A Bunch of Reasons Why I Question Noah's Flood Story:

[robocop (actually)]

You're on the ropes because of your lack of humility and not accepting valid knowledge. That arrogance is your ongoing failure, don't blame others. You put yourself there.

If the big picture of the Bible was contradictory. Not just nit-picking one thing at a time and forgetting about the caveats elsewhere.

In science, we need to get an idea of everything together to make it work and verify everything.
In religion, we need to study everything and then see if there's a way still and we believe that way instead of not that way. In my church, then we pray and if it makes perfect sense to our hearts and minds we go with it. We feel the Holy Spirit.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Besides baptism and believing in Christ, humility is the third most important thing. I'm sorry I wasn't humble. I was up against the ropes.

Then relax a bit. Sometimes the best strategy in a debate is to admit that you do not know something.

What caused the Big Bang? I don't know yet. Scientists do not appear to know yet.

That is not that hard to do and rather freeing when you do not have to defend that which you openly admit that you know.

 

[Subduction Zone]

The official position of the Church has never been that evolution was wrong. A little trivia for you.

I saw that. But they still hang on to the Adam and Eve myth. Perhaps they could reinterpret that to Adam and Eve being two special humans. After all where did everyone else come from? Ask a biologist how a population of mammals consisting of only one male and one female would do.

 

[We Never Know]

Not even all Mormons believe the Genesis myths. It appears that 21% of them accept evolution as the best explanation:

Mormons need not shy away from evolution, says BYU biologist

Who cares who accepts what? Isn't it up to the person what they believe and why?

 

[robocop (actually)]

This is vague. Explain in detail.

Science is based on the scientific method which is a platform that everyone can agree on. They seek knowledge of things that every rational person can agree on. Of course some people can't understand but they try to get it right that way.
Religion is a belief system. No religion is agreed upon by everyone. If you want to help yourself with religion, you seek a religion that guides the spirit along in your person. You test your religion by seeing if it helps you to be a good moral person. Religion is ultimately about morals. Religion is more about plowing a field consistently than it is about learning that you are right.

 

[robocop (actually)]

I saw that. But they still hang on to the Adam and Eve myth. Perhaps they could reinterpret that to Adam and Eve being two special humans. After all where did everyone else come from? Ask a biologist how a population of mammals consisting of only one male and one female would do.

The official position of the Church is that one church leader said Adam and Eve were original and one said they weren't, if I remember correctly.

 

[Subduction Zone]

If the big picture of the Bible was contradictory. Not just nit-picking one thing at a time and forgetting about the caveats elsewhere.

In science, we need to get an idea of everything together to make it work and verify everything.
In religion, we need to study everything and then see if there's a way still and we believe that way instead of not that way. In my church, then we pray and if it makes perfect sense to our hearts and minds we go with it. We feel the Holy Spirit.

At least you admit to the small contradictions. And there are plenty of them. I do agree that large scale direct contradictions do not exist. But that is nothing to be too proud about.

No one here has claimed that evolution disproves God. History and science only disprove a literal interpretation of certain books of the Bible. They can still fulfil other purposes. That does not disprove God, One can only disprove specific versions of God. Do you understand the difference.

For example a Flat Earther may claim that their belief comes form the Bible. Does disproving a Flat Earth belief disprove God? I would say no. It only disproves one version of God.

 

[robocop (actually)]

I saw that. But they still hang on to the Adam and Eve myth. Perhaps they could reinterpret that to Adam and Eve being two special humans. After all where did everyone else come from? Ask a biologist how a population of mammals consisting of only one male and one female would do.

Mormon views on evolution - Wikipedia

I'm sorry it's too late for me to dig through this today.

 

[F1fan]

If the big picture of the Bible was contradictory. Not just nit-picking one thing at a time and forgetting about the caveats elsewhere.

In science, we need to get an idea of everything together to make it work and verify everything.
In religion, we need to study everything and then see if there's a way still and we believe that way instead of not that way. In my church, then we pray and if it makes perfect sense to our hearts and minds we go with it. We feel the Holy Spirit.

This isn't true historically. Many religions just reject the things that goes against their dogma. It's a risk. The Catholics have been pretty good about adjusting their "absolute truth" to science. They were smart about this and they didn't lose members. But evangelicals have been holding on the Snopes win and have also been successful, but they sell their dogma heavily with resources that are deliberate frauds. This is part of Christianity and we wonder why it has to cause so much chaos with society. The creationists know they are frauds, but they are doing God's work so they are fine with the deception that God approves of.

 

[robocop (actually)]

At least you admit to the small contradictions. And there are plenty of them. I do agree that large scale direct contradictions do not exist. But that is nothing to be too proud about.

No one here has claimed that evolution disproves God. History and science only disprove a literal interpretation of certain books of the Bible. They can still fulfil other purposes. That does not disprove God, One can only disprove specific versions of God. Do you understand the difference.

