What's your Religion?

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So, it is internally harmonious (same theme), historically accurate, accurate when it touches on science (water cycle - Ecc 1:7, the earth being round - Isaiah 40:22) and fulfilled prophecy (Isaiah 45 - fall of Babylon, Timing of the birth of Jesus - Daniel 9:24-27 and Luke 3:15 and many others), but it must be inaccurate in the one fundamental claim that it makes of being the word of God? All of this despite being written over a 1600 year period by many different writers from very diverse backgrounds. I agree it is possible to copy someone's style of writing, but for this many people to have come up with this, well, I will let historian Will Durant comment on just the possibility of only the gospel accounts being fraudulent: “That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospels.”

 

So you are saying if there isn't really a god as described in the bible that would be the ONLY thing not factually correct in the bible?

Durant's speculation would have more validity if there weren't a bunch of competing versions of a god that all claim to be the truth.

 

For the record, I'm a Christian, but I am an ordained Dudeist priest.
If you are looking for an easy going religion to abide by...
http://dudeism.com/

 

Are you saying that the Bible is not factually correct on some matter?

The fact that there are competing versions of a god is no surprise. The Bible indicates that there is an enemy of God, Satan, who "keeps transforming himself into an angel of light". What better way to confuse things than to have counterfeit versions of the truth to obscure and confuse the issue. If memory serves, the allies had an entire "army" assigned to Patton before D-Day that consisted of plywood tanks, canvas airplanes and mock radio transmissions, all to confuse the Germans as to where the actual attack would be. The Russians have a term for it - Maskirova. We call it camouflage. Bottom line is that is meant to confuse and deceive.

 

Yes

So Muslims are worshipping satan? WOW!

 

The amount of blind ignorance on this thread is astonishing.

 

Another interesting term is " blind faith "

 

Is there any other kind of faith?

 

Please specify.

Never said that. Went back through my posts and not once did I say that. Do I think they are misguided? Yes. Just as surely as a Muslim, and obviously you, think I am misguided.

Which I do not ascribe to. My faith is based on evidence - part of which has been presented in multiple previous posts.

Yes. Faith based on evidence.

Not worshiping him but potentially being misled. If there is one God, as I believe, then he must have the way he wants to be worshiped. It would not be up to us to change the way he approves to suit ourselves.

 

I can search the internet and find sites that explain over a hundred ways the bible is inaccurate. I can also find sites that claim to explain each of these inaccuracies away as simple difference of interpretation, etc. This is a very old game.

Here is one example:

In Matthew 12:40, Jesus said, “For as Jonas [Jonah] was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (see also Jonah 1:17). This prophecy is repeated in various forms in Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:29-30. This is a very precise prophecy from the lips of Jesus himself about his own resurrection, and it is demonstrably false from the Bible itself.
The Gospels make very definite statements that Jesus died on a Friday afternoon and was raised around dawn on the following Sunday morning. This belief is foundational to Christian theology and is the basis for Good Friday and Easter rituals celebrated every year.
From Friday afternoon to Sunday morning is at most 40 hours, not three days and nights. Some argue this did include portions of three days, since Jewish days are counted from sundown to sundown, which stretches the facts but may appear plausible to some people.
However, there is just no way to get “three nights” out of this. The Bible says that Jesus died on Friday shortly before the Sabbath, which began at sundown (Mark 15:37-47, Luke 23:46-56, John 19:31-42). The Bible also says that Jesus was raised around sunrise on Sunday morning (Matthew 28:1-7, Mark 16:1-6, Luke 24:1-6, John 20:1). Friday afternoon to Sunday morning is two nights.

It was 2 nights or 3 nights in the heart of the earth?

We could, one at a time, go over 100+ of these.

I pretty sure the bibles god thinks people who worship other gods are more than misquided. He's wants you to kill them.

Please be clearer what you mean when you say satan is causing competing versions of god, but then say that doesn't mean allah. I get the not worshipping satan slipperiness, but they are worshipping satan's god.

