What makes the Bible so believable for people?

[Milton Platt]

Again, this is a claim, not a fact in evidence. The Bible is more than ancient literature, factually, as it is arguably THE most influential volume in history.

The fact that is is influential is not a negation of the fact that it is just old/ancient literature.

 

[Faithofchristian]

So somebody once said that people would doubt the claims of the Bible? And that's supposed to be some amazing prediction?

It's not a Prediction, its fact.

 

[1213]

I don't know what you mean by "real" commandment. The Old Testament commandments weren't real??? Stoning is a real commandment in the Old Testament as well as genocide.

Commandments were for example, don’t murder, don’t… …Stoning is judgment for transgression of the law and it was judges job to give the judgment.

 

[Milton Platt]

Commandments were for example, don’t murder, don’t… …Stoning is judgment for transgression of the law and it was judges job to give the judgment.

The Judges administered the law given by god, right?

The commandment not to kill or not to commit adultery, or not to have other gods before the Jewish god were just for example and not binding, then?

 

[Dan From Smithville]

As for my faith being weak, there's your problem, you look at people and combine them into one group. Just because I am Christian, does not mean I think and do as other Christian's do and think. Other Christian's hasn't a clue or idea what the bible actually does say and confirm. Only because they go and listen what their Pastors will tell them, not having a clue or idea if what their pastors are even telling them is right.
But yet these Christian's will go to church each week and sit there listing to a man, that they have put on some pedestal like he's some kinda of God, which he is not, he's a man just like everyone else.

The bible does say ( For all haved sin and come short of the glory of God)
This includes every Pastor that's out there also. But yet these Christian's look upon their pastors as being without sin and some god. It will be the day when I look at another man that is just a mere man as I am, and think he's some god or better than I am. Yeah right.

You know what I like the most, it's not really talking to other Christian's, but talking to these Pastors and watch them trying to figure out a way of getting out of what I ask them to explain this or that in the bible, wh


That's right, all because I have already look over that list of inconsistencies, which people say there are flaws in the bible.
But there are none, only that people are taking things out of their context.Thereby making it look like there are inconsistencies and flaws.

As for another, back at the time when people took the Hebrew and Greek language and translated it into English, they didn't have all the necessary tools to translate with, So there are words that got lost in translation.
But it doesn't take away that they did the best that they could with what limited tools they had at the time.
That's the whole problem people have to day, that they don't stop and realized that back 300 to 400 years ago, people didn't have all the necessary tools to do translation of languages, but they did the best they could with what limited tools they had at the time.

Let's for say, that you were going to translate the German language into English. Now how exactly would go about to do this.
Probably without a doubt, you would go to a Library or on the Internet or some where to get literature to help you in the translation or you would do the best that you could with what limited tools you had at your disposal, to do the best you could in the translation of the German language into English.
But for some unknown reason, people to day, thinks everyone had all the tools to do translations with, unto which people did not have back 300 to 400 years ago. Library's the Internet to help them with their translations of languages. So they did with what limited resources they had at the time to do translations of languages.

People today can to about any Library or on the internet and get whatever tools they need to help them in the translation of other languages, but people back didn't have these things to help them in their translations of other languages.

But those people back at the time didn't have these things to help them.so they did with what tools were available to them, which were very limited at the time.

I'll be honest, I didn't read all this very closely. You seem to be confirming to yourself that you are a biblical expert and there are no flaws. That's fine. I'm not interested in continuing the discussion. Thanks for your input.

 

[BilliardsBall]

I don't belittle the Bible. It's an important anthology of ancient writings. I do, however, consider it a human work, and recognize the many contradictions and inaccuracies therein. I'm also sure it's been pretty heavily edited over the centuries.

People have been praying and asking God for answers for thousands of years, but S/He gives no consistent answers. I'd expect a God who cares about how humans behave and believe would at least give a single, consistent reply to questioners.

I agree that the existence of God requires extraordinary proof, but I didn't invite you to comment/judge from afar the experience of others. Do you read minds, too? How would you know if God spoke quietly to a person across the street?

I challenge you to do what I did and ask God for some extraordinary proof.

 

[BilliardsBall]

Wow, amazing! Though I doubt that.


You tried to say that all there are so many Bibles out there because people deeply crave them. When in actuality, there are tons of them out there because groups like the Gideons cram them into every available space they can find. That doesn't mean there's some big global clamoring for them though.