For example a Flat Earther may claim that their belief comes form the Bible. Does disproving a Flat Earth belief disprove God? I would say no. It only disproves one version of God.

Agreed, except:

"History and science only disprove a literal interpretation of certain books of the Bible."

Science isn't perfected and neither is our understanding of religion. My church is one of continuing revelation.

 

[Subduction Zone]

The official position of the Church is that one church leader said Adam and Eve were original and one said they weren't, if I remember correctly.

Okay. so there is some freedom there.

One thing that is good news for Christians is that most if not all of the tails of the Bible that make God look really bad, if they happened literally, have been shown to not have happened. The Flood myth, never happened. God did not kill everyone on Earth, a belief that is all but impossible to justify. But it still serves as allegory or as a morality tale. God was not an evil monster. The various claimed genocides in Canaan, do not appear to have happened. Again more stories to put faith in God. But when one looks at it from a modern perspective where such acts are clearly evil we find that they never happened.

History and science are your friend when properly used, Not your enemy.

 

[robocop (actually)]

This isn't true historically. Many religions just reject the things that goes against their dogma. It's a risk. The Catholics have been pretty good about adjusting their "absolute truth" to science. They were smart about this and they didn't lose members. But evangelicals have been holding on the Snopes win and have also been successful, but they sell their dogma heavily with resources that are deliberate frauds. This is part of Christianity and we wonder why it has to cause so much chaos with society. The creationists know they are frauds, but they are doing God's work so they are fine with the deception that God approves of.

I believe in evolution because I went to UCLA for a year.

 

[We Never Know]

Okay. so there is some freedom there.

One thing that is good news for Christians is that most if not all of the tails of the Bible that make God look really bad, if they happened literally, have been shown to not have happened. The Flood myth, never happened. God did not kill everyone on Earth, a belief that is all but impossible to justify. But it still serves as allegory or as a morality tale. God was not an evil monster. The various claimed genocides in Canaan, do not appear to have happened. Again more stories to put faith in God. But when one looks at it from a modern perspective where such acts are clearly evil we find that they never happened.

History and science are your friend when properly used, Not your enemy.

Just courious... How many "tails" does the bible have?
Do they grow back like lizard tails?

 

[robocop (actually)]

Okay. so there is some freedom there.

One thing that is good news for Christians is that most if not all of the tails of the Bible that make God look really bad, if they happened literally, have been shown to not have happened. The Flood myth, never happened. God did not kill everyone on Earth, a belief that is all but impossible to justify. But it still serves as allegory or as a morality tale. God was not an evil monster. The various claimed genocides in Canaan, do not appear to have happened. Again more stories to put faith in God. But when one looks at it from a modern perspective where such acts are clearly evil we find that they never happened.

History and science are your friend when properly used, Not your enemy.

Maybe this has to do with what I was telling you about people sinning and disconnecting themselves from knowledge of God.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Agreed, except:

"History and science only disprove a literal interpretation of certain books of the Bible."

Science isn't perfected and neither is our understanding of religion. My church is one of continuing revelation.

Then I would suggest that you try to keep an open mind. If you accept gravity as real then there are other ideas proven equally well if not better that you should accept.

And technically the proper word is "accept". One needs to keep an open mind. Who knows, we could find massive evidence that God was as evil as the Old Testament portrays him to be and he simply covered it up. But I cannot believe that, not without massive evidence.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Maybe this has to do with what I was telling you about people sinning and disconnecting themselves from knowledge of God.

Don't you think that that could be applied to many Christians as well?

 

[robocop (actually)]

Don't you think that that could be applied to many Christians as well?

Of course! And I never meant to imply that you were a sinner.

 

[robocop (actually)]

Well I should probably hit the sack. I would be pleased if there are 6 or fewer posts when I check it in the morning when I can.

 

[F1fan]

If the big picture of the Bible was contradictory. Not just nit-picking one thing at a time and forgetting about the caveats elsewhere.

It's hard to get a big picture given the two parts of the Bible that contradict on many important things, namely that god was quite judgmental and willing to murder in the OT, but had a change of heart in the NT. What big picture does this tell us, that God is stable and morally consistent?

In science, we need to get an idea of everything together to make it work and verify everything.

Well experiments have to be consistent with facts and other theories, and they do. Evolution is called a unifying theory as many other theories in numerous branches of science all confirm it works. You don't get consistency like that in the Bible.

In religion, we need to study everything and then see if there's a way still and we believe that way instead of not that way. In my church, then we pray and if it makes perfect sense to our hearts and minds we go with it. We feel the Holy Spirit.

It doesn't work as we see with many believers reject true things about reality, and believe things that are contrary to knowledge about reality. That's the Holy Spirit causing these mistakes?

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Einstein's physics was based on his religious beliefs.

No, it wasn't.

Please point out the "religious variable" in any of his equations.