Can atheist enjoy the Bible?

[Meriweather]

The Great Flood story predates Christianity and all of the Abrahamic Religions and is found in Sumerian Myths which mean some type of Flood happened and it destroyed some civilization back then...

Correct. Flood stories abounded. So why this one? How does it differ from others?

 

[Devils_Advocate]

The Great Flood story predates Christianity and all of the Abrahamic Religions and is found in Sumerian Myths which mean some type of Flood happened and it destroyed some civilization back then...

Correct. Flood stories abounded. So why this one? How does it differ from others?

Really can not answer except this one story destroyed a civilization that made the people in the past take note.

Was it some act of some of a deity or a natural occurrence that the people of the time believed was an act of God?

I do not know but my theory is that the Civilization was most likely in a low land area and when the Ice Age ended a flood happened and destroyed the area or some Deity got upset with Humanity and said it is purging time...

 

[Mindful]

What’s the purpose of anything?

1. To inform (teach/learn)
2. To entertain

You say the Bible is a collection of parables. In your opinion, what is their purpose?

I haven’t thought about it.

 

[Meriweather]

or some Deity got upset with Humanity and said it is purging time...

What are some human traits in the events something goes wrong? Aren't they to wonder:

1. Why did this happen?
2. Is it something I did? (Blame themselves)

Since people of the time saw God as someone who watched over them, they would look long and hard about what they did wrong. What were most people doing that they thought had been wrong that Noah, apparently, had not?

 

[Devils_Advocate]

or some Deity got upset with Humanity and said it is purging time...

What are some human traits in the events something goes wrong? Aren't they to wonder:

1. Why did this happen?
2. Is it something I did? (Blame themselves)

Since people of the time saw God as someone who watched over them, they would look long and hard about what they did wrong. What were most people doing that they thought had been wrong that Noah, apparently, had not?

All deadly sins that we know of and again the flood could have been a natural fluke that no Deity had anything to do with, but the limit minds thought because of that civilization sins they were destroyed for their sins...

Also Angels and Humans were mixing is one story that I remember, so maybe there is something about intermixing that they believed caused the Flood...

 

[Meriweather]

All deadly sins that we know of and again the flood could have been a natural fluke that no Deity had anything to do with, but the limit minds thought because of that civilization sins they were destroyed for their sins...

Also Angels and Humans were mixing is one story that I remember, so maybe there is something about intermixing that they believed caused the Flood...

We know today the causes of natural disaster; that God (or what people were doing) did not start them. People don't change much. I find quite interesting that today when people notice a change in climate, we are still quick to blame ourselves...for something that has occurred from time immemorial.

While Noah lived before Abraham, down through the ages Rabbis have noted that in this particular account, Noah said nothing. To anyone. In a later time, Abraham asks God not to destroy two cities, but Noah says not a word. Not before the flood. Not during the flood. Not until well after the flood. When he curses one of his sons.

People then (and later) believed words have power. Words can do damage, so Jews have always been taught to be careful of what they say. A popular story (still heard today) is that a man said some bad things about someone else, later regretted it, and wanted to make amends. He went to his rabbi and asked for advice. The rabbi told him to buy a bag of seed and spread it in an open field, then return in the same amount of time it took him to want to make amends for his words. The man did this, and the rabbi told him to go gather all the seeds he had spread. The man blurted, "But that is impossible. I cannot possibly find all the seeds--and by this time some have sprouted..." (The same is true of words.)

In the story, God chose a man of very few words. He said nothing, a righteous man. (The contrast was the words of others were causing damage on the earth.) Noah spoke, cursed one of his sons, causing strife to build between that son and all the others--strife and wars that lasted down through the ages. One curse...and ages of strife between Noah's descendants.

The purpose of this story was not to teach man how mankind survived the flood, but how even new beginnings can be destroyed by a few words. (Notice that it was the son's own big mouth that caused Noah to curse him.)

 

[rightwinger]

Is that really what you believe happened? That all of these different authors were writing fictional novels?

Fiction such as a great flood and parting the seas?

The Great Flood story predates Christianity and all of the Abrahamic Religions and is found in Sumerian Myths which mean some type of Flood happened and it destroyed some civilization back then...

