how many of you out there think that the bible is just a story book that's been twisted over generations?

Answer 1

it is a bizarre work of fiction that has been accepted as fact by the world biggest cult.

The fact that they are a series of gospels which were written, in some cases, several hundred years after the events they purport to describe, should start alam bells ringing.

I struggle to recall with clarity what I did last month, and so the concept of these stories being accurate beggars belief. Coupled with the fact that 2,000 years ago the levels of literacy were lower than we enjoy now and for the desciples to annotate the events that were going on around them is another stretch of the imagination. The stores would be become stuff of legend and passed from family to family in a chinese whisper way and I have no doubt that stories get stretched and exaggerated as things go along.

It makes me laugh when the Scientology religion is discussed in the media, they usually wheel on some bishop or representative from the church to ridicule the L.Ron Hubbarb book and all the stuff the scientologists believe in.....yet the christian faith is based on an equally unbelievable book but they accept that as fact.

Double standards......which, when you think about it is the basis for most religions.



If

Answer 2

Not just once.

http://www.biblediscoveries.com/original.html
Says:-
What should surprise you (unless you have read on Bible's origin) is that the total number of books and the arrangement of books in our Bibles are different from those of the original autographs as judged by the earliest preserved copies. Actually we have not lost any Bible text, so don't think that I am talking about the 'Lost Books of the Bible'. These so-called lost books are apocryphal in nature and was never part of the Bible. However, a set of books properly called Apocrypha found its way to the Greek translation of the Old Testament and then into the Latin Vulgate and into some English Bibles.

We all know about the Council of Constantinople.
http://www.theologywebsite.com/history/constantinople.shtml
Says:-
In 381 emperor Theodosius (379-395) summoned a synod of eastern bishops to meet at Constantinople. This council, recognised eventually as the second ecumenical (universal) council of the church , had as its primary business the affirmation of the full Deity of the Holy Spirit against the Macedonian party, which claimed the Spirit represented a "mediating power" rather than a Person of the Trinity.

Then the Dead Sea scrolled version.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Bible
Says:-
The Jerusalem Bible is a Catholic translation of the Bible which first was introduced to the English-speaking public in 1966. As a Catholic Bible, it includes the deuterocanonical books along with the sixty-six others included in Protestant Bibles, as well as copious footnotes and introductions.

Go to each of the sites for detailed information.

How can anyone believe the present books to be the word of God?

Answer 3

you're half-right. The stories couch the substance of the literature. It's the themes that are important. For example, between the virgin birth story and the torrid tale of crucifixion, a person is represented who had a revolutionary message about the Reign of God...no more oppression; no injustice; no inequality and it is ever-emerging in our midst. In fact, he called it "at hand;" or "within reach." Now we get to talk about what that means and grow into it as a human community. Unfortunately religion has made it even more difficult by killing the man's message. Every time Jesus speaks up to "preach good news to the poor, heal the broken-hearted and proclaim liberty to the captives," the church drowns him out with literal interpretations of the stories that were only only written so he would be held higher than all others and everyone would, then, hear his message.

Answer 4

I did until I met Jesus for myself, kind of hard to deny an experience like that. I figured that if Jesus is real then I'd better take notice of the Bible (I wasn't raised a christian so I didn't know a whole lot before) and as I started to study it, it just made sense..
For an intelligent reasoning, get a copy of 'why trust the bible' by amy orr-ewing, it's a great book.

Answer 5

To me, your question is a harsh, oversimplification of what I believe about the Bible.

The Bible is a collection of writings - fables/myth, poetry, history, law, theology, tradition, etc. So it's not a "story" book, but it is a book that is a collection of different parts that must be each taken as individual sections as well as part of the whole. And due to oral tradition, issues with translation, and editorial "corrections," the writings are not the same as they were originally. I wouldn't say "twisted," because that implies malice.

Answer 6

That really depends on your translation. Some of them are word for word translations from the original language. Some of them are "interpreted" by scholars who think to tell us what each passage means. Then there are the translations such as the one recently put out by extreme liberals in Germany that have taken out all negative thoughts and left their version with all sunshine and happiness, cuz that's what the "real world" is all about...

The Jerusalem Bible (1966 version) is probably the best bible every written. It is pretty much a word for word translation. Not interpreted. It was updated using the oldest known scrolls found in the Dead Sea. For you Lord of the Rings fans, Tolkien was one of the original translators.

It is the only bible that leaves all the names for God as they are, rather than white washing them to "Lord" or "God."

While most American Catholics think the New American Bible (6th grade reading level) is the official bible of "the Catholic Church" - it isn't. It's the official bible of the American Catholic Church. The official bible of the Holy See is the Jerusalem Bible (college reading level). Not to be confused with the NEW Jerusalem Bible which is a little brown nugget my cat left on the living room floor. (poo-poo)

Even if you don't believe in God, this bible is a work of art.

Answer 7

The bible said that burning the dead is a sin , when the plague became widespread they removed that page .

When it was scientifically proven that the pyramids were before the bible said the world existed , they changed the text .

These are both facts and I'm sure there are many more that we don't know about .

Answer 8

Even if it hasn't been twisted over generations, it's still a story book. Some of the stories are fairly entertaining, some are decent moral lessons, and some are downright silly. :)

Answer 9

Not only has it been twisted and corrupted over the years, it was put together by the pagan emperor Constantine over 400 hundred years after the death of 'Jesus' - selected from wildly differing accounts and fairy stories, yet still they couldn't deal with the massive contradictions.

Answer 10

As with all religions the bible is a tool of control by in the main men. It has been adapted and interpreted to suit the needs at the time to maintain the power of those men.