I have been reading several answers to questions about the bible and how it explains the origin of the universe and mankind. I am a bit irritated at how people compare the bible to scientific evidence. Scientific evidence is based on observations that are repeatable. The bible is simply hearsay, basically what my forebearers said goes, without testing the validity of their "facts". So again, I ask, why do people call the stories in the bible fact?
Please mention how you can scientifically verify certain details of the bible, but not all. This is also important.
2006-07-17 11:58:29 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The answers so far, are very interesting. They seem to fall into a couple of categories.
Here are some examples.
1. What I have been told/read from the bible is correct. Things like science are not correct. The bible was written by men with "divine" inspiration.
2. The bible contains some truth, but is mostly filled with parables to try and teach lessons of behavior and morality.
3. The bible is just a bunch of stories written by people with no direct connect with the events presented.
I have some comments to add, particularly about example 1. First off, people often dismiss things, science or religion, because they do not have all the information. They live in blissful ignorance. I have seen some of that in the answers. For example, there is a lot of supporting evidence for evolution. Religious zealists tend to just dismiss this without any real effort. Please keep commenting. This is useful.
2006-07-17 13:19:00 · update #1
People are gullible, and they believe what they are taught. Especially when their parents and their friends believe it and tell them that too.
Only a few people know that the modern day bible has half of its books missing, and has been edited and changed in order to conform with church doctrine for hundreds of years.
2006-07-31 11:57:11 · answer #1 · answered by Atom 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure, I'd be happy to answer your question.
Before I started attending a bible-teaching church, and before I was in any kind of bible study myself, I thought the bible was merely a book "written by men". I did not believe it was what it states it is...by inspiration of God.
I have been now in bible study for about ten years. That's a long time! I've come to the conclusion that I can trust the bible to be exactly what it claims to be: God-breathed.
I do not compare what man says to what the bible says. The bible is my truth. If "science" contradicts anything in the bible, then science is wrong. By the way, "science" said, once upon a time, when people were thinking about creating something called a "train"...that people would asphyxiate if air rushed by them at such a rapid pace.
Science is constantly revising its findings. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. I have no ill will towards science; I just believe God's word over man's.
2006-07-17 12:09:48 · answer #2 · answered by christian_lady_2001 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best evidence of the Bible is the prophecies. The book has forseen 100s of events that occurred much later, and there is not one false statement in the Bible. That should be proof enough. For a scientific fact, how about the Bible said that we sit upon the circle of the Earth, written in Job about 2800 years ago, and wasn't proven until a few 100 years ago. Wow, the Bible is smart!
2006-07-17 12:20:41 · answer #3 · answered by Caboman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off not all that science says is fact, just look at the history of evolution and piltdown man. Science is never guilty of error because it is ever changing with new evidence, but that said it could also be true that science is never correct because it lacks sufficient evidence to draw the correct conclusion. The bible has a lot of history written down and much of what it says can be verified so there is your test. Of course you can not verify everything it says and much of it has to do with faith. If you study eschatology and know history then you as a Christian have all the evidence you will ever require to believe.
2006-07-17 12:08:23 · answer #4 · answered by malisimo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People will believe the Bible because that is the way that they were taught to do. They were raised to believe that the Bible is absolute. They do not know to take every single book as not being the absolute truth, but only one intrepretation of the truth.
The Bible was based on some natural events that happend when it was written. It was merely an observation of the misunderstood physical world mixed with some beliefs of people.
2006-07-17 12:06:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is called brainwashing. How can a book be proven to be authentic only within its own pages. They dont realize that the Bible was written after Jesus died. So all that is written there is conjecture unless these so called profets did really exist. If so why are there no profits today that are continuing the legacy of writing the bible. Belief in the bible also comes under the catagory of BLIND FAITH.
2006-07-17 12:07:42 · answer #6 · answered by diaryofamadblackman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People simply need something to believe in, whether it be fact or fiction. It makes their life seem more meaningful to think that there is something beyond this mortal coil.
Without faith in a higher power, without a place after death, we are more or less here to reproduce. Much like every other animal on this planet. Christians believe we are more important than the common mammal; most likely why no other animals have souls.
It's strange to me that people blindly accept the bible without having any proof of it's validity. But they deny things that have explanation, such as life on other planets.
2006-07-17 12:06:06 · answer #7 · answered by Rhaneieve 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They think it is fact because A. They have been lied to for so long that the lie becomes truth and B. because it is easier to believe a myth then it is to realize that the myth was invented at a time when science was still in it's infancy and the people needed an explanation of how we came to be.
2006-07-17 12:03:10 · answer #8 · answered by EasterBunny 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Bible is a historical record of people who lived on earth and events that were witnessed. Obviously, the prophets made use of parables at times. Jesus' miracles were witnessed by many--as it says in the book of Mark, many came from across Jordan to be healed by Christ. Whether or not you choose to believe the account of the Bible is a matter of Faith. Faith is, in fact, central to Christianity. Faith is not the result of repeated empirical testing.
If you choose to, you may research and find researchers who examine the validity of history presented in Biblical records, among other matters.
Christians, in Faith, accept that the prophets recorded the inspired words of God. In Faith, Christians believe that Jesus was who he said he was. The Bible is quite different from science developed to test theory.
2006-07-17 12:24:24 · answer #9 · answered by oceana 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's all a matter of faith. But I believe in science too. I'm not worried about trying to reconcile the two. I believe that the Bible is inherently true, but I don't take everything literally.
2006-07-17 12:02:49 · answer #10 · answered by jamie5987 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