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Kal said........
Religion doesn't necessarily follow the text of the bible to the very letter, and it is often changing as necessary as the civilization around it changes .
This is the problem... and the expression.."You can’t have your cake and eat it" springs to mind.
Have you read the bible from cover to cover? I have many times..Why because I attended bible readings where certain parts were reviewed and yet other parts of the book were never never touched upon..I read it all and when one reads it all an apparent truth becomes self evident.. If one reads the bible from cover to cover and then hears someone call it the word of God ones respect for God will fall away..That is/was the situation for me.. Read proverbs for example and try and make sense of it..(Let alone the horseman ramblings which are capable of any interpretation you place upon them such is the ambiguity of that section...I know you have to be wise to interpret it etc..hogwash it says what it says..simple... sure parts are profound yet other bits are undeniably nonsense... I like some one here observing that it was man who said the bible was the word of Man not God... well I say one can not have it both ways ..it is or it is not the word of God.. if it is not we have no problems at all and can use it (the bible) as a guide for morality, use it as revealing histories of various people and how patience and decency prevailed against difficult times presented to them.. I like the bible in that context.. But I freely admit my use of it is selective somewhat like seeking good quotes from famous people... So it beggars belief there are those who quote only parts that suit their case and overlook the nonsense set out at length elsewhere.. I guess my real concern is that so many professing faith simply hold onto a text they have not read for if they had they would have different views to those they currently express.
However if one say it (the bible) is the word of God we must of necessity give it a very high degree of reverence... which if I were convinced that such was the case would be doing myself.. if it were not for the nonsence..which would then have me questioning God's ability to hold reasonable logic.
My point is that if one sees the book for what it is it can be meaningful..a collection of stories seeking to demonstrate how to deal with life in general..
Again the problems surrounding these matter come down to fundamentalism.. but if anyone want to take the bible as literal before you say one more thing read all of it... if you have not be prepared to be made a fool of many times over.
Having said all that lets review our progress. Those of faith want recognition of their position.. fair enough.. but you can throw out science to have this or you will take us back to the dark ages.
Those who argue the bible is the word of God say his hand was ever present in the putting together of the texts ..the editing, the publication etc well I say if so God left to much in the hands of humans because their are some very human oversights contained therein.
I am not here to try and destroy your faith in God but to ask fundamentalists go away and rethink it all... and then agree with me..is that unreasonable.. well yes maybe that is..
I live by Christian principles not because I fear God, I observe the law not because I fear imprisonment but because I strive to be a decent human being.. I want to feel that being decent is a good thing in its own right not needing fear motivation. I don’t need religion to do that or even a belief that anything has purpose or meaning.. Look to yourself and be proud of what you can be without being forced to follow rules.
JC said love your fellow man..who really does this.. I do and that means one can extend respect to others simply because it is the decent thing to do..
AND if your faith is that so tenuous that you need constant support by reading a collection of ancient books to justify your position what does that really say about where you are coming from and more important where you will end up...
At lunch today I eavesdropped a Christian group planning. nay plotting politician strategies .. most concerning.. I have not heard any atheists plotting same. Shame on them ..shame on them.
It strikes me the folk who have contributed the most here for the case against ID actually know more about the bible than those who profess to follow it.. think about those implications my friends.
What would God say if he saw the way his name is taken in vain to push one barrow or another...
alex
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