Subsequent truths

[Erinome]

I've been reading up lately on how the bible actually came together. I find it really crazy that there are so many people alive today who believe in that strange mix of fiction and politically motivated garbage. The stories they left out were crazy too, but they were interesting and explanatory.

Knowing and believing- two different things.

[Minimalist]

Best book I've seen on that is Bart Ehrman's "Lost Christianities," Alei. Shows how trying to refute gnostic beliefs warped xtianity into the pile of horseshit it is today.

[Erinome]

Thanks, I'll have to check that out.

[Norfolk And Chance]

'Life's short and everyone will soon know the answers'

Or you'll just be a pointless carcass 6 feet under.

'as for me I already do, no doubts and no worries.'

You're arrogance has clearly blinded you. Allah will punish you.

It's not arrogance, it's knowing and I does not matter if you or anyone else believes I can't know for certain that Christ is real and my savior. There is much I can never know but I do know Christ and the eternal life that is ahead.

I know there is no god and afterlife.

[Jackalope]

It's not arrogance, it's knowing and I does not matter if you or anyone else believes I can't know for certain that Christ is real and my savior. There is much I can never know but I do know Christ and the eternal life that is ahead.

You would do well to realize that arrogance is in the eye of the beholder.

[chadster1976]

GS. I neither said you committed atrocities nor that you believed the Earth to be flat. Strawman-tastic! Re-read my post and see the correct context.
I firmly believe the Bible to be divinely inspired but that is VERY different from believing it to be the ABSOLUTE word of God. Can you not see the difference?

E.g. If I say to you that I am Welsh and all the other Welsh people I know are nice people, you could say:
"Chadster says all the Welsh people he knows are nice" - my direct word;
"All the Welsh people Chadster knows are nice" - an interpretation of my words;
"All Welsh people are nice" - an extrapolated interpretation of my words;
"People of Wales ARE nice, thus is the word of Chadster" - an extrapolated interpretation describing authority to my words.
All 4 statements are inspired by my original words but only 1 correctly conveys the original message. That is why it is dangerous to rely entirely upon a flawed text (flawed because of man's translations and selective editing) and ignore the common sense and intellectual abilities God gave you. Ignoring the skills God gave you is a bit of a slap in the face to the almighty.

[Norfolk And Chance]

GS. I neither said you committed atrocities nor that you believed the Earth to be flat. Strawman-tastic! Re-read my post and see the correct context.
I firmly believe the Bible to be divinely inspired but that is VERY different from believing it to be the ABSOLUTE word of God. Can you not see the difference?

E.g. If I say to you that I am Welsh and all the other Welsh people I know are nice people, you could say:
"Chadster says all the Welsh people he knows are nice" - my direct word;
"All the Welsh people Chadster knows are nice" - an interpretation of my words;
"All Welsh people are nice" - an extrapolated interpretation of my words;
"People of Wales ARE nice, thus is the word of Chadster" - an extrapolated interpretation describing authority to my words.
All 4 statements are inspired by my original words but only 1 correctly conveys the original message. That is why it is dangerous to rely entirely upon a flawed text (flawed because of man's translations and selective editing) and ignore the common sense and intellectual abilities God gave you. Ignoring the skills God gave you is a bit of a slap in the face to the almighty.

Chad, there is no almighty - you not worked it out yet, huh?

[Milky Tea]

As a Christian, I am constantly amazed by how often I am told I am not a true believer BY OTHER CHRISTIANS!!!

Now, just historically, the Roman Catholic Church is probably the oldest Christian denomination there is and is the largest. It also holds scriptures in original languages and relies on the older texts to form its doctrines. You would therefore assume that it is closest to the church set up by Jesus. Right? Well not according to some. Many YEC's rely on 20th century translations of the Bible that have slightly differing translations and are annotated in such a ways as to guide away from traditional interpretation.

Where does it state in the original Greek text of Genesis that the 6 days of creation were distinct 24 hour periods? It doesn't. Yet, this is a fundament to many Christian groups. It does saay in the Bible how hard you can beat your slaves, but ask any Republican candidate if they believe wholeheartedly in the Bible they all say "Yes, I am a committed Christian". Really?

Why are there so many Christian churches now? Who gave the religious authority to create them all and more importantly, why do they feel they have the right to decry all other denominations as "not true Christians".

And please, don't resort to only being rude about Christians, even though some of us clearly deserve a smack in the face with a reality hammer. Please answer on the psychology of religion too.

I don't think that this is a problem unique to Christianity since this kind of partisan behaviour is fairly common whenever the opportunity to interpret something differently arises and there is no definitive means of establishing which one is the best. Cats vs Dogs, Tea vs Coffee, Chinese vs Indian (Food that is), pop music vs alternative metal, to name a few. You can almost guarantee that if you ask sufficient people for their opinion on these you'll come across a few individuals with very strong opinions on the matter.

It's inevitable that there are some groups take the stance that they are correct and everyone else is wrong despite the obvious problem with such a position under such circumstances. I can recall several instances when I've forwarded an opinion that differs from the consensus and it was summarily dismissed because of it's minority status, and faults with their own opinions overlooked because weight of numbers overinflated their confidence in the validity of their own opinions

I've also found that it's also quite common for those with entrenched views not to be particularly informed about that which they are claiming is the truth. Sometimes debates between those who identify themselves as creationists or evolutionists show a remarkable degree of ignorance of science on both sides, not just the creationist side.

[chadster1976]

I like cats and coffee, but I won't tell someone they are a bad person for liking dogs and tea. I will explain my beliefs and why I think they are reasonable but I won't call someone a bad person or a bad Christian for holding different views (accepting they don't cross boundaries of taste, decency, legality, respect etc.). A conflict of ideas does not have to result in insults and name calling which is where I get annoyed!

Norfolk, not helpful. I haven't worked out there is no Almighty because there is no scientific method to determine the existence or non-existence of God. As such, I have to go with my experiences and beliefs built up upon them. I understand completely that everyone will have different points of view and everyone is equally entitled to them. Let's not allow ourselves to get involved in arguments that revolve around "I'm right, you're wrong, if you can't see it then you're stupid"

[Norfolk And Chance]

I like cats and coffee, but I won't tell someone they are a bad person for liking dogs and tea. I will explain my beliefs and why I think they are reasonable but I won't call someone a bad person or a bad Christian for holding different views (accepting they don't cross boundaries of taste, decency, legality, respect etc.). A conflict of ideas does not have to result in insults and name calling which is where I get annoyed!

Norfolk, not helpful. I haven't worked out there is no Almighty because there is no scientific method to determine the existence or non-existence of God. As such, I have to go with my experiences and beliefs built up upon them. I understand completely that everyone will have different points of view and everyone is equally entitled to them. Let's not allow ourselves to get involved in arguments that revolve around "I'm right, you're wrong, if you can't see it then you're stupid"

You can't have personal experiences with a non existent being, only personal delusions.

There is no reason for god to exist, so he doesn't.

And of course everybody is entitled to have their opinion, just as I'm entitled to laugh at them.