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Joined: Apr 2010
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I don't see the need for "believing" the Bible. The good teachings are pretty much universal and, for myself, do not need to be backed up by any sort of myth. Whatever may be, or not be, historically true in the Bible has no relevance to the value of the teachings. The teachings themselves are hit and miss and need personal, rational verification as to their usefulness.
The Bible falls into the same category as Beowulf or the Odyssey, worthy of examination to learn something of ancient thought, but of little value as some sort of prophecy or words of God.
You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller
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Joined: Aug 2005
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old hand
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Joined: Aug 2005
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I don't see the need for "believing" the Bible. The good teachings are pretty much universal and, for myself, do not need to be backed up by any sort of myth. Whatever may be, or not be, historically true in the Bible has no relevance to the value of the teachings. The teachings themselves are hit and miss and need personal, rational verification as to their usefulness.
The Bible falls into the same category as Beowulf or the Odyssey, worthy of examination to learn something of ancient thought, but of little value as some sort of prophecy or words of God. The issue is that many people take the bible as an historic document- which it is not. They base the existence of people and things on a faith-based record - sort of like basing your historical knowledge on a self-help book. How much is true would be irrelevant if it were not being used as a source of gospel and assumed to be true. But millions of people believe it to be true.
"The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them."
Lenny Bruce
"The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month."
Dostoevsky
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Joined: Aug 2005
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George Carlin nailed it: And for those of you who look to The Bible for moral lessons and literary qualities, I might suggest a couple of other stories for you. You might want to look at the Three Little Pigs, that's a good one. Has a nice happy ending, I'm sure you'll like that. Then there's Little Red Riding Hood, although it does have that X-rated part where the Big Bad Wolf actually eats the grandmother. Which I didn't care for, by the way. And finally, I've always drawn a great deal of moral comfort from Humpty Dumpty. The part I like the best? "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again." That's because there is no Humpty Dumpty, and there is no God. None, not one, no God, never was.
"The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them."
Lenny Bruce
"The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month."
Dostoevsky
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,583
Administrator Bionic Scribe
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Administrator Bionic Scribe
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George Carlin nailed it: And for those of you who look to The Bible for moral lessons and literary qualities, I might suggest a couple of other stories for you. You might want to look at the Three Little Pigs, that's a good one. Has a nice happy ending, I'm sure you'll like that. Then there's Little Red Riding Hood, although it does have that X-rated part where the Big Bad Wolf actually eats the grandmother. Which I didn't care for, by the way. And finally, I've always drawn a great deal of moral comfort from Humpty Dumpty. The part I like the best? "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again." That's because there is no Humpty Dumpty, and there is no God. None, not one, no God, never was. Just his opinion. 
milk and Girl Scout cookies ;-)
Save your breath-You may need it to blow up your date.
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Moderator Carpal Tunnel
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Moderator Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2011
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I think the Bible is probably the most unread book most people own.
A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.
Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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Joined: Aug 2005
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old hand
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You're probably right... But yet so many hold it as gospel 
"The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them."
Lenny Bruce
"The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month."
Dostoevsky
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,583
Administrator Bionic Scribe
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Administrator Bionic Scribe
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,583 |
You're probably right... But yet so many hold it as gospel And when some read it, they conveniently forget or outright ignore the parts that don't agree with their agenda.
milk and Girl Scout cookies ;-)
Save your breath-You may need it to blow up your date.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,583
Administrator Bionic Scribe
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Administrator Bionic Scribe
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One thing I had forgotten to say here earlier. If new information arises, I want to try and keep an open mind 1)when I read and study the new information, and 2)keep an open mind when I compare it to the Bible. 3) Question both parts to see if it passes my smell test.
milk and Girl Scout cookies ;-)
Save your breath-You may need it to blow up your date.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,388
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Aug 2005
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You're probably right... But yet so many hold it as gospel And when some read it, they conveniently forget or outright ignore the parts that don't agree with their agenda. Aye lassie, and therein lies the rub. If you have millions of people reading a document that has so many vagaries, you allow that to happen. Take a look at this: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Yet, there are still people who don't understand (or want to reinterpret) this simple sentence.
"The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them."
Lenny Bruce
"The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month."
Dostoevsky
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,583
Administrator Bionic Scribe
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Administrator Bionic Scribe
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,583 |
You're probably right... But yet so many hold it as gospel And when some read it, they conveniently forget or outright ignore the parts that don't agree with their agenda. Aye lassie, and therein lies the rub. If you have millions of people reading a document that has so many vagaries, you allow that to happen. Take a look at this: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Yet, there are still people who don't understand (or want to reinterpret) this simple sentence. As with the Bible, many of the same group that cherry-pick the Bible often do the same with the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Or use their cherry-picking parameters to criticize court decisions that they do not like. Like the recent SCOTUS Decisions on the ACA and Same-sex marriage.
milk and Girl Scout cookies ;-)
Save your breath-You may need it to blow up your date.
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