The Bible. Myth or Reality?

[Tuatara]

It's very dangerous to mock the Holy Spirit.

it also demonstrates you don't know anything about the spiritual

I keep egging him on to hit me with a bolt of lightning but

 

[Hollie]

It's very dangerous to mock the Holy Spirit.

it also demonstrates you don't know anything about the spiritual

I keep egging him on to hit me with a bolt of lightning but

The gawds definitely have a raucous sense of humor. Just take a look at the believers they put up with.

 

[there4eyeM]

Every definition of God by those who push religion is an insult to God (who, by definition, cannot be defined).

 

[Delta4Embassy]

The Bible. Myth or Reality?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAEpc1zhcuo

As a Gnostic Christian I see literal reading of the Bible as a gross distortion of what the Bible was written to do. That being to inspire people to seek God and his best laws and rules. Literal readers just become idol worshipers and do not seek God the way Jesus instructed.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03132009/watch.html

Literal reading has created and idol worshiping closed minded people who have settled for an immoral God whom we name as a demiurge as his morals, if literally true, are more satanic than God like.

Literal reading has also created a climate where scholars and experts, historians and archeologist, and all the academically well accepted information they uncover, --- is being ignored or called lies by those who are not academics of the various disciplines.

What is the point of producing good academics if literalists are going to ignore facts because of blind faith?

Remember please that if not a book of myths, then real talking serpents are somehow supposed to still exist and believers have to believe in a lot of supernatural phenomenon without any evidence whatsoever. Literalist Christians, it seems to me, have suspended rational judgement that has created in Christians a new Dark Age of thought and an Inquisitional attitude towards all other thinking. They no longer seek God and are true idol worshipers instead of the God seekers that Jesus wanted to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvBxFXQy7-M

Do you think the Bible to be a book of myths or a book trying to show reality and history?

Regards
DL

Taking a metaphorical illustration Jesus used literally ignores whatever point he may have been making.

 

[there4eyeM]

[/QUOTE]Taking a metaphorical illustration Jesus used literally ignores whatever point he may have been making.[/QUOTE]

That's why he chose metaphor!
Whatever one may think or say about him, he certainly was not a 'dummy' and didn't do things for lack of knowing what he wanted to do.

For instance...
...he left no writings.

 

[GreatestIam]

Gnosticism is another form of theism, nothing more.

You show how little you know.

Most mainstream religions like Christianity and Islam are homophobic and misogynous while we are not.

We believe in equality while you do not.

That puts us a cut above.

Regards
DL

 

[GreatestIam]

Aren't you simply trying to show the validity of the Gnostic Gospels?

I am not sure what you mean by validity.

All Gospels are based on myth including the Gnostic Gospels.

Our theology gets more out of ours than what Christianity does, morality wise and that is about the only claim I would validate.

I will wait for your definition of validity though.

Regards
DL

The Bible and the Gnostic Gospels can not both be reality, factually sound. Would your question not be better phrased as a specific fact which the Bible states which the Gnostic Gospel refutes? By better phrased I mean to address the intent of your question better.

As I indicated, all scriptures are myths.

That is why they cannot both be reality. Neither is reality.

Myths are never factually sound except to their own story lines. Any relationship to reality is accidental.

If I have to refute a myth to someone then they are literalists and believe with faith without facts and they are likely immune to facts.

Regards
DL

Did I not just read you say you were a Gnostic Christian? As JakeStarkey just stated, "Gnosticism is another form of theism, "

We are not the same at all. That is why Christianity decimated us and burned our scriptures.

I gave our friend an example of how we are different just above. Have a look.

Regards
DL

 

[GreatestIam]

I am not sure what you mean by validity.

All Gospels are based on myth including the Gnostic Gospels.

Our theology gets more out of ours than what Christianity does, morality wise and that is about the only claim I would validate.

I will wait for your definition of validity though.

Regards
DL

The Bible and the Gnostic Gospels can not both be reality, factually sound. Would your question not be better phrased as a specific fact which the Bible states which the Gnostic Gospel refutes? By better phrased I mean to address the intent of your question better.

As I indicated, all scriptures are myths.

That is why they cannot both be reality. Neither is reality.

Myths are never factually sound except to their own story lines. Any relationship to reality is accidental.

If I have to refute a myth to someone then they are literalists and believe with faith without facts and they are likely immune to facts.

Regards
DL

Did I not just read you say you were a Gnostic Christian? As JakeStarkey just stated, "Gnosticism is another form of theism, "

Oh, yeah, GreatestIam has admitted elsewhere to being Gnostic and a Blessed. Like a Muslim, a gnostic can morally lie on behalf of the belief system.

So all you have left is lies is it?

You show why Gnostic Christianity is superior to your religion.

Regards
DL

 

[GreatestIam]

Organized religion is simply the method the ancients used to gain control of the minds, and eventually the wealth of the masses..
The bible, koran, and other such mythological rantings were simply the handbooks they used in the process..

Indeed. Tribal organizations do that be they religions or governments.

