Cool, but the beliefs you have expressed about the bible on this forum, aren't in line with the claim that you only accept those passages that can be verified with evidence. Not only do you accept passages that have no evidence, you even accept passages (in literal sense) for which there is actually evidence that demonstrates it to be plain wrong.
Seriously, you're not aware of that at all?
This was common practice. Today we have moves, oftenly idd with a "moral of the story" punchline.
So you think every story ever told in antiquity is to be taken literally?
Are you asking me to believe what you said, just because you said it? Where is the data that proves what you said is true?
Well, I was being a bit snarky. I actually assumed this was common knowledge and that you were quite aware of it. Especially considering that it's even an form of storytelling that your very own bible uses........What do you think is a "parable"?
I grew up on fairy tale stories... in this modern age... and there were plenty. Even now, there are plenty.
List of fairy tales
Yes. And next to that: music and television and school.
While in the old days, they only had tales.
Sound like you are making up tales, so it would be nice if you could demonstrate that you are not.
People that claim to have been abducted by aliens.
People that claim to have seen bigfoot / lochness monster / sasquatch / godzilla / ....
Just about every religion (you may exclude yours from this list, if that makes it easier to think rationally about it).
Do I really need to go on?
People are mistaken all the time. People are superstitious all the time. People are quite prone to becoming delusional.
If any of them writes their beliefs down, they mean it. They really believe it.
Are you really this oblivious about the world around you, that you aren't aware of this?
Do you think Tom Cruise secretly isn't a scientologist or something?
Can you please explain how someone can just be honestly mistaken that for example, an eight headed snake spoke to them, as a man would, while they were in their right mind, and not hallucinating?
Ow, like that. No, if the person really believes to have been talking to a physical entity which was a speaking snake with 8 heads, yes, I'ld have to conclude that that person was hallucinating.
I'm guessing you would think that too, if someone came up to you and claimed such a thing.
I can understand if someone told me this. Are you saying this was the case with those Bible writers?
Then you need to prove it. Otherwise, you are just asking me to be gullible, in accepting what you say.
For all I know, you could well be complaining and making stuff up - telling stories, just because you have a biased view. You wouldn't want me to gullibly accept everything you say, would you?
It's necessarily true about the bible, since the writing down of the scriptures were preceeded by a multi-generational oral tradition........
Apparently you are assuming you know all about me. No. You are wrong to the highest degree.
Please consider
what I said before. Unlike you, I believe in the supernatural. So certain things are not far fetched.
Yes, if you believe that fantastical things (in context of your religion) can happen, then it doesn't feel far fetched to believe those things.
You're simply confirming what I said.......
The supernatural IS a fantastical claim.
If I had an a priori to naturalism, then you would be right in assuming I had the same worldview as the one you are describing.
You do have the same worldview, in context of fantastical claims.
As I said:
any fantastical claim
not in context of your religion, will be instantly rejected by you without any need for any evidence that the claim is false.
Here, I'll prove it to you...
I watched The Fantastic 4 the other day, starring Jessica Alba. So far, so good, right? You don't really see anything bizar about that. It's a movie, Alba is an actress and people watch movies all the time.
Now consider the rest of my claim: the movie freezed and Alba crawled out of the TV screen. She made love to me and the crawled back into the TV to continue the movie.
Now, your eyebrows find themselves somewhere at the back of your head. You roll your eyes, shrug your shoulders, consider me insane and you move on, not believing what I just told you.
Let's make it less fantastical but still too remarkable...
The movie didn't freeze and there were no physically impossible events taking place.
Instead, I ordered a pizza to watch during the movie. Lo and behold, it was Jessica Alba that delivered it. She invited herself in to eat it with me. We ate, drank some wine, had sex and then she went on her way.
Your eyebrows might not be at the back of your head, but they're still weirdly shaped after I tell you that. You again shrug your shoulders, call me a liar and move on, not believing my claim.
Am-i-right?
See, that's what I mean. You don't accept fantastical claims by default. EXCEPT when it concerns your religion.
You think I'm crazy when I tell you that Alba materialized in my living room, but you might think it's interesting and plausible when somebody else claims pretty much the same about the Virgin Marry.
Also. I believe that a proper investigation, requires an open-minded approach... which is the approach I took when considering the Bible.
Open-minded means to be open to being convinced of something based on evidence. As in: not being closed to evidence leading to showing you wrong and / or to a conclusion you don't like or prefer.
When I see you use it, you seem to use it more like an excuse to believe things on bad evidence instead.
That's not being open-minded. That's being gullible.
Additionally, when we understand what a myth is, there are certain things we can look for, to determine if what we read, or are told, is myth. The Biblical narratives does not fit the criteria of myth.
Except that it does.
But you're not
open to that fact, because it might lead to a faith crisis and you can't have that.
So much so that there are plenty of fundamentalist denominations that even consider it a sin to have such thoughts.
Just one thing to say here. I have no fellow Christians that believe different to me.
Maybe not in the small social bubble you frequent. But clearly, there are plenty of christians that believe differently then you do. At least 1 billion catholics, to begin with.
There are 10s of thousands of christian denominations - all with their own "version" of christianity (which is what makes them a different denomination).
And again: spare me the no true scottsman.
All of those in my Christian family, believe the same things, where scripture is concerned.
I wouldn't expect anything else as most people grow up believing the same things as the people they grew up with / under when it comes to religion.
Which, incidently, is kind of a tell about the accuracy of those beliefs, and the basis people have for it.
One of the many reasons that I am an atheist.
The gods that are believed in, are geographically determined.
There are only a few on these forums... you can count them on one hand, with probably one or two others.
And all the other christians, believe differently then you do.
