Stuckinarut2,
The claim that Bible is God’s word is nothing but a claim that does not hold out under scrutiny. Let us go scientific for a moment. In science, you start with a hypothesis. Suppose A=B. Once you prove that this is so, you write, therefore A=B. I asked myself, why not take what all the scriptures say as a hypothesis and experiment with it (as done in science)? You start with a belief, experiment with it, get the results and then it becomes the truth.
Let us take Bible’s most important claim that we are sinners from birth, and experiment it:
If sin is an inherited tendency, how can people at times choose to commit virtuous act? Evidence is that anybody can choose to sin or choose to do virtuous act, or choose to mix them in any proportion he likes. This is why we find people acting/reacting in various ways in same situation.
Let us see at what point in process sin appears:
From beliefs, attitudes are formed.
From attitudes, thoughts are formed.
From thoughts, action is produced.
From repeated action, tendency, habit, destiny …etc are produced.
See, tendency to commit sin or to commit virtue begins from repeated action, not from birth.
If you believe that you are sinner from birth, then you need a super-human savior.
If you believe that tendency to sin comes from repeated action, you only have to avod repeating that action that caused sorrow to you and others; then you don’t need a savior, and you need only to change your course in the earlier parts of the process.
When apostle Paul said: “The good that I wish I cannot perform, but the bad I do not wish is that I perform” he was saying about his experience. People did not dare to experiment the veracity of that statement.
This holds true of its other claims such as earth is the center of universe, sun can be stopped over the earth to win a war …
Such claims show that they are all of human origin. Such writers painted a God who wants praise whereas truth is that God is not interested in our praise.
