Religious Beliefs Section

I am a devout orthadox Carlinist.... There is no choice for Carlinist.... Just another way the christian fundis. are slowly eating at my religious freedoms.

Scientific Facts in the Bible
1. Only in resent years has science discovered that everything we see is composed of invisible atoms. Hebrews 11:3 states that creation made of invisible elements.
2. At a time when it was believed that the earth sat on a large animal or a giant(1500B.C.), the Bible spoke of the earth's free float in space:"He...hangs the earth upon nothing" Job 26:7.
3. Solomon describes a cycle of air curents two thousand years before scientists discovered them. The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north; it whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according to his circuits (Ecclesiastes 1:6)
4. The great biological truth concerning the importance of blood in our body's mechanism has been fully comprehended only in recent years. Up until 120 years ago, sick people were bled, and many died because of the practice. If you lose your blood, you lose your life. Yet Leviticus 17:11, written 3,000 years ago, declared that blood is the source of life: For the life of the flesh is in the blood.
There are many more facts that I could ramble on with, but The Bible stands alone,
In 1889 a schoolteacher told a ten-year-old boy, "You will never amount to much." That boy was Albert Einstein. In 1954 a music manager told a young singer, "You ought to go back to driving a truck." That singer was Elvis Presley. In1962 a record company told a group of singers, "We don't like your sound. Groups with guitars are definitely on their way out." They said that to the Beatles. Man is prone to make mistakes. Those who reject the Bible should take the time to look at the evidence before they come to a verdict.
1. It is unique in its continuity.
2. It is unique in its circulation.
3. It is unique in its translation
4. It is unique in its survival.
5. It is unique in withstanding attack.
Final note Fact The Bible has also survived criticism. No book has been more attacked for its accuracy. And yet archeologists are proving every year that the Bible's detailed descriptions of historic events are correct.
By the way I am enjoying this. ;)

Well... OK.

I'm afraid I don't find much strength in these particular citations. I mean, OK so Hebrews states that things are made of invisible elements. Great! Where's the science in that? There are obviously unseen forces at work in the physical world. A caveman could tell you that.

The creation story is just as preposterous as an animal holding up the Earth. Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Every culture has myths and legends and explanations for how the world works and how we came to be. All of them are a bit silly! Because they did not possess the knowledge to understand fully how the universe worked. Myths were invented to explain these things in some manner that usually sacrificed the means to justify the end. The creation stories (yes, both of the contradicting ones) are no different.

Wow! Solomon saw the wind shift directions! Very scientific, indeed! :)

As for blood... seriously...

Again, a caveman could and probably did deduce that blood is essential to life after being unable to stop his friend's bleeding from a wooly mammoth gouging. After his friend bled out... hrmmmm... what conclusion do you think you might make? Especially after seeing this several times. I don't see how this bolsters your claim.

A lot of the misconceptions you refer to are also from the Dark to Middle ages. A time when no force on Earth was a more fierce enemy of, and advocate for the suppression and repression of, science and reason than the Church.

I realize, since you are quoting what seems to be the King James version of the Bible that you are most likely of some sort of Protestant persuasion, but this is still part of YOUR history! There was but one Church until Martin Luther nailed his thesis to the door.

So the book of Job says he hung the Earth upon nothing, huh? Well, the "authority" also came down like a hammerfall upon Galileo for suggesting that the solar system works precisely as it turned out that it does. To pretend that somehow Christianity has not been the enemy of science is simply naive. Again, perhaps you should investigate some objective sources for the true scope of the history of Christianity for a little more perspective.

Yes, man IS prone to make mistakes and, make no mistake, man wrote the Bible. Even in the four Gospels, there are clearly different social and political agendas.

I completely agree that people should look at the evidence before they come to a verdict, and I think that if most people looked at ALL of the evidence, from a cultural, historical and linguistic standpoint, there is almost no denying that this is not the word of God, but rather a completely flawed, biased, revisionist, superstitious, contradictory and childish stone age book that, at best, offers a kernel of morality and at its worst has been responsible for more senseless blodshed and hatred and repression of truth and freedom than any other work in the short history of Mankind. It was clearly written by MEN.

Are you aware that they can trace the God of Abraham back to the City-State of Ur where the local god was El, just one more of MANY? Every city had their own god, and kind of like every city has a sports team today, they all wanted THEIRS to be the most powerful. So they told tales of their power and prowess.