You seem to have missed this, from my previous post:
How do we know that "he" does? And for that matter, how do we know "he" is a "he?"

1) I've worked with people who bring Bible to other nations where there are not already so many Christians, but thanks (not) for being Western-centric again.

2) Why do you care whether He is a He or a She? Why should I answer you?

 

[BilliardsBall]

The fact that is is influential is not a negation of the fact that it is just old/ancient literature.

And the fact that you aren't influential does not negate atheism. And...?

The Bible will be winning converts when you are dead, buried and forgotten. And...?

 

[SkepticThinker]

It's not a Prediction, its fact.

Oh, so it's not a prophecy?
You just said it was a prophecy.

What I was wondering was why you think it's so amazing for someone to predict that people probably would criticize the claims in the Bible as lacking in evidence.

 

[SkepticThinker]

1) I've worked with people who bring Bible to other nations where there are not already so many Christians, but thanks (not) for being Western-centric again.

So?

2) Why do you care whether He is a He or a She? Why should I answer you?

Because for once I'd like to see you back up your claims. especially when you're demanding other people disprove them. As in the post where I asked you the question you don't want to answer where you said:
How do you know that God, interested in man, doesn't work through people?

To which I asked, how do you know "he" does and how do you know God is a "he?"

 

[1213]

The Judges administered the law given by god, right?

The commandment not to kill or not to commit adultery, or not to have other gods before the Jewish god were just for example and not binding, then?

They were binding, if one wants to have the promises that come with them.

 

[paarsurrey]

Honestly I can't think of a single thing.

Nobody knows who wrote it, with any degree of certainty. No names of the original authors, nobody knows who was on the Council of Trent , Council of Nicea Etc.

It's obviously been redacted , has incomplete information and has gaps in its narratives. Side-by-side variations are noted in each version of the Bible that exist today to substantiate that is indeed the case.

The Bible clearly is not a divinely inspired collection of books either , evidenced by Christianity's vast and varied amount of denominations and sects, who, to this day remain visibly at odds with ongoing issues over interpretation and meaning, making it clear there's no evidence of any type of guiding hand at play to indicate it now or was ever divinely inspired to begin with at its inception.

There's no real support or proofs to the notion of divine harmonization between one author with another throughout the Testaments over significant periods of time to substantiate any type of harmony exists because each subsequent book could be "harmonized" with each proceeding book by simply reading what each proceeding book said and conveniently changing the subsequent book to "fit" each narrative to uphold the claim that the subsequent authors did not know what the preceding authors wrote making such alleged harmony between books a divine proof a Biblical accuracy and credibility.

Oral tradition is actually worthless. If it wasn't, it could have been used and demonstrated today as a living testament of reliability and accuracy but it isn't for a reason. Obvious reasons.

Hence the requirement for writing something down , and we've seen how effective that can be.


Why would anybody be willing to think the Bible is for one reason or another a proper foundation to base an entire religion on and in cases, people's own lives to point of believability that it would trump logic and science?

We Muslims also won't have believed for the same reasons in the Gospels* (Injeel) of the Pauline Christianity . Pauline Christianity did alter many of the teachings of Jesus as given in the anonymous narrations available then. Despite that some of the teachings of Jesus are still in it. Quran mentions them and values them. It is for this that we see no harm in reading Gospels of the Pauline Christianity. Such teachings of Jesus with corrections and reasons are mentioned in Quran.

Regards
______________
*Quran
[3:4]
He has sent down to thee the Book containing the truth and fulfilling that which precedes it; and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel
Before this, as a guidance to the people; and He has sent down the Discrimination. Surely, those who deny the Signs of Allah shall have a severe punishment. And Allah is Mighty, Possessor of the power to requite.
The Holy Quran - Chapter: 3: Aal-e-`Imran

 

[BilliardsBall]

So?



Because for once I'd like to see you back up your claims. especially when you're demanding other people disprove them. As in the post where I asked you the question you don't want to answer where you said:
How do you know that God, interested in man, doesn't work through people?

To which I asked, how do you know "he" does and how do you know God is a "he?"

I know God works through people, for example, when atheists foam at the mouth on this and other forums, exactly with the rudeness and closed-mindedness the Bible predicts of them.

PROVE the Bible wrong if you really want to "help me from my mistake". Be loving, be respectful, be open-minded, not "You jerk, you never answer ALL of my questions, because the world owes me answers to my rhetorical, rude questions!"

