About Bible

[MissLT]

The weirdest thing about Catholicism is that they worship Mary more than God. Why would I want to worship a woman who was just like me? The only difference between me and her is that she got chosen. She didn't remain virgin all her life so she was just a regular woman who got God's blessing and that's it.

I don't know. I asked Chris and he said it's more about respect than worshipping. Same like you respect Mother Teresa.

[Lalee]

But the Bible was written by men!!!

Not exactly. God had to use men to write it. I don't think He has hands to do it Himself. :)
Listen to this:
2 Peter 1, 20-21
20Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

For example, we know God doesn't like killing, but Christians believe in the Judgement Day. And the Bible says believe in Jesus Christ, for you'll be saved. However, what if a person who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ but a nice person and a person who believes in him but is a murder, who would be saved?

Although what I'm about to say might sound unfair, it's the truth. The murderer would be saved.

God only accepts the ones who believe in His son, Jesus. To him we are the same. All human beings have good and bad sides so there's really not much difference to God.
To Him, there's only one way for people to go to heaven and that's Jesus.
And through the Bible He gives us many examples.

In Exodus 12 there's this story about the Passover.
12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt
He asked the israelites to slaughter an animal without defect and with some of its blood they had to put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of their houses.
I bet there were nice and bad people before our eyes in those houses but, did God care about that? He only cared about the blood painted. If they saw the blood, that house got saved and if HE didn't, they were destroyed. As simple as that.
The only people who got saved were the ones who followed and believed in what God told them to do.

Even Egyptians could've gotten saved if they had believed in that.

The same goes with the story in Luke 23 about two criminals who were sentenced to death like Jesus was. Both of them were criminals and deserved to die on the cross but only one got saved. Did he do a good deed? Was he a good person? Only one of them recognized Jesus as the saviour by asking Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom and we can see he got saved when Jesus told him that this criminal was going to be with Him in paradise.
Also there are more stories like these ones where God shows us that trying to be a good person will not lead us to heaven.

So we can conclude that going to heaven does not depend on our good deeds or how nice people we are.

[Lalee]

I don't know. I asked Chris and he said it's more about respect than worshipping. Same like you respect Mother Teresa.

Well to me, what they do with Mary is called worship. They even dare call her "Mother of God" Like, what the heck is that?

[Lalee]

this is just for me when I think about praying, visiting church and all that kind of stuff true christians are supposed to do (or not supposed to according to the bible) - if you follow god's law you are true christian and not matter how you pray and how you cross yourself

I know what you mean but God doesn't care much what your point of view is. It sounds kind of selfish but how can we know the way we think it's right or not? How can we be 100% of that? I think He knows better than us.
Isaiah 55
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

[Admiral]

The professor is always right.

[MissLT]

But the Bible was written by men!!!

Not exactly. God had to use men to write it. I don't think He has hands to do it Himself. :)

Permission to laugh, please? One question, how does God look like to you?

[MissLT]

I don't know. I asked Chris and he said it's more about respect than worshipping. Same like you respect Mother Teresa.

Well to me, what they do with Mary is called worship. They even dare call her "Mother of God" Like, what the heck is that?

It seems like that to me, but respect can be seen as worshipping when it comes to religions. In Vietnamese, Virgin Mary is Me Maria or Me Dong Trinh (Virgin). They called her Me (Mother) Thien Chua (Jesus Christ) (Mother of Jesus Christ if you translated it). I don't know about English version. I have to ask Chris.

[MissLT]

Although what I'm about to say might sound unfair, it's the truth. The murderer would be saved.

God only accepts the ones who believe in His son, Jesus. To him we are the same. All human beings have good and bad sides so there's really not much difference to God.
To Him, there's only one way for people to go to heaven and that's Jesus.

Yours and my cousin's and Chris's explanation are different. According to my cousin and Chris, the one who killed and believed in Jesus Christ won't be forgiven of sins; therefore, denied Heaven. The nice person who didn't believe in Jesus Christ would go to hell and would be saved to Heaven when he acknowledged Jesus Christ. They both ended up in hell for their own sins.