Which contradicts the Bible that said the entire earth was covered and all but a handful of creatures were saved.

Showing the Bible as a piece of fiction

 

[rightwinger]

Then when Moses receives the Ten Commandments, not ONE OF THEM condemns Slavery

God leads a community of slaves out of slavery. And the first thing that crosses His mind is, "These are the people I need to tell that slavery should be condemned." Slaves became the masters of slaves. Who would have thought.

Yet, in writing his Commandments to man, God ignores the evils of Slavery

 

[Meriweather]

Yet, in writing his Commandments to man, God ignores the evils of Slavery

In the Commandments God focuses on love of God and love of others. Note that for the most part, while Jews did at time keep slaves, because of these Commandments they were also among the first to rid themselves of it. While it was ongoing, note that if master and slave had only one blanket between them, the slave got use of the blanket before the master. The Commandment not to steal certainly covers another person's life, and Israel noted this. The other thing to keep in mind is that slavery in Biblical times was nothing like slavery in 18th and 19th century America.
Keep in mind the Commandment that talks about murder. Society gets around that one as well. Should God have made an additional Commandment about abortion?

 

[BreezeWood]

Is that really what you believe happened? That all of these different authors were writing fictional novels?

Fiction such as a great flood and parting the seas?

The Great Flood story predates Christianity and all of the Abrahamic Religions and is found in Sumerian Myths which mean some type of Flood happened and it destroyed some civilization back then...

Which contradicts the Bible that said the entire earth was covered and all but a handful of creatures were saved.

Showing the Bible as a piece of fiction

.

Which contradicts the Bible that said the entire earth was covered and all but a handful of creatures were saved.

Showing the Bible as a piece of fiction

.
the cataclysmic event is a deliberate misinterpretation within the christian bible as the proper motivation for the individual to free themselves from sin for admission to the Everlasting by their own effort than the entire fallacy they misconstrue for the events of the 1st century that are a direct contradiction to the earlier event. and the true prescribed religion of antiquity.

the bible is a work of deliberate error no matter how appealing it may seem and uses its literary style to trap the unsuspecting or emboldens the very people that in that time were condemned to death - as the example of their crucifying the 1st century religious itinerant. to remake and reinstitute their nefarious, unsupported christian religion, religion of sin and the same for all three desert religions that have abandoned their heritage for similar fallacies.

 

[rightwinger]

Should God have made an additional Commandment about abortion?

Would have helped if he did.

As it is, God was not too protective of babies.
He failed to protect them in the Great Flood, choosing to drown them. In Exodus, he kills the first born of Egypt.

 

[Meriweather]

As it is, God was not too protective of babies.
He failed to protect them in the Great Flood, choosing to drown them. In Exodus, he kills the first born of Egypt.

God is spirit. Was He protective of spirits?

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Should God have made an additional Commandment about abortion?

Would have helped if he did.

As it is, God was not too protective of babies.
He failed to protect them in the Great Flood, choosing to drown them. In Exodus, he kills the first born of Egypt.

Apparently Yahweh the immoral jerk thought it was way more evil to take his name in vain then it was to rape children.

 

[rightwinger]

As it is, God was not too protective of babies.
He failed to protect them in the Great Flood, choosing to drown them. In Exodus, he kills the first born of Egypt.

God is spirit. Was He protective of spirits?

This thread is about the Bible
You asked about God and Abortion and I pointed out that the Biblical God was not that concerned with the lives of children

 

[Meriweather]

This thread is about the Bible
You asked about God and Abortion and I pointed out that the Biblical God was not that concerned with the lives of children

I pointed out that God has a Commandment against murder but it never stopped mankind from approving abortion; God has a Commandment against stealing, but it never stopped mankind from stealing people.

People now know that natural disasters are due to physical phenomenon, but it doesn't stop modern people today from bearing false witness saying, no, God did it and next accuse Him of deliberately killed babies in the process.

 

[DudleySmith]

Is that really what you believe happened? That all of these different authors were writing fictional novels?

Fiction such as a great flood and parting the seas?

Embellishment to make the account more memorable and easier to remember and pass down.

