Micah, you have to realize that just because something is possible, doesn't make it probable. It is entirely possible that today at exactly 12:47:13 pm while walking down Tokay Blvd. about 350 feet away from my current residence that a small asteroid could hurtle through the atmosphere, moving at about 2000 MPH and could impact right into the very central point of the back of my head and pulverize it entirely so hard and fast that I would never even feel it, and I might land splayed out on the sidewalk in the image of Christ on the cross [sans head].
ENTIRELY possible! But I refuse to calculate the exact odds of that happening. Ballpark figure, I'd say the number against the one is probably a five followed by about a trillion 0s. To say something is possible is something that's a bit obvious; LOTS of things are possible. Doesn't mean I have to consider their likelihood.
It's entirely possible a man was born to a virgin through her hymen after she was given a message by a flying man with wings on his back, walked on water, turned it into wine, predicted his betrayal based on absolutely no information whatsoever, made the blind see by touching them, died, then came back to life and floated into the sky-
Wait. No it's not. Which is why the entire conversation is actually pointless. The story of Jesus is just the most recent retelling of an ancient series of stories about men being born to virgins, being the offspring of immortal entities, having the ability to heal the crippled and sick with mere touch, dying and coming back to life and ascending to a greater plane. The story has been told a dozen fucking times over throughout history, and the fact the believers refuse to acknowledge this as merely being a retread of old pagan stories with some minor changes so it fits to their own self-fulfilling prophecy is infuriatingly annoying.
So, in closing; yes, there are ELEMENTS of the gospels that MAY be possible. But the entire thing being 100% accurate? Or even 50%? No, it is not, and if you can't even rely on half of the book that is supposedly the "true book" then there's nothing very true about it and it falls down the slippery slope, loses all of its supposed infallibility and becomes COMPLETELY. TOTALLY. 100% IRRELEVANT to anybody who places any value in the perception of reality.
It's a collection of myths and fairy tales. If you think it's possible that it's true after considering that, well go ahead and also consider that maybe Mr. Smith really WAS receiving divine revelations from god on a bunch of stones that the native Americans were all an unremembered tribe of Canaanites or some such horseshit, and that Lord Xenu possibly did visit this planet and dump a bunch of evil bad guy aliens' spirits into volcanoes from which they moved to infect human bodies and blah fucking blah blah blah; IT'S ALL STUPID BULLSHIT. It all requires you to stop questioning things and to "just believe." How many theologians throughout history have praised the simple-mindedness and ignorance of their flocks and warned about intellectual pursuits and different, contrary thoughts to the established creeds? COUNTLESS numbers. The theists of today are just retreads of the theologians of yesterday; desperately trying to keep their relevance alive and strong in the face of being exposed for the frauds, lies, and nincompoops they are an inch at a time.
Are we done? IS the debate over, now?
ENTIRELY possible! But I refuse to calculate the exact odds of that happening. Ballpark figure, I'd say the number against the one is probably a five followed by about a trillion 0s. To say something is possible is something that's a bit obvious; LOTS of things are possible. Doesn't mean I have to consider their likelihood.
It's entirely possible a man was born to a virgin through her hymen after she was given a message by a flying man with wings on his back, walked on water, turned it into wine, predicted his betrayal based on absolutely no information whatsoever, made the blind see by touching them, died, then came back to life and floated into the sky-
Wait. No it's not. Which is why the entire conversation is actually pointless. The story of Jesus is just the most recent retelling of an ancient series of stories about men being born to virgins, being the offspring of immortal entities, having the ability to heal the crippled and sick with mere touch, dying and coming back to life and ascending to a greater plane. The story has been told a dozen fucking times over throughout history, and the fact the believers refuse to acknowledge this as merely being a retread of old pagan stories with some minor changes so it fits to their own self-fulfilling prophecy is infuriatingly annoying.
So, in closing; yes, there are ELEMENTS of the gospels that MAY be possible. But the entire thing being 100% accurate? Or even 50%? No, it is not, and if you can't even rely on half of the book that is supposedly the "true book" then there's nothing very true about it and it falls down the slippery slope, loses all of its supposed infallibility and becomes COMPLETELY. TOTALLY. 100% IRRELEVANT to anybody who places any value in the perception of reality.
It's a collection of myths and fairy tales. If you think it's possible that it's true after considering that, well go ahead and also consider that maybe Mr. Smith really WAS receiving divine revelations from god on a bunch of stones that the native Americans were all an unremembered tribe of Canaanites or some such horseshit, and that Lord Xenu possibly did visit this planet and dump a bunch of evil bad guy aliens' spirits into volcanoes from which they moved to infect human bodies and blah fucking blah blah blah; IT'S ALL STUPID BULLSHIT. It all requires you to stop questioning things and to "just believe." How many theologians throughout history have praised the simple-mindedness and ignorance of their flocks and warned about intellectual pursuits and different, contrary thoughts to the established creeds? COUNTLESS numbers. The theists of today are just retreads of the theologians of yesterday; desperately trying to keep their relevance alive and strong in the face of being exposed for the frauds, lies, and nincompoops they are an inch at a time.
Are we done? IS the debate over, now?