[MissLT]

The same goes with the story in Luke 23 about two criminals who were sentenced to death like Jesus was. Both of them were criminals and deserved to die on the cross but only one got saved. Did he do a good deed? Was he a good person? Only one of them recognized Jesus as the saviour by asking Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom and we can see he got saved when Jesus told him that this criminal was going to be with Him in paradise.
Also there are more stories like these ones where God shows us that trying to be a good person will not lead us to heaven.

So we can conclude that going to heaven does not depend on our good deeds or how nice people we are.

You said both of them were criminals though. Not one of them was nice and one was not and the unkind person got saved because he acknowledged Jesus as a savior.

[Lalee]

Yours and my cousin's and Chris's explanation are different. According to my cousin and Chris, the one who killed and believed in Jesus Christ won't be forgiven of sins; therefore, denied Heaven.

I thought Jesus came to save us from sin and hell.
So now if the murderer believed and still goes to hell..what's the point in believing in Jesus'death??
Ask them this question, if Jesus came to this earth to save us from sin, what role do we play in that sacrifice? I mean, if God says we're saved through Christ, what else is left to do?

The nice person who didn't believe in Jesus Christ would go to hell and would be saved to Heaven when he acknowledged Jesus Christ. They both ended up in hell for their own sins.

he would go to hell and would be saved to heaven? How can someone go to hell and then go to heaven?
Yes, both of them sinned but there's one difference between them. One believed and they other didn't. Salvation is about believing and faith rather than doing something.

[Lalee]

You said both of them were criminals though. Not one of them was nice and one was not and the unkind person got saved because he acknowledged Jesus as a savior.

Uh huh so... what's your point?

[MissLT]

Yours and my cousin's and Chris's explanation are different. According to my cousin and Chris, the one who killed and believed in Jesus Christ won't be forgiven of sins; therefore, denied Heaven.

I thought Jesus came to save us from sin and hell.
So now if the murderer believed and still goes to hell..what's the point in believing in Jesus'death??

If you believe in Jesus Christ; hence, you would believe in his teaching. This is what they mean. And if you believe in his teaching, why would you go against it to kill others? They say you can't fake your way out to heaven by just saying you've acknowledged when you won't follow his teaching afterwards.

Ask them this question, if Jesus came to this earth to save us from sin, what role do we play in that sacrifice? I mean, if God says we're saved through Christ, what else is left to do?

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. :?

The nice person who didn't believe in Jesus Christ would go to hell and would be saved to Heaven when he acknowledged Jesus Christ. They both ended up in hell for their own sins.

he would go to hell and would be saved to heaven? How can someone go to hell and then go to heaven?
Yes, both of them sinned but there's one difference between them. One believed and they other didn't. Salvation is about believing and faith rather than doing something.

When he went to hell, then he would realize there was hell and heaven and there was the presence of Jesus Christ and his mind would be enlighted. Thus, when he acknowledged Jesus Christ and his teaching, he'll go to heaven.

[jeffcox]

The only way to God is to praise him.

So, he's egoistic, self-centred and really loves himself.

The Bible is full of evidence to uphold this statement.

If you don't do what God says, and you don't follow his rules, and if you don't recognize him... You're really up the creek without a paddle!

So, do Christians do good things because they will get into heaven (be rewarded), which would be a very egoistic thing to do?

Why be good at all? I mean, you can be as evil and terrible as you want to be throughout your life, then at the moment you meet God, you just beg his forgiveness and BINGO, freeway to heaven.

[MissLT]

You said both of them were criminals though. Not one of them was nice and one was not and the unkind person got saved because he acknowledged Jesus as a savior.

Uh huh so... what's your point?

It doesn't look like my example. DUH, slow-ee.

[MissLT]

Why be good at all? I mean, you can be as evil and terrible as you want to be throughout your life, then at the moment you meet God, you just beg his forgiveness and BINGO, freeway to heaven.