 

http://www.ucg.org/doctrinal-beliefs/son-man-will-be-three-days-and-three-nights-heart-earth/

 

Even the Jewish religious leaders of the day (opponents of Jesus) understood this to be parts of three days. (Matt 27:62-66) A lot like someone saying they will work "night and day" until they are finished with a job.

The Bible does not teach Christians that they should kill those that are misguided. Indeed, just prior to his arrest, Peter used a sword to take off the ear of the high priest's slave, Jesus healed the man and told Peter to put the sword away because those that live by the sword would die by it (Matt 26:52).

Not being slippery at all. I meant what I said - misguided. For example, in the 1st century, the very men that should have recognized Jesus as the Messiah were the ones that were responsible for his death and the release of Barabbas (a murderer). Misguided.

 

So holy thursday is all wrong, jesus had no last supper on thursday because he was crucified that day?

Good friday is all wrong because jesus was buried thursday night.

Something doesn't wash?

I guess the bible is totally correct on this but christians just never recognized this blatant screwup on their part?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday

These guys say good Friday was ad33 or ad34, your above link says good Friday must be ad31 to have this special high sabbath on a Thursday.

Something doesn't wash?

 

Come on, just a difference in interpretation? in such an infallible document? When you have to interpret it one way there is no surprise what way wins.

If we can just rule out the entire old testament, that would be so easy wouldn't it, but the old testament is used whenever it fits. I don't see the old testament removed as obsolete though. It teaches to kill those that work on sabbath, worship other gods, homosexuals..........

 

It is being slippery to say "I never said muslims worship satan" if you believe they worship a god created by satan.

Clarify please.

 

Off to join the festivities.

 

The Jewish Encyclopedia: “In Jewish communal life part of a day is at times reckoned as one day; e.g., the day of the funeral, even when the latter takes place late in the afternoon, is counted as the first of the seven days of mourning; a short time in the morning of the seventh day is counted as the seventh day; circumcision takes place on the eighth day, even though of the first day only a few minutes remained after the birth of the child, these being counted as one day.”

A Bible commentator (Lightfoot) observes, three days and three nights “included any part of the first day; the whole of the following night; the next day and its night; and any part of the succeeding or third day.”

It is not a matter of interpretation but cultural dialect. Just as there are parts of the US where different sayings are used and understood that would have people in other parts of the country scratching their heads.

It should be noted that the Jewish Encyclopedia is hardly a document that would have a pro-Christian bias.

As to the "Old Testament", I do not "rule it out". Parts of it are obsolete. The Law Covenant (Mosaic law) was a "tutor" leading to Christ. It showed the Israelites that they were in need of a savior because it was not possible for them to keep the law perfectly. Jesus' sacrifice removed the Mosaic law (Romans 10:4; Ephesians 2:15). His ransom sacrifice removed the need for the animal sacrifices. While the Mosaic law was removed, the basic principles were restated in Jesus' statement that we should love our God with our whole heart, soul and mind and our neighbor as our-self.

As creator, he has the right to decide what behavior is acceptable. During pre-Christian times, yes the sentence for the things you mentioned was indeed death. After Christ, those laws were no longer for men to enforce, but there will come a time when God will enforce them. Additionally, those laws were there to be enforced among the Israelites that broke their covenant with God. Israel did not go outside of its assigned boundaries to punish those in other nations that did these things.

 

I do not know how to clarify it more that what I have already said. Even the religious leaders of Jesus' day were misled even though they had the same scriptures that Jesus and his followers had. They should have recognized him as the Messiah and did not. Were some of them just wicked? Probably. Were some just misguided? Certainly. The apostle Paul was a persecutor of Christians until his encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road. Was he worshiping Satan? No. Was he misled? Yes. God has the right to decide how he wants to be worshiped - any other way is counterfeit. He has left his word, the Bible. A careful consideration of it is the touchstone that determines what is true and what is false.