online debates. I can’t remember what the response was but somehow someway it of course doesn’t apply to them calling somebody a fool any more than than any other biblical “Thou shalt not” applies to them.
I’m not disputing that. But that is a fundy and non-fundy position. There is no evidence the resurrection happened either - is belief in that also fundy?
I’d call a position fundy if it is believed for the most part by fundamentalist branches and not by more moderate branches. 6,000 year old Earth, yes. Davidic empire - not yet, though it may become so if the more moderate branches of religion drop it as a core belief.
This amounts to an accusation of trolling, (even if it is not specifically on the SDMB.
Back off.
[ /Moderating ]
You are almost right. My comments about BOTH people were in poor taste. Saying people should die in a fire for annoying me is a bit over the top.
That said, I’m an atheist. People always seems to forget that around here when I condemn the more obnoxious members of the militant atheist crowd. I live in a part of the country where being an atheist is…difficult. At every level.
Drivel like this smarmy wise ass 14 year old posted does not help anything. At all. There is no original or world shaking insight in her little video. If anything, it is trolling believers while screaming “Lookatme, LookAtMe, LOOKATMEEEEEEEEEE!”.
Atheists have no agenda. We have no clubhouse. We have no meetings. We don’t get a voidier Void for all eternity for recruiting others. Yet we all get smeared with being obnoxious asshats because some of us can’t just STFU already and insist on picking needless fights with believers.
She’s a little girl. You are projecting a lot of weird hostility and imagined motives onto a child.
But Mosaic authorship of the Torah is one of those things that’s believed only by the most conservative branches and not more moderate ones, IMHO.
In other words, like I said, she’s a 14-year-old. Yeah, I get it: it doesn’t sound like she has any real insights what she read, I don’t think she’s quoting in full context, and while she’s not totally wrong, she’s being a little obnoxious. She’s 14.
And a good thing, because I’d get almost no sleep at all if I had to go to atheist meetings.
The smearing of atheism is mostly the work of religious leaders manipulating their followers, and a lot of the remainder is caused by believers who swallow what’s being put it front of them. Some of it (and maybe it’s a growing portion because atheism is not as unacceptable as it once was) is caused by atheists being obnoxious. But this is a YouTube video by a kid. It’s not going to affect the broader image of atheism or relationships between theists and atheists. I’m all for being polite in discussions of religion and irreligion, but I remember what I was like at 14 and I understand maturity takes time.
He said “Die in a FIRE.” He didn’t specify that she should necessarily burn to death (ew). Could be smoke inhalation.
Of course. Since 94% of the world’s surface is above drillable water, it would simply be a matter of dowsing.
And if they couldn’t find water that way, they could accept the JREF challenge to find a dry spot by dowsing, and then buy all the water they needed with the million bucks.
Sitting at the ‘back of the bus’ and keeping your mouth shut might be ok for you, but most of us really don’t want to have to be like that. Frankly we need more atheists like her and less like you.
As a Freemason, I am often asked if I believe in God, and my reply is, “Yes. I believe in the God that created the Universe.” Who’s to say that I’m referring to Jesus Christ as God, or Allah, or Yahweh? As a Freemason, I agree upon a couple of things, fist that, Yes, God exists. Secondly, God is central to our lives. Third, God compels us to do good things, and we stop the discussion of religion there.
Right, like Christ is some kinda Christianity expert. :rolleyes:
Ya think Christ read the Bible even once? :dubious:
And anyway, ya gotta read it seven times to gain a level!
CMC fnord!
the funny part is that generally we are not permitted to initiate madmen, atheist, or fools
That is funny.
Funny because it’s ironic.
The Bible was written by humans, called the word of Gog by humans, therefore people who believe it is the word of God are really believing in some human. There are many ways to interpret the Bible…hence many sects, and religions. There is just as much proof that the Koran was dictated to Muhammed as there is to the Bible writers. It is a matter of who one believes, and so long as they don’t force their beliefs on others and use what ever helps them be a better person I respect their right to believe as they wish.
Too late to edit the second time I noticed I said Gog instead of God!