I just thought I'd share what I've found to be some of the true pearls of wisdom within the Christian Bible.
- "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." - Exodus 23:2
- "If there be among you a poor man ... thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth." - Deutoronomy 5:7-8
- "Blessed is he that considereth the poor." - Psalms 4:1
- "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding." - Proverbs 3:13
- "The simple believeth every word." - Proverbs 14:15
- "Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words." - Proverbs 23:9
- "Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart." - Zechariah 7:9-10
- "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." - Romans 14:5
See, even an atheist can appreciate parts of the bible!
True
Comments (64)
Lol- gotta love GL's stuff, even when he is controversial he's still one of the best Atheists on Xanga!
@Lynnjynh9315@xanga - Awww shucks, I'm blushing now.
On a side note, did revelife delete a comment I left responding to many of these people... on my own post!?
Because I distinctly remember responding to scrambledmeg and SirNickDon and computerguy and a few others, but can't find it now.
Not to quibble with you, since these are your choices, but the Romans 14.5 quote is woefully out of context and can perhaps mislead the reader. I am curious why an atheist would even waste time reading, much less quoting, the Holy Bible?
Cool beans, man. People seem to forget that Jesus said, "Anyone who is not against us is for us." Thanks for keeping an open mind about the Bible.
Confucius say, "He who go to bed with itchy butt, wake up with stinky finger."
That is what the godless do to the Bible. They trivialize it.
The Bible is the story of God's Plan of Salvation for his beloved children. It is not to be abused by NOT-God freaks who turn it into a book of fortune cookie quotes.
the question is: How can you Godlessliberal release this power and channel it into your life? I will answer this for you, very simply, just keep opening the book. Continue to read it in a spirit of reverence, humbly seeking after truth. Without your realizing it, the power will begin to flow.
The comic was amazing, because people pick out what they think is literal all the time. I like to take the Bible as parables to show people how to treat people in the right way. Your quotes embody that idea well. The Bible has great messages as long as you don't get too caught up in the details.
\@LoBornlite@xanga - Any decent amount of knowledge about the bible trivializes it. Being a former Biblical studies student myself, I have a particularly great disdain for the bible. But it's nice to sometimes reflect on the little nuggets of insight that the miniature library occasionally makes. Simmer down just a little bit, there.
The verses say good things.
But do you need to read it in the Bible to know that you should act that way...?
I've been that way long before I cared or even really became aware of what religion was.
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - Any decent amount of knowledge about the bible trivializes it.
Actually it's exactly the opposite! The more you know the more you want! The Bible is the story of God's Plan of Salvation for mankind. It is an incredible study on human nature and the nature of God.
If all you want are wise sayings, google Confucius.
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - What?
@LoBornlite@xanga - I know plenty. The Bible is no more than a poorly composed conglomeration of writings by ancient Nomads and backwater Greek sophists. There is no evidence for or substance to the claim of its inspiration, and plenty of evidence against the idea of its imperfection. Pure happenstance has carried the book this far, nothing else.
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - The Bible is no more than a poorly composed conglomeration of writings by ancient Nomads and backwater Greek sophists.
Nothing could be further from the truth. What distinguishes the Bible is that it was written by witnesses. Moses (the ancient nomad) was a brilliant man who wrote down what he saw. It turns out that the Hebrews (the tribe of nomads) has a unique way of looking at cosmology.
Where all and I do mean all, ancient peoples saw the universe as disordered and incoherent. We see in Genesis the first human witness to divine order, the one who orders (God) and the very special way relationship between man and God.
The Bible is also a master work on human nature, ethics and the order and disorder that challenge the human being.
Luke was Greek but other writers of the New Testament were not Greek but Jew. Their language was Aramaic. Jesus spoke Aramaic. The writers of New Testament were witnesses to what Jesus had done. They wrote down what they saw. The nationality of the authors is irrelevant as anyone may be a witness
Because the Bible was written by witnesses it is completely natural that there exist differences in accounts. Witnesses almost always see the same thing and color it with personal perceptions. The Greek Luke is an example of how Christianty spread from the Jews to the gentiles.
