Oldtimer said:
iwannabeacowboy said:
iwannabeacowboy said:
So if you believe in Jesus, what part of the Bible do you believe is false. And do you believe in the great flood involving Noah?
Surely you don't mind answering these easy questions?
You never answered mine...
Yes I believe in the great flood involving Noah... It is one of the stories that shows up in all the Abrahamic religions and in many myths and religions/cultures of the world including the ancients who lived in Borneo, Sri Lanka, New Guinea, the Mongols, Chinese, and American Indians (both North and South America, as well as the Aleuts and Eskimos....
The story varies some from culture/religion to religion- but is basically the same idea... The Islam version differs mainly in who were aboard the Ark..
I don't believe the Bible is false- just that there are numerous verses that contradict themselves and each other- and many of the interpretations by Theologians, Priests and Ministers vary greatly...
Which are right has to be interpreted/decided by each individual himself...
One of those differently interpreted is the Noah story- and what land area was covered... Some say it was the entire earth- others say it was just the Mesopotamian region where they suggest all population lived- and that does show geological/archaeological evidence of a huge flood...
When I was in Bible School 50+ years ago- our Methodist Minister (who was far from a liberal) justified us studying the theory of evolution in Biology and the Genesis story by interpreting that what God called "days" could have been much longer time periods like thousands of years ( something that shows up in Islam)...
Just like about every one of us has a differing view/interpretation on what the Constitution says or actually means- many also have differing interpretations/views of the Bible..
I don't recall what questions I haven't answered except about who do I think is God of all the various peoples in the world. I didn't answer this originally as I didn't want to interfere with your line of thought. If there are more that I miss, please refresh my memory.
As I've stated in a previous and drawn out post, I believe the Bible is true in its entirety and why I believe such. I'll be happy to cut and past it here if needed, but I think you read it.
I don't believe the Bible is false- just that there are numerous verses that contradict themselves and each other
This isn't possible. If something contradicts itself, then one statement or the other is false.
Con`tra`dict´
v. t. 1. To assert the contrary of; to oppose in words; to take issue with; to gainsay; to deny the truth of, as of a statement or a speaker; to impugn.
2. To be contrary to; to oppose; to resist.
No truth can contradict another truth.
v. i. 1. To oppose in words; to gainsay; to deny, or assert the contrary of, something.
So you have to believe that one part or the other is false. Or do you want to use another word?
I can appreciate not fulling understanding every verse. But this is not the same as them being contradictory to each other.
- and many of the interpretations by Theologians, Priests and Ministers vary greatly...
Doesn't mean that one is not right and one wrong on important tenants.
Which are right has to be interpreted/decided by each individual himself...
I agree, that is part of your duty while living is measuring the validity of all things important.
My take on it all is this, if the flood was legitimate and a critical point in history of man- a bottle neck of linage, then why would it not be in every culture? They all originated from this small group of survivors, right?
This only supports the validity of the story. This does not in turn support the validity of all religious beliefs held by these descendants.
If you believe in Adam and Eve, or the muslim version you refer to, all of man kind descended from them.
God was the Creator of all- A single Creator. However, why did the Creator cause the great flood that brought judgment on all of mankind except Noah and his family? Because of their wickedness. He was only the God of Noah, not the world. That is the difference between Creator and God.
Why do I think islam and other religions have some similarities to Christianity and some differences? Because the doctrine of God is powerful and has been spread over the globe. It is not an easy doctrine, matter of fact, at times it calls for something completely opposite of what our natural tendency would be. People have a bad habit of accepting what they want and deleting what they don't, or adding what they want to their own preconceived religions. That is not hard to fathom.
What makes the difference is the concern.
If you've read the Bible, then you would know that there is warning of false teaching. If you take it as the truth, then you would have to agree that there is false teaching. If there is false teaching, then any and every belief/religion cannot be true. They are not all equal.
I was going to say that you have to believe that either there is no God, or that the Bible and quran are both wrong, for all religions to be the same- and the Creator to be the God of all. But that doesn't really work does it. As soon as you acknowledge that I have a belief that my religion (any one of them) states as its basic tenant that it is the only correct one, then your argument is impossible.
All religions/beliefs cannot be the same or equal. If I'm right, you are wrong. And you can never be right, because if I'm wrong in my belief, then you will be also- they are all equally correct or wrong in this case :lol:. Religious relativism is impossible.
So you are left with: There is no God for all religions/beliefs to be the same- i.e. they are all wrong. But then, if you consider atheism as a belief, and accepting that there is no God, then atheists would be correct and all other beliefs/religions would be wrong. So this cannot be true either. All religions/beliefs cannot be equal.
So you are actually left with, not all beliefs are equal, and some belief is true, but not every belief can be. This is true whether there is a God or not.
There is a correct belief, which one is it?
What it is not is religious relativism/new age thinking. That kind of muddy rationalization is not and cannot be true.