Are you aware that December 25 was the Winter Solstice according to the Roman calender and that it was also the feast day of Mithras, a pagan god that was highly popular, especially amongst the legions? The early Church didn't have much luck getting their followers to stop celebrating this holiday, so they adopted the date for Christmas.

Are you aware that the virgin birth and the holy grail are both ancient pagan traditions that were adopted into the early church's mysticism?

Did you know that Paul never met Jesus?

Nietzsche had a pretty interesting take on Paul. He suggests that Paul hated the Roman occupation as much as he hated the Jewish hierarchy and essentially viewed Christianity as a possible way to bring about the downfall of them both. That might explain his aggressive promotion of the then new concepts.

Within 400 years of Jesus' death, the Christians went from a small, persecuted cult to the oppressors themselves. A history and legacy that cannot be denied. A simple message of love was perverted into an unrecognizable farce of its intended purpose in record time by men. A tradition which continues to this very day as people continue to invoke the name of Jesus in order to feel justified in their hatred, judgment and intolerance.

Did you know that the rapture as a concept is only about 170 years old? Did you know that there is no mention of such a thing ANYWHERE in the Bible? And that it was based on a "vision" from a delirious woman on her sick bed?

I do not deny that the Old Testament in particular is largely a history of the Hebrew people. Many of the events, I'm sure, are quite true. But it also written with extreme cultural bias and a stone age understanding of the world around them. It's often written in metaphor and symbolism, with a particular penchant for the creative use of symbolic numbers.

Did you know that 666 can be translated to mean "Nero"? He was certainly no friend to the early Christians.

Did you know that 6 is equated to evil and that 3 is equated to perfection so that the number 666 was simply meant to symbolize perfect evil?

That 40 was a number that symbolized "a long time", so that when it rained on Noah for 40 days and 40 nights, they were simply attempting to convey that it rained for a LONG TIME? Or that the Hebrews wandering in the desert for 40 years was not meant literally, but that they were out there for a long time?

Speaking of Noah... were you aware that the flood tale was almost directly lifted from the Epic of Gilgamesh with a few details and the names changed? Yep. They stole it! Oh... and guess where from? Yep, the very time and place of Abraham.

I could certainly go on. The Bible is unique all right.

All of that being said. If it gives you some source of hope or inspiration, so be it! I'm not looking to trample on that. I'm just explaining why I believe they way I believe. In general, I try to act like a decent human being. I think there was much wisdom in the core teachings of Jesus. But the Buddha said much of the same thing 500 years prior. With less baggage than has been affixed to the Bible, in general.

I just have a really hard time appreciating how modern Westerners can take this book in its totally flawed translations, its arbitrary choices for book inclusion from the Council of Nicea, its obvious and various agendas, from a foreign and ancient culture and then attempt to "study" it without ANY attempts to fully study the history, culture and era of its origins and hope to gain meaning and insight from it.

But... that's just me.

Still enjoying this? :)

Peace.

I pray that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith; that you may be rooted and grounded in love, and may be able to comprehend with all saints the breath, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

1 John 2:3-4 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know him and keep not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it.

Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

I would challenge you to study the unbiased history, region, culture and political agendas of the time and place the Bible comes from and see if any of it holds up. Sure, sure, I know... "faith". But if faith involves turning a blind eye to reason, logic, history and science, I'm sorry, I'm not interested. And I never will be.

Are there some decent moral teaching in the Bible? Sure! I have no problem with treating others how I'd like to be treated, and being nice to people, and the like. Good advice! But I also choose to be rational. I choose to look at the facts as they are without the need for revisionist history, hopeful justifications, 2,000 year old superstition and scientific knowledge, and the abandonment of logic and reason.

There are many others who have attempted to encourage their fellow man to treat each other with kindness. Included are Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Robert Kennedy and John Lennon. They killed all of them, too.

But by all means... feel free to pray for me to "see the light!"

I have. And that's why I feel they way I do.

I choose not to live in fear or to subscribe to misunderstood cultural notions from a mistranslated book of which few ever bother to fully comprehend within the true context.

While you're at it, I'd challenge you to study the Buddha. There are more sames than differences to the message of Jesus.

This post really came from a humorous intent, not as bait to the believers. But since you apparently didn't get it, I thought I would clarify.

And for the record, I don't really consider myself a Buddhist, just an admirer of Zen philosophy.

I have studied Christianity. Thoroughly. This is not anger or ignorance speaking.

you won that argument... I'll bet he blocked you after that?

Wow that was an earful of greatness...... I feel inspired to slam some christians now!

thank you space monkey!

praise the George!!!