I once asked someone about their five biggest contradictions with the Bible, and they immediately came up with five well-thought-out ones. I asked if those were his; they were things that bothered him about scripture, he said, "No, he asked AI." Now I asked for his, he gave me five, not his, so his answer was a lie; if he had any, he didn't share them. I told him that and reminded him I could ask AI to give me answers for why those were not contradictions, and AI would have given me reasons for that, too. It gives answers to the questions asked the way they are asked.
If we are going to try to learn anything real, we need to critically examine the questions from several points of view, not just the one we like or favor. My wife taught debate, and her students had to be able to debate both sides of every issue. This forced them to learn all of the strengths and weaknesses of the topic from both sides. If you hold one side in contempt, it will not be the topic, but your attitude that hinders you from an honest examination of the truth about any topic.
If you hold those who hold a different view from yours in contempt, you’ll learn nothing; you will live in an echo chamber. The only solace you'll enjoy is your delusion that you are in the majority because the only voices you listen to will be those who agree with you; others are less than.
Sadly, a large portion of the populace worldwide would prefer to silence the voices that disagree with them, labeling them names at the first hint of disagreement, as if that wasn’t unhealthy, and accusing them of hate instead of respecting an honest disagreement from another individual.
Maybe the first objection would be that it's a vast Cosmos, and why should the "Scriptures" of Earth take precedence over any others.
And to a lesser extent, so many proponents of the local "Scriptures" [which to me might indicate some kind of awe of the written word by illiterate people back in the day] of Earth are so verbose, and often clearly not Abiders in the One behind the scenes Whose false image and unverifiable assertions and attributions they like to trot out for the sake of controlling others on this admittedly excellent and appreciable planet.
@Arkturos saidNot sure where you get controlling people out of the Bible’s text, if anything, the restrictions on rulers wouldn’t be acceptable if everyone knew what was written in it. Those who choose to use scripture as a means to clothe themselves in self-righteousness would always fall short of it as well, if they truly examined the text. It was not written to make humanity feel better about our state before God, but rather to reveal that we all fall short, as God looks at righteousness, and He is not a respector of people; He has no favorites.
Maybe the first objection would be that it's a vast Cosmos, and why should the "Scriptures" of Earth take precedence over any others.
And to a lesser extent, so many proponents of the local "Scriptures" [which to me might indicate some kind of awe of the written word by illiterate people back in the day] of Earth are so verbose, and often clearly not Abiders in the One be ...[text shortened]... to trot out for the sake of controlling others on this admittedly excellent and appreciable planet.
The Bible can be a tool anyone can use to beat others over the head with; they don’t even have to know what is in it. They can claim things as if they were true, and if those they are speaking to don’t know, they accept it. Hollywood does that all of the time. If you have ever watched the movie Pulp Fiction, you may recall the Samuel Jackson character quoting scripture before he killed people, but only the first few words were scripture; the rest were made up. I bet the vast majority of people who watched that movie still don’t know that.
Most people who criticize the Bible never actually read it, but they allow their imaginations to paint it as something it isn’t. People use it all the time, twisting the text to get what they want, but in the end, they face an eternity that will not be pleasant. Neither will it be for those who thought it was a worthless thing to worry about.
@KellyJay saidAnd many Christians who praise the Bible have never actually read it in its entirety and are often surprised by its more darker (and less commonly discussed) passages. - For example God sending bears to rip children apart for daring to mock the baldness of one of his prophets or having divine blessing to massacre women and children.
Most people who criticize the Bible never actually read it, but they allow their imaginations to paint it as something it isn’t.
Christians often focus on the nice parts of the Bible and paint it as something it isn't.
@Ghost-of-a-Duke saidI sure do hands down agree with you there, if you actually thought the Bible is the revealed revelation of the Word of God, you would be reading it daily, to see what God thought important enough to have it written down for generations to read.
And many Christians who praise the Bible have never actually read it in its entirety and are often surprised by its more darker (and less commonly discussed) passages. - For example God sending bears to rip children apart for daring to mock the baldness of one of his prophets or having divine blessing to massacre women and children.
Christians often focus on the nice parts of the Bible and paint it as something it isn't.
We have gone over your complaints before, EVERY single person is going to die. No where does it say we all get to die peacefully in our sleep in a ripe old age. The only thing that will stop you from seeing everyone you know and love in some way die is if they see you die.
@KellyJay saidMy criticism of the Bible isn't because I haven't read it, but because I 'have' read it.
I sure do hands down agree with you there, if you actually thought the Bible is the revealed revelation of the Word of God, you would be reading it daily, to see what God thought important enough to have it written down for generations to read.
We have gone over your complaints before, EVERY single person is going to die. No where does it say we all get to die peacefully ...[text shortened]... ng that will stop you from seeing everyone you know and love in some way die is if they see you die.
@Ghost-of-a-Duke saidYes I said some, and you I have zero issues with besides you being wrong about God and scripture. 😀 As you I always feel are telling me the truth as you see it honesty.
My criticism of the Bible isn't because I haven't read it, but because I 'have' read it.
@KellyJay saidAnd sometimes bluntly. 🙂
Yes I said some, and you I have zero issues with besides you being wrong about God and scripture. 😀 As you I always feel are telling me the truth as you see it honesty.
@KellyJay
There is no god.
The bible is only one of many writings by human beings on the subject of moral behavior and spirituality. A look into other religions, past and present, I feel sure would find many more like writings. If one entertains the idea that there is no god, then all the contradictions which come up when trying to understand religious teachings disappear!
@LittleFox saidOnly in knowing the creator do all the contradictions dissopear. Because He is the answer.
@KellyJay
There is no god.
The bible is only one of many writings by human beings on the subject of moral behavior and spirituality. A look into other religions, past and present, I feel sure would find many more like writings. If one entertains the idea that there is no god, then all the contradictions which come up when trying to understand religious teachings disappear!
@LittleFox saidAs if we haven't heard that one before.
@KellyJay
There is no god.
The bible is only one of many writings by human beings on the subject of moral behavior and spirituality. A look into other religions, past and present, I feel sure would find many more like writings. If one entertains the idea that there is no god, then all the contradictions which come up when trying to understand religious teachings disappear!
@LittleFox saidAnd one other thing, the Bible is 66 different books, not one.
@KellyJay
There is no god.
The bible is only one of many writings by human beings on the subject of moral behavior and spirituality. A look into other religions, past and present, I feel sure would find many more like writings. If one entertains the idea that there is no god, then all the contradictions which come up when trying to understand religious teachings disappear!
AI estimated the number of common versions and it is approximately 70 books. Holy Scripture isn't confined to logic by itself, though it works towards that conclusiveness and accepts some numerology.
Not every instance of contradiction can be explained, maybe not. We just happen to concatenate things from an editorial standpoint. I asked something and I thought it was wrong because they concatenated the time frame I was looking at, and it was my fault for not indicating time parameters.