Don't believe the bible!

Canada
August 25, 2012 2:33pm CST
The bible says that it is the truth, and that no other truth is higher then it. The bible also says that the world is flat and covered in a dome... it also says that we are the center of everything, it also says that we should have slaves, it also says to lock up women on their time of the month, or to put people who are sick into a box, and check up on them until they are better, or dead, it also says that if a man dies, his single brother should take his wife, it also says that we should spill the blood of animals to make acceptance with God, it also says that Homosexuality is an abomination, is also says that eating shrimp is an abomination, and it says that you should not cut your hair or shave, and that we should be stoning people to death and burning them at the stake. It also says that snakes can talk, it also says that man named every animal when God made it. It also says that men came first, and Men should be the dominate gender. It also says Women are men's slaves. It also says, "Anyone who dreams or prophesizes anything that is against God, or anyone who tries to turn you from God, is to be put to death." It also says, "If anyone, even your own family suggests worshipping another God, kill them." It also says, "If you find out a city worships a different god, destroy the city and kill all of it's inhabitants... even the animals." It also says, "Kill anyone with a different religion". If you believe the bible is absolute truth, then you should also be going along with all of those pieces, too. This is a few of the many reasons, that I'm an atheist. The bible says that you should kill me. Would you be willing to do such a thing, because this book told you to?
1 person likes this
18 responses
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
27 Aug 12
Certainly you do have a point Christoph56 for not everything in the bible can be taken literally but is it meant to be interrupted as such? One more example are visions of creatures with many heads. They are dreams not real things. Did events such as a great flood really happen? Who can prove or disprove these events from so long ago? As you said no person can prove it. Maybe it is possible things like the ‘world’ at that time for example may have meant only a small area know to the human beings in that time period. We do know men of that time period also wrote the wrote the bible. Who can say what is true about things of long ago? What we can say is true is there is a bible. We can choose to believe in it or not believe in it but most certainly it does exists. The bible can be interrupted many different ways. The question is what will we believe? Will we believe in the words Christoph56 or the words of Jesus Christ? Most certainly I can believe what I choose to believe as anyone else can decide for themself. So yes, I will choose to believe in the bible but not how it has been described in this discussion.
2 people like this
• Canada
28 Aug 12
The words of me or the words of Jesus? I'm giving you pieces directly from the old testament. The main point behind my discussion is to read the old testament and think twice about it, because it has so many evil and atrocious directions behind it. The story of Jesus is something else entirely. He wasn't the only person who wanted peace between everyone, and had a group of followers behind him, and he wasn't the only "son of God". That was a very popular direction to have, back in those days. The really odd and curious part though, to what the bible says, is that the vast majority of the tales around Jesus, have extreme similarities to older religious myths... ones like Dionysus, Mithras, Horus, Osiris, and Lazarus, to name a few. So, if you believe in Jesus, then why not believe in all the other characters that his story is based on?
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
28 Aug 12
Well I believe in the bible. That is what we are discussing right, not greek mythology? Had to look one of those up. http://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Dionysus/dionysus.html I choose to believe not in greek gods but in God. My point which I don’t want lost in discussion is how the bible can be misrepresented. This is why I made the comparison. Certainly you can say what you believe to be true Christoph56, we all can. If we look at the old books of the bible like Deuteronomy or elsewhere throughout the bible we do find people at war, with very aggressive and dominating voices. We can find through the bible descriptions of war, killing and evil. It is how we interrupt those writings that does make a difference. Here you are not only sharing with others what you believe to be true but telling others how they should act that is not believe in the bible. This religious discussion takes place in the religious section, states very clearly with the title to encourage people not to believe in the bible and is indicative of preaching a directive an atheism’s message. Anyone can use biblical examples such as talking snakes to discredit it and make it sound silly but is atheism’s message one of truth? It is anti-God. I’m not saying you are a bad person nor suggesting that you be killed though you will die, like everyone else in this world. I will say however that the beliefs of atheism which are being discussed is a minister of atheism and are also recorded in the bible for anyone to see.
2 people like this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
26 Aug 12
"The bible also says that the world is flat...." What is the reference please? Isaiah 40:22 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA) 22 It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
1 person likes this
• Thailand
26 Aug 12
When I refer to the King James version I come up with: "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that astretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." You must have searched long and hard through some old translations to find the globe reference.
