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I believe there are a lot of good object lessons in the bible. However, I also think the bible is a collection of works written by humans, and not given by any deity. Why is it so peculiar to think an atheist can be inspired by this? There are also good lessons to be learned from fairy tales and many other written works.
Good heavens! You and I seem to always misunderstand one another. I don't think it's peculiar that an atheist can be inspired by the Bible's many good object lessons, just as I am inspired by the many good object lessons in the Quran, or in Buddhist writings, even though I'm not a Muslim or a Buddhist. What I was saying was that an atheist is in under no obligation to believe the Bible was inspired by God. Is that a little more clear?
Good heavens! You and I seem to always misunderstand one another. I don't think it's peculiar that an atheist can be inspired by the Bible's many good object lessons, just as I am inspired by the many good object lessons in the Quran, or in Buddhist writings, even though I'm not a Muslim or a Buddhist. What I was saying was that an atheist is in under no obligation to believe the Bible was inspired by God. Is that a little more clear?
Much more clear, thank you. "Inspired by god" is indeed a world different than "inspiring". LOL
And yes, the bible has a lot of good lessons, I will never deny that.
[SIZE=4]Murder, rape, and pillage at Jabesh-gilead [/SIZE] (Judges 21:10-24 NLT)
So they sent twelve thousand warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin." Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the little remnant of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the four hundred women of Jabesh-gilead who were spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them. The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had left this gap in the tribes of Israel. So the Israelite leaders asked, "How can we find wives for the few who remain, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever. But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God's curse."
Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, "Go and hide in the vineyards. When the women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to be your wife! And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, 'Please be understanding. Let them have your daughters, for we didn't find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not give your daughters in marriage to them.'" So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. They kidnapped the women who took part in the celebration and carried them off to the land of their own inheritance. Then they rebuilt their towns and lived in them. So the assembly of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.
[SIZE=4]Murder, rape and pillage of the Midianites[/SIZE] (Numbers 31:7-18 NLT)
They attacked Midian just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. All five of the Midianite kings – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went to meet them outside the camp. But Moses was furious with all the military commanders who had returned from the battle. "Why have you let all the women live?" he demanded. "These are the very ones who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys and all the women who have slept with a man. Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves.
[SIZE=4]Death to the Rape Victim[/SIZE] (Deuteronomy 22:23-24 NAB)
If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife.
Kill People Who Don't Listen to Priests Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such evil must be purged from Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT)
Kill Homosexuals "If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)
Death for Hitting Dad Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:15 NAB)
Death to Followers of Other Religions Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed. (Exodus 22:19 NAB)
Gotta love that invisible guy in the sky..
These are great references. And yes they were really said and the acts commited were really commited. So, the bible is truthful regarding these things.
The main thing when reading these passages is what did God command to be done and what did Moses, or the Children of Israel do of their own accord. Just because it is in the Bible does not mean that God condones the actions of these people.
These are great references. And yes they were really said and the acts commited were really commited. So, the bible is truthful regarding these things.
The main thing when reading these passages is what did God command to be done and what did Moses, or the Children of Israel do of their own accord. Just because it is in the Bible does not mean that God condones the actions of these people.
Yeah, well, he didn't prevent them either. Nothing to stop them. All-loving, all-powerful, and all-knowing, but still know way to prevent it...Makes a lot of sense.
As I understand it Jesus is Christ and Jesus Christ is the one speaking here.
Thank you.
I had a reason, yesterday, for asking you this but now i can't remember what it was.
Anyway, i feel, through these posts of yours in this thread, a gentleness and humility that i appreciate.
Much more clear, thank you. "Inspired by god" is indeed a world different than "inspiring". LOL
And yes, the bible has a lot of good lessons, I will never deny that.
I'm glad we cleared that up. Looking back on my first post, I realized that I had worded my last sentence wrong, and it did read a little funny. I should have read that sentence a bit more closely, in order to catch it. I'd like to blame it on being distracted by something important, but such is probably not the case.
It is impossible to be a true follower of Christ and deny that the Bible was inspired by God.
Who are you asking? You're asking a question to a very broad and may I say opinionated group of people who are going to give you very different answers.
My answer to you is of course you can be a follower of Christ and not believe in the Bible. I personally have nothing against the Bible, there is truth in many writings.
I call myself a follower of Jesus because I don't believe in Christ. Furthermore it is irrelevant to me if Jesus truly existed or not, because Ghandi and Martin Luther King JR have historically proven that Jesus' philosophy works.
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I don't think it's peculiar that an atheist can be inspired by the Bible's many good object lessons, just as I am inspired by the many good object lessons in the Quran, or in Buddhist writings, even though I'm not a Muslim or a Buddhist. What I was saying was that an atheist is in under no obligation to believe the Bible was inspired by God. Is that a little more clear?
"Inspired by god" is indeed a world different than "inspiring". LOL
Looking back on my first post, I realized that I had worded my last sentence wrong, and it did read a little funny. I should have read that sentence a bit more closely, in order to catch it. I'd like to blame it on being distracted by something important, but such is probably not the case.
