Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I haven't read the Bible, and I don't claim that it's the word of God. But I do believe that people can use it as a guideline to create a moral life for themselves, if they choose to. It's better to use than say, Mein Kampf or Animal Farm.
Not really. There is more murder, genocide, rape, slavery, human sacrifice and general mayhem in the bible than either of the books you mentioned...Perhaps you should read it before making comments on it.
Except that there is evidence for most theories like the big bang.
How about this: I will use your own arguement.
"What if" you are wrong about every belief you hold as many think you are? According to you no proof is needed, it just needs to be put out there to verify it.
Then I'm wrong. I can freely admit that I may be wrong. Can you?
The only purpose to my belief is Pascal's Wager anyhow. I'm hedging my bets. One guy referred to it as "fire insurance". So I'm just trying to avoid the worst possible outcome.
Not really. There is more murder, genocide, rape, slavery, human sacrifice and general mayhem in the bible than either of the books you mentioned...Perhaps you should read it before making comments on it.
I've read Animal Farm, it has nothing redeeming in it.
Then I'm wrong. I can freely admit that I may be wrong. Can you?
The only purpose to my belief is Pascal's Wager anyhow. I'm hedging my bets. One guy referred to it as "fire insurance". So I'm just trying to avoid the worst possible outcome.
I say again, your using the "what if" arguement has lost you any shred of integrity you may have had.
Then all of your claimed "beliefs" are a fraud, designed only to cover your butt in case. No true belief either way. Not even a non-belief.
Not really. There is more murder, genocide, rape, slavery, human sacrifice and general mayhem in the bible than either of the books you mentioned...Perhaps you should read it before making comments on it.
That's what history is full of. Should the bible have ignored it?
What of the murder, genocide, rape, slavery, etc. caused by science? Giving syphilis and other diseases to people in the name of science, animal testing, the race to create atomic bombs later dropped on cities (thanks, Einstein!), destruction of whole ecosystems through nuclear weapons testing and hazardous dumping, increased levels of cancer and illness in populations living near hazardous waste thanks to science. The list goes on, and on... yet we're expected to put our faith, hope, and trust in the white male scientists who have visited so much destruction on the earth... Hawking suggests that we figure out how to make an exit in a spaceship before it's too late. If that's not an admission of how miserably science has failed to save the earth, what is?
Originally Posted by sanspeur Heck, then the Bible really must have been way ahead of its time cauz it reads exactly like the average American action movie.
Sure, it gives authority for people to take these actions and behaviors whenever they choose.
That's what history is full of. Should the bible have ignored it?
What of the murder, genocide, rape, slavery, etc. caused by science? Giving syphilis and other diseases to people in the name of science, animal testing, the race to create atomic bombs later dropped on cities (thanks, Einstein!), destruction of whole ecosystems through nuclear weapons testing and hazardous dumping, increased levels of cancer and illness in populations living near hazardous waste thanks to science. The list goes on, and on... yet we're expected to put our faith, hope, and trust in the white male scientists who have visited so much destruction on the earth... Hawking suggests that we figure out how to make an exit in a spaceship before it's too late. If that's not an admission of how miserably science has failed to save the earth, what is?
So you think the bible is a history book?...It's not... People all over the world base their life and ethics on what is written in that book and many of them, as is obvious on this forum take it literally.
I notice that you nave no problems listing the negative of science, but conveniently leave out the many positives....Your view is slanted....
Also what is with the white male racist/sexist slur? Many scientists are not white, nor are they male.
Not really. There is more murder, genocide, rape, slavery, human sacrifice and general mayhem in the bible than either of the books you mentioned...Perhaps you should read it before making comments on it.
Well I have read the Bible. I wasn't trolling for all the bad bits I admit I just read it. Your reading of it is highly selective like most people's.
The Bible has many compassionate and noble sentiments in it. Moses's marrying outside his race is defended, and criticism of it rejected, by God. Unlike in most mythologies of civilizations of that era people of low-birth can matter and become important. In Greek mythos commoners usually only became important if they were secretly some aristocrats thrown-away kid. (China is different, in principle they did allow commoners to advance by merit and that is reflected in their stories) As it goes on there is great concern about not killing the innocent with the guilty. Even early on God agrees to spare towns if they can find even a fairly low number of "innocent men." The original desire for them to have a king is actually criticized and the tyrannical possibilities of absolute monarchy are implicitly criticized. Concern for the poor is repeated several times. Women, like Deborah, essentially lead armies and others end wars in their own ways. And all I'm saying so far is in the Old Testament.
Yeah if you read it expecting everyone will be perfect and they will only link God's support for the most morally pure things it can be a big disappointment. If you read it as being about a people struggling to survive and maintain their identity in difficult circumstance, and compare it to works contemporaneous to it, it looks much better.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Heck, then the Bible really must have been way ahead of its time cauz it reads exactly like the average American action movie.