• Canada
26 Aug 12
Sorry, I posted the exact translation that I'm talking about in the next post, so just look down, 1hopefulman. As for the exact reference in the bible I'm talking about, it's Genesis 1:7-9
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
26 Aug 12
Al it takes is a Exhaustive Concordance and a bit of time. Not difficult at all. You look up the word 'circle' find where it is used in the Bible by verse, make note of the corresponding number; to to the Hebrew section and find the number and it will tell you the original word (in Hebrew script, in English script, and in Hebrew transliterated, and English literally)what it means, even what part of speech it is and synonyms, antonyms etc. So, you don't really ever have to rely on ANY translation, or get sucked into the Islamic idea that the original is somehow been changed.
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Aug 12
If you're going to make direct statements about the Bible, you should give the book, chapter and verse that verifies what you claim.
1 person likes this
@levis143 (70)
• Philippines
30 Aug 12
You are breathing the very air that your Creator created. It is the greatest folly of a man to deny the existence of God who created him, and sustain his physical life by food, water, air, fire and nature.
1 person likes this
• Canada
30 Aug 12
Personally, I only believe in pieces that have substancial evidence behind them, and even with those, Im open to other possibilities. But, in the direction of religion, there simply is no evidence for it, so no, I don't believe in any kind of creator or something that made a decision to have humans on earth, etc. I do believe in evolution, but mainly because there is loads and loads of physical evidence behind it. I believe in space, and the planets, and stars, and galaxies, and the universe, because people have seen the evidence, done testing on it, and formed theories that show exactly how it works (of course, always with room for improvement). For how we got here, I believe in the big bang, the expansion of the universe, the formation of our system, the formation of organic compounds to life to what we have around us today, and through continious changes to our system, intelligent life such as us. But through all of this, there is no need for a god. As for the beginning of the universe, there are concepts and hypothesis, but nothing is set that were completely sure of, and Im ok with that. As time goes on, we'll discover more, and more answers will be give , and more questions raised, and thats just fine. But I dont see any point in believing that some unknown spiritual force decided for it to happen. That has no evidence, no science, no discoveries behind it. Why believe in something that isn't there? And, to my point of this discussion, why believe in something that has so many horrific concepts and statements, that leads people to not trust, and even hate others? Saying how its ok to even kill those who do not share your same beliefs? I think that is just horribly wrong.
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
30 Aug 12
True, and we are all in this world together. We live on this earth and we socially interact with each other. We all have somethings in common and at the same time have some differences. We are different in what we want to believe. One thing we can not do though is separate ourselves like an island and say we do not believe in anything at all. We all believe in something and we choose to share those thoughts sometimes. If we don’t wish to believe in one thing then we will believe in another thing. There is no such thing as sitting in the middle of a void without a belief. Whatever it may be.
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
31 Aug 12
I agree certainly it is wrong to tell someone to kill another for just the reason of beliefs. I like science and think it is wonderful but just because we can split the atom to make an explosion, a statement like that will not cause me to condemn science nor will I want to agree with anyone that tells me we should be killing people because we have that this kind of solution or that a science book should not be believed because it has this kind of information in it. Rather, I want to let the books be there for the purpose they are designed for. If people want to believe something they can. I think it is what we act on that is more important. The bible does not need to be interrupted this way.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
26 Aug 12
You very well have read the Bible, but the Bible also says the demons know the scripture, doesn't mean they understand it or are wise about interpreting it. http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c015.html Some Bible critics have claimed that Revelation 7:1 assumes a flat earth since the verse refers to angels standing at the “four corners” of the earth. Actually, the reference is to the cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. Similar terminology is often used today when we speak of the sun's rising and setting, even though the earth, not the sun, is doing the moving. Bible writers used the “language of appearance,” just as people always have. Without it, the intended message would be awkward at best and probably not understood clearly. In the Old Testament, Job 26:7 explains that the earth is suspended in space, the obvious comparison being with the spherical sun and moon. A literal translation of Job 26:10 is “He described a circle upon the face of the waters, until the day and night come to an end.” A spherical earth is also described in Isaiah 40:21-22—“the circle of the earth.” Note, the Biblical Hebrew word for “circle” (??chuwg) can also mean “round” or “sphere.” “The Earth a Sphere—Certain astronomical relations were recognized very early. The stars appear as if attached to a globe rotating round the earth once in 24 hours, and this appearance was clearly familiar to the author of the Book of Job, and indeed long before the time of Abraham, since the formation of the constellations could not have been effected without such recognition. But the spherical form of the heavens almost involves a similar form for the earth, and their apparent diurnal rotation certainly means that they are not rigidly connected with the earth, but surround it on all sides at some distance from it. The earth therefore must be freely suspended in space, and so the Book of Job describes it: ‘He stretcheth out the north over empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing’ (Job 26:7).” