Quasimodo wrote: It's great to have Nipper, Nightlion, BC, Subgenious, Droopy and now Thorwald telling us exactly what God had in mind. If we could only get them all together and agree on what God said, we would have all the answers.
I think all six of these guys need to have their own dedicated thread where they can denounce each other as false prophets. And Tobin, too. We can't forget Tobin.
What fun!!!
This, or any other post that I have made or will make in the future, is strictly my own opinion and consequently of little or no value.
"Faith is believing something you know ain't true" Twain.
No one (man or woman) has been given the wisdom or knowledge of ALL of God's Word. The New Testament teaches us, that we should listen to others in the congregation who receive wisdom/knowledge from God, and discuss what God has revealed to them. The only 'man' who has ALL knowledge is Jesus Christ as Son of Man. He is the Word in the flesh.
just me wrote: Then he doesn't care about humans or our lives at all in which case this is all a moot point.
If he is content to allow billions of human lives to be lost in the name of religion he is a jackass that does not deserve our worship.
If the simple and basic message is love, then it has been lost on so many people as to make the Bible is worse than toilet paper.
If god doesn't care then why on earth should we?
"content to allow billions of human lives to be lost"
Just me , You have completely reversed the meaning of my comment. Perhaps you assume I am defending a fundamentalism which believes people are lost unless they get a b or better on the theology exam or must accept the correct religion. I was intending to step out side that sort of thing entirely in order to see the patterns of Gods help and concern reaching to all people.
I could have misunderstood you. Do you believe the Bible is completely of human creation and god had no hand in it?
I contend that if god had a hand in the creation of the Bible and expected it to be used as a means of bringing humans to salvation then he utterly and completely failed.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
We have to take into account, that the prophecies in the Bible will be fulfilled. Even Jesus stated that He did not come to destroy the prophecies, but to fulfil them.
The second coming of Christ will take place when the prophecy of 'we will return to the days of Noah' has reached the point that God has determined in advance. Not even Jesus knows 'when' this will occur. Jesus stated that only God [His/our Father in heaven] knows.
just me wrote:I could have misunderstood you. Do you believe the Bible is completely of human creation and god had no hand in it?
I contend that if god had a hand in the creation of the Bible and expected it to be used as a means of bringing humans to salvation then he utterly and completely failed.
Rechecking to make sure, yes I said I thought the Bible is a result of Gods inspiration. Just me, I am sorry you have such a dark view of the human race.
LittleNipper wrote:The Bible tells us this and Jesus Christ eluded to "this". And the "this" is that the Holy Spirit guided the 'authors' of the Bible --- not the KJV translation and not the NIV translation, but the original transcripts written in the original tongues (namely Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek). I do believe that the moving of the Holy Spirit assisted in the translation of the Bible into a very excellent English version.
It's great to have Nipper, Nightlion, BC, Subgenious, Droopy and now Thorwald telling us exactly what God had in mind. If we could only get them all together and agree on what God said, we would have all the answers.
As I am fond of pointing out, the undeniable fact that there are so many mutually contradictory religious belief systems all claiming to be the inspired, "infallible Word of God" is absolutely incontestable proof of the inherent, abysmal unreliability of appeals to divine authority. Denying that is every bit as irrational as insisting that it is nighttime while staring directly at the sun at high noon on a cloudless day.
Certainly it is wise to "beware of the precepts of men", as there are undeniably a great many people who are either outright charlatans and/or seriously deluded, but absolutely nothing more clearly demonstrates the truth of that than the abundant nonsense and numerous atrocities that we humans have perpetrated on each other in the guise of religion and in the very name of God. There is no compelling justification for concluding that there are any precepts available to us, whether good or bad, that are not of human origin.
No precept or claim is more likely to be false than one that can only be supported by invoking the claim of Divine authority for it--no matter who or what claims such authority.
“If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.”
― Harlan Ellison
Gunnar wrote: As I am fond of pointing out, the undeniable fact that there are so many mutually contradictory religious belief systems all claiming to be the inspired, "infallible Word of God" is absolutely incontestable proof of the inherent, abysmal unreliability of appeals to divine authority. Denying that is every bit as irrational as insisting that it is nighttime while staring directly at the sun at high noon on a cloudless day.
Certainly it is wise to "beware of the precepts of men", as there are undeniably a great many people who are either outright charlatans and/or seriously deluded, but absolutely nothing more clearly demonstrates the truth of that than the abundant nonsense and numerous atrocities that we humans have perpetrated on each other in the guise of religion and in the very name of God. There is no compelling justification for concluding that there are any precepts available to us, whether good or bad, that are not of human origin.
Exactly!
Google says that there are 270 major religions in the world and bunches of smaller ones. I'm sure they are not counting individual prophets with only themselves as adherents.
Each one claims to have the definitive word on God's thoughts. Personally, I think it's best to just skip all that and join a bowling league. At least everyone gets a trophy.
This, or any other post that I have made or will make in the future, is strictly my own opinion and consequently of little or no value.
"Faith is believing something you know ain't true" Twain.
just me wrote:I could have misunderstood you. Do you believe the Bible is completely of human creation and god had no hand in it?
I contend that if god had a hand in the creation of the Bible and expected it to be used as a means of bringing humans to salvation then he utterly and completely failed.
Rechecking to make sure, yes I said I thought the Bible is a result of Gods inspiration. Just me, I am sorry you have such a dark view of the human race.
I am not sure how viewing all religion as manmade means I have a dark view of humans. I don't believe humans are sinners. Don't believe they are destined for hell. Don't believe that they are born broken and flawed and in need of some kind of divine intervention in order to be good enough.
I have a very dark view of the god described in the Bible. Humans are much, much better than him.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
Gunnar wrote: As I am fond of pointing out, the undeniable fact that there are so many mutually contradictory religious belief systems all claiming to be the inspired, "infallible Word of God" is absolutely incontestable proof of the inherent, abysmal unreliability of appeals to divine authority. Denying that is every bit as irrational as insisting that it is nighttime while staring directly at the sun at high noon on a cloudless day.
Certainly it is wise to "beware of the precepts of men", as there are undeniably a great many people who are either outright charlatans and/or seriously deluded, but absolutely nothing more clearly demonstrates the truth of that than the abundant nonsense and numerous atrocities that we humans have perpetrated on each other in the guise of religion and in the very name of God. There is no compelling justification for concluding that there are any precepts available to us, whether good or bad, that are not of human origin.
Exactly!
Google says that there are 270 major religions in the world and bunches of smaller ones. I'm sure they are not counting individual prophets with only themselves as adherents.
Each one claims to have the definitive word on God's thoughts. Personally, I think it's best to just skip all that and join a bowling league. At least everyone gets a trophy.
I like the bowling league suggestion!
No precept or claim is more likely to be false than one that can only be supported by invoking the claim of Divine authority for it--no matter who or what claims such authority.
“If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.”
― Harlan Ellison
just me wrote:I am not sure how viewing all religion as manmade means I have a dark view of humans. I don't believe humans are sinners. Don't believe they are destined for hell. Don't believe that they are born broken and flawed and in need of some kind of divine intervention in order to be good enough.
I have a very dark view of the god described in the Bible. Humans are much, much better than him.
Just me, you state you do not believe humans are sinners or flawed yet you indicate they are guilty of devising believing and pushing others to believe ugly and evil religion and images of god. I cannot imagine creatures without serious flaws would do such a thing to each other.
Unless you believe the Bible to have been written by bad supernatural spirits everything you see wrong in it is an indictment of humans because it reflects what they desire to believe in their heart.
I like the bowling league suggestion!