Regards
DL

 

[GreatestIam]

The Bible is a great story about humans, their psychology, politics and foibles. In that way there is great truth. In details, there may be less literal reality.
Such books, and religion in general, can only point in a certain direction. They are like a map. The represent territory, but they are not the territory.

Well put.

Regards
DL

 

[GreatestIam]

It's very dangerous to mock the Holy Spirit.

it also demonstrates you don't know anything about the spiritual

Your spiritual religion is homophobic and misogynous and not worthy of a holly spook.

To fear imaginary constructs is what is dangerous to a mind. It is a sign of deep delusion.

Regards
DL

 

[GreatestIam]

The King James Bible is the truth.

Prove it. Got a talking snake with you?

You need no other book to find the way to eternal life.

I'm quite sure the Hindus, the mormons, the muslims and all the other religious people in the world would disagree with you. So you must now provide evidence for these assertions.

Jesus Christ is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among men.

Actually any word is a word. Try it. Yoda, Snapper, hopscotch, they're all words. Of course he's flesh, he's not made of mud or playdough.

He came to earth not to condemn us but that through Him we might be saved. Salvation comes from Christ alone. The Only Book you need is the BIBLE. Read it and ask the LORD to reveal Himself to you. When you ask Him be willing to do the will of God. John 7:17 is for you today!

Wait a minute. You're just preaching. You're not even interested in debating the topic. You are using a public forum to preach your religion and claim to all that it is the truth without an ounce of evidence. Good luck with that.

Preaching is all thumpers can do. Thinking is not their forte.

Regards
DL

 

[GreatestIam]

The Bible. Myth or Reality?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAEpc1zhcuo

As a Gnostic Christian I see literal reading of the Bible as a gross distortion of what the Bible was written to do. That being to inspire people to seek God and his best laws and rules. Literal readers just become idol worshipers and do not seek God the way Jesus instructed.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03132009/watch.html

Literal reading has created and idol worshiping closed minded people who have settled for an immoral God whom we name as a demiurge as his morals, if literally true, are more satanic than God like.

Literal reading has also created a climate where scholars and experts, historians and archeologist, and all the academically well accepted information they uncover, --- is being ignored or called lies by those who are not academics of the various disciplines.

What is the point of producing good academics if literalists are going to ignore facts because of blind faith?

Remember please that if not a book of myths, then real talking serpents are somehow supposed to still exist and believers have to believe in a lot of supernatural phenomenon without any evidence whatsoever. Literalist Christians, it seems to me, have suspended rational judgement that has created in Christians a new Dark Age of thought and an Inquisitional attitude towards all other thinking. They no longer seek God and are true idol worshipers instead of the God seekers that Jesus wanted to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvBxFXQy7-M

Do you think the Bible to be a book of myths or a book trying to show reality and history?

Regards
DL

Taking a metaphorical illustration Jesus used literally ignores whatever point he may have been making.

To a point. The issue might be close enough to the surface for us to see it clearly.

I see that a lot of this can be used in a literal way as it preaches freedom for individuals instead of slavery to some external God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alRNbesfXXw&feature=player_embedded

Regards
DL

 

[Bonzi]

I disagree. I happen to be a Christian, but I don't leave my brain at the church doors. There are MANY very intelligent Christians out there. Maybe they just don't frequent the message boards.

The Bible makes sense to Christian's or "saved" people. An unsaved person and understand the content, research the translations etc. but, how can you expect an unsaved person to relate to or understand the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when they have not experienced it. To dismiss it out of hand is what is ignorant.

 

[GreatestIam]

I disagree. I happen to be a Christian, but I don't leave my brain at the church doors. There are MANY very intelligent Christians out there. Maybe they just don't frequent the message boards.

The Bible makes sense to Christian's or "saved" people. An unsaved person and understand the content, research the translations etc. but, how can you expect an unsaved person to relate to or understand the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when they have not experienced it. To dismiss it out of hand is what is ignorant.

There definitely are intelligent Christians but not when it comes to thinking of the moral tenets they are following or the satanic God they adore.

I hope you are intelligent enough to understand that your God demanded a human sacrifice and the punishment of the innocent instead of the guilty and immorally called that justice.

I don't know what evil sin got you condemned to where a God had to die to forgive you.

Care to discuss how you plan to profit from that injustice?

If so, lets look at it in a slightly different but accurate way.

------------------------


Human sacrifice is evil and your God demanding one and accepting one is evil.

You trying to profit from that evil is evil. Do just a bit of thinking and you will agree.

Imagine you have two children. One of your children does something wrong – say it curses, or throws a temper tantrum, or something like that. In fact, say it does this on a regular basis, and you continually forgive your child, but it never seems to change.

Now suppose one day you’ve had enough, you need to do something different. You still wish to forgive your child, but nothing has worked. Do you go to your second child, your good child, and punish it to atone for the sins of the first?

In fact, if you ever saw a parent on the street punish one of their children for the actions of their other child, how would you react? Would you support their decision, or would you be offended? Because God punished Jesus -- his good child -- for the sins of his other children.