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)] Proverbs 8:27 also suggests a round earth by use of the word circle (e.g., New King James Bible and New American Standard Bible). If you are overlooking the ocean, the horizon appears as a circle. This circle on the horizon is described in Job 26:10. The circle on the face of the waters is one of the proofs that the Greeks used for a spherical earth. Yet here it is recorded in Job, ages before the Greeks discovered it. Job 26:10 indicates that where light terminates, darkness begins. This suggests day and night on a spherical globe. The Hebrew record is the oldest, because Job is one of the oldest books in the Bible. Historians generally [wrongly] credit the Greeks with being the first to suggest a spherical earth. In the sixth century B.C., Pythagoras suggested a spherical earth. Eratosthenes of Alexandria (circa 276 to 194 or 192 B.C.) calcuated the circumference of the earth “within 50 miles of the present estimate.” [Encyclopedia Brittanica] The Greeks also drew meridians and parallels. They identified such areas as the poles, equator, and tropics. This spherical earth concept did not prevail; the Romans drew the earth as a flat disk with oceans around it. The round shape of our planet was a conclusion easily drawn by watching ships disappear over the horizon and also by observing eclipse shadows, and we can assume that such information was well known to New Testament writers. Earth's spherical shape was, of course, also understood by Christopher Columbus. The implication of a round earth is seen in the book of Luke, where Jesus described his return, Luke 17:31. Jesus said, “In that day,” then in verse 34, “In that night.” This is an allusion to light on one side of the globe and darkness on the other simultaneously. It is also interesting to note that there are 16 scriptures which refer to God stretching out the heavens. These are remarkable confirmations that the Bible is true, as we know today that the heavens are rapidly expanding. And that is just one of YOUR conclusions on what the Bible teaches. Just because YOU say something, does not necessarily make it correct.
1 person likes this
@urbandekay (18278)
27 Aug 12
So then by your own words, Christph... the original text meant not that the world was flat but that it was spread out! That is to say expansive. A statement we can surely agree is true! A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again. all the best urban
• Canada
26 Aug 12
But what I'm talking about directly, in reference to the world being flat, covered by a dome, is the term in genesis of the King James bible of "firmament". This was originally raqia in hebrew, which means to beat and spread out, and was used in the direction of making dishes or bowls out of lumps of metal. A Kadur would be a ball, or agol, but they don't use that, they decide to go for a term meaning plate or bowl that's been beaten out. This shows that God didn't tell the people that the world was a sphere, but that it was flat, with a bowl overtop, holding the waters above our heads. Plus, just showing how there are different variations through the bible, shows that they were not relying on facts for it, as much as they were relying on concepts and ideas. That, I'll go with.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
28 Aug 12
Christoph56, I agree with urban. Why waste your time here asking questions when your intentions are to make believers look foolish for believing, if you don't believe it, fine. All I can deduce from your multiple attempts to discredit faith in God and the Bible is you want to turn others away from their faith. You have absolutely no intention of ever taking into consideration a believers point of view. I say fine with me. YOu're not a child, you've made your choice. I, nor anyone else can force you to accept what you've already made up your mind not to accept. I will not waste MY time on someone who is determined to not believe. It is now on you, your life is yours. So be it.
1 person likes this
@stary1 (6612)
• United States
25 Aug 12
Christoph56 If I had to believe the Bible literally I probably would be an atheist too. The Bible is symbolic. It 'speaks' to each of us in the way we need. Meditating and praying for guidance from the Bible will result in awesome discoveries, but one must put in the time and effort. You get out of the Bible what you 'put into it' It is like any great masterpiece..it 'speaks' to everyone differently and that is why it is concsidered the greatest book ever written.
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Aug 12
LilyLoretta makes a great point, anyone can find a book that can push them towards awesome discoveries... I don't see why a book that is thousands of years old and contains such atrocious rules and situations would be one that results in great situations. I think it's more what we are told, rather then what we read.
