To those who believe Bible is not literal...

[Entropist]

They simply have not progressed to a point where they are willing to admit what was done in the name of God was not truly in the name of God.

I'm not sure I see much distinction between (a) Christians THINKING they're doing things in the name of their god (but really aren't) -- and Christians who are doing things TRULY in the name of their god with (b) Christians who aren't "true Christians" -- and those who are.

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God is indeed all-powerful and could, in fact, speak to the whole world. The question is, in what way would He choose to speak, and why? Perhaps He has already spoken, not only in metaphysical ways but even in plain English--Oh hey! There's this book that was written about God a long time ago! It's called the Bible!

Oh, yes, Anna, you can read gems like this one, straight from the horse's mouth:

"And thou shalt consume all the people, which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee, thine eye shall have no pity upon them..... But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed." (Deut 7:16,23)

I suppose Yahweh simply had not progressed to a point where he was willing to admit what he was doing in the name of Yahweh ... was not truly in the name of Yahweh... Or something like that. Yeah.

[annatar]

A common complaint. It's the style in which the bible was written. It's not meant to be something you don't have to think about. Belief in god is entirely intellectual. So making it so that you have to think is consistent.

And an accurate complaint. My question is why? and apperently you have no answer... Whose fault that all of those people's death becouse of this?(this is not actually a question!)
Are you that blind? If bible said there are no witches you can't kill people just becouse they are different than you there would be no such things!! But noooo all loving god had to send something poetic.. He doesn't mind if thousands of people died.. Someone always ready to justify his actions for him...
I want you to answer this: Is it fair to cause thousands of death just to tell your words as poems????? Yes or No please!

This is my question that you constantly dodging! (or you dont read it at all though i dont think thats the case)
Is it fair to cause thousands of death just to tell your words as poems????? Yes or No please!

Where did I claim that I understood God better than the creators of the Bible?

But isn't your argument they didn't understood god's words and we know what bible means to say? If its not then you have to explain why they didn't write it literal and therefor coused thousands of people die?
And before you reply please read my previous posts too!

[Watson]

a)Christians doing things not godly in the name of God are misinterpreting their understanding of God based on a personal bias or way of thinking contrary to God's ways. Christians doing something which is truly Godly in the name of God are simply more understanding of their Christianity than the former.

b) There is no distinction; all who claim to be Christian are Christian people- some are simply more Christian than others. Jesus, for instance, was the perfect epitome of Christianity.

[annatar]

God is indeed all-powerful and could, in fact, speak to the whole world. The question is, in what way would He choose to speak, and why? Perhaps He has already spoken, not only in metaphysical ways but even in plain English--Oh hey! There's this book that was written about God a long time ago! It's called the Bible!

BRavo!!! Congratz!!! becouse we are going back to the begining of our argument WHY didn't he sent bible as literal?

[Watson]

Check my first post in this topic. I already answered you.

Although, I would like to admit that there was a miscommunication on my part in telling you your question was not yes or no; I did not see the question you were talking about, and misinterpreted it as being a completely different question which yo uwere refering to. My bad.

[annatar]

Check my first post in this topic. I already answered you.

Yes there was a miscommunication indeed. And partly becouse I am little bit sleepy..
For you to understand what happened I will quote the full convo..

"Second, Why god sent something that much vague to people? Didn't he knew that people "might" misunderstood him for 2000 years (and counting for some)?"

I asked in first post

What would you have prefered He send? of course He knew it could be misinterpreted, but that is because it was something He created through man, and man is falliable. God did not 'send' the Bible, He had men who understood Him better than most create it for Him.

you answered.

First of all he could really send it.Or he could speak to the whole world (he is all powerful after all)
and if those man were the ones who understood him better than most Why they didn't just wrote the main points instead of making stories that could be anything and mostly bad things! You guys are working really hard to change that stories into something good. And it makes them more ridiculous than its literal meaning..
Just listen to yourseves guys Does your arguments really makes any sense to you!!!???

I replied..

God is indeed all-powerful and could, in fact, speak to the whole world. The question is, in what way would He choose to speak, and why? Perhaps He has already spoken, not only in metaphysical ways but even in plain English--Oh hey! There's this book that was written about God a long time ago! It's called the Bible!

you said..

BRavo!!! Congratz!!! becouse we are going back to the begining of our argument WHY didn't he sent bible as literal?

we came where we started as you see.. Would you like to answer this with something different

[Watson]

That was very generous of you to go through and break the whole thing down, and I thank you for that. You didn't have to do it but you did it, anyway.

Now, as for your questions:

Q: 'why didn't the creators of the Bible just write the main points instead of stories?'
A: As I stated before, the Bible is intended to be thought about and understood, not simply known and looked at. If you aren't thinking critically about your belief in God, then that belief is based on nothing, and is therefore not as strong as someone putting time and effort into understanding and thinking about God. This is why the authors of the Bible did not just write 'this is how God wants it to be', and instead chose to write stories reflecting the way in which God wants it to be. It allows the reader to think critically about what they are reading, and form their own opinions on whether they agree with the Bible or not.

Now, we are back where we started because that is where our answer lies. You don't understand why God does not simply speak to us in a universally understandable way, and I am telling you that He does. He speaks to us in many ways and, one of those ways is the Bible. It is not the only way he speaks to us, but it is a very significant one. It is in our native language.

[annatar]

This is why the authors of the Bible did not just write 'this is how God wants it to be', and instead chose to write stories reflecting the way in which God wants it to be.

And people who read these stories and thought god want them to kill people who don't believe in him... And I couln't help but agree with them! Becouse the stories are all about killing heretics. God annihilated people twice. And why? becouse they didn't believe in him. You are changing that stories into something entirely different.Admit it even you are having problems to find what bible means.( For example in the book of job. Its really funny to watch christians suffer while trying to explain this story) But think about the average people in 1500 years ago. It's not their fault to misunderstood bible. Bible is a misunderstandable text. You can't blame people who misunderstood it. But god is all powerful and he is responsible. And I can't see anything wrong to tell them what really meant! Especially If you want them to obey !
Long story short you are deceiving yourselves. You too can see the bible is a piece of crap but you don't like that fact. So you are trying to persuade yourselves that bible not literal it just allegorical bla bla bla.

[The Omnissiunt One]

After much study and thought, I have concluded that God is a metaphor.

[Edwardo Piet]

Only "metaphorically" of course.

is that a good thing? I mean we may not be burnt but still feel the same pain.... That sounds unpleasant enough...

How would you still feel the pain if it's nothing but a metaphor? If it's just a metaphor it's just a metaphor. It wouldn't effect you in any real sort of way. Much like if the whole God business is a load of bullshit. Oh yeah...it is.