But the witness to God's Plan of Salvation for man is completely perfect and perfectly written in the Bible. Being saved by God and redeemed by Jesus is consistent throughout the Bible.
@LoBornlite@xanga - We're dealing with more than just slight details in perspective here. Luke's different perspective, for instance, does not explain why he and Matthew can't agree on Jesus' lineage, nor why they also disagree vastly on the number of generations between Jesus and Abraham. There is very little to support the idea that the gospels were penned by witnesses to Jesus' life, given that Mark was the earliest gospel to have been written, and even that was written 30 to 45 years after Jesus' death (what's more, the earliest versions of Mark don't even have a resurrection story).
The Torah was not written by Moses, and even all but the most staunchly Orthodox Jewish scholars (and even a good number of Christian scholars) will agree with me on this point. Whether or not the documentary hypothesis is viable, it is apparent that the Torah (and, really, the whole of the Tanakh) is the work of no less than four different SCHOOLS of authorship.
The cosmology is not so greatly unique in Genesis, either. Obviously, it's going to have it's own quirks, but it echoes and so obviously takes from any number of other Semitic creation myths such as Gilgamesh and the Enuma Elish. Story telling details are different, but the elements of water and god's spirit bring order to chaos, the fallen-ness of man and the divine's hand in bringing him out of his darkness are all there. Many of the laws and vitriolic language of the Torah can be explained by the need for the Hebrews to distance themselves from the Canaanites (The inscription of Merneptah demonstrates that Israel was a political entity in Canaan far before the Torah was even penned), the Hebrew language itself is considered by many to be a dialect of the Canaanite's script, and even more recognize that at least the two languages are very much related. The laws are about identity as much as they're about righteousness. So here, we can agree that the Bible does tell a great deal about human nature. Written by humans, it's bound to do that. But, a masterpiece, it certainly is not.
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - We're dealing with more than just slight details in perspective here.
Who cares? Your entire harangue is does not in any way, shape or form concern the purpose of the Bible: God's Plan of Salvation for mankind.
I was talking to my pastor the other evening and he berated me for professing the error that the Bible was ordered. The Bible is chaotic, just as you say.
Nevertheless, the Bible is the Revelation of God to mankind. In that, it is as perfect as a book can be.
@LoBornlite@xanga - Nevertheless, the Bible is the Revelation of God to mankind. In that, it is as perfect as a book can be.
Yes, you've said this numerous times. My problem is, where is the substance that gives ground to this claim? The Bible cannot be demonstrated to be consistent with what Archaeology tells us of the region, does not follow any cosmological time-frame that can be verified, exaggerates the history and greatness of it's authors, and is not internally consistent with itself, including some troubling actions that are variously credited to both god and satan. There isn't even any agreement on who or what the Messiah is going to be in the Tanakh! King Cyrus II of Persia was even called "ha_Mashiyach" in Isaiah!
If the bible is demonstrably false in nearly every way it can be measured, exactly why should I take it's word on matters of faith?
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - Yes, you've said this numerous times. My problem is, where is the substance that gives ground to this claim?
God's Plan of Salvation is a matter of faith.
If the bible is demonstrably false in nearly every way it can be measured, exactly why should I take it's word on matters of faith?
Matters of faith cannot be measured. That is the problem you have with the Bible.
But let's use some reasoning. God is infinite. That means he cannot be measured. You are using measurement to measure something that cannot be measured.
That makes you completely irrational. Your irrationality, not the Bible is the problem.
@LoBornlite@xanga - "God is infinite" is a positive claim. You need to have a REASON to believe it. Something ventured, something offered. All you have to go on is the word of people with a vested interest in keeping this belief alive.
