The Bible

[Sneaksuit]

First off you don't need to "assume" as there are plenty of well qualified scholars who have gone over what manuscripts there are and some to great lengths to ensure that the interpretation is as original as possible and true to what the author intended to convey.

LoneWolf, if what you are saying was true, there would be no discrepancy in interpreting the bible, but of course there is. There are over 30 000 different sects of Christianity alone, that "interpret" the bible differently.

Secondly it doesn't take much reading to answer your question about "other" religions as the Bible makes it abundantly clear that there is only one true God. The Bible is God's word and anything else out there is from Man and consequently in the grand scheme worthless.

You presume that the bible is the one "true" scripture so the others must be false because the bible claims that. That is a meaningless argument for those who don't have the faith you do. You could write a book that states something similar and would mean nothing, just the same. In fact, there is other "scripture" stating similar claims and you don't believe it, so how can you expect others to believe you? Arguments like that have no place in debate - Castanet isn't a church.

Just because some have been raised in certain religions and hold to specific traditions, in no way makes what they are holding to correct.

Yeah, like the bible.

The trinity is the result of a process that selected a couple of highlights from differing belief systems and married them to appease both sides somewhat.

Yes, that's a very common technique and is one reason why religion is dynamic.

[LoneWolf_53]

Arguments like that have no place in debate - Castanet isn't a church.

Then I suggest you scurry on out of here because when I look at the forum title it most definitely says "Religion" and "Spirituality" and it certainly isn't your place to dictate what can and can't be said, nor am I about to ask you.

For that priviledge you need to start your own place up and feel free to spread whatever floats your boat.

[Babbitman]

See, this is whats wrong wit relijin.
Everybody reads the relijis books, but nobody knows what they meen.
Everybuddy argues about it, but none of them can prove their argument.
If the relijis books were true, dont you think they'd make sense in a way that people wouldnt fight over it?

[Hmmm]

*off topic remark removed*/ferri

[Babbitman]

Hey, sorry, spelling isnt mu strongest skill.
If you dont understand my post, thats fine, but know need to be condescending.
I find many relijis types are like that, "Im relijis, and your not, so Im better than you".
Its attutudes like yours that give relijis people and relifins a bad name.

If you were reely relijis you would try to assist poeple with god stuff, knot turn them of of it.

[ferri]

uh hum...if someone starts acting like a troll i am going to assume that is what they are. if they want to remain in this conversation i suggest they straighten up. if not, then everyone needs to ignore them. :)

[Hmmm]

Hey, sorry, spelling isnt mu strongest skill.
If you dont understand my post, thats fine, but know need to be condescending.
I find many relijis types are like that, "Im relijis, and your not, so Im better than you".
Its attutudes like yours that give relijis people and relifins a bad name.

If you were reely relijis you would try to assist poeple with god stuff, knot turn them of of it.

Its spelled "religious" and if you start spelling it correctly from this point forward, that would prove much. And if you truly want help understanding the Bible, pm me.

[Babbitman]

*off topic remark removed*/ferri

[Hmmm]

*off topic remark removed*/ferri

[Babbitman]

*off topic remark removed*/ferri

[Sneaksuit]

Then I suggest you scurry on out of here because when I look at the forum title it most definitely says "Religion" and "Spirituality" and it certainly isn't your place to dictate what can and can't be said, nor am I about to ask you.

You are most certainly welcome to post your "because the bible says so" argument but I was hoping for some intellectual conversation. BTW, the bible speaks alot about false prophesy* because prophesy was very common in religious literature at the time. That should be a hint - you are trusting a handful of Catholic priests who lived in 325 CE to decide for you what is true. That's a lot of faith to put in a few strangers. Imagine everything else those priests believed...



*http://biblelight.net/false-prophets.htm

[cliffy1]

When I think of those who say they are born again, in the religious sense, it brings to mind an analogy. Most people seeking the truth find spiritual nourishment in the pages of books much the same way a new born finds bodily nourishment at its mother’s breast. But most adults once finding the breast (the book) are not willing to let go, even until death, to experience solid food (real life).
Once a child has outgrown its need for mother’s milk, it moves onto solid food and a more expanded view of its reality. Few adults move past this point, clinging desperately to the belief that if they let go of the breast they will fall into the abyss of the unknown.

“Belief is holding to a rock, faith is learning how to swim in the stream of life” - Allen Watts

There is far more to life than can be contained in the pages of a book (or in a whole library). You cannot know God/Life/Truth by reading someone else’s version of it. Yet people still maintain that the Primal Force, the origin of all we witness, can be contained, that the Infinite can be crammed into the pages of our holy books and our finite minds. Once receiving nourishment, the breast becomes all there is to reality. Holding on is not faith, but a most definite lack of it.
After nine months in the womb a baby’s natural urge is to get out and get on with life. It has no symbols to represent life. It does, however, have faith in life. And life is not a mystery to be solved but a reality to be experienced. Cliff

[OREZ]

Funny, in a thread entitled, "The Bible" under the "Religion & Spirituality" tab, one might be forgiven for assuming he might actually read some discussion on the Bible... mostly invloving people who actually read and study it occasionally or at least are interested... but then again, this is Castanet, so... yeah... I should know better. :sleepdeprived:

[cliffy1]

You are most certainly welcome to post your "because the bible says so" argument but I was hoping for some intellectual conversation. BTW, the bible speaks alot about false prophesy* because prophesy was very common in religious literature at the time. That should be a hint - you are trusting a handful of Catholic priests who lived in 325 CE to decide for you what is true. That's a lot of faith to put in a few strangers. Imagine everything else those priests believed...

*http://biblelight.net/false-prophets.htm

This has always fascinated me. Most fundamentalist Christians like to slag the Catholic Church but have no idea that it was the Catholic Church that gave them the bible. Lone Wolf says the church took away a bunch of books to suit their political ambitions but there are something like 13 more books in the Catholic version than the King James. It leads me to believe that to be a fundamentalist requires a suspension of logic.

[cliffy1]

Funny, in a thread entitled, "The Bible" under the "Religion & Spirituality" tab, one might be forgiven for assuming he might actually read some discussion on the Bible... mostly invloving people who actually read and study it occasionally or at least are interested... but then again, this is Castanet, so... yeah... I should know better. :sleepdeprived:

If the bible is to be discussed, then first it should be determined if it is valid and authentic. If I am going to dedicate my life to believing a set of doctrines and dogma as the truth and nothing but the truth, the first thing I'm going to look into is whether or not it is true. Most people I have spoken to who believe the bible is the word of god have no idea where it comes from, who put it together in the form it is today and why. It just seems intelligent to me to check the facts surrounding it's history before wading in with both feet and excluding all other possibilities.