@stary1 (6612)
• United States
26 Aug 12
LilyLoretta Wouldn't you agree that surely there must be somethning beneficial in the Bible since it has inspired and been a great benefit for thousands of people? I can understand the fact there that for some others it is 'just a book' and not a very good one at that. It really is a matter of what you are 'searching' for. I have asked (prayed) for guidance and recieved it. So many countless others. I haven't read The Drinking Den..with such a strong endorsement maybe I will check it out
@stary1 (6612)
• United States
26 Aug 12
Christoph56...I agree there has been some brainwashing by some churches. It is done for control of 'the masses' and for self preservation. However, each ones spiritual journey is a very personal one..or in my opinion should be. Seeking answers to the meaning of life, etc. can take one on a journey through all the great religions and philosophies..that is what I did. There are truths in all faiths..but still imo the Bible is the greatest book written..esp the New Testament but it has to be read and 'pondered' i.e.meditated on..not read like a novel. I agree the Old Testament is full of anger and nastiness...but that is not the part that is inspirational or the source of answers to the meaning of life...
@peavey (16936)
• United States
25 Aug 12
Maybe you should read the Bible before you go making statements about what it says.
• Canada
25 Aug 12
I have, why do you think I know all these parts? Maybe you should read the bible again, and seriously think about it.
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
25 Aug 12
Christoph, did you read any more than the Old Testament? Can you give a Biblical reason why the Bible says what you say it says?
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Aug 12
Yes, I've read much of the new testament, the Qur'an, and the Book of Mormon, and one thing seems to keep the same, that they are all works of fiction, based on the time and situation that the people are in. Under that, all the pieces I mentioned make perfect sense.
@urbandekay (18278)
26 Aug 12
Does the word 'allegorical' ring a bell? Oh and before you say you don't have a bell, that is an expression all the best urban
• Canada
26 Aug 12
I'm with you, the whole book is fictional stories and concepts, or interpretation of events. I'm just trying to push the fact that it's just a story.
• Canada
26 Aug 12
Well, I see it as just a story while people find it inspirational, just as people find the same in movies like Avatar, books like Harry Potter, as well as nearly every story that's gone wide in circulation. This singular post is on the Old Testament. The New Testament is more of a story of peace and harmony, and I think it's a better one to follow, but in that, it says to just be good to eachother, not to bring harm. That, I'm far more in agreement with, even being an Atheist.
@stary1 (6612)
• United States
26 Aug 12
Christoph56 How do you explain that so many find it way more than 'just a story'..in fact they find it inspirational.... Or are you speaking only of the OT??
@gjabaigar (2200)
• Philippines
26 Aug 12
If you don't believe in God. Then you have also no reason to believe in the Bible either. Its just your waste of time if you want to be happy in life. Right? Your happy, because there is no God. Right? Even all around you believes in the Bible and believes there is a God. Right? God Bless you Christoph56.
@gjabaigar (2200)
• Philippines
26 Aug 12
God bless you bro LetranKnight25 Yeah God is open minded. God loves all of us sinners but not our sins. God will still judge us according to whatever sins we commit. So, we do our best to always keep on asking merciful forgiveness of our sins from God. And pray not to commit sins again. Are you an obsolete? Or a new person now? A winner? Because your now an inactive Catholic? If you are a follower and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no such thing as an obsolete society for the children of God. We are not fashionable trendy clothes, shoes, cars or whatever material things in this world we can have. John 3:1-20 (New Living Translation) There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
• Philippines
26 Aug 12
In my point of view, some people are better off being w/ their religion and some are better off not believing in anything. I do believe God is openminded and it's not always what the Bible would "directly say" sometimes we have to use the good parts of the bible as example to others, not what we think is already obselete in our society
@blue65packer (11826)
• United States
26 Aug 12
I am a Christian and I have come to believe alot of the bible is not true.Especailly in the Old Testament. Come on! The story of Noah's Ark never happened! Why have we not found the grave of Moses? Research has been done on when some of the stories were to happen, and some do not fit the timeline in the bible! The bible is filled with lies and exaggerated stories! With the New Testament I believe it. So many of the things said in the bible would not fit into todays world! If we followed the bible word for word we would be living like the people did during that time when the bible was written!It would ba sickining! I know some people who do and this bugs me! One refuses to eat any sea creatures,like shrimp,becasue it says we aern't to eat the bottom feeders in the sea! There is only a few lines in the bible that says gays ares inners and so on! So this other woman hates gays and believes they should not have any rights and will go to hell! That tow woman are idiots and fools! I am happen I have an open mind and never will be like that! I beleive in Jesus Christ and he did come to earth to save our sins. I was raised a Lutheran but I am not one anymore. There is so much of the church I totally disagree with! I could be at it for hours if I had the time! I will always be a Christain! It is part of me and I am opened minded to other opinions,even from someone who believes in Atheism!
