No, Muslims are the ones who follow God. Christians and the Jews think they do but are mistaken and don’t realize that they’re following a religion that’s been supplanted.
You guys do realize, I hope, that the OP has made one and only one post on this MB, and that is the OP. Odds are he won’t be back.
That’s…kind of creepily Pratchett-esque. Well done!
I have to believe that the Bible is simply too perfectly written to not assume that it was God-inspired. Many of the authors of the Bible weren’t contemporaries, yet their writings are pretty much in agreement, and there are no disagreements whereby only one author could be correct. How could a book that was written over such a lengthy timespan have such perfect continuity?
We have all tried to be our own “god” and it doesn’t work. It was tried in times past, too. (See Judges 21:25 “25: In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”) It only works when we all look to a “God” who loves us and has our own best interests in mind. I also believe that Jesus’ teachings are too perfect to have been conceived by any mere mortal…
That’s simply not so. The Bible is full of contradictions and factual errors. There is no “perfect continuity”.
Oh, please. There’s nothing particularly impressive about his teachings.
Why does continuity suggest divine inspiration? If five people sat down and wrote a history of World War II, they’d most likely be in general agreement about what happened. But that doesn’t mean they are divinely inspired.
And the fact that several people believed Jesus was a divine figure doesn’t make it so. Lots of other people have been called divine figures by their followers. Faith doesn’t equate to truth.
New to the forum here, so here goes.
Been a Follower of Christ for most of my life. Read the Bible enough to know that it is certainly metaphoric, not literal. Even Jesus taught in parables.
That said, it can also be stated that the Bible as it is written is not the word of God in any case. The Word, IMHO, is what happens when someone earnestly studies the Bible, takes its message to heart, and tires to live the message on a daily basis.
In other words, walking the walk, not just talking the talk.
Did Noah ACTUALLY gather together two of every animal on an ark and ride out a flood over the entire earth?
Not sure.
Happened long ago and was verbal history for thousands of years no matter how you view history before it was written down. But the thing is, if you are really concerned about the actual validity of the story, you have probably missed the point of it entirely. Such tales were told to illustrate God’s love for his children and his displeasure for those who disobeyed him.
The Old Testament is full of these kinds of stories. I’m not saying they don’t have a basis in fact, they most likely do, but the point of most of them is really the underlying message in them.
Listen, religion is Man’s way of putting God in a box, defining him in terms that can be easily understood. God is a spirit, says Jesus, of love and peace. He is beyond our understanding and our comprehension.
Did he create the universe in 7 days? Well, the Bible says a day is like a thousand years to God.
Did he create Man from the dust and breathe life into him? Well, our entire makeup is no different from our surroundings in nature, chemically speaking. I’m not evolution doesn’t exist. I’m saying that if I were an intelligent creature designing a lifeform, I’d build it one block at a time, creating more complexity as I moved along.
In fact, just recently I saw a special on public television where they took the part of a DNA strand that formed an eye in a sheep and swapped for the part of the DNA strand that formed the eye of a common fly. You know what? The sheep grew perfect eyes. That sheep doesn’t have a similar DNA marker to a fruit fly that creates eyes, it has the EXACT SAME DNA MARKER THAT CREATES EYES. And guess what? I have that same DNA marker too.
Evolution is a fact.
But that doesn’t disprove God.
Listen, much of science is still theory. GREAT theory, but still theory. There may be more empirical evidence of evolution than there ever has been, but our understanding of it is still in its infancy.
The fingerprints of an intelligence beyond our understanding may still be there, just beneath the surface.
Until we find out, we need to not be so bold about our assertions about denying God.
My dad used to say that a man is right until he sees for himself that he is wrong.
As for me, it’s not about religion, it’s about faith. It’s about belief. It’s about understanding and trying to be the best human being I can be while understanding that you have the right to be fallible, just like I do. A lot of Christians spend a lot of time reading, re-reading and memorizing a book that they carry on their shoulders when they should be carrying it in their hearts.
It means accepting the humanity of others and looking for ways to help them when you can.
