A bit more of your merciful god.

[Wyatt earp]

Peter was not the first pope, Peter did not found the Catholic church.

Yes he did that was the first church, duh

 

[surada]

Wrong again. Do you ever say anything that is true?

Some floods had survivors. Most of the flood myths have survivors. Some floods lasted four days.
.

 

[Hollie]

Of course they leave out that minor little detail.

…. and Noah was 600 years old. That’s not a minor detail.

Three fishermen walk into a bar telling stories about the size of the fish they caught…..

 

[hadit]

The same can be said for a great many things, that does not make them inspired by a deity. People who hear the Koran have their lives changed, it is also the inspired word of God?

People who heard/read Zig Ziglar had their lives changed, is he a god?

Okay, so how often do you pray to Zig Ziglar and spend time meditating on and with him?

 

[buttercup]

What would you accept as sufficient proof? Perhaps you could tell us what would be convincing that manuscripts written thousands of years ago were divinely inspired. Be precise.

The proof is in the changed lives of those who hear and accept it. If you have a headache and I say, "This pill has been proven to give you relief from your pain. Take it and feel better", would you take it or would you demand to see something miraculous before believing that it would relieve your pain? No, you would probably say something like, "If millions of people have taken it and felt better, I believe it will work", and you'd take it. Billions of people throughout history have accepted the Bible's prescription for eternal life, and not just after we die, but now, and have experienced the changes it makes in their lives. They have seen the changes in their loved one's lives as well. You can't reduce God to a special effects trick to be trotted out on demand.

I see this all the time. I call it "do a trick" theology. Non-believers want to see something miraculous so they'll believe. Here's the problem with that. The original people did see something extraordinary, they saw the miracles that Yeshua did, they saw Him risen from the dead and ascending to Heaven. They saw the miracles the apostles did in His name as they preached. If God does a trick now to satisfy you, the very next generation that did not witness that trick will say about you the same things you say about those who saw what Yeshua and the apostles did, and they will demand their trick before they believe. God would be in the business of doing ever more tricks to satisfy a disbelieving people.

Their problem is spiritual blindness. I know, I was a nonbeliever for many years of my life. Now I see that there is evidence all around us, and it takes far, far, FAR more faith to be an atheist.

 

[buttercup]

…. and Noah was 600 years old. That’s not a minor detail.

Three fishermen walk into a bar telling stories about the size of the fish they caught…..

When I said minor detail I was talking about what hadit said in the post I was responding to. That everyone had a way out, if they wanted it. Why do you leave that out?

 

[BreezeWood]

The flood story is a myth borrowed from Sumer.

It's much older than Genesis and is found in Bahrain, Mesopotamia and among the most north coast Canaanites.

is life a myth - what exactly may have been the original episode as in the caveman days - they really even knew they were on an Earth ...

the heavens had an opportunity and exacted justice - what's a myth is why they acted in the way they did. made illusive by the latter descriptions to the ridiculousness of the desert religions.

just because 4th century christians do not care for the truth, deliberately - that does not include everyone - for the same subject matter. and a return to sanity.

 

[hadit]

Their problem is spiritual blindness. I know, I was a nonbeliever for many years of my life. Now I see that there is evidence all around us, and it takes far, far, FAR more faith to be an atheist.

Yes, it takes a willful blindness.

 

[buttercup]

I actually would give writing by Jesus himself much more credence than a second, third or 2000th hand account.

It still might not convince me that Jesus was divine but I would certainly attribute a greater weight as an original source.

And I neither believe nor disbelieve that any gods exist. I haven't seen any proof of it but lack of proof does not imply something does not exist.


And even if a god appeared to me and millions of other people at the same time ( if it was just me I would question my own mental state) to prove to all of us that he did indeed exist I would have to agree that a god did indeed exist but I would not worship it.

Interesting. So, if you saw Jesus with your own two eyes, you still wouldn't worship Him, even though He loved you so much that He laid down his own life to pay the price for every wrong thing you ever did, if you simply put your trust in Him? Think of a parent who would take a bullet for their child, so that their child would live. That is basically what God did, He gave His life for you so that you can have reconciliation with God and live in eternity, in the true world where God reigns. (This world is just a shadow, and it is temporary.)

 

[Hollie]

I am saying you do not understand the Bible in the same way Rabbis who know the language, cultures, and histories understand it.

For whatever reason, you like your understanding. Speaking of superstitions....

I’m sure it’s true that I do not understand the Bible in the same way Rabbis do. And your Rabbi likely does not understand hydrology or geology the same way my professors do.

The flood fable is a fable or an actual event. What can your Rabbi tell us. My professors tell me that nothing in hydrology or geology supports a global flood of just 4,000 years ago. My biology Prof. is certain that humans cannot live to the ripe old age of 600 years.

I seem to be on the horns of a dilemma, here.

 

[Hollie]

Book of Kings has the best advice. Look for God in that which is small and quiet. Pray.

There are lots of competing gods to look for. What separates yours from the others?