Exactly! That's what I said to my cousin, and she said it's a wrong interpretation. Believing in Christ is a semi-guarantee ticket for you to be in heaven; however, you have to follow his teaching. Oherwise, you're just a common sinner.

[Lalee]

Permission to laugh, please? One question, how does God look like to you?

I knew you were going to laugh.
What does God look like to me?
Well he definitely doesn't look like a human being. There's a part in the Bible that describes Him a little bit.
Revelation 4
2And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

[Lalee]

It doesn't look like my example. DUH, slow-ee.

You're contagious.
I'll look for a better example then.

[MissLT]

Permission to laugh, please? One question, how does God look like to you?

I knew you were going to laugh.
What does God look like to me?
Well he definitely doesn't look like a human being. There's a part in the Bible that describes Him a little bit.
Revelation 4
2And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Have you seen him in your mind?

[MissLT]

It doesn't look like my example. DUH, slow-ee.

You're contagious.
I'll look for a better example then.

Hehehehhee my cousin explained to me about that example, and it did not look like mine by the way. You'd better get another one. 8)

[Lalee]

If you believe in Jesus Christ; hence, you would believe in his teaching. This is what they mean. And if you believe in his teaching, why would you go against it to kill others? They say you can't fake your way out to heaven by just saying you've acknowledged when you won't follow his teaching afterwards.

Yes, they're right. That's why I was going to say something when you gave me the example including the murderer. If someone gets saved and knows what Jesus did for them, he or she just can't be around killing people and be like, "hey, Jesus died for me and washed all my sins away so I can do the hell I want now" NO! It doesn't work that way.

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. :?

OK I sense that your cousin and Chris think that people need to do good to go to heaven. If the answer is yes, why did Jesus die for them? Is it better now?

When he went to hell, then he would realize there was hell and heaven and there was the presence of Jesus Christ and his mind would be enlighted. Thus, when he acknowledged Jesus Christ and his teaching, he'll go to heaven.

Umm... this is weird.
I don't think people have the chance to go to heaven when they're already in hell. God gives us the chance here on earth but it's too late to realize you're actually in hell and then get saved. It doesn't work that way.
Maybe I'm not following you on this. I don't know but I'm kind of confused.

[MissLT]

If you believe in Jesus Christ; hence, you would believe in his teaching. This is what they mean. And if you believe in his teaching, why would you go against it to kill others? They say you can't fake your way out to heaven by just saying you've acknowledged when you won't follow his teaching afterwards.

Yes, they're right. That's why I was going to say something when you gave me the example including the murderer. If someone gets saved and knows what Jesus did for them, he or she just can't be around killing people and be like, "hey, Jesus died for me and washed all my sins away so I can do the hell I want now" NO! It doesn't work that way.

From what I see a nice person is a half Christian because that person does nice things for others. Is it a big deal if someone believes in Jesus Christ or not? I mean, if one believed in him and went against his teaching, that person would be even worst than the one who didn't believe in him, right?

[MissLT]

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. :?

OK I sense that your cousin and Chris think that people need to do good to go to heaven. If the answer is yes, why did Jesus die for them? Is it better now?

They said Jesus died for humans to understand they are sinners and need to repent of your sins and ask for forgiveness.

[Lalee]

From what I see a nice person is a half Christian because that person does nice things for others. Is it a big deal if someone believes in Jesus Christ or not? I mean, if one believed in him and went against his teaching, that person would be even worst than the one who didn't believe in him, right?

I'm a Christian and I don't do nice things but I know what you mean. You're talking about following Jesus's teaching. Since he did good while he was here, his followers have to do the same thing as well, no?
Superficially we can see that he helped a lot of people. He did things like curing illnesses most of all, right? Not only did he cure their bodies but also he cured them from sin. He didn't come here to teach us to cure people but to show us how to get rid of sin.
The best thing a Christian can do is preaching the Gospel to people who are not born again yet. Jesus never gave alms to the poor. He was always preaching the Gospel everywhere he went.
What would God like better? Saving souls or saving bodies?
If a born-again Christian commits a horrible thing against God, that person does not lose salvation but when he dies, he will have problems. In the bible says that some Christians will be exalted and others will be embarrassed.
So Christianity is not about being nice but believing in Jesus' sacrifice and follow a life depending on the Lord and understanding His will in our lives.

