The overwhelming splendor and excellence of the Bible cannot be disputed

yup

[IMG]http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/23123771.jpg[/IMG]

The obscurity of the writings is the reason why there are thousands of christian denominations. Believers simply could not agree on every issue, whether or not a passage is meant to be taken literally or metaphorically; or whether or not a passage could still be applied in today's society. Personal interpretations differ and could also be influenced by cultural and social upbringing, hence geographical location is also major factor in determining what particular denomination you'd adhere to.

Its good if you like fables and fairytales and such.

[QUOTE=BuGzBuNNy]I'd expect even the most hardcore atheists can acknowledge the greatness (for lack of better term) of the Good Book[/QUOTE]

Common sense stuff. Do unto others, don't steal and lie, try not to act like a prick. Oral traditions and fables were promoting similar messages to burgeoning civilizations for centuries before the Bible started coming together.

[QUOTE=BuGzBuNNy]:oldlol: So you think thats a good summary?[/QUOTE]

Yep. I've read the thing cover-to-cover. Dad's family is devoutly Southern Baptist, Mom's family is strict Roman Catholic. Probably one of the few people in this city who not only had to do Confirmation, but also attended Sunday School a couple times a month.

Its not my intent to slander the Bible by any means, so don't interpret my words as such.

[QUOTE=BuGzBuNNy]What does this even mean? Unless you're from some heavy atheist area with a small population I find it hard to believe you were 'one of few people in this city' to attend a sunday school. How do you even come to such a conclusion and what are you proving by saying it?[/QUOTE]

...okay. You've basically ignored the actual substance of my reply in favor of adopting a snarky, defensive tone for no reason and questioning a small point I couldn't possibly offer proof of.

You are the reason that debating on the internet is mostly the province of the retarded.

[QUOTE=Derka]Its good if you like fables and fairytales and such.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Derka]Its not my intent to slander the Bible by any means, so don't interpret my words as such.[/QUOTE]

[IMG]http://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2010/7/29/c60ecec2-3291-47cd-b182-729b9e6f080b.jpg[/IMG]

I'm not aware of a universe where comparing a religious text to a fairytale isn't offensive, but I'm also not a douchebag so :confusedshrug:

Got this for Christmas!


[IMG]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514Ke5T7TAL._SL500_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-big,TopRight,35,-73_OU01_SS500_.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-78qK0DDj9XY/Thj8aCG4ImI/AAAAAAAADpQ/kWbttunUQUo/s1600/ActionBibleSample.jpg[/IMG]

The pages don't burn that consistently so if you're out of zig zags, it's not the greatest alternative....however it does make for a good wipe after you came on a chick in a motel and there's no towels or toilet paper, just the bible in the dresser :confusedshrug:

Don't mistake my words for insults, I am merely proposing modern uses for obsolete fiction. Too many trees have died in the name of Jesus!

[QUOTE=macmac]The pages don't burn that consistently so if you're out of zig zags, it's not the greatest alternative....however it does make for a good wipe after you came on a chick in a motel and there's no towels or toilet paper, just the bible in the dresser :confusedshrug:

Don't mistake my words for insults, I am merely proposing modern uses for obsolete fiction. Too many trees have died in the name of Jesus![/QUOTE]
You're a pretentious douche. Doesn't even have the decency to just stay out of the thread, let alone has to downgrade the value of a literary and historical work such as the bible to "obsolete fiction" Pretty unbelievable that he writes out these little gems of insight while having a google thesaurus on the other tab. Takes a lot of effort to impress your little forum friends, doesnt it? but wait; don't mistake my words as insults, it's just a very clear insight of your shitty self.

[QUOTE=Jello]You're a pretentious douche. Doesn't even have the decency to just stay out of the thread, let alone has to downgrade the value of a literary and historical work such as the bible to "obsolete fiction" Pretty unbelievable that he writes out these little gems of insight while having a google thesaurus on the other tab. Takes a lot of effort to impress your little forum friends, doesnt it? but wait; don't mistake my words as insults, it's just a very clear insight of your shitty self.[/QUOTE]

Good one. Hope I impressed you.

OP can post whatever he wants if you dont agree then stay out of the thread.