 

[Hollie]

When I said minor detail I was talking about what hadit said in the post I was responding to. That everyone had a way out, if they wanted it. Why do you leave that out?

Who is “everyone”? Accurate numbers are impossible to find but there are estimates that perhaps 7 million people were on the planet at the time of the supposed flood. Obviously, a great many of them would have had no way out. The vast majority of people, due to their geographic location, would never have gotten any message of their impending doom.

 

[JustAGuy1]

There's no Christians at the Sermon on the Mount. Who is Matthew's intended audience for the Sermon on the Mount?

I will not let you change the subject. That is a different setting, you know better than to try that on me.

 

[The Irish Ram]

Titus and foreign garrisons under his command. It was the end of an age. The end of temple Judaism.

Was Titus and his father Spanish?

 

[buttercup]

I think you’re missing some context. The Bible indicates an angry god sent a flood intending to wipe most of humanity from the planet. Nothing about that event in the Bible is indicated by the authors of the Bible to be anything but an actual event.

I don’t accuse any god(s) of anything as there is no evidence for any of them.

You see God all wrong. God is love, and God is merciful and cares about the weak, vulnerable and innocent. The bible says that God is slow to anger. What God doesn't like is evil and injustice. And at that time, the entire world was filled with evil and violence. Also, part of the equation which was going on at that time that most people leave out is the Nephilim. I know this will sound crazy and hard to believe (I've learned that truth is often stranger than fiction) but the Nephilim were not entirely human, they were the result fallen angels who mixed with humans, and that is something else that just about every ancient culture around the world speaks about.

So at that time, everyone was corrupted and there was nothing but violence and killing and evil. Do you disagree with an authority dealing with injustice? Do you think evil, violence and injustice should just be ignored?

 

[hadit]

Who is “everyone”? Accurate numbers are impossible to find but there are estimates that perhaps 7 million people were on the planet at the time of the supposed flood. Obviously, a great many of them would have had no way out. The vast majority of people, due to their geographic location, would never have gotten any message of their impending doom.

God does not punish those who repent and seek Him. A great Biblical scholar such as yourself will remember Jonah, who got ticked off because he went through so much drama and trauma, only to see the people he preached to repent and be spared God's judgement. He wanted to see fireworks destroy a wicked people and got nothing. Obviously, no one at the time of the flood was interested in repentance, and the Bible described them as such.

 

[hadit]

You see God all wrong. God is love, and God is merciful and cares about the weak, vulnerable and innocent. The bible says that God is slow to anger. What God doesn't like is evil and injustice. And at that time, the entire world was filled with evil and violence. Also, part of the equation which was going on at that time that most people leave out is the Nephilim. I know this will sound crazy and hard to believe (I've learned that truth is often stranger than fiction) but the Nephilim were not entirely human, they were the result fallen angels who mixed with humans, and that is something else that just about every ancient culture around the world speaks about.

So at that time, everyone was corrupted and there was nothing but violence and killing and evil. Do you disagree with an authority dealing with injustice? Do you think evil, violence and injustice should just be ignored?

God's judgement is not arbitrary or random when you take into account how long He tolerates the peoples' wickedness. There will be many Americans who will be stunned and wonder why God is so mad at them when He judges the US.

 

[Meriweather]

My professors tell me that nothing in hydrology or geology supports a global flood of just 4,000 years ago.

Rabbis who read Hebrew (the language of the original story) will tell you that those who know Hebrew are aware that the flood covered earth (dirt on the ground); it did not mention that it covered the planet. This is a classic case where the original Hebrews understood 'earth' as dirt on the ground and modern English readers jumped to the conclusion since it said 'earth' it meant the entire planet.

 

[Hollie]

You see God all wrong. God is love, and God is merciful and cares about the weak, vulnerable and innocent. The bible says that God is slow to anger. What God doesn't like is evil and injustice. And at that time, the entire world was filled with evil and violence. Also, part of the equation which was going on at that time that most people leave out is the Nephilim. I know this will sound crazy and hard to believe (I've learned that truth is often stranger than fiction) but the Nephilim were not entirely human, they were the result fallen angels who mixed with humans, and that is something else that just about every ancient culture around the world speaks about.

So at that time, everyone was corrupted and there was nothing but violence and killing and evil. Do you disagree with an authority dealing with injustice? Do you think evil, violence and injustice should just be ignored?

The Bible refutes, “God is love, and God is merciful and cares about the weak, vulnerable and innocent.”

Do you choose to ignore the actions of the “god of love”?

 

[Meriweather]

My biology Prof. is certain that humans cannot live to the ripe old age of 600 years.

And he is correct. There are a couple of theories on this. The first is that the Bible does state that humans (on average) live about 70 years. Then it goes on to say things like Noah lived 600 years. Some say that extra zeroes are added to indicate the importance of that individual. Others hypothesize that the 600 years represents the age of the family or tribal line, not simply the individual. As far as I know, there is still no common agreement about this. I tend to go with the latter, but then I do not know the other intricacies of Hebrew lettering and numbering.