Because love is not about what you get out of a relationship. It isn’t about sex, money or property. Love is about honesty, friendship and loyalty. It’s about being there. It’s about stopping and asking yourself if there is another way to approach a situation before you fly off the handle and get angry.
But most of all, it’s about sacrifice. A person who loves you gives of themselves to make your life better; to make you better. They make you want to sacrifice for them as well. That’s where the line has to be drawn in the sand.
So, yes, religion may not be the answer. Some of you may not believe that God exists or that Jesus lived and died for you or that his mother was a virgin or any of that. That’s your right. But the truth is that Jesus didn’t ask anyone to bomb anything, nor did he ask for anyone to refuse a belief in science or the law. Jesus taught me to love God with all my heart and my neighbor as I would want to be loved and you may find that laughable or corny or just plain stupid, and that’s okay too.
I’ll pray for you anyway.
“That said, it can also be stated that the Bible as it is written is not the word of God in any case. The Word, IMHO, is what happens when someone earnestly studies the Bible, takes its message to heart, and tires to live the message on a daily basis.”
should read:
That said, it can also be stated that the Bible as it is written is not the word of God in any case. The Word, IMHO, is what happens when someone earnestly studies the Bible, takes its message to heart, and TRIES to live the message on a daily basis.
sorry about the typo
Who was there when the tomb was opened?
So the world is ~2.6MM years old ? :dubious:
In what way is this better than an atheist telling you “I hope you come to your senses someday”?
Rather, the universe was created on the afternoon of the 3rd day, after making the sun and moon. a day after making vegetation.
Well, TomS, your god works in mysterious ways. I had just come across a very interesting item yesterday.
First this:
Luke 9:9
And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.
Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Herod had approved the request for the execution of John the Baptizer. He then sees Jesus before him and recognizes him for a different man. They probably didn’t look that all that much alike, and besides, John was clearly dead!
But, now, let’s see what else Herod said, from two other human “pens” that you god used to perfectly record what happened in your perfectly written Babble:
Matthew 14:1-2
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Mark 6:16
But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
NO CONTRADICTIONS HERE!!!
Oh, BTW, this is from skepticsannotatedbible.com
… and this site has the advantage of linking to responses from defenders of your Babble.
Guess what the response-level to this flat contradiction has been.
Crickets chirping
I’m guessing the OP isn’t coming back. Some find challenge to their beliefs threatening, it’s unfortunate because therein lies the source of self reflection.
Probably no return by the OP. I’m hoping, though, that TomS is still listening. 
Then why do the two accounts of the beginning of the world have things in not quite the same order? Genesis, Exodus: two creation myths, not the same.
But…
Trans Fat Og has good points about Herod - there are many CONTRADICTIONS - DISCREPANCIES - and oh, what is the word that is a bit WEAKER than “contradictions” but is a polite way of saying the same thing?
The TWO Creation myths are BOTH in Genesis - back to back - oh sure, if one takes them LITERALLY there are contradictions within first two chapters of Genesis.
But I forget that “gentler” word for CONTRADICTIONS.
One “creation account” is a redaction/revision of an earlier mesopotamian creation tale called ENUMA ELISH - if I remember correctly, the “latest written” is the “earliest in the Bible” running from Genesis 1:1 thru 2:3 - at 2:4 we have a different account of EVEN EARLIER origin, based on another ancient mesopotamian work called ATRAHASIS
I think I am CLOSE in my references - the “latest in time - comes first in Genesis” account is attributed to the P (Priestly source) and the second version is attributed to J (Jawist or Yawistic source) and these different “sources” are woven in and out the firts 5 books of Old Testament with the D (Deuteronomic) and the E (Elohistic) sources for your basic DOCUMENTARY HYPOTHESIS.
There are paralells to Noah’s flood in mesopotamian ealier accounts as well (Utnapishtim is the ‘earlier’ Noah)
and this stuff is a lot deeper than a “literal 7 days” deal - the “Priestly account” which does differ from the Yawistic one that comes later in “order of creation of things”
This stuff is KINDERGARDEN to Old Testament scholars today, I am sorry to present it so poorly.
“Inconsistencies” ?
That is NEARLY IT, Human Action, but - not quite…
I am totally brain-dead on this - maybe it starts with a “P”?