Tuvar Ane Ingolenen

(quite possibly) by hallucinations during an eplileptic fit.

Sven

How on Earth can one get converted by reading this error-ridden book written by iron-age goat-herders?

[emphasis mine] You hopefully don't expect that someone here will find anything rational in your conversion.

And this is what Christians call "just". :banghead:

And ignores the fact that there are many evildoers in the bible who are punished directly - starting with Adam and Eve.

Kassiana

Do you believe the Bible is the word of God? To what extent? Why?
--Nope. The Bible is the words of human beings. Why? Because IMO it doesn't make any sense as the words of a God, but very much sense as the words of fallible, frail, morally limited humans.

Explain the alternate point of view (if you chose that the Bible is the word of God, then explain why some people believe the Bible is not the word of God) and what value that view has.
--There is very little value to holding that the Bible is inerrant. It requires rationalization of massive cruelties (hell, baby murders, etc.). The only good thing about it is that it's easy. No thought, no brain engagement at all. I don't see the value, honestly, of holding much of the Bible as words of any deity. There are a few decent passages here and there which are nice and ask human beings to be good to each other, but I think they're irrevocably tainted by the huge numbers of bad or irrelevant ones (was God really that obsessed with lineage and temple measurements? Come on!).

How did the world come into it's present state?
--Humans fought each other, thought some, and ended up with the current mess we have today.

Do you believe that the Bible has some form of historical value?
--To show us how ignorant our ancestors were? Maybe. It's not a bad idea to teach our children that once, people thought killing off an entire race because 400 years earlier their ancestors ticked them off was moral, and that this is not acceptable behavior by any means.

Do you believe that Jesus existed?
--As portrayed in the gospels? No. As an amalgam of numerous Messiah pretenders at the time? Possible. As myth? Possible.

If so, do you believe he was the Messiah?
--Actually, I think the Jews got this one right. Jesus didn't even come close to fulfilling the OT's requirements for the Messiah, so he wasn't the Messiah.

How do I know you are a credible source?
--Just look at me. Don't I look credible? Hey, I'm not perfect, but I've never tried to excuse infanticide or perpetrate it because of something I got ticked about that happened 400 years before I was born. That puts me far ahead of the "God" depicted in the Bible. Just read 1 Samuel 15 if you don't believe me.

Explain the big bang theory and why it is a credible source as a theory.
--Why? It's irrelevant as to whether or not the God of Christianity exists. You can believe in the big bang theory and believe Jesus caused the world to exist by causing the big bang.

I've ran into many extrabiblical accounts of Jesus. Buy McDowell's book for more information on this subject ...
--My my, you just gave YOUR credibility a good whack ...

And I know that Yabba Dabba Do is not the Word of Fred Flintstone. It is the Word of Weird Al Yankovic, and I have the videotaped evidence to prove it! The Bedrock Anthem is true! All else is lies and nastiness and devil talk!

Chili

I once saw the words "Love your dentist" on a canal boat in Amsterdam. Do you think these were the words of Jesus or is this just what Jesus had in mind when he spoke similar words.

Chili

Well that is also possible because Christians are a self righteous bunch who claim their own righteousness while Jesus himself was counted among the wicked.

Chili

You means as in "seeing the true light on a sunny day?"

Chili

Do you realize that you are actually fucking the goats they were herding that lead to this conversion?

Tuvar Ane Ingolenen

No, I mean experiencing a brain malfunction and seeing what's not there, on a dreary trip to Damascus.

Monarchy

Hey!!!!! I happen to love country music.

Pentagram

First: Perhaps I should add that I find most of humanity not too bright. Individuals might be intellectual giants, but taken together, people tend to be stupid. That goes for us atheists as well. My point wasn't that religious people are stupid but that the simple fact that a lot of people think something is true, doesn't say anything about whether they are right or not. If anybody felt offended, I apologize.

Second: I don't say that no gods exist. I say that the evidence hints to the contrary, though. Even should God exist, faith in him is unjustified and irrational. It has no basis in any solid evidence but is simple wishful thinking...whether it is correct or not.

Third: There are lots of books in the world, bu we have not one book on this planet that has a proven author who is something other than man. Some people claim that the Bible is written by God, but there is nothing in it that makes it significantly different from any other book written by man. It is contradictionary and the main character lacks credibility as a divine entity. Furhter, the book is refuted by Creation itself so why should a god have his words written down this way and then make his best to make sure they look totally bogus. If the god of the Bible exists, he is a deciever.