[QUOTE=macmac]Good one. Hope I impressed you.[/QUOTE]
Yes, very impressed. A+ for effort.

[QUOTE=BuGzBuNNy][b][i][u]Hebrews 4:12[/u][/i][/b]
For the word of God is quick[/QUOTE]

Considering it took the Australian Aboriginals several thousand years before they heared it, I'll stop you right there.

[QUOTE=Jello]You're a pretentious douche. Doesn't even have the decency to just stay out of the thread, let alone has to downgrade the value of a literary and historical work such as the bible to "obsolete fiction" Pretty unbelievable that he writes out these little gems of insight while having a google thesaurus on the other tab. Takes a lot of effort to impress your little forum friends, doesnt it? but wait; don't mistake my words as insults, it's just a very clear insight of your shitty self.[/QUOTE]

Here we are in a thread about the "overwhelming splendor and excellence" of an obsolete fictional book, and you are gonna get all whacked out of shape when someone points out that this obsolete fictional book could actually still be useful for a couple things? You are the pretentious douche.

[QUOTE=Nanners]Here we are in a thread about the "overwhelming splendor and excellence" of an obsolete fictional book, and you are gonna get all whacked out of shape when someone points out that this obsolete fictional book could actually still be useful for a couple things? You are the pretentious douche.[/QUOTE]
Every university has the Bible as reading in their ancient history curriculum, a core humanities class that is required in nearly every university. It is also a core part of many people's beliefs.
It doesn't surprise me that you think you can degrade something core to someone's belief system to shit and *** rags and then call it useful.
If you think that's okay, then it's obvious you're a pretentious douche as well.

Too bad that the bible was plagiarized from no less than a dozen sources, in particular these other "Gods" who were [B]before[/B] Jesus' time but are remarkably similar to what he is claimed to be...

[IMG]http://loltheists.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/horus-attis-mithra-krishna-dionysus.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ebzCmt0GidQ/T4EquL8ScoI/AAAAAAAABOY/0mlrA8nLgz0/s1600/horus+THEN+jesus.png[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Jello]Every university has the Bible as reading in their ancient history curriculum, a core humanities class that is required in nearly every university. It is also a core part of many people's beliefs.
It doesn't surprise me that you think you can degrade something core to someone's belief system to shit and *** rags and then call it useful.
If you think that's okay, then it's obvious you're a pretentious douche as well.[/QUOTE]

The bible has had an impact on literature, and it is historically important. However overall it is trash. If it were written today it would be mocked to high heaven. And it isn't a core of peoples beliefs, people pick and choose the bits they like and disregard the bits they don't. Every philosophy filters down to the average person, but if we trashed buddha or socrates or descartes you probably wouldn't care.

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

[IMG]http://godwillbegod.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/horus.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=miller-time]The bible has had an impact on literature, and it is historically important. However overall it is trash. If it were written today it would be mocked to high heaven.[/QUOTE]
:lol That's a good reason to say overall, the Bible is trash. It would be mocked in 2012. Very good reasoning.
[QUOTE]And it isn't a core of peoples beliefs, people pick and choose the bits they like and disregard the bits they don't.[/QUOTE]
The Bible is the most fundamental source of differences in beliefs so yes, it is the core of their beliefs. How does people picking and choosing bits to believe make the core source not the Bible?:hammerhead:
[QUOTE] Every philosophy filters down to the average person, but if we trashed buddha or socrates or descartes you probably wouldn't care.[/QUOTE]
Nice assumption.

[QUOTE=Jello]Every university has the Bible as reading in their ancient history curriculum, a core humanities class that is required in nearly every university. It is also a core part of many people's beliefs.
It doesn't surprise me that you think you can degrade something core to someone's belief system to shit and *** rags and then call it useful.
If you think that's okay, then it's obvious you're a pretentious douche as well.[/QUOTE]

dont really see your point about universities, as most universities read plenty of fiction books in addition to the bible. the illiad for example.

so melodramatic with all your crying about someone degrading your core beliefs as a c*um rag. if my beliefs were actually written down on paper somewhere I would be honored if you used it to wipe up some sex juice.