"That makes you completely irrational."
I don't supposed you've been trolling this entire time have you?
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - "God is infinite" is a positive claim. You need to have a REASON to believe it.
If God is the Creator of all things, it stands to reason that he is infinite for he must be greater than that which he creates. If God created everything than he is greater than everything, That by definition is infinite.
Your claim that God must be measureable is your positive claim. I just demonstrated through reason that your positive claim is irrational based on the attribute that God is infinite.
I don't supposed you've been trolling this entire time have you?
Another irrational positive claim. Demonstrating through reason that you are irrational does not make me a troll. It makes YOU a troll.
Do you think you can come on Revelife, irrationally insult the Word of God, and get away with it? Well, since I am the only Christian defending the Bible against your irrational claims, you may have a point.
@LoBornlite@xanga - My claim is not that god must be measurable. The claims of his existence require that he be supernatural, which puts him beyond the scope science. I couldn't begin to tell you whether or not "a" god exists, though I don't personally believe one does. My issue is with the claim of the inspiration of the bible, a tangible and real object with a history and development that CAN be studied. What we know of the bible tells us that it's unreliable as a direct account of the truths of this world, it would therefor be unreasonable to expect it to be any more reliable in the realm of metaphysics.
You have not demonstrated through reason that I am irrational, as you have not offered any information that does not ALREADY assume the inspiration of the bible or the existence and character of your specific god. I would remind you I was once myself a biblical studies major with the intention of pursuing seminary and the ministry. I've already come from the position of believing in god. Reason and what information I could get has led me away from that path.
I apologize for questioning your sincerity, but the notion that you may be trolling was the first thought that entered my head when you out of nowhere proclaimed me to be irrational.
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - My claim is not that god must be measurable.
Yes it is. You claimed that the Bible is junk by every measureable means. The Bible is the Word of God. God is not measurable, nor is his Word.
The claims of his existence require that he be supernatural, which puts him beyond the scope science.
Thank you. We are in agreement and you just committed another act of irrationality. You based your reasoning on two fundamentally contradictory positive assertions.
@LoBornlite@xanga - "The Bible is the Word of God. God is not measurable, nor is his Word."
And by precisely what means have you achieved this revelation?
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - And by precisely what means have you achieved this revelation?
Precisely through the use of simple reason:
Since God is infinite, his mind is infinite. Since words express mind, God's words must be infinite also. Therefore God's words are beyond measure.
@LoBornlite@xanga - [Since God is infinite, his mind is
infinite. Since words express mind, God's words must be infinite
also. Therefore God's words are beyond measure.]
Couldn't this same reasoning apply to any other holy book, though? The Qur'an believes in an infinite deity as well, as does the Book of Mormon, the Bagavad Gita, and the Enuma Elish, as Babylons_Crowing pointed out.
[You claimed that the Bible is junk by every measureable means. The Bible is the Word of God.]
Words confine a deity to measurable claims. So if a deity claims that there were ancient Israelites in upstate New York, as the Book of Mormon does, we can test for this by looking for evidence of their existence in archaeology, literature, oral tradition, etc. In this case it comes up demonstrably false. And what about the final verses of Mark, which inform us that followers of Jesus should be able to handle snakes and drink poison? What if "the Word of God" doesn't measure up to reality?
Now, wouldn't you agree that existence itself is the "Word of God"? If anything is, nature is. So wouldn't nature trump a book that was written by humans?
[What distinguishes the Bible is that it was written by witnesses.]
Actually, nothing more than tradition claims that the Torah was written by Moses and that the gospels were written by apostles. In fact, Luke tells us in Luke 1 that he gathered sources. All the gospels refer to Jesus and his disciples as "they" rather than "we," and none mention any personal involvement in Jesus' ministry. Moses obviously didn't witness the creation, as the Bible specifically states that he was born after the flood. And he most certainly didn't witness his own death in the end of Deuteronomy.