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Justenjoyit · 56-60, M
4meAndyou · F
The bible contains the written history of the Jewish people and the sayings and teachings of their prophets in the Old Testament, and the edited and altered story of the life and death of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, based on the interpreted and re-written letters of the apostles, gathered and collated approximately 78 years after the death of Jesus Christ. We always call stories of creation, "Creation Myths" for the simple reason that nobody human was alive when the world was made.
These stories have been handed down for at least 5000 years, and there is no way to vet them. Creation myths will always be colored by personal belief. The oldest creation myth on the planet was inscribed by the ancient Sumerians, and it involved almost human primitives who were enslaved to mine gold by Aliens! 🤭
The prophets were holy men who lived in the desert, usually like wild animals, dressed in skins, eating locusts, (bugs), and honey, and probably shrooms...🤣. JK!!! Possible, though...🤭
The apostle John, wrote the book of Revelations, and he was certainly tripping when he wrote that. 🤭 Again, JK!!!
I don't mean to belittle the prophets, or any of those prophecies. Just saying that God might be able to tell us the future, but the translation of God's voice from inside a prophet's mind becomes a human, and therefore fallible thing, and the interpretation of the interpretation by another human thereof is sometimes or usually flawed. It's like playing the game telephone.
As for that quote by Mark Twain, he didn't know what he didn't know. Lots of archaeologists could teach Mr. Twain nowadays...if only he weren't dead...😁Particularly the snakes.
"The magicians of Egypt in modern times have long been celebrated adepts in charming serpents; and particularly by pressing the nape of the neck they throw them into a kind of catalepsy, which renders them stiff and immoveable, thus seeming to change them into a rod. They conceal the serpent about their person, and by acts of legerdemain produce it from their dress, stiff and straight as a rod. Just the same trick was played off by their ancient predecessors…. [A]nd so it appears they succeeded by their “enchantments” in practicing an illusion on the senses (2002, 1:295, Exodus 7:11-14)."
"The idea that a skilled magician could use a snake in such a way is no novel concept in the world of magic tricks. Walter Gibson, in his book Secrets of Magic, states that there is a certain type of snake that can be made motionless by applying pressure just below its head. Gibson also notes that the particular species of snake suitable for this stunt happens to be the naja haje (or haja), otherwise known as the Egyptian Cobra (as cited in “Case Studies,” n.d.)."
https://apologeticspress.org/egyptian-magicians-snakes-and-rods-1704/
The "Burning Bush" was no doubt a great wonder to Moses, who lived his whole life in the warmth of the climate of the desert. He had never before climbed a mountain to height where the cold of the mountaintop had turned leaves into fall colors. But I believe that he DID commune with the Lord our God.
When Jesus hopped out of the boat in Gallilee, he did appear to be walking on water, but was he, in fact, walking on a coral shelf just below the surface? We will never know.
Some of the wonders written in the bible were no doubt the odd interpretations given to primitive and somewhat ignorant people. For example, even though Jesus supposedly drove a pair of demons into a herd of pigs, the Jewish people did not eat pork long before that time. The "demon" that was often encountered in a slice of undercooked pork was called trichinosis, (caused by parasitic roundworms in any animal that eats meat). The "demons" in pork, included symptoms such as high fever, delirium, horrible stomach cramps, and the swelling of the face, (which might cause a person to appear demonic). Eventually, trichinosis can cause the brain to swell.
Well, I won't go on and on. (I could! 🤣). Great Post!
These stories have been handed down for at least 5000 years, and there is no way to vet them. Creation myths will always be colored by personal belief. The oldest creation myth on the planet was inscribed by the ancient Sumerians, and it involved almost human primitives who were enslaved to mine gold by Aliens! 🤭
The prophets were holy men who lived in the desert, usually like wild animals, dressed in skins, eating locusts, (bugs), and honey, and probably shrooms...🤣. JK!!! Possible, though...🤭
The apostle John, wrote the book of Revelations, and he was certainly tripping when he wrote that. 🤭 Again, JK!!!
I don't mean to belittle the prophets, or any of those prophecies. Just saying that God might be able to tell us the future, but the translation of God's voice from inside a prophet's mind becomes a human, and therefore fallible thing, and the interpretation of the interpretation by another human thereof is sometimes or usually flawed. It's like playing the game telephone.
As for that quote by Mark Twain, he didn't know what he didn't know. Lots of archaeologists could teach Mr. Twain nowadays...if only he weren't dead...😁Particularly the snakes.
