RE: Without citing the bible, what marks the bible as the one book with God's message?
January 4, 2013 at 8:25 pm
(January 4, 2013 at 4:33 pm)ronedee Wrote:(January 4, 2013 at 9:39 am)whateverist Wrote: Once again you haven't come close to answering the question. Or perhaps you are still answering the first question. Is English a second language for you? You strike me as highly defensive. If conversing with someone who doesn't already reinforce your belief system is so painful for you, please, don't bother.
If you ask a vague question, well you-know....!
And "no" I'm not defensive at all. Just being sarcastic.
It's continually amusing how "we" as christians have no creative freedom...yet our oppo-counterparts have free-roam in any direction they would take!
You asked what makes the bible special? Well...DUH!
Secondly (w/o using exact wording, and if I'm understanding you correctly) you asked what makes it that way w/o using bible quotes?
And I said that "it" is still being fought over and argued about after roughly 2000 years!
What other text is being fought over?! Legit question??
As an unbeliever I would expect you to use whatever means necessary to refute the Holy Bible.... as an intelligent (assumption here) person, I would expect a reply to that unique analogy.
So...I'll assume that you are indeed an "unbeliever", and choosing that route.
To clarify yes I am an unbeliever and an atheist, as I assume you are also. I simply believe in one less god than you do. But I am not out to part Christians from their faith. I also don't fault them for believing what I don't believe. I don't think that it is possible to live a life free of beliefs that are not based on evidence. I do it too, just not where gods are concerned.
And no, I'm not concerned with refuting the bible. I imagine there is some value there but I don't personally believe any of the references to divinity or the supernatural - mostly because I find both of those concepts vapid and absurd. My real reason for asking about the bible is I see it as a handicap to Christians who read it in a literal way. So many people use it to create an illusion of certainty when that is never really possible. Believe what you like but I'd have more respect for you if you could acknowledge what you believe without the false certainty provided by the bible.
I'm first and foremost an agnostic because I don't have a clue what the fuck a god could be. I'm a defacto atheist because I obviously can't entertain any belief in something I've not only never experienced but something I find it very hard to even make any sense of. I'm not as invested in being an atheist as I am in being straight with myself about what I do and don't have good reason to believe.
Let me ask you a new question. Do you think it is possible to be a Christian without believing every word and deed described in the bible happened exactly as written? Could a person be a Christian and remain agnostic about the true meaning and origins of the bible? I think so but then I'm not sure you'd still consider them a Christian.
