This Is A Fair Question

[zebo-the-fat]

This all powerful god can make a universe but needs humans to make a book??

[John V]

This all powerful god can make a universe but needs humans to make a book??

Does the fact that you did something a certain way necessarily mean that you had to do it that way?

[Cod]

This all powerful god can make a universe but needs humans to make a book??

Does the fact that you did something a certain way necessarily mean that you had to do it that way?

No, but you would usually try to accomplish your objective in the most efficient way. Unless you're God obviously.

[vorlon13]

This all powerful god can make a universe but needs humans to make a book??

If he involves the humans in making the book He can count on it being squirreled up enough so as to induce tens of thousands of schisms.

Not sure why He is so big on schisms, but I suppose that is another one of those "mystery of faith" things.

er . . .

I guess that would be "mysteries of faiths" things.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

IMO the Bible is an outstanding piece of literature and story telling. It far surpasses all of the other ethnocentric religious fairy tales in the way its central theme is developed and presented. The problem is that casual readers tend to focus on the bits and pieces instead of seeing the big picture.

As I've said before, the Bible as we know it was written by a committee of story tellers, writers, and artists based in England in the 690s. They used various stories to illustrate each of the Ten Commandments in action. Some of the stories show what happens when the Commandments are ignored and others show what happens when they are obeyed. But all of the stories are interrelated and should be considered as a whole instead of as separate pieces.

Consider the well-known Adam & Eve story. Taken as a single piece it's obvious BS but when you tie it in with other stories you see the beauty of the writing and how it forms a complete picture. For instance, after reading Genesis chapters 1-9 flip over to the book of Ecclesiastes and read chapters 1 & 2. You will see that the Genesis chapters are sumed up in the Ecclesiastes chapters in human terms.

Remember, there is no celestial deity of any kind in this solar system. The God character of the Bible was simply the series of men who ruled the dominant Middle Eastern empire in ancient times. He bit the dust with the collapse of the Babylonian Empire around 530 B.C. He's not coming back.

[Succubus]

...Consider the well-known Adam & Eve story.  Taken as a single piece it's obvious BS but when you tie it in with other stories you see the beauty of the writing and how it forms a complete picture.  For instance, after reading Genesis chapters 1-9 flip over to the book of Ecclesiastes and read chapters 1 & 2.   You will see that the Genesis chapters are sumed up in the Ecclesiastes chapters in human terms...

I just did, and it doesn’t.

[Cyberman]

Does the fact that you did something a certain way necessarily mean that you had to do it that way?

No, but you would usually try to accomplish your objective in the most efficient way. Unless you're God obviously.

If I choose to do a thing one particular way when I am not limited to just that one way, I don't get to blame others for the consequences of that choice. Crank that up to eleven if I know ahead of time what the consequences of every possibility are going to be; as in what - for instance - an entity worthy of the appellation "god" ought to be able to do.

[Brian37]

This all powerful god can make a universe but needs humans to make a book??

Does the fact that you did something a certain way necessarily mean that you had to do it that way?

Not the point.

It conflicts with the idea of an "all powerful" God. Why would you take an inefficient path if you didn't have to? 

It seems absurd to take over 1,000 years to complete a book, take over 40 authors with books left out, then have flawed humans after all that time, to vote on the first completed version, and then even after that, have others write more revised versions after that. 

I think the better option, is that humans made that shit up and were writing it to compete with other sects and other religions.

[downbeatplumb]

Meh, people will still be reading the Bible long after the article in the OP is forgotten.

But do they read the bible?

I think most believers get told selected highlights on sunday and that is all.

[Cyberman]

It conflicts with the idea of an "all powerful" God.

Especially one with a premade plan in place for the Universe, such that nothing happens that the god didn't intend for to happen. So given the book was written in a certain specific way, all the concomitant consequences of that choice must also be part of that plan and lie squarely at the feet of the god who allegedly made that choice.