Primordial Sex--Eden as Allegory

[Barre]

I don't look at it very hard because it's all made up and irrelevant.

And theists like yourself deciding which bits are literal and which are metaphorical, always amuses me.

How do you know it's "all made up" if you haven't looked at it?

I submit that you post is another example of atheistic triumphalism.

[chi pan]

IF the bible is set for such distant times why should it be taken seriously today if it was written for the people 2000 years ago.

well i wish some people would. politicians lie all the time but if they took the bible into account they would know that they're wrong in doing this and that they should at least try to stop. impossible? well in japan politicians have a lot more honor than they do in america. yes, japan is not christian, but at least they hold true to marals whether it be Buddhist morals or otherwise.

I said that Christians have had the bible for years but know it says "don't steal" didn't stop them

those who don't listen to scripture don't take it seriously. those who lived back when it was written did take it seriously. and no christians are pardonable for their actions, but this belief that it's not wrong if you don't get caught is very dangerous

And THAT is proof why religion does more harm than good...MILLIONS have been killed because of religion and today look at 9/11 and in a society where we now have nuclear weapons and tell me that's religious danger is not getting worse.

no, religion is a tool they use and if they don't have that they will use other tools. should we get rid of politics b/c of Hitler?

So an Atheist is damned if he has money and damned if he gives it away to charities?

no, who said that?

[Jackalope]

yes, japan is not christian, but at least they hold true to marals whether it be Buddhist morals or otherwise.

It might interest you to know that the vast majority of Japanese people identify with no religion at all.

About 70 percent of Japanese profess no religious membership,[7][8] according to Johnstone (1993:323), 84% of the Japanese claim no personal religion. In census questionnaires, less than 15 percent reported any formal religious affiliation by 2000.[9] And according to Demerath (2001:138), 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha.[10] According to Edwin Reischauer, and Marius Jansen, some 70 to 80 percent of the Japanese regularly tell pollsters they do not consider themselves believers in any religion.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Japan

[Barre]

you look way too hard at this, not everything is symbolic in the bible. here's some things- God said not to eat from the tree at all, not to wait till the proper moment. the snake represents a deciever, which is how calling someone a snake originated. eve got pregnant too early? adam had his first son at the age of 130. his name was Seth. i don't understand if your asking a question or just saying what's on your mind

Your comments touch on the question of the compostition of the Pentateuch. Do you have a critical theory regarding how the Pentateuch came into being?

[Jackalope]

Your comments touch on the question of the compostition of the Pentateuch. Do you have a critical theory regarding how the Pentateuch came into being?

Read his posts from tonight. As far as I can tell, he thinks god felt the pulse of Israelite culture.

[Barre]

well simply put, you're wrong. it's none of those things.

An example of theistic triumphalism.

[chi pan]

It might interest you to know that the vast majority of Japanese people identify with no religion at all.

oh is that so? damn i should have asked all the people at the Shrine i was at last night about their religion. i'm in japan, don't try to pretend you know more about their religion than i do. in case that's not enough for you, everywhere i look they say Shinto and Buddhism are the major religions of japan.

[5thHorseman]

Do you tell them they are wrong and shower them in arguments from ignorance?

Also, if you didn't know, buddhists do not believe in god.

[Jackalope]

It might interest you to know that the vast majority of Japanese people identify with no religion at all.

oh is that so? damn i should have asked all the people at the Shrine i was at last night about their religion. i'm in japan, don't try to pretend you know more about their religion than i do. in case that's not enough for you, everywhere i look they say Shinto and Buddhism are the major religions of japan.

Don't bitch at me, the source I quoted cited their sources. Take issue with them, and if you can find fault in their methodology by all means, present a rational argument.

All you're doing is saying I'm wrong because you say so. Anecdotes and ad hoc arguments aren't a useful form of intellectual exchange.

[chi pan]

i apoligise for my outburst. i took that too personally

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here's a site that has a bunch of statistics of japan. one of them is religion to which it says 54.1% is shintoism, 40.5% buddhism, .07% christianity and 4.7% other

http://www.jun-gifts.com/others/factsabo...tjapan.htm