[QUOTE=Nanners]dont really see your point about universities, as most universities read plenty of fiction books in addition to the bible. the illiad for example.

so melodramatic with all your crying about someone degrading your core beliefs as a c*um rag. if my beliefs were actually written down on paper somewhere I would be honored if you used it to wipe up some sex juice.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I know you're a douche. You don't have to make it clearer.

[QUOTE=Jello]Yes, I know you're a douche. You don't have to make it clearer.[/QUOTE]


seems like you mad. maybe you should move some place where a larger percentage of the population actually gives a shit when their beloved holy books get disrespected......try the middle east or africa.

[QUOTE=Nanners]seems like you mad. maybe you should move some place where a larger percentage of the population actually gives a shit when their beloved holy books get disrespected......try the middle east or africa.[/QUOTE]
:mad: Douche, please stahp it. Just stahp.

[QUOTE=Jello]:mad: Douche, please stahp it. Just stahp.[/QUOTE]

once again the fiction book loses against logic and fact

"please stop pointing out that my belief system based on a book about magic that makes no sense.... i cant handle the truth"

Also the "overwhelming splendor and excellence" of the bible can absolutely be disputed especially because of the numerous errors and contradictions that are in it, or do these errors in OP's opinion add to its greatness... :lol

[QUOTE=Jello]How does people picking and choosing bits to believe make the core source not the Bible?:hammerhead:[/QUOTE]

Because the overall process of picking and choosing is influenced by social and literary sources outside of the bible.

[QUOTE=Nanners]once again the fiction book loses against logic and fact

"please stop pointing out that my belief system makes no sense.... i cant handle the truth"[/QUOTE]
What logic? You would like people to use your written work as shit rags. Seeing your posts, it would be necessarily a shit rag.
You're on the little hook that it's fiction. It doesn't matter if it's "obsolete fiction" There is plenty of archaeological, historical, and sociological value and insights that you can get from the Bible and its use in history. Continue to be douche because of your disdain for people who have different beliefs than you.

[QUOTE=Jello] There is plenty of [B]archaeological, historical, and sociological value and insights[/B] that you can get from the Bible and its use in history. Continue to be douche because of your disdain for people who have different beliefs than you.[/QUOTE]

Theres at the very least a million books that can claim the same thing, what makes this one special?

[QUOTE=miller-time]Because the overall process of picking and choosing is influenced by social and literary sources outside of the bible.[/QUOTE]
It's a man made literary work that is open to interpretation. I still don't see how society influencing what parts people choose to believe means the Bible isn't a core source of their beliefs.

"I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees".

[QUOTE=Kews1]Theres at the very least a million books that can claim the same thing, what makes this one special?[/QUOTE]
Because there is over 6 billion copies worldwide?
Because it was used as tool for political power and gives sociological insight?
Because it is the basis of a religion that has almost 2 billion self proclaimed believers?
Because it has been a significant source for archaeology and descriptions from Biblical text has been used to help discover ancient cities?
Because it has historically corresponding events with early historians?

[QUOTE=Jello]Because there is over 6 billion copies worldwide?
Because it was used as tool for political power and gives sociological insight?
Because it is the basis of a religion that has almost 2 billion self proclaimed believers?
Because it has been a significant source for archaeology and descriptions from Biblical text has been used to help discover ancient cities?
Because it has historically corresponding events with early historians?[/QUOTE]

None of those things essentially mean jack shit or are fundamentally false.

its not a popularity contest the amount of sales hardly influences its validity or greatness,

It has also been used as a tool for evil, political schemes and oppression.

An almost unquestioned basis whereby people are brainwashed as children and no decisions are made based on fact by them when they are capable adults, if you are told that it is true by your parents, teachers, preachers and church when you are young you will inevitable believe it, at least untill you do the research yourself and make an informed decision - which almost nobody does, people are shocked when the realize how flawed it is.

Like what? What places have been found that would not have been found without guidance from the bible and what about the many places revealed in the bible have never been found - Where is the Garden of Eden? Where is Lazarus Tomb? Where is Jesus' Tomb? - And what about the fact that these ancient cities you claim the bible help to find have maintained their names since the time of the writing of the bible, how hard is it to find if it has been called the same thing for 2000 years? What about the numerous cities named in the bible that have never been found?

I dont even know what the **** your last thing means

Your a ****ing half-wit, GTFOH

[QUOTE=Kews1]None of those things essentially mean jack shit or are fundamentally false. [/QUOTE]
What? It does have value in a wide range of subjects.