[Lalee]

Hehehehhee my cousin explained to me about that example, and it did not look like mine by the way. You'd better get another one. 8)

OK I've got a good one.
Luke 18
9And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

So the men who acknowledged himself as a sinner and a wicked person who didn't deserve God's mercy got justified.
So before receiving salvation, you need to know that you're a sinner and that you need God's help. The man who got justified asked for God's mercy.
Sin is like a wall that separates God from people that's why God wants them to get rid of it.

[Lalee]

They said Jesus died for humans to understand they are sinners and need to repent of your sins and ask for forgiveness.

Moses' Law is what makes people understand they're sinners not Jesus' death.
Romans 3
20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

And how do they repent? What do they do?
Also if Jesus died for humans and through his death God forgave us all our sins, then why would people need to ask for forgiveness again?

[MissLT]

So Christianity is not about being nice but believing in Jesus' sacrifice and follow a life depending on the Lord and understanding His will in our lives.

I find it a bit contradictory. According to my cousin and Chris, Jesus was born because humans were in the path towards Satan instead of God. They thought they were better than God. They had no conscience. And they felt no remorse. Thus, God promised one would be saved if that person believed in Christ and followed his teaching.

If one understood his teaching and his sacrifice, then one should be nice others because that's what his teaching is all about, isn't it? If one understood all these above and couldn't be nice to others, how would it work? Isn't it a hypocritical thought? I mean, "yeah, I understand his teaching, but do I have to be nice because I'm just a human being?" And then one ends up not being nice. Then ask for forgiveness on the Judgement Day because they understand why Jesus was here on earth?!?!?!?!?!??!!?

[Lalee]

Thus, God promised one would be saved if that person believed in Christ and followed his teaching.

Uh huh.

If one understood his teaching and his sacrifice, then one should be nice others because that's what his teaching is all about, isn't it?

Not exactly.
Read this: Luke 4
16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

In verse 18 we can clearly see what Jesus did while he lived on earth. Through all those things, he wanted to show people that their souls were sick with sin and that they needed someone who could cure them from sin.
Jesus also called some people serpents, and generation of vipers and insulted them somehow. Was he being nice to them? He just wanted to show them how wrong they were.
Also His followers were His disciples and we can see through the Bible that their only duty was preaching the Gospel to others. It was not about being nice to others. Most of them left their families to follow Jesus.
So his teaching was not about being nice but showing people that their lives were being led by Satan and that He was there to help them.

If one understood all these above and couldn't be nice to others, how would it work? Isn't it a hypocritical thought? I mean, "yeah, I understand his teaching, but do I have to be nice because I'm just a human being?" And then one ends up not being nice. Then ask for forgiveness on the Judgement Day because they understand why Jesus was here on earth?!?!?!?!?!??!!?

Where does it say in the Bible that we can ask for forgiveness on the Judgement Day?
God gives us the chance here to get saved through Jesus and when you die sure all people will get to that day and that's when God sends you to heaven or hell. God is the judge, Jesus your defender, the devil your accuser and you the accused.

Christians are people whose job is sharing the Gospel with others, if they do that they're following Jesus's teaching.
Why would God care if you're nice to others or not when He already knows you can't do good? We think we do good but we don't. Before our eyes, some people are good and others are bad but before God's sight, all of us are bad. We say that we have good and bad sides but it doesn't work that way for Him. We're bad period. That's why God can't accept our sacrifice. He needs something perfect. You know that the wages of sin is death, right? So since we're born with sin, we just can't do anything for ourselves to get rid of it because we're like infected and we can't die for our sins either. That's when Jesus comes. Since he's perfect, God can accept his death.
It can be complicated to understand God's heart or the way He sees things but we just live in different worlds.
Can a cockroach understand our world?

