(November 26, 2008 at 9:09 pm)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: Yeah but you can make anything fit the pattern.
If you play poker and God doesn't let you win all the time you can simply say that God doesn't approve of gambling.
But there are expert poker players who do in fact believe in God and when they win they thank God. And when they lose they think they went wrong or its part of God's plan for their fortune.
Yeah and what that is is trying to fit your own personal God within your own will. Rather than trying to see what God has to say about it himself. Very childish and pointless other than to justify ones own needs. Atheists tend to do the same thing.
(November 26, 2008 at 9:09 pm)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: But your INTERPRETATION of the bible is the same sort of ignorance. You are ignorant to think that your interpretation is correct because there are so MANY interpretations. And so many 'EXPERT' interpretations.
Have we discussed the interpretive nature of science? For hundreds of years Newton's theory of gravity was the interpretation and then along comes this Einstein guy and BAM! A new 'EXPERT' interpretation. Now you can say what you want but the FACT is that for hundreds of years science was wrong. They may still be wrong. So what is the problem? We can't be wrong about the Bible?
Bible interpretation is slightly different only in that it is a personal responsibility which may or may not be influenced by expert interpretation. When a Bible scholar comes up to me and says the soul is immortal I say, no it isn't. Read Ezekiel 18:4. Sometimes there are factors of a cultural, linguistic or other aspect of the text that needs to be considered in figurative expressions that Bible scholars have such a problem dealing with, but ultimately the more you study the Bible without religious blinders on the easier it gets. A warning science could use at about this time.
(November 26, 2008 at 9:09 pm)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: The most consistent interpretation is the entirely literal one. And when you interpret the bible literally not only is most of it an utter load of nonsense - but a lot of it is HIGHLY immoral. Grotesquely immoral in fact if you consider a lot of the old testament.
The most consistent interpretation allows for literal and figurative as well as other considerations and is not limited in ignorance to a stubborn literal interpretation.
Moses said that insects walk on all fours, the short sighted skeptic says insects have six legs but some have 2 leaper legs they don't use for walking and walk on all fours. Others walk on all six like a four legged creature. A small child is walking on all fours, EVF, what does that mean he has four legs or he is walking like a beast using his hands? It isn't rocket science.
(November 26, 2008 at 9:09 pm)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: So bible interpretation is the same kind of ignorant bullshit that you criticise. And in fact the stuff you were giving examples of is just like what I said about the poker player. He's stupid because he thinks it has relevance with 'God'. But its also a load of total bullshit to make it fit the pattern so you can excuse things when things go wrong or simply say 'God' doesn't apply to certain things because he doesn't approve of them. When you can't know that. Especially when you consider that there's no evidence that he even exists!
The competent Bible student doesn't do that but I will tell you this, the incompetent Bible critic does the same thing in reverse. The same stupid bullshit in criticizing. Only one atheist I have ever come across doesn't do that - Rambo of Bible Babble. He also happens to be the most difficult person to refute because he knows what he is talking about or he looks it up unlike most Atheist who assume out of ignorance and don't have much defense.