Interestingly, some historical royal families would beat their slaves when their own children did wrong – you should not, after all, ever beat a prince. The question is: what kind of lesson does that teach the child who actually did the harm? Does it teach them to be a better person, to stop doing harm, or does it teach them both that they won't themselves be punished, and also that punishing other people is normal? I know that's not a lesson I would want to teach my children, and I suspect it's not a lesson most Christians would want to teach theirs. So why does God?

For me, that’s at least one significant reason I find Jesus’ atonement of our sin to be morally repugnant – of course, that’s assuming Jesus ever existed; that original sin actually exists; that God actually exists; etc.

Having another innocent person suffer for the wrongs you have done, --- so that you might escape responsibility for having done them, --- is immoral.

Do you agree?

Regards
DL

 

[JakeStarkey]

Gnosticism is another form of theism, nothing more.

You show how little you know.

Most mainstream religions like Christianity and Islam are homophobic and misogynous while we are not.

We believe in equality while you do not.

That puts us a cut above.

Regards
DL

Always the cut below says so.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The Bible and the Gnostic Gospels can not both be reality, factually sound. Would your question not be better phrased as a specific fact which the Bible states which the Gnostic Gospel refutes? By better phrased I mean to address the intent of your question better.

As I indicated, all scriptures are myths.

That is why they cannot both be reality. Neither is reality.

Myths are never factually sound except to their own story lines. Any relationship to reality is accidental.

If I have to refute a myth to someone then they are literalists and believe with faith without facts and they are likely immune to facts.

Regards
DL

Did I not just read you say you were a Gnostic Christian? As JakeStarkey just stated, "Gnosticism is another form of theism, "

Oh, yeah, GreatestIam has admitted elsewhere to being Gnostic and a Blessed. Like a Muslim, a gnostic can morally lie on behalf of the belief system.

So all you have left is lies is it? You show why Gnostic Christianity is superior to your religion. RegardsDL

Says the Blessed who lies, proving the point.

 

[OZman]

To a point. The issue might be close enough to the surface for us to see it clearly.

Alan Watts revealed the gnosis to perfection in the video you posted. What an enlightened spirit he was.

 

[Bonzi]

I disagree. I happen to be a Christian, but I don't leave my brain at the church doors. There are MANY very intelligent Christians out there. Maybe they just don't frequent the message boards.

The Bible makes sense to Christian's or "saved" people. An unsaved person and understand the content, research the translations etc. but, how can you expect an unsaved person to relate to or understand the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when they have not experienced it. To dismiss it out of hand is what is ignorant.

There definitely are intelligent Christians but not when it comes to thinking of the moral tenets they are following or the satanic God they adore.

I hope you are intelligent enough to understand that your God demanded a human sacrifice and the punishment of the innocent instead of the guilty and immorally called that justice.

I don't know what evil sin got you condemned to where a God had to die to forgive you.

Care to discuss how you plan to profit from that injustice?

If so, lets look at it in a slightly different but accurate way.

------------------------


Human sacrifice is evil and your God demanding one and accepting one is evil.

You trying to profit from that evil is evil. Do just a bit of thinking and you will agree.

Imagine you have two children. One of your children does something wrong – say it curses, or throws a temper tantrum, or something like that. In fact, say it does this on a regular basis, and you continually forgive your child, but it never seems to change.

Now suppose one day you’ve had enough, you need to do something different. You still wish to forgive your child, but nothing has worked. Do you go to your second child, your good child, and punish it to atone for the sins of the first?

In fact, if you ever saw a parent on the street punish one of their children for the actions of their other child, how would you react? Would you support their decision, or would you be offended? Because God punished Jesus -- his good child -- for the sins of his other children.

Interestingly, some historical royal families would beat their slaves when their own children did wrong – you should not, after all, ever beat a prince. The question is: what kind of lesson does that teach the child who actually did the harm? Does it teach them to be a better person, to stop doing harm, or does it teach them both that they won't themselves be punished, and also that punishing other people is normal? I know that's not a lesson I would want to teach my children, and I suspect it's not a lesson most Christians would want to teach theirs. So why does God?

For me, that’s at least one significant reason I find Jesus’ atonement of our sin to be morally repugnant – of course, that’s assuming Jesus ever existed; that original sin actually exists; that God actually exists; etc.

Having another innocent person suffer for the wrongs you have done, --- so that you might escape responsibility for having done them, --- is immoral.

Do you agree?

Regards
DL

Operating under the assumption that God is perfect and incapable of error. And that we are inherently flawed, agreeing to follow God, you have to admit that there are things he does we can never understand. Is that checking your brain at the door? We are so wrapped up in our idealism of our own concepts of right and wrong, we think we know better than God. Why? If we are going to run around saying we are open minded, we REALLY need to be open minded. That includes acknowledging that there might be an entity in this world that knows better than you, is smarter than you and has a different standard of moral code.

 

[there4eyeM]

"Operating under the assumption that God is perfect and incapable of error. And that we are inherently flawed,..."

Hmmm....just, uh, isn't there, uh, you know, something a bit, um, 'strange' in that string of words??