Zone1 New poll shows Americans' confidence and belief in the Bible is at all-time low

[ding]

The Roman occupation was the burning issue of the times. The Jews were fighting the Romans and each other. Look what happened to them.

So what? The history of the Jews as recorded in their own texts is the account of a people who cycled between remembering and forgetting God. When they became satisfied they became proud and forgot. Through their suffering they repented, remembered God and started the cycle anew. Hence... blessed are those that mourn.

 

[surada]

So what? The history of the Jews as recorded in their own texts is the account of a people who cycled between remembering and forgetting God. When they became satisfied they became proud and forgot. Through their suffering they repented, remembered God and started the cycle anew. Hence... blessed are those that mourn.

What part of the Jews were fighting each other did you miss?

 

[Weatherman2020]

What you mean less people have faith in the veracity of a book with talking snakes and giants in it?


Okay, that was a bit snarky, so let's try again.

If EDUCATED Americans are less inclined to believe in the Bible as the literal word of God, it's because they now know that stuff in the bible isn't true. We know we evolved from primates, not created from clay. We've done the archeology, and we know that Hebrews never lived in Egypt under the Pharaohs, that the Philistines were part of an invasion of the Sea Peoples in the 13th century BCE, and that Yahweh was just one of many gods worshipped in the ancient Levant.

Sadly, backwards Bronze Age superstitions won't go away because people are terrified of death, and live in fear of the end of their linear existence.

Now, one can look at the bible as what it is, a bit of historical fiction, with maybe some real characters in it, and still draw positive messages from it.

We know we evolved from primates, not created from clay.

There are threads on this we can discuss but all you have is this, time, and temperature variables of your choice to create life.

 

[Weatherman2020]

What part of the Jews were fighting each other did you miss?

And? Bible is mostly history filled with almost every hero making bad choices. Just adds validity to it being fact.

But back to the topic, society is on the decline.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Does it though?

The problem with the way it is taught now is that we have the modern Churches "Disneyfying" the stories in the bible to be more positive than they actually are.

So which is why people picture THIS as the Noah Story.

View attachment 668117

And not THIS!

View attachment 668118

Because most of the stories of the Old Testament are kind of awful. It's basically about a self-absorbed God who inflicts awful punishments on his own people when not encouraging them to inflict genocide on other tribes. But the Churches today leave out the icky parts, only keep the cute parts and wonder why people can't relate to it.

What’s your spin have to do with the decline of society when people stop following the God of Jacob?

I say God of Jacob because you God haters never mock Islam, Buddhism, Mormonism, etc because you know those worship the one true God.

 

[lg325]

Does it though?

The problem with the way it is taught now is that we have the modern Churches "Disneyfying" the stories in the bible to be more positive than they actually are.

So which is why people picture THIS as the Noah Story.

View attachment 668117

And not THIS!

View attachment 668118

Because most of the stories of the Old Testament are kind of awful. It's basically about a self-absorbed God who inflicts awful punishments on his own people when not encouraging them to inflict genocide on other tribes. But the Churches today leave out the icky parts, only keep the cute parts and wonder why people can't relate to it.

This preacher agrees with you and so do I on that point.
Sunday at 11:45 AM
"The only reason some of us are not exiled or thrown into prison is simply that we do not preach as fervently and as sternly as did Paul, John, Peter R.A. Torrey, and others. This modern "Santa Claus" religion that is sweeping the country today is not the religion Jesus taught and John practiced."

Oliver B. Greene

 

[Weatherman2020]

Is it?
I would say society is paying a price right now because we've failed to address poverty, racism, addiction, gun proliferation and a bunch of real problems the bible really doesn't give us any guidance for. (BUt if it did, it would be more liberal than conservative... Jesus was a liberal.)

I would say society is paying a price right now because we've failed to address poverty, racism, addiction, gun proliferation and a bunch of real problems the bible really doesn't give us any guidance for.

A. The Bible gives specific instructions for addressing those issues.

B. ChiComs, Soviets, North Koreans, Khmer Rouge etc were/are all Godless nations.
How’d they do with poverty, racism, addiction, violence, and a bunch of real problems?

 

[Weatherman2020]

Delusion isn't good for sane society.