[QUOTE]its not a popularity contest the amount of sales hardly influences its validity or greatness, [/QUOTE]
That's why it has its value in sociology. 2 billion people still believing in Christianity is not a worthy phenomenon to study?
[QUOTE]It has also been used as a tool for evil, political schemes and oppression.[/QUOTE]
Um yeah. That's why its important to study how it was used historically and sociologically.

[QUOTE]An almost unquestioned basis whereby people are brainwashed as children and no decisions are made based on fact by them when they are capable adults, if you are told that it is true by your parents, teachers, preachers and church when you are young you will inevitable believe it, at least untill you do the research yourself and make an informed decision - which almost nobody does, people are shocked when the realize how flawed it is.
[/QUOTE]
This has nothing to do with the post you responded too.
[QUOTE]Like what? What places have been found that would not have been found without guidance from the bible and what about the many places revealed in the bible have never been found - Where is the Garden of Eden? Where is Lazarus Tomb? Where is Jesus' Tomb? - And what about the fact that these ancient cities you claim the bible help to find have maintained their names since the time of the writing of the bible, how hard is it to find if it has been called the same thing for 2000 years? What about the numerous cities named in the bible that have never been found? [/QUOTE]
I never said that the Bible is an infallible source of archaeology. Archaeologists use literary works like the Bible and Illead to look for clues to pick a site to excavate. Do they excavate with no reference?

[QUOTE]I dont even know what the **** your last thing means

Your a ****ing half-wit, GTFOH[/QUOTE]
It's because you're the halfwit. It's basically saying that the Bible has some historical value. Your post reads like you think I'm arguing for the Bible as infallible and that I believe in it. If you do think that, you made a horrible assumption. If you want my opinion, the Bible and religion are man made social phenomena and they need to be studied to get an accurate picture of the ancient world.

Poor reply, bad job, bad effort

[QUOTE=Derka]Its good if you like fables and fairytales and such.[/QUOTE]
Didnt have to scroll far.

The bible is a great book with many lessons that a lot of people could learn from and apply to their lives.

[QUOTE=Kews1][IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ebzCmt0GidQ/T4EquL8ScoI/AAAAAAAABOY/0mlrA8nLgz0/s1600/horus+THEN+jesus.png[/IMG][/QUOTE]

No that Zeitgeist BS again. :lol A bunch of BS made up by a 19th century poet named Gerald Massey. No respected historian in the world claim those "facts" about those deities.

Read it and learn [url]http://conspiracies.skepticproject.com/articles/zeitgeist/part-one[/url] An article ((with all the references) made by a non christian debunking all that BS.

Even militant atheists like historian Richard Carrier and those guys from the Atheist Experience show think Zeitgeist is BS.

Example: Horus wasn't born of a virgin, on the 25th dec, a teacher at 12, he wasn't crucified, he did not ressurect, he wasn't know as the Light, God's sheperd. There were no star in the east, no 12 disciples. It's all made up by Gerald Massey (lamer in history).

From wikipedia:


[QUOTE]Claimed parallels between Horus and Jesus

One of the more sensational aspects of Massey's writings were the parallels he drew between the Christian god Jesus of Nazareth and the Egyptian god Horus. These comparisons are primarily contained in his book The Natural Genesis. Massey's writings on this subject have influenced various later authors such as Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Tom Harpur, and Acharya S.[5]

Some of the similarities that Massey claimed existed are that they both

Were born of virgins on December 25
Taught in a temple as a child at age 12
Were teachers who had 12 Disciples
Were baptized in a river
Gave a sermon on the mount
Healed the sick
Raised men from the dead (El-Asar-Us for Horus, Lazarus for Jesus)
Died by crucifixion
Were resurrected three days later.[6]


Criticism from scholars

W. Ward Gasque, a Ph.D from Harvard and Manchester University conducted an international poll of twenty Egyptologists - including Professor Kenneth Kitchen of the University of Liverpool and Ron Leprohan, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Toronto - in Canada, US, UK, Australia, Germany, and Austria to verify academic support for these claims. The scholars were unanimous in dismissing the claims[/QUOTE]

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Massey[/url]