Originally posted by rwingettthis was a real long tme ago, they probably didnt even discover a smaller seed yet.
If the mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds, as the bible claims, then why should anything else the bible says be taken seriously? How can the bible be taken as being literally true, or as being the word of god, when it contains a obvious falsehood?
Originally posted by EcstremeVenomIt doesn't matter what man knows. Surely god would have known all about various seeds from around the world. And if the bible is the word of god, then surely he would have passed along his knowledge of seeds. Or if he thought mankind wasn't ready for that particular revelation then he would have left seeds out of it altogether. In any event, I don't see why he would propogate a demonstrable falsehood.
this was a real long tme ago, they probably didnt even discover a smaller seed yet.
Originally posted by MarinkatombI believe him to be very real.
I'm just curious, how many Christians here believe in the devil and Hell, etc...
Personally i find the idea a little silly (sorry, don't want to pour scorn on Religion, but this interpretation of what happens to bad people when they die just strikes me as a little medieval)
What are peoples thoughts? If you choose not to believe in the Devil, yet y ...[text shortened]... ven? Must a rational person also discount Heaven as a reality also once Hell has been dropped?
Kelly
Originally posted by NickstenIf love is God and God is love, couldn't you just dispense with the God notion and say love is?
If I believe everything the Bible says, it does not mean that cause of the fact that I say that I believe everything the Bible says - that I am forcing anyone to feel or believe what I believe or feel.
It is your own choice to believe in what ever it is you wish to believe in. If I see God in everything, that is what I see - and clearly people who do not ...[text shortened]...
Feel free to leave more sarcastic remarks (or as some people refer "positive criticism"😉 😛
That's what I do ...
Originally posted by MarinkatombFor many (probably most) of the Christians I know and work with, the idea of an actual real Devil is ridiculous.
I'm just curious, how many Christians here believe in the devil and Hell, etc...
Personally i find the idea a little silly (sorry, don't want to pour scorn on Religion, but this interpretation of what happens to bad people when they die just strikes me as a little medieval)
What are peoples thoughts? If you choose not to believe in the Devil, yet y ...[text shortened]... ven? Must a rational person also discount Heaven as a reality also once Hell has been dropped?
Originally posted by sugiezdWell, I am not sure how it all works but if I were to literally believe everything in the bible were true, I would think the Arc Angel was more responsible for that. You know the serpent. Beelzebub or whatever name him and his followers go by. Now some of the authors were only human therefore mistake prone. Also those who have translated the Bible I am pretty sure make a few errors, and not God himself, so I would think that any flaws were probbably inserted by them and not God. I would interpret it, "the Bible" as God inspired but written by man. Many of them in fact.
That's nice - do you see him in war, disease, famine?
Originally posted by rwingettIf you read the "New Testament" you will see that as the story goes, God came to earth in the form of man with one of his missions to help show that much of what people thought was correct in the "Old Testament" was in fact not exactly what was in Gods will but in mans instead. Man has a tendency not to listen to Gods will but instead his own. As you can clearly see if you read the Moses story. That does not mean that the "Old Testement" doesn't have value.
But the Old Testament is so embarassing that we'll just skip over that one. Right?
Originally posted by rwingettJust a spoon full of proper-exegetical-treatment-that-is-to-say-understanding-original-languages makes the medicine go down,
If the mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds, as the bible claims, then why should anything else the bible says be taken seriously? How can the bible be taken as being literally true, or as being the word of god, when it contains a obvious falsehood?
medicine go down,
medicine go down.
A spoon full of proper-exegetical-treatment-that-is-to-say-understanding-original-languages makes the medicine go down,
in the most delightful way.
Originally posted by rwingettIn all honesty have you ever believed any falsehoods to be true at any point in your life? And latter reversed your thinking? If so then why should we have any trust in what you disbelieve as accurate? You seem to believe antichrist but reject pro-christ. I say by your own theory that everything you say should be rejected because you or someone you believed in made one simple error. You have to remember, the bible is not written by Gods hands but by mans so therefore you can expect small errors because no man is perfect. But lets just ponder for a moment. What if say it a few years someone discovered a mustard seed to small for you to know about at this time. Wouldn't you look foolish?
If the mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds, as the bible claims, then why should anything else the bible says be taken seriously? How can the bible be taken as being literally true, or as being the word of god, when it contains a obvious falsehood?
Originally posted by rwingettTaken from http://home.teleport.com/~salad/4god/mustard.htm
If the mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds, as the bible claims, then why should anything else the bible says be taken seriously? How can the bible be taken as being literally true, or as being the word of god, when it contains a obvious falsehood?
Some people note that there are smaller seeds in existence,
and then claim that Jesus didn't know about those seeds.
Jesus NEVER said that.
The parable Jesus gave out has several conditions that are
specifically stated in the parable. To ignore all the other
statements Jesus made in that parable and all the discussion
prior to it, is to basically put words into Jesus's mouth
that he never said.
The context of Jesus's parable is that of a harvest, the
verses prior to that verse set, they were specifically
discussing a harvest... parallel's being made concerning
a harvest, seeds being sown and the crop being harvested.
The mustard seed Jesus mentioned is the smallest they had
that would get sown and then harvested, that all the people
would have known about then. The mustard seed Jesus described
is expected to be the black mustard, which does grow to about
12 feet tall in Israel.
Given the people Jesus was talking with, their knowledge
of the day, and the crops they would harvest, Jesus had
told them the truth. For them, the mustard seed is the
smallest seed that they would've sown and later harvested.
There is no contradiction in what Jesus had told them.
The parable that Jesus was giving out is an analogy, it's
not meant to provide any sort of science education, but
to convey a concept using common terms that they would
have understood, common concepts being used to explain
something they didn't understand.
Taken from http://home.teleport.com/~salad/4god/mustard.htm
My thoughts are let's take this to the next step. Your claim is that since what the bible says about the mustard seed is false, then everything in the bible is false.
If we follow the same logic and note that your claim is false, then everything you say is false and no one should ever believe anything you say!
May I recommend a refresher course on simple logical thinking.
Originally posted by bearupyourcrossNice one BUYC, except that since most fundamentlists assume that the Bible is 'literally' the word of God, then there can be no errors. This is I think what the argument was an attempt to demonstrate.
Taken from http://home.teleport.com/~salad/4god/mustard.htm
Some people note that there are smaller seeds in existence,
and then claim that Jesus didn't know about those seeds.
Jesus NEVER said that.
The parable Jesus gave out has several conditions that are
specifically stated in the parable. To ignore all the other
statements Jesus ma ...[text shortened]... ieve anything you say!
May I recommend a refresher course on simple logical thinking.
Unfortunately, everyone here often get a bit caught up in the heat of their positions.
1 edit
Originally posted by rwingettIs it just me or is it ironic that the mustard seed parable that was used by Christ to describe how faith operates is being used to try and bring doubt upon believers? LOL.
It doesn't matter what man knows. Surely god would have known all about various seeds from around the world. And if the bible is the word of god, then surely he would have passed along his knowledge of seeds. Or if he thought mankind wasn't ready for that particular revelation then he would have left seeds out of it altogether. In any event, I don't see why he would propogate a demonstrable falsehood.
Originally posted by cashthetrashThe only value any of the bible has is as literature. It's a good story, nothing more.
If you read the "New Testament" you will see that as the story goes, God came to earth in the form of man with one of his missions to help show that much of what people thought was correct in the "Old Testament" was in fact not exactly what was in Gods will but in mans instead. Man has a tendency not to listen to Gods will but instead his own. As you ca ...[text shortened]... you read the Moses story. That does not mean that the "Old Testement" doesn't have value.