"The magicians of Egypt in modern times have long been celebrated adepts in charming serpents; and particularly by pressing the nape of the neck they throw them into a kind of catalepsy, which renders them stiff and immoveable, thus seeming to change them into a rod. They conceal the serpent about their person, and by acts of legerdemain produce it from their dress, stiff and straight as a rod. Just the same trick was played off by their ancient predecessors…. [A]nd so it appears they succeeded by their “enchantments” in practicing an illusion on the senses (2002, 1:295, Exodus 7:11-14)."
"The idea that a skilled magician could use a snake in such a way is no novel concept in the world of magic tricks. Walter Gibson, in his book Secrets of Magic, states that there is a certain type of snake that can be made motionless by applying pressure just below its head. Gibson also notes that the particular species of snake suitable for this stunt happens to be the naja haje (or haja), otherwise known as the Egyptian Cobra (as cited in “Case Studies,” n.d.)."
https://apologeticspress.org/egyptian-magicians-snakes-and-rods-1704/
The "Burning Bush" was no doubt a great wonder to Moses, who lived his whole life in the warmth of the climate of the desert. He had never before climbed a mountain to height where the cold of the mountaintop had turned leaves into fall colors. But I believe that he DID commune with the Lord our God.
When Jesus hopped out of the boat in Gallilee, he did appear to be walking on water, but was he, in fact, walking on a coral shelf just below the surface? We will never know.
Some of the wonders written in the bible were no doubt the odd interpretations given to primitive and somewhat ignorant people. For example, even though Jesus supposedly drove a pair of demons into a herd of pigs, the Jewish people did not eat pork long before that time. The "demon" that was often encountered in a slice of undercooked pork was called trichinosis, (caused by parasitic roundworms in any animal that eats meat). The "demons" in pork, included symptoms such as high fever, delirium, horrible stomach cramps, and the swelling of the face, (which might cause a person to appear demonic). Eventually, trichinosis can cause the brain to swell.
Well, I won't go on and on. (I could! 🤣). Great Post!
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If the Bible is written by sinful people, how can we trust it?
The Bible can be trusted, because God gave the writers inspiration from his Holy Spirit. Sin is a trait all of us have, yet we can still talk to and be inspired by God. The same way He leads ministers to give their message, by the Holy Spirit.
God did not entrust the spreading of his precious Word to just anyone. He chose holy men of old to transcribe what the Holy Spirit inspired them to write. The Bible says in 2 Tim. 3:16, that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, and equipped for every good work. The Greek word is theopneustos, which means "God breathed, inspired by God, due to the inspiration of God."
Our sin is not greater than God's grace and power. God is able to work through sinners, who have been saved by grace, to accomplish his will and to make sure the Bible is trustworthy and sufficient to give us what we need to know, and the most IMPORTANT thing to know....how to get to heaven. Those who have tried to add or take away from its message, have still never been able to ruin or destroy God's message of salvation through the ages. But they WILL receive a curse. Revelation 22:18
The differences of writing styles within the biblical documents, only reflect the different writers in different times. However, the Holy Spirit of God moved through all those writers, along with their personal styles, to produce documents that were accurate and without error.
2 Peter 1:20-21 - "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but HOLY MEN OF GOD spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
The disciple John, for example, was unschooled. It took the Holy Spirit to give him what to write. The part I find most astonishing, is that some obsess over the authenticity of the Bible, its origin and so forth, yet entirely miss the most important message of all time, and if you miss that, you've missed everything....which is the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ, the Savior to the world. John 3:16
There are many books in the world, but the Bible is the only one that has the right to be called "The Book". It is different than all other books, teaching us spiritual truths. No other book has survived through the ages, nor printed for all throughout the world to read, than the Bible. The Bible is the only book on earth, where the author who died, is still alive. And shall be forevermore.
The Bible can be trusted, because God gave the writers inspiration from his Holy Spirit. Sin is a trait all of us have, yet we can still talk to and be inspired by God. The same way He leads ministers to give their message, by the Holy Spirit.
God did not entrust the spreading of his precious Word to just anyone. He chose holy men of old to transcribe what the Holy Spirit inspired them to write. The Bible says in 2 Tim. 3:16, that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, and equipped for every good work. The Greek word is theopneustos, which means "God breathed, inspired by God, due to the inspiration of God."
Our sin is not greater than God's grace and power. God is able to work through sinners, who have been saved by grace, to accomplish his will and to make sure the Bible is trustworthy and sufficient to give us what we need to know, and the most IMPORTANT thing to know....how to get to heaven. Those who have tried to add or take away from its message, have still never been able to ruin or destroy God's message of salvation through the ages. But they WILL receive a curse. Revelation 22:18
The differences of writing styles within the biblical documents, only reflect the different writers in different times. However, the Holy Spirit of God moved through all those writers, along with their personal styles, to produce documents that were accurate and without error.
