What is Your Approach?

[The Reality Salesman01]

Ha ha ha

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What a shitbag.

[Rahul]

What a shitbag.

Argh. Hated shitbags. Like those fuckers that wore white socks with their boondockers. Fucking shitbags.

This deck is secured.

[The Reality Salesman01]

What a shitbag.

Argh. Hated shitbags. Like those fuckers that wore white socks with their boondockers. Fucking shitbags.

This deck is secured.

Or the nasty ones that showered barefoot!

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And the smelly hot-rackers!!!

[Rahul]

Or the nasty ones that showered barefoot!

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And the smelly hot-rackers!!!

Gross fuckers. But the one thing, that land lovers will never realize, is how the clouds, and the sky, on the open sea, would be a vibrantly different color every day.


We haven't seen land for weeks. But fuck. That morning break was wow. Every day a different color. Amazingly so. The ocean was a brand new color. The clouds were a brand new color. The sky was a brand new color. Every day. Every beautiful day. And when we saw land we stood in awe.

I miss that. I don't see that any more.

[The Reality Salesman01]

remember on a calm day, at dusk, when the water was flat as glass? It is hard to distinguish where the water ends from where the sky starts. And starry nights? My favorite. Pitch black. On the flight deck, when the ship would turn, it seemed like stars were spinning around you. It is the closest to floating through stars that I may ever get. I love that.

[Terr]

[quote='Locke' pid='489717' dateline='1375934356']

[quote]As per your introdruction thread I'd still like to know, why you personally believe that there HAD to be a supernatural creator? I believed it for years myself during my post religious deist times, but I'd be honestly interested in your answer. [/quote]

I've found enough historical evidence to convince me the Bible is both intact and accurate to its original text, which in turn caused me to consider giving it an honest chance, and when I put it into practice I found it to be true. It's a lot more practical than you probably realize (no offense with the statement, but I clarify that because most theists who preach it consider it relative in its absolutes, and absolute in its relatives, or whatever fits their needs at the time).
Seeing something work is convincing to me, especially when it goes beyond placebo effects and influences my environment consistently. By scientific procedure, it has been proven right thus far.

I thank you for the answer Locke, it's appreciated. And if faith works for you, I wish you well.

But consider how I might view the bible, not believing there's a god to inspire it. I'd expect there to be historical references, as a product of it's time, I'd expect practicality in terms of it being the result of human minds. The same arguments are made of other religious texts too.

How can I take the bible to be an inspired text with having a prior belief in god.

[Rahul]

remember on a calm day, at dusk, when the water was flat as glass? It is hard to distinguish where the water ends from where the sky starts. And starry nights? My favorite. Pitch black. On the flight deck, when the ship would turn, it seemed like stars were spinning around you. It is the closest to floating through stars that I may ever get. I love that.

Yeah. And I used to crawl to the top part of the ship, the farthest I could get. And it was all sea and sky. When we were out in the middle of nowhere.

And you felt so little, but so amazed about being part of something so big.

I'll never experience that again. But I remember it.

I miss the stars. I used to lay back on the forward hatch above the missile deck and gaze at them. I miss it all.

[The Reality Salesman01]

Definitely an awesome time. Everything is black out there, except the stars. They are always so bright! When the ship is dark, and you stare into the sky, you really become aware of how close to those stars you actually are. That was about the ONLY thing I liked about working the flight deck at night. Everything else was way harder to do in the dark! Lol.

[Locke]

I thank you for the answer Locke, it's appreciated. And if faith works for you, I wish you well.

But consider how I might view the bible, not believing there's a god to inspire it. I'd expect there to be historical references, as a product of it's time, I'd expect practicality in terms of it being the result of human minds. The same arguments are made of other religious texts too.

How can I take the bible to be an inspired text with having a prior belief in god.

The prophecies in the Old Testament would be something to consider. Every one of them came true, with the exception of Judgement Day, which is yet to take place.
You're exactly right - practicality is expected if it was written by human minds. But contrary to this expectation, there are many things that defy human practicality in favor of more advanced reasoning.
For example, places where human writers put events down as they knew them, they referred to their surroundings in terms they understood (i.e. referring to the earth as flat), while places where they quote messages from angels, the angels reveal things they were clearly unaware of (i.e. in the book of Daniel the angel refers to earth as a sphere).

As opposed to other religious texts, key characters in the Bible are very realistic - they make grave mistakes and fall short of being perfect. In fact many of them seem to be worse than the average person, at least by human standards. Why not make exemplary models to follow like other religious texts do? Because that wouldn't be the truth.
Other religious texts, upon closer examination, turn out to be riddles with contradictions on fundamental principles, while the Bible, despite the surface criticism it receives, proves itself to be solid the more I examine it.

Without having a prior belief in God? I'd say you have a headstart, since you've probably been stuffed with less false teaching than the average person from a religious upbringing. Regardless, at the end of the day you still have to put it to the test to see if what it says is true. While most religions laud blind obedience, the Bible labels scrutiny as noble character:

Acts 17:11,
"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

[Angrboda]