In other words, fictional tales
No, the whale did not really swallow Jonah

What if, 2000 years from now, people read Game of Thrones and accept it as Gospel?

Again... you are missing the informational aspect; the transfer of information.

But if you want to dismiss that, be my guest. It's probably easier for you that way than it is to acknowledge what it really is.

The Bible is composed of morality tales meant to inspire certain behaviors. A work of fiction

No, the earth did not flood
Jonah was not swallowed by a whale
Moses did not part the Red Sea

Makes a good story though

Considering the age of these texts, I find your conclusions to be overly simple, unbalanced and biased. It never ceases to amaze me how a group of people who see themselves as intellectually enlightened fail to actually take an intellectually balanced position on the things they hate.

Because they're simple minded and can't get beyond themselves. They think they're 'Speshul' and would have been entirely different n stuff if they had been born back then. Of course the truth is they would have been the same clueless fashion victims then as they are now.

 

[Grumblenuts]

This thread is about the Bible
You asked about God and Abortion and I pointed out that the Biblical God was not that concerned with the lives of children

I pointed out that God has a Commandment against murder but it never stopped mankind from approving abortion; God has a Commandment against stealing, but it never stopped mankind from stealing people.

People now know that natural disasters are due to physical phenomenon, but it doesn't stop modern people today from bearing false witness saying, no, God did it and next accuse Him of deliberately killed babies in the process.

phenomena and wow, "In Exodus, he kills the first born of Egypt" describes a "natural disaster"!

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Is that really what you believe happened? That all of these different authors were writing fictional novels?

Fiction such as a great flood and parting the seas?

Embellishment to make the account more memorable and easier to remember and pass down.

In other words, fictional tales
No, the whale did not really swallow Jonah

What if, 2000 years from now, people read Game of Thrones and accept it as Gospel?

Again... you are missing the informational aspect; the transfer of information.

But if you want to dismiss that, be my guest. It's probably easier for you that way than it is to acknowledge what it really is.

The Bible is composed of morality tales meant to inspire certain behaviors. A work of fiction

No, the earth did not flood
Jonah was not swallowed by a whale
Moses did not part the Red Sea

Makes a good story though

Considering the age of these texts, I find your conclusions to be overly simple, unbalanced and biased. It never ceases to amaze me how a group of people who see themselves as intellectually enlightened fail to actually take an intellectually balanced position on the things they hate.

Because they're simple minded and can't get beyond themselves. They think they're 'Speshul' and would have been entirely different n stuff if they had been born back then. Of course the truth is they would have been the same clueless fashion victims then as they are now.

We would have been just as ignorant, terrified, superstitious, and illiterate as nearly everyone else "back then". But we arent, now. So you have no excuse for believing this magical silliness.

 

[DudleySmith]

Is that really what you believe happened? That all of these different authors were writing fictional novels?

Fiction such as a great flood and parting the seas?

Embellishment to make the account more memorable and easier to remember and pass down.

In other words, fictional tales
No, the whale did not really swallow Jonah

What if, 2000 years from now, people read Game of Thrones and accept it as Gospel?

Again... you are missing the informational aspect; the transfer of information.

But if you want to dismiss that, be my guest. It's probably easier for you that way than it is to acknowledge what it really is.

The Bible is composed of morality tales meant to inspire certain behaviors. A work of fiction

No, the earth did not flood
Jonah was not swallowed by a whale
Moses did not part the Red Sea

Makes a good story though

Considering the age of these texts, I find your conclusions to be overly simple, unbalanced and biased. It never ceases to amaze me how a group of people who see themselves as intellectually enlightened fail to actually take an intellectually balanced position on the things they hate.

Because they're simple minded and can't get beyond themselves. They think they're 'Speshul' and would have been entirely different n stuff if they had been born back then. Of course the truth is they would have been the same clueless fashion victims then as they are now.

We would have been just as ignorant, terrified, superstitious, and illiterate as nearly everyone else "back then". But we arent, now. So you have no excuse for believing this magical silliness.

Oh look everybody, the angry ****** posted something.

 

[Meriweather]

phenomena and wow, "In Exodus, he kills the first born of Egypt" describes a "natural disaster"!

You haven't read about that?