2 Peter 1:20-21 - "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but HOLY MEN OF GOD spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
The disciple John, for example, was unschooled. It took the Holy Spirit to give him what to write. The part I find most astonishing, is that some obsess over the authenticity of the Bible, its origin and so forth, yet entirely miss the most important message of all time, and if you miss that, you've missed everything....which is the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ, the Savior to the world. John 3:16
There are many books in the world, but the Bible is the only one that has the right to be called "The Book". It is different than all other books, teaching us spiritual truths. No other book has survived through the ages, nor printed for all throughout the world to read, than the Bible. The Bible is the only book on earth, where the author who died, is still alive. And shall be forevermore.
All the different religions in this world, have absolutely nothing to do with salvation. Some make this way harder than it has to be. Fact is, we're all in the same spiritual boat....in need of Jesus to save us from the condemnation and consequences SIN brought on us. Religion of any type cannot save us...period! Religion is only man-made philosophy. Religion didn't die on the cross to save us from our sins. Jesus did...and He clearly said, so we wouldn't have to GUESS about how to have eternal life in heaven, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. NO MAN can come to my Father, except by Me." Jesus was approved and appointed by God the Father, himself, to be the Savior of the world. Not any other god.
If any want answers to life, then Jesus said we have only to look to the Source of Truth, God's Word. If we're puzzled about life or need direction, God gave us His Word, a spiritual blueprint for Life, so we wouldn't HAVE to guess about the answers. There are absolutely no contradictions in God's Word. Only people who wish to twist its truths. Man is fallible...not God, whose nature and character is that He is perfect....incapable of lying. Bottom line is...we either believe and take Him at His Word, or we don't. The sinfulness of this world, shows us WHY we need a Savior, and why would we need any of the other millions of so-called gods, when only ONE is needed and was appointed to be the Savior of this world? It only takes one to get us to heaven. Jesus not only said He loves us...He proved it, when He died on the cross to pay for our sins. Mankind has SIN in his nature. So how can sin forgive itself??? We don't HAVE that kind of power, but Jesus does.
Even if man COULD save himself, tell me....how will he find his way to heaven, without Jesus to take him there? Man doesn't even know where heaven is or how to get there, and even if he could get there, he still couldn't walk through heaven's gates, with unforgiven sin in him. Sin can't enter heaven, or it wouldn't BE heaven, and Jesus being WITHOUT sin, is the only One WORTHY ENOUGH to forgive us our sins. Stated in John 3:16, 17, and 18. I will take God's Word over MAN'S, any day! And the minute Jesus forgives us, he sends His Holy Spirit to live within us, as evidence/proof that we have received Jesus as Savior, and that we are reunited with our Father in heaven and have the promise of eternal life.
If any want answers to life, then Jesus said we have only to look to the Source of Truth, God's Word. If we're puzzled about life or need direction, God gave us His Word, a spiritual blueprint for Life, so we wouldn't HAVE to guess about the answers. There are absolutely no contradictions in God's Word. Only people who wish to twist its truths. Man is fallible...not God, whose nature and character is that He is perfect....incapable of lying. Bottom line is...we either believe and take Him at His Word, or we don't. The sinfulness of this world, shows us WHY we need a Savior, and why would we need any of the other millions of so-called gods, when only ONE is needed and was appointed to be the Savior of this world? It only takes one to get us to heaven. Jesus not only said He loves us...He proved it, when He died on the cross to pay for our sins. Mankind has SIN in his nature. So how can sin forgive itself??? We don't HAVE that kind of power, but Jesus does.
Even if man COULD save himself, tell me....how will he find his way to heaven, without Jesus to take him there? Man doesn't even know where heaven is or how to get there, and even if he could get there, he still couldn't walk through heaven's gates, with unforgiven sin in him. Sin can't enter heaven, or it wouldn't BE heaven, and Jesus being WITHOUT sin, is the only One WORTHY ENOUGH to forgive us our sins. Stated in John 3:16, 17, and 18. I will take God's Word over MAN'S, any day! And the minute Jesus forgives us, he sends His Holy Spirit to live within us, as evidence/proof that we have received Jesus as Savior, and that we are reunited with our Father in heaven and have the promise of eternal life.