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I have difficulty with the claim that Adam and Eve were perfect beings at some point. Here is why. If they were perfect how is it that they so easily could succumb to temptation? That doesn't reflect perfection as far as I can tell. Now, I know that they are supposed to have had free will and we are supposed to have free will. But if they were perfect, there will would be to do what is perfect. Following this line of thinking starts to take on the embodiment of a circle and following it means the elimination of free will in my opinion. If you would only choose that which is perfect, you would not be free to choose imperfection. Or something along those lines.

But if they were not perfect, then those claiming them to be perfect are simply wrong. Obviously, they were tempted and acted on those temptations and were not perfect by their own example.

 

[paarsurrey]

I have difficulty with the claim that Adam and Eve were perfect beings at some point. Here is why. If they were perfect how is it that they so easily could succumb to temptation? That doesn't reflect perfection as far as I can tell. Now, I know that they are supposed to have had free will and we are supposed to have free will. But if they were perfect, there will would be to do what is perfect. Following this line of thinking starts to take on the embodiment of a circle and following it means the elimination of free will in my opinion. If you would only choose that which is perfect, you would not be free to choose imperfection. Or something along those lines.

But if they were not perfect, then those claiming them to be perfect are simply wrong. Obviously, they were tempted and acted on those temptations and were not perfect by their own example.

I don't find in OT about Adam and Eve that they were perfect. They were human beings and "to err is human".

Regards

 

[SkepticThinker]

I know God works through people, for example, when atheists foam at the mouth on this and other forums, exactly with the rudeness and closed-mindedness the Bible predicts of them.

Sorry, I didn't ask what you think about atheists. (I already know you have a nasty bias against them.)

I asked how you know God is a He.

And now you're claiming that God makes atheists foam at the mouth with rudeness and close-mindedness? How and why?

PROVE the Bible wrong if you really want to "help me from my mistake". Be loving, be respectful, be open-minded, not "You jerk, you never answer ALL of my questions, because the world owes me answers to my rhetorical, rude questions!"

When did I ever call you a name like jerk? Ever? Come on, show me. OR I suggest that you stop making false claims against people who respond to your posts. It's getting ridiculous.

I don't know what you mean by "prove the Bible wrong." In regards to what? God being a "he?"

 

[SkepticThinker]

1) I've worked with people who bring Bible to other nations where there are not already so many Christians, but thanks (not) for being Western-centric again.

Thank you for confirming my point.

2) Why do you care whether He is a He or a She?

Because people claim that "he" is a "he."

Why should I answer you?

Because you're on a forum where that is done.
Why come to a debate forum if you have no intention of debating or answering questions?

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I don't find in OT about Adam and Eve that they were perfect. They were human beings and "to err is human".

Regards

I do not know of any biblical reference that claims they were perfect either, but it is a common claim among some groups of Christians. It is claimed in an effort to deny evolution or other scientific theories and explain evidence that doesn't make any sense in light of the Genesis creation story.

 

[BilliardsBall]

Sorry, I didn't ask what you think about atheists. (I already know you have a nasty bias against them.)

I asked how you know God is a He.

And now you're claiming that God makes atheists foam at the mouth with rudeness and close-mindedness? How and why?


When did I ever call you a name like jerk? Ever? Come on, show me. OR I suggest that you stop making false claims against people who respond to your posts. It's getting ridiculous.

I don't know what you mean by "prove the Bible wrong." In regards to what? God being a "he?"

I believe God is gender neutral, Spirit. I believe the Bible contains numerous He references to help us recognize the Christ, a male child born miraculously, without sin.

When atheists behave respectfully toward others, using logic on forums, not ad homs and trumped up charges, when I post once on a new thread without five or six ticked off atheists chirping at me, I will stop believing the Bible's prophetic indications that atheists are angry, bitter, mocking.

 

[BilliardsBall]

Thank you for confirming my point.


Because people claim that "he" is a "he."



Because you're on a forum where that is done.
Why come to a debate forum if you have no intention of debating or answering questions?

If I never answer questions, why persist? Why not put me on ignore? It's because I answer questions, but you care neither for my answers nor for my Socratic replies which make you think before responding yet again with further atheist canards.

Put me on ignore since I never answer questions or else admit either my superb logic and apologetics or demons inside skeptics force you to engage with me so frequently!