No, you led a life as instructed by the leaders of your religion. You evaded the question of morality, replacing it with obedience.

Yay!

It may go against the bible but it's par for the course. Once you convince people to buy into delusion, they're easy marks.

Delusion isn't good for sane society.

What’s a male with a penis who wears his mommy’s dress.
Male or female?

 

[Weatherman2020]

The Roman occupation was the burning issue of the times. The Jews were fighting the Romans and each other. Look what happened to them.

Good point! Yeah, look what happened to people who turned their backs on God.

 

[ding]

What part of the Jews were fighting each other did you miss?

Which part of the Jews forgetting God over and over again did you miss?

 

[ding]

In Joshua 4:1-8 God commands the Israelites to cross the Jordan River which He has stopped miraculously. Joshua leads the 12 tribes to remove boulders from the riverbed, which they erect in the Promised Land in a place called Gilgal. These 12 stones of Jordan were a memorial to God’s love and miraculous assistance.

However, these stones are appreciating not just by those who witnessed the miracle. Joshua 4:21-22 explains that ‘In the future your children will ask, “What do these stones mean?” Then you can tell them, “This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.”’ God longs for us to proclaim His goodness to future generations.

And then they promptly forgot.

1 Samuel 7:7-12 depicts the Israelites under imminent attack from the Philistines. God leads them to victory, so Samuel erects a large stone and names it Ebenezer, meaning ‘the stone of help’. Samuel recognised the source of their victory and publicly declared it. By commemorating God’s goodness in a permanent way, it ensured that the Israelites would not forget God’s grace. The memorial stones made sure that all glory went to God, the illustrator of Israel’s success.

And then they promptly forgot.

 

[Meriweather]

As Mark Twain said, "It's not the parts of the bible that I don't understand that trouble me, it's the parts I understand perfectly well."

We don't know what parts of the Bible Twain thought he understood. Next, we don't know if Twain was correct in his own assessment. That is a lot we don't know.

What part of the Bible do you assert you understand perfectly well? (If you reference any part of Noah's story, based on past discussions with you, I know you understand nothing about that story. So pick a new one.)

 

[surada]

In Joshua 4:1-8 God commands the Israelites to cross the Jordan River which He has stopped miraculously. Joshua leads the 12 tribes to remove boulders from the riverbed, which they erect in the Promised Land in a place called Gilgal. These 12 stones of Jordan were a memorial to God’s love and miraculous assistance.

However, these stones are appreciating not just by those who witnessed the miracle. Joshua 4:21-22 explains that ‘In the future your children will ask, “What do these stones mean?” Then you can tell them, “This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.”’ God longs for us to proclaim His goodness to future generations.

And then they promptly forgot.

1 Samuel 7:7-12 depicts the Israelites under imminent attack from the Philistines. God leads them to victory, so Samuel erects a large stone and names it Ebenezer, meaning ‘the stone of help’. Samuel recognised the source of their victory and publicly declared it. By commemorating God’s goodness in a permanent way, it ensured that the Israelites would not forget God’s grace. The memorial stones made sure that all glory went to God, the illustrator of Israel’s success.

And then they promptly forgot.

So what happened to them after the crucifixion and the destruction of the second temple?

 

[Weatherman2020]

So what happened to them after the crucifixion and the destruction of the second temple?

What eventually happens to all who turn their backs on God.

Thus our society is in decline.

 

[surada]

What eventually happens to all who turn their backs on God.

Thus our society is in decline.

Our society is in decline because of lack of education.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Our society is in decline because of lack of education.

So you think people were better educated 50 years ago?

 

[surada]

So you think people were better educated 50 years ago?

Yes.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Yes.

I tend to agree. Uneducated people are easily swayed towards wrong beliefs. Thus the OP poll.

 

[surada]

I tend to agree. Uneducated people are easily swayed towards wrong beliefs. Thus the OP poll.

Things have gotten worse since the Scofield heresy went mainstream in the early 1970s. That's the reason most Americans don't take the Bible literally.

 

[Coyote]

Because there is so little correct understanding of the Bible, too many are growing up jumping to the above conclusion. No one should want this incomprehension to prevail.

I think you are one of a few that seeks and discusses a deeper understanding of it, unlike some others.