[jeffcox]

LennyeTran is correct in saying that it's a bit contradictory.

The bible says that we must repent our sins first. Only then, can we be judged on how we followed the teachings of Jesus and be given forgiveness by God.

But there are so many stories in the bible that contradict this statement, as have already been told here, where people have repented their sins and were given God's blessing, even though they did not follow Jesus's teachings.

There are so many, in fact, that it would be more logical to believe that repenting our sins provides a free ticket to heaven.

[jeffcox]

We're bad period. That's why God can't accept our sacrifice. He needs something perfect. You know that the wages of sin is death, right? So since we're born with sin, we just can't do anything for ourselves to get rid of it because we're like infected and we can't die for our sins either.

That's right. From the moment after we're born, we're all sinners. Damned from the start!

God wants us to be perfect. The only way we can be perfect is to do what He wants and beg Him for mercy. He gives us the ability to think and make decisions and blames us if we don't do what He wants... that's really sick.

He wants us all to be yes-boys, brown-nosers, and bless Him for all that He does for us. In other words, He has to be superior... everything that the bible teaches us is a sin. Therefore, God is a sinner and does not deserve our blessing.

Logic is a wonderful gift... from God

[BrianFitz]

I have browsed through bits of this thread, and I have to say I am saddened and I can now understand why there are holy wars. Purhaps I did not read the postings where people where having intelligent dialogues about religions. Some seem only to be spewing the doctrine so ingrained in the heads since by there religious communities they cloud their judgement with what is right and wrong. Religion has caused such a great divide in all acroos the globe. It's funny to think that Crusaders went to fight muslims because they Believed in the same god they just had different ways of worship. Stupid. Religion blinds people. I know I look at the catholic Family In which I was raised and see the vail of ignorance it cast on me my twelve years of catholic school. There is no one true religion, only one true God. How you coose to worship that God is matter of your own faith and your own understanding of who God is. And don't let anyone take that from you, Not With Bible quotes or Tiraids from a pulpit. No Spiritually leader is closer to God than you are. No one was made great than the other. Keep your religion if you want, I still go to a Catholic Churc but I don't buy everything they sell. Yes, Religion is a busness. I buy what I like and you may say that is convienent and you would be right. I like what makes me feel good and I feel good about it because it is what I feel god wants me to choose.
No I haven't read the bible cover to cover, maybe some day I will. But I am not going to spend years of my life Justing any religion because I was told it was the best religion the one true religion- All religions believe this in one way or another.
I have study several world religions and I have come to discover some claring similarities. I wont tell you what they are as you should look to do the same.
So enough talk about the Bible (a great book written by fallible men) and enough about Catholics and Christians and muslims and buddhists and angostics and enough about who is right and wrong, God can only tell you that. So my advice to is to have faith; have faith in God, Buddha, Alah, mankind,yourself. You decide. It doesn't matter which one you choose as I believe if you believe in anything you believe in God (an omnipotent power that is every where all the time). So stop bickering and start believing...believing is something...anything Just believe. "Spirituality Unites, Religions divide"

[BrianFitz]

s"

[MissLT]

In verse 18 we can clearly see what Jesus did while he lived on earth. Through all those things, he wanted to show people that their souls were sick with sin and that they needed someone who could cure them from sin.

Because to him they were indeed sinners. From what I know about the Bible, only Jesus was allowed to join God in heaven without being judged. He was born pure from all sins. Hence, he was a savior to guide people out of their sins.

Jesus also called some people serpents, and generation of vipers and insulted them somehow. Was he being nice to them? He just wanted to show them how wrong they were.

My being nice is not about the fake talks, the let's make love not wars ~. My being nice is thou shalt not murder or whatever the ten commandments are. Or a little more to it. A good conscience, good judgement, good common sense, you know.

