What if God IS a farce? (page 7)

BurnTheShips

If God exists and the Bible is his word why does he put fables in it and have them spouted as truths?

First, we have to understand that the bible is not a scientific or a historical document. Second it is important to understand that the Bible is like the newspaper; there's some subjective reporting, there's some allegory, some humor, etc. So it's not all meant to be read literally in all places. Not all biblical claims have already been proven or shown to be credible, but many of them have.

Assuming you accept the Bible as the word of God, why would he have a global flood story put in when no such global flood ever occurred?

Same thing for the flood accounts. As far as they (the witnesses) could see, the entire world was flooded. But was it, or was it just as far as the known inhabited world at that time? There is considerable evidence for catastrophic, widespread, regional floods in the area of the Middle East.

These are just two of numerous stories that the Bible reader is expected to accept as being true. Don't you see? How can one believe in God if it has been proven, which it has, that these Bible accounts never occurred.

They have not been disproven. You yourself tried to disprove Exodus on this thread. You did not.

Why the need for an inflated story about God sending ten plagues to free his people who were enslaved, cross the Red Sea and have Pharaoh and his army destroyed in it? Why not just tell the truth and have it known that the Hyksos were chased out of the country and that no miracles occurred?

THAT IS NOT THE PURPOSE OF SCRIPTURE.
That scripture is inspired by God doesn not equate to it being flawless in terms of historicity, grammar, science, etc. That is not the purpose of Scripture! No theologian nor historical Christian church has ever claimed this. Scripture is flawless and divinely inspired in it's relation to salvation. Its purpose has been, and is, to lead us to salvation. That the Flood account or the Hyksos Exodus was told a certain way and not to a 21st century peer reviewed journal standard is because it was never the intent of the authors to write a scholarly history of life the universe and everything. It was their intention to reveal God to man and bring man to God.

All these stories prepared the Jewish people, and the world, to receive Christ.

Burn

Superfine Apostate

> THAT IS NOT THE PURPOSE OF SCRIPTURE.

now where did you get that from? did god tell you?

serotonin_wraith

LouBelle,

A lot has been said already, so I'll just respond to your first post.

You say

I'm happy with the idea that there is a spiritual & powerful someone running things

yet you also say

you look around and see all the atrocities - the sick sick things happening in your own back yard

so I'm wondering, if there is a powerful being behind the scenes, how can you take comfort knowing it isn't doing anything?

I see many sick things happening too, but because I don't believe in a god, I don't think there's some powerful being that could help out, but chooses not to. That would be a worse feeling in my opinion.

If things are going to change, it will be humans who have to take responsibility for their actions and start to sort themselves out. Instead of praying to a god that doesn't seem to pay any attention anyway, and may aswell not exist for this particular purpose, if indeed it does in the first place.

If you don't have god, what do you have? Well first, just consider what you have when you think you DO have a god. Do you still suffer from time to time? Do close relatives still get sick and die? Are you still at risk of dying in a horrible accident? Sure. So with or without a god, you still go through hardships, as everyone does.

Would you have got that job you always wanted if it wasn't for a god? Would you have still survived an accident? Would you have still found the love of your life? It's so random it doesn't seem to be connected to any god. Everyone has good things happen to them too.

If it was found that only believers found love, or only believers survived natural disasters, then there may be a case worth making. But everyone has the same chances. It's not reliant on any god, it's down to other factors. Where you just happen to be situated in the case of natural disasters.

What you do have is yourself and other humans to help you. Praying to a god for a lucky break may work some of the time, at about the same frequency as good luck coming your way anyway. But if you give yourself a good talking to, motivate yourself, ask others for their help instead of praying for divine help, how much more likely is it that what you want will happen for you? Try it and see.

BurnTheShips

now where did you get that from? did god tell you?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New Living Translation:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Burn

hillary_step

LouBelle,

There would be a lot fewer athiests on this Board if religionists realized that their best method of defence in these debates is silence.

Burn,

The consensus among experts in the field is that Jesus was a historical figure the view that he was a myth is in the minority

Messiah's in the C1st were ten a penny, and many are attested to by history in far more detail that the Biblical Jesus. The evidence for the Biblical, miracle-working, resurrected Jesus is very tenous to say the least, as has already been pointed out to you on other threads.

In fact, perhaps you would be so kind as elucidate for the readers, without using pasted links, just what historical evidence actually exists to support the Biblical Jesus.

Cheers - HS

Burn

worldtraveller

Can I ask an easy question? Not what is God, but WHERE is God? Might make more sense if I knew that.

What if God IS a farce?

candidlynuts

BurnTheShips

Superfine Apostate

serotonin_wraith

BurnTheShips

hillary_step

Superfine Apostate

dogisgod

BurnTheShips

worldtraveller

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