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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 3:03 pm
(March 23, 2013 at 2:13 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: (March 23, 2013 at 1:40 pm)Mr Infidel Wrote: God is impatient, unkind, envious, God is boastful and prideful, He is easily angered, He delights in evil. Have it your way. If you can only read the bible literally, then you don't have any greater insight than the fundamentalist Christians you criticize.
If you're not reading the bible literally, what basis do you have to say that any of it is true? The fact is, the literal reading is the only one you can be absolutely sure was what was intended by the original authors.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 3:05 pm
(March 23, 2013 at 3:03 pm)Esquilax Wrote: If you're not reading the bible literally, what basis do you have to say that any of it is true? The fact is, the literal reading is the only one you can be absolutely sure was what was intended by the original authors.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 3:18 pm
Heh.
I don't think that the original writers were literalists; much of the Bible's content reads like mythology and morality plays, punctuated by attempts at recording historical events long after they'd occurred.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 3:23 pm
(March 23, 2013 at 3:05 pm)catfish Wrote: (March 23, 2013 at 3:03 pm)Esquilax Wrote: If you're not reading the bible literally, what basis do you have to say that any of it is true? The fact is, the literal reading is the only one you can be absolutely sure was what was intended by the original authors.
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I'm sorry, is there some additional how-to guide for the bible written by the original authors pointing out where the book slips into metaphor, and when it comes back to literalism again? Did I miss that?
My point is, the only thing you can be totally sure of are the words written on the page- and yes, even then it's a bastardization- but when you're picking and choosing what's literal and what's not, the only guide you're using is what feels good to you. That's not exactly inerrant.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 3:30 pm
(March 23, 2013 at 3:23 pm)Esquilax Wrote: I'm sorry, is there some additional how-to guide for the bible written by the original authors pointing out where the book slips into metaphor, and when it comes back to literalism again? Did I miss that?
... the only guide you're using is what feels good to you. That's not exactly inerrant.
Or what church leaders tell you to take literally or figuratively. It might be OK nowadays to eat shellfish, for instance, but it's not cool anymore to stone gay people ( unless, of course, you're this guy) or burn random women whom you think might be witches.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 3:46 pm
If you aren't going to interpret the Bible literally, or are only going to choose which parts you wish to view as literal and which are metaphorical, there's no point in reading it at all. If all you want to do is interpret it so that it coincides with your preconceived notions, why not just scrap that rag and invent your own personal theology? You'll have just as much evidence of its truth as the authors of the Bible did, after all.
I do wonder just how one interprets the God of the Bible to be wise or good, and the only answer I get is that you have to be stupid and cruel yourself to come to that conclusion.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 3:47 pm
(March 23, 2013 at 12:05 am)Godschild Wrote: Thanks guys for helping me with the point I made. You all are so considerate.
Your god remains a figment of your imagination.
And since I think you are a fucking lunatic your imagination counts little.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 6:27 pm
(This post was last modified: March 23, 2013 at 6:28 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
(March 23, 2013 at 3:03 pm)Esquilax Wrote: The fact is, the literal reading is the only one you can be absolutely sure was what was intended by the original authors. Absolutely certain about that? You're trying to have it both ways. First you say the bible doesn't make sense if you take it literally, but then you insist it can only be read literally. Just be honest and say you're either too indifferent or too lazy to understand anything beyond the Reader's Digest version.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 6:56 pm
(March 23, 2013 at 6:27 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Absolutely certain about that? You're trying to have it both ways. First you say the bible doesn't make sense if you take it literally, but then you insist it can only be read literally. Just be honest and say you're either too indifferent or too lazy to understand anything beyond the Reader's Digest version.
1000's of Christian sects, all reading different parts literally and not literally. Many claiming all the others are 'not true Christians'.
Yet every Christian believes they have the one heuristic that is able to determine exactly which parts are literal and which parts aren't.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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RE: Prove Christianity, not Theism in General
March 23, 2013 at 7:30 pm
Wooters Wrote:First you say the bible doesn't make sense if you take it literally, but then you insist it can only be read literally.
These two statements do not contradict.
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