This is why I said a nice person is already a half Christian. And I don't see anything is wrong with not recognizing Jesus as a savior. I mean, if you live a life with no regret, no shame, no whatsoever, do you need someone to tell you that you're a sinner? I mean, what's the use of living a life without any harm done and being called a sinner?

I once asked my cousin what about monks who don't recognize Jesus as a savior. Would they go to hell or heaven? She said hell. I asked her why. She said because they don't recognize Jesus as a savior. I told her it's not a crime, though. Why would they have to be in hell to feel all ther remorse that they didn't recognize Jesus? Doesn't that mean God likes to punish more than judging you for who you are? And a bit of a control freak, I might say. Punish those who don't believe in his work....

[MissLT]

Where does it say in the Bible that we can ask for forgiveness on the Judgement Day?
God gives us the chance here to get saved through Jesus and when you die sure all people will get to that day and that's when God sends you to heaven or hell. God is the judge, Jesus your defender, the devil your accuser and you the accused.

You just answered your own question, silly.

Why would God care if you're nice to others or not when He already knows you can't do good?

Isn't it a bit contradictory to what Jesus was meant to be here on earth? I mean, wasn't it a total waste of time for him to acknowledge ignorants when he was given the message that people should be ignored? Why would God send Jesus to help humans with their sins when he alread knew they would end up repeating their sins? So was Jesus here just to tell people how sinful they were and not in a mean of a second chance for humans? :?

We think we do good but we don't. Before our eyes, some people are good and others are bad but before God's sight, all of us are bad.

It doesn't matter what we've done?

[MissLT]

LennyeTran is correct in saying that it's a bit contradictory.

The bible says that we must repent our sins first. Only then, can we be judged on how we followed the teachings of Jesus and be given forgiveness by God.

This is what I thought.

[MissLT]

So enough talk about the Bible (a great book written by fallible men) and enough about Catholics and Christians and muslims and buddhists and angostics and enough about who is right and wrong, God can only tell you that.

Thank you. We've been having a good conversation so far about the Bible. If you feel like joining in, be our guest. Otherwise, please leave us with our conversation. We have no hostility towards each other even we're talking about the Bible right now. She doesn't tell me her religion is the truest, or she doesn't tell me to check her sites to get the "right" information. Same thing with others in this topic. Thus, I'm pretty okay to discuss with them.

[Danyet]

BrianFitz, you sound like a real idiot. You admit that you have not even read the Bible and then attempt to tell us that we have said enough on the subject!

Not only that you assign incorrect motives to the Crusaders. The Crusaders did not worship the same God. The Biblical God's name is "Yahwey". The Muslim god is "Allah" which predates Mohammed as a spirit worshiped by early pagan Arabs.

Lastly, Crusaders were urged on by the political need the fight back the Muslim hordes that had already infected southern Europe and were on the threshold of the Vatican in Rome.
You are the prime example of "a little knowlege is dangerous".

[MissLT]

BrianFitz, you sound like a real idiot. You admit that you have not even read the Bible and then attempt to tell us that we have said enough on the subject!

Not only that you assign incorrect motives to the Crusaders. The Crusaders did not worship the same God. The Biblical God's name is "Yahwey". The Muslim god is "Allah" which predates Mohammed as a spirit worshiped by early pagan Arabs.

Lastly, Crusaders were urged on by the political need the fight back the Muslim hordes that had already infected southern Europe and were on the threshold of the Vatican in Rome.
You are the prime example of "a little knowlege is dangerous".

You just can't help yourself, can you? If you ruined it, I'd ask you to leave, too. Don't you dare ruining it, babe. I have sharp teeth and know how to bite.

[MissLT]

How have you been, by the way? Still the States?

[Danyet]

Still here for the time being!

Anyway I couldn't help it! That Brian guy makes no sense at all. Why does he even still go to mass? He has no business making comments on Lalee's posts like that.
Hey Brian....go bake a cake or something. :)

[MissLT]

Still here for the time being!