SW-User
Despite the common usage of the word "myth" to mean "lie", it doesn't mean that in the context of religious studies and folkloric studies. The Bible contains many elements: history, parable, law, song, chronicle, prophecy, and yes, mythology. The mythological elements of the Bible would be the creation story and the narratives of Genesis and the early books that account for the state of the world and society. The term "mythology" refers to such narratives that have a functional role in a society, especially in explaining why the world is a certain way, that can be found across cultures and across religious texts. The Bible is not exempt from that classification. That says nothing of whether you believe it to be literally true or not--that's another discussion entirely but that's not what the label "myth" accounts for.
BlueSkyKing · M
"You believe in a book that has talking animals, wizards, witches, demons, sticks turning into snakes, burning bushes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water, and all sorts of magical, absurd and primitive stories, and you say that we are the ones that need help?”
― Mark Twain
― Mark Twain
SW-User
@BlueSkyKing so true😆😆
DocSavage · M
Realistically, you’re talking about the same thing. What you’re labeling mythology is simply the legends of non Christian cultures. They come from people who never heard of the bible, and had no any reason to believe in it. They had their own gods. You have no reason to think, the Chinese, the Aztecs, Native Americans, or East Indians to adopt to the religion of the Babylon region.
SW-User
@DocSavage yes, I think so too
NerdyPotato · M
SW-User
@NerdyPotato exactly, I don't get how so many are brainwashed
thepreposterouspanda · 31-35, M
Bottom line. God is perfect. Incapable of lying or making errors.
DocSavage · M
@Adstar
[quote] The Bible is the Word of God..[/quote]
Then why did he get creation wrong ? We can actually check on the accuracy of these things you know. We know the earth is round, we know the firmament isn’t there, we know what stars actually are. God gave us a lot of false information, and there is really reason for him to use metaphors on those things. Sounds more like the Bible is the word of primitive men, than an all knowing god.
[quote] The Bible is the Word of God..[/quote]
Then why did he get creation wrong ? We can actually check on the accuracy of these things you know. We know the earth is round, we know the firmament isn’t there, we know what stars actually are. God gave us a lot of false information, and there is really reason for him to use metaphors on those things. Sounds more like the Bible is the word of primitive men, than an all knowing god.
Adstar · 56-60, M
@DocSavage
[quote]Then why did he get creation wrong ?[/quote]
He got creation perfect to work towards fulfilling His eternal plan.. The satanic challenge to God has been defeated because creation has demonstrated why God can be the one and only eternal God of all existence and why satan and other angels cannot.. God is not here as a servant to create a perfect creation just for our benefit.. We where created to serve Gods will.. For the benefit of all..
[quote]Then why did he get creation wrong ?[/quote]
He got creation perfect to work towards fulfilling His eternal plan.. The satanic challenge to God has been defeated because creation has demonstrated why God can be the one and only eternal God of all existence and why satan and other angels cannot.. God is not here as a servant to create a perfect creation just for our benefit.. We where created to serve Gods will.. For the benefit of all..
SW-User
@romell yes, totally
HannibalAteMeOut · 22-25, F
SW-User
@HannibalAteMeOut I believe that 😆
lumberjackslam · 41-45, M
lumberjackslam · 41-45, M
@Sharon I was just trying to say that any belief could be used for evil ends. Even academics like the Unabomber can wreak havoc.
wildbill83 · 36-40, M
DocSavage · M
@wildbill83
[quote] The Bible is historical events based on text and rooted in fact[/quote]
Nonsense. Historical events ? Rooted in fact ? Which facts and events are you referring to ? The Old Testament or the new ? For example, Exodus is a major event in the bible, yet historians are certain it never happened, and Moses never existed. Records of the time, also suggest that, Jesus, if he existed, was more than likely not one man, but was a composite of different people, as the gospels don’t line up, with confirmed historical events of the time. Just like many other fables , they were embellished over time. Makes the story more interesting to the reader.
[quote] The Bible is historical events based on text and rooted in fact[/quote]
Nonsense. Historical events ? Rooted in fact ? Which facts and events are you referring to ? The Old Testament or the new ? For example, Exodus is a major event in the bible, yet historians are certain it never happened, and Moses never existed. Records of the time, also suggest that, Jesus, if he existed, was more than likely not one man, but was a composite of different people, as the gospels don’t line up, with confirmed historical events of the time. Just like many other fables , they were embellished over time. Makes the story more interesting to the reader.
DeluxedEdition · 26-30, F
iamonfire696 · 41-45, F
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FeetAreFantastic · 41-45, M
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SW-User
@jfox4anr how old do you [b][i]believe[/i][/b] the universe is?
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