• Canada
26 Aug 12
I think that's really awesome! People should take a step back, and look at all sides, rather then just being told something and going along with it, without any doubts. It's that kind of questioning that pushes us further, and lets us progress. I think its the best, if people allow themselves to have these kinds of disagreements, and just accept people for being people. Neither one of us can completely prove or disprove there is a God, and we all have our own sets of beliefs, so as long as it gives us the ability to enjoy eachother and be accepting, I can't see the harm in it. The only harm I do see, is if people believe in the bible so much, that they go along with things like the last quotes I gave, and see it as a better thing to kill someone who doesn't go along with your religion, or is an atheist. I don't see any point in killing someone over something like that. I hope more people go along in the kind of way that you do. :)
@mythociate (21437)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
7 Nov 12
No, because the Bible says 'we see now as in a glass darkly.' So--naturally--the Old Testament people-of-G*d saw 'as an a darker glass ... darkly-er.' 'Absolute truth' is fact-AND-context, not just-fact! The same Bible says 'Thou shalt not kill.' In order to stay with the law, the ancients had to consider outside-religioners "inhuman"--as inhuman as the animals they ate--thus making the 'killing' more of a "species-purification" (like the Nazis did in trying to end all non-Aryan breeding). Right now, you and I are both considered 'human' and thus find no profit in killing one-another. Bad-conditions may arise (tho I will not encourage them) in which we don't consider each-other 'human,' and in which one or both of us endanger each-other. Then--though it's not the way of one who follows the Prince of Peace (i.e. the conditions will not exist if we both follow His path)--events will proceed as best serves the Kingdom of G-d.
@Judy890 (1644)
• United States
26 Aug 12
Hello Christoph56, First of all the title of this post is very disrespectful especially for us religious people. Basically you're telling everyone (religious or not) to not believe in the bible. Where are you going with this? Are you trying to persuade everyone to not believe in the bible? It's OK to be an atheist and believe the bible but some people do. I think you should keep your disrespectful opinion to yourself.
• Canada
26 Aug 12
My big point, is to take a step back and look at what the bible says. See how it has problems and issues, and see it as just a work of fact + fiction + interpretation from that time. Don't see it as the one true way, or the answer to everything. Be more open, look into more directions, more possibilities, don't just close yourself up to a single book that has so many atrocities and evil to it.
@freedang (320)
• China
26 Aug 12
yeah you are right to say that snakes can not talk,we are not the ceter of everything and the world is not flat etc.but we can not see everthing in that view.for example, if you look the world like that.there will no Harry Potter, no The Lord of the ring,and there will no Aesop's Fables... there are some improper viewpoint in the bible.but you cannt deny it all.after all, it is bible
• Canada
26 Aug 12
I completely agree, and have an equal chance of believing the bible as real, as I do believing that Harry Potter or LOTR or Aesop's Fables are real.
• Philippines
14 Sep 12
just read all the comments.. you know what try to ask yourself where did u get all the ideas you all have right now.. maybe you just misinterpret what you read.. its because you only read and not understanding it thoroughly. understanding it spiritually not by ur own knowledge.^^
@taheraa (1545)
• Giza, Egypt
26 Aug 12
Hi, christoph: I advise you if you read, read the first edition of the Bible because it has no distortion, or read any edition of the Koran because it is the only book that did not enter any distortion.God said in the Quran there is no compulsion in religion, every individual has the freedom of belief, but this freedom does not exceed other freedoms.Doctrine of Islam, telling us to worship Allah alone with no partner, and believe angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day, and we follow what God has commanded us to do and move away from what forbade us from doing.
• Philippines
26 Aug 12
It's their choice if they want to believe in "everything" that is in the Bible. I am inactive catholic but i don't want to go far as being athiest though. It was believed that some parts of the Bible are extratterrestial encounters, some are just mere cults.Most of the times, it's the conscience is what you really should listen to. the only reason why i don't literally want to believe it because I hate ending up being hypocrite
26 Aug 12
I think its not about the bible its about to our believe ..peolpe so advace in anything even in god time but if we think no one know when time of god come . Some people over react in their supetstitious believe.. We have diffrrent believed and thats really the problem
26 Aug 12
I think its not about the bible its about to our believe ..peolpe so advace in anything even in god time but if we think no one know when time of god come . Some people over react in their supetstitious believe.. We have diffrrent believed and thats really the problem