Anyway I couldn't help it! That Brian guy makes no sense at all. Why does he even still go to mass? He has no business making comments on Lalee's posts like that.
Hey Brian....go bake a cake or something. :)

Ahem ahem ahem, Lalee's posts only? You're telling me you don't read mine?!??!?!?! Don't make me scratch your eyes out.

[Lalee]

Hey Brian....go bake a cake or something. :)

[Admiral]

Brian is not the real idiot here.

[MissLT]

Brian is not the real idiot here.

If you have nothing to talk about the Bible, I suggest you to go elsewhere or PM Danyet for your personal vendetta. I don't have much time to go further on with this nonsense attack. You've having this little message as a warning.

Do not ruin the thread and make it locked with your selfish little thought, okay. Thank you so much.

[Danyet]

The thing that makes the Bible so unique is its historical value. So far the Bible has given many details of ancient life and customs.
Even things written about in the Bible that seemed to be improbable to modern science and historians has eventually been proven to be correct.

One example is the Biblical story of a particular battle between Israelites and Assyrians. The Assyrians had amassed a great army that vastly outnumbered the Israelites. The Israelites feared for their own destruction. However, the Bible states that "the angel of Yahwey went out and in one night slew 85,000 Assyrian soldiers" thereby saving Israel. (I am not sure of the exact number but it was unbelievably large.)

Modern day historians did not believe this story until recently when archeologists found a stone tablet with the legal and royal writings from the king of Assyria on it.
This stone tablet told the same story that the Bible told, except that it was from the Assyrians point of view. It stated that the Assyrian king had the Israelites out numbered but decided to withdraw from the battle with the Israelite because 85,000 of his soldiers died from a plauge in one night.

There are many such stories as this in the Bible. Little slices of ancient life. And predictions that have apparently come true. I find them quite fascinating.

There! Are you happy Lennye? The thread is back on track now.

[MissLT]

Muaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Of course, I am!

[jeffcox]

danyet, your last post shows how normal, scientific events were explained and understood as mystical and miraculous workings of God.

It may also explain how Jesus was seen as some gift from God, but may simply have been a Mother Teresa, a person who dedicated his life to helping others.

If we consider that many stories in the bible are considered parables, and many are later explained as natural occurance instead of a miracle or mystical event, then what exactly is left to believe in?

How much of what is left proves that Jesus, or God, is anything more than superstition and over-imagination?

[Danyet]

danyet, your last post shows how normal, scientific events were explained and understood as mystical and miraculous workings of God.

My post explained nothing of the sort. I did not attempt to explain how 85,000 men died of a mysterious disease that killed them all in one night. I seriously doubt that science has a proper explanation either!

You can all draw your own conclusions how to explain these occurrences.

[Shazzam]

danyet, your last post shows how normal, scientific events were explained and understood as mystical and miraculous workings of God.

My post explained nothing of the sort. I did not attempt to explain how 85,000 men died of a mysterious disease that killed them all in one night. I seriously doubt that science has a proper explanation either!

You can all draw your own conclusions how to explain these occurrences.

Applause! 8) :D

[jeffcox]

You could question the idea of 'in one night'.

Many languages have an expression such as in Engish 'overnight' which is often used for something that happens suddenly or very quickly. It doesn't really have to be taken literally to mean during one night only.

And your text does indicate that many events could have a logical explanation.

Again, it's a question of faith. And, I repeat that it is highly improbable, if not impossible, that you could change someone's religious faith through logical argument.

[Danyet]

It matters not whether there are logical scientific reasons or not. That was not the point i was making!!
The point is --- that at one time Biblical stories were simply dismissed as fables by science --- but modern archeology has proven the stories to be accurate in every detail time and time again.

The book covers thousands of years of history and is probably the most important document available to us. For generations it was painstakingly recited and remembered and then painstakingly copied. The Dead Sea Scrolls proved how accurate it has been copied.