Biblical Question

[bad14u]

Originally posted by blm
Me I guess, I looked at your post and my reply...I don't know what the hell I was rambling on about, lol.

:rofl: At least you're man enough to admit it!

[Shibby]

Originally posted by Puddles
I'll read that tomorrow when my eyes aren't so tired, thanks for posting it, blm.

Spidey, or anyone else who is agnostic now but believed in God when they were younger, when did you lose your faith? Was it gradual or a specific event?

For me it was gradual over the course of about 2 yrs. about 10 yrs. ago. I can't pinpoint it to any one thing. I'd really like to have blind faith but I just can't. I do miss the security and certainty it provided, especially as I realize that at my age I'm closer to death than I am to birth, even if I live to my life expectancy.

Mine was gradual over quite a bit longer than that. I had always gone to church when I lived with my dad (until age 12) and never really cared to go. Never was interested in the things being talked about during the sermon or sunday school. When I went to live with my mom she let me make more of my own decisions. I was allowed to start thinking for myself. I was allowed to explore my own curiosity.

[spidey]

Very gradual for me. I was raised very religiously and never questioned my faith until I left home and went to college. Gradually, as I became a more independant thinker, I began to question things. I eventually found so many contradictions in my "faith" that I was forced to conclude it couldn't be correct. As my carreer as a scientist matured, I learned to apply scientific reasoning to my questions about god and quickly realized there was not enough data to either prove or disprove his existance. Thus, I became agnostic.

That all being said, I think there are distinct advantages to being raised in some sort of organized religion. Moral values are more easily taught in that context for example. My wife is Jewish and I converted to Judaism when I married her. So, my kids are being raised Jewish. When they are old enough to think for themselves, they will make their own determination about the existence of god.

[blm]

Originally posted by bad14u
:rofl: At least you're man enough to admit it!

When you do it as often as me...you learn to deal ;)

[Bouncer]

rick james created this world bitch!

[blm]

Originally posted by THE BOUNCER
rick james created this world bitch!

:slap:...aliens bitch!

[Klash]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Biblical Question

Originally posted by spidey
OK, let me rephrase: Nowhere do I find that the author claims "god said" the earth is flat.

Forgive me but this seems to be some kind of paradox. I don't understand what you are attempting to articulate.
Are you defending the god of the bible by saying the Bible is not"gods word".

[Klash]

Originally posted by Puddles
I'll read that tomorrow when my eyes aren't so tired, thanks for posting it, blm.

Spidey, or anyone else who is agnostic now but believed in God when they were younger, when did you lose your faith? Was it gradual or a specific event?

For me it was gradual over the course of about 2 yrs. about 10 yrs. ago. I can't pinpoint it to any one thing. I'd really like to have blind faith but I just can't. I do miss the security and certainty it provided, especially as I realize that at my age I'm closer to death than I am to birth, even if I live to my life expectancy.

It was gradual for me too. I'm reminded of that security and certainty that religion offers every time I go to a funeral - the concept of the afterlife's origins become so apparent, when someone you care for is gone and you wish more than anything you could see them again.

[spidey]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Biblical Question

Originally posted by Klash
Forgive me but this seems to be some kind of paradox. I don't understand what you are attempting to articulate.
Are you defending the god of the bible by saying the Bible is not"gods word".

Sorry for not being clear. I am saying that Christians believe the bible to be divinely inspired but the knowledge and experiences of the human authors must also be taken into account. An ancidote or parable may make comparisons to what was considered common knowledge at the time. For instance, a reference to the earth being flat. This was a universally held belief until Columbus proved it wrong in the 15th century.

[blm]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Biblical Question



Believe it or not there are extreme creationists (a very small amount mind you) that still believe the earth is flat. How is that for ignorance.

[spidey]

Wow, that is amazing. Are you sure? I haven't heard of a group that stupid. How do they explain various people sailing or flying around the world?

[Bouncer]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Biblical Question

Originally posted by blm
Believe it or not there are extreme creationists (a very small amount mind you) that still believe the earth is flat. How is that for ignorance.

are you saying that the earth isnt flat?

[blm]

Originally posted by spidey
Wow, that is amazing. Are you sure? I haven't heard of a group that stupid. How do they explain various people sailing or flying around the world?

I was reading about it in Kenneth Feder's book on Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology. I have no idea how they explain anything considering ignorance at that level.

[Primal Instinct]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Biblical Question

Originally posted by spidey
Sorry for not being clear. I am saying that Christians believe the bible to be divinely inspired but the knowledge and experiences of the human authors must also be taken into account. An ancidote or parable may make comparisons to what was considered common knowledge at the time. For instance, a reference to the earth being flat. This was a universally held belief until Columbus proved it wrong in the 15th century.

I agree, Spidey. Not only should people take into to accounts the authors (many over the centuries) of the bible, but also take consider the political motivations for certain ommissions and rewritings in the bible authorized by the popes and the vatican counsels. There is a definite slant on certain aspects of the historical accounts listed in this ancient text. These changes were made to the official versions of the Bible over the centuries to either protect the church from scandal or to reflect a desired direction of policy in the Roman Catholic Church, thereby legitimizing their claims with the "history" to support them.

[blm]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Biblical Question

Originally posted by Primal Instinct
I agree, Spidey. Not only should people take into to accounts the authors (many over the centuries) of the bible, but also take consider the political motivations for certain ommissions and rewritings in the bible authorized by the popes and the vatican counsels. There is a definite slant on certain aspects of the historical accounts listed in this ancient text. These changes were made to the official versions of the Bible over the centuries to either protect the church from scandal or to reflect a desired direction of policy in the Roman Catholic Church, thereby legitimizing their claims with the "history" to support them.

Very well said...I hate you and your eloquence, lol