(August 6, 2014 at 7:51 am)Cato Wrote: I sometimes lose sight of the fact that there are otherwise reasonable people that are legitimately terrified of the idea of hell. So much so, that they become a mental contortionist in an attempt to reconcile what they accept as truth, evolution in this case, with conflicting Biblical accounts. They have been taught that the Bible is the true inerrant word of God and that they are going to hell if they don't accept it (we must also ignore for the moment that this isn't in accordance with learned theology).
This kinds business is nothing more than an attempt to reconcile the known size of the imaginary ark with the number of species that were to have been aboard.
I suppose that for such believers there is the fear of the slippery slope. If the Noah story is not true, what else follows? Once Genesis is accepted as a collection of legends and just-so stories, inerrancy goes out the window, and everything is up for grabs. Of course, adopting a more "liberal" approach to scripture is always an option, but their approach to the Bible pretty much rules that out. They double down on silly apologetics because they tend to see it as an all or nothing situation. Their reading of the Bible must be defended at all costs.
What I don't understand is why they expend so much energy arguing with atheists about it. It seems to me that their real quarrel should be with their fellow Christians -- the ones who disagree with their approach to understanding the Bible.
