RE: everyone (else) seems to be hating on atheists
May 31, 2012 at 2:13 am
(This post was last modified: May 31, 2012 at 2:21 am by Tempus.)
(May 30, 2012 at 7:28 pm)Aiza Wrote: The snake has been interpreted to be a symbol for Satan or temptation from the earliest times of Christianity, there is no apple in Scripture (but its used in paintings and such), either way the fruit is not meant to be a literal fruit, and the world being 6000 years old is also nowhere in Scripture nor is it held by most Christians.
Good point about the fruit - it's never specified what it is. To me at least, much of those things can be taken in a non-literal manner, and still make sense in a reality where there was no literal Garden of Eden. However, internal inconsistencies appear when some parts are interpreted literally and others metaphorically / symbolically. If one literally believes Jesus died around 0AD and we have Jesus' lineage that goes back to Adam and Eve (a metaphorical couple) - how do we make sense of this? Jesus actually existed but has metaphorical ancestors? And why, if Adam and Eve are symbolic, do we literally inherit original sin? Why do all humans inherit the sins of our metaphorical ancestors? If eating of the tree of knowledge is symbolic of some past mistake by our ancestors then what is that mistake and why do all humans suffer for it? I know that, for example, we inherit diseases regardless of whether we think it's "fair" or not - I'm actually curious as to whether you see sin in a similar manner.
Alternatively, if one believes Adam and Eve really did exist we can calculate the age of the human species from the lineages presented in the Bible which amounts to (roughly) 6000 years ago. If these lineages are incorrect or don't really mean that Jesus has human ancestors then why are they even included in the first place?
On an unrelated note: recently, while re-reading my posts, I've felt compelled to an addendum or sorts stating I'm not writing this an angry or "ha-haaa GOTCHA" tone - they're not supposed to read that way. Without excessive emoticons (which themselves can come off as condescending) it can be hard to convey one's own non-aggressiveness.
