A non-aggressive question to all intilligent christians from an intilligent athiest.?

Question

This question is not meant to attack your religion but instead so that I can learn perspectives of more intelligent minds.

I believe it is a shared view that in order to logically say that God exists you must say all of the bible is either metaphorically or literally true.

I assume you are aware of the alleged biblical contradictions and immoral commands by God (if not PLEASE do not respond).

It has been said that these passages are not relevant todays time; yet I never hear it said how you can tell when it is not relevant (such as the debate concerning quotes about homosexuals) or why such barbaric ideas would ever be practiced.

As a Christian how do you interpret this passages. Please respond intelligently and with details, my browser has crashed 6 times and I have had to retype it each time.

OK so Christians really are this stupid: read the whole Goddamn thing first and don't answer if you do not know what I am talking about you know like that part in the bible where Moses told people to rape people or where God said slavery is ok, or when God said when should be a Slave to their man.

Answer 1

Intelligent and Christian do not belong in the same sentance.

Answer 2

First of all, God existed as God before the Bible, or the Earth, for that matter, existed. He doesn't need anyone or anything around Him to be God.

Now as far as the contradictions, Jesus fulfilled the Law. Meaning that He satisfied, or completed what the Law was supposed to do. The Law is not the entire OT, but its the rules and standards that God gave to Moses in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Everything that was in place before the Law is still in place today. For example, tithes predate the Law, and homosexuality, polygamy, fornication and adultery are still unacceptable to God, as they always have been. In fact, all the law did was flesh out God's point of view on how life should be. It told you that murder, lying and stealing were wrong, whereas before, they were still wrong, but it hadn't been explicitly stated. So now Jesus comes and fulfills the law. It hasn't been done away with, but its been "improved upon", if you will.

Nothing in the Bible gets to be irrelevant. The law can still be used today to help you understand God's point of view. For instance, if you weren't sure of how God viewed sin (because its so rampant and accepted today), you could look at some of the penalties for sin and see that it is not to be tolerated, then adjust your life accordingly.

If you're interested, you can read the book of Hebrews. Here, Paul is trying to explain Christianity to Jewish people. He starts to get into these issues around chapters 7-10. Also in Romans chapters 3-7.

Kudos to your humility and desire to learn. People from both camps could stand to take a lesson from you.

Answer 3

From a Christian perspective the answer to what you are asking is no different than when science has publicized a particular scientific theory and later through additional research the previous theory is no longer accepted by the scientific community at large.

Was it because the theory had no merit in the first case? Probably not, but the same data when added to new data is now being interpreted differently -- thereby causing a contradiction.

Should we conclude that all science is malfeasance and should be disregarded? No, that would be foolish to disregard all that is good, but it would be better to simply adjust one's thinking and move on.

.

Answer 4

I believe in God. There are evil ways of man often disguised as "God's Way". Including the men who wrote or interpreted the great books of the ages, Zohar, Bible, Quran, etc. I also believe in Science and can only try to adapt only the good teachings in all that I read. My parents baptized me a Christian and I'd always gone to Christian church, now I read the great teachings of Buddha, the Sumerians, the Mayans, the Incas, the Olmecs, etc. All I've read have good and bad teachings. "The only thing I know is that I do not know". -Dr. Jung

Answer 5

Many statements in the bible seem immoral on God's command.
Did God write the bible? No, Man wrote it, i beleive it is safe to say that man can not be trusted in having such a heavey duty as to writing the bible.So they write it in their favor. People look o the bible when they need some pityful hope in their life, the bible is not God. the bible is man, I beleive in God. I dont need to have a miracle in before my eyes, all i need to know is that man didnt make this world, man is destroying it and expects a miracle to happen. I dont need the miracle, I will be the miracle

Answer 6

God's word(the bible) is the same today as it was yesterday and will be forever more. Homesexuality has been since way back Old Testament. Sin is the explanation of why. Fornication is fornication no matter who's doing it or who they "choose" to do it with. Maybe it's a desire, because I have no desire whatsoever to be with another woman. Even when I used to be a slave to sex. I never even had a desire to be with two men at one time for that matter.

Answer 7

I get the feeling you equate God with the Bible. The Bible was written (is a story) by man about a God created after themselves. There is only one God and she goes by many names. And there are many paths to Him. So if you are having problems with the God in the Bible that doesn't mean that the only other choice is to believe that there is no God.

Answer 8

God wrote with his own finger in the 10 commandement, THOU SHALL NOT KILL

If God comes to me in person and asks me to kill someone, I'd refused.

I don't do the dirty work of a God that can level a city like Soddom and Gommorah or bring a flood over the entire Earth.

I don't follow a God that goes back on their own words.

God doesn't need ME to kill. God is fully capable of wiping out eveything.

Answer 9

I think you mean Leviticus , the Jewish ceremonial law has been abolished and fulfilled forever by Christ, but the moral law still is the same. It's part of the natural law inscribed into the human heart through nature. That's why homosexuality is wrong as every child would know-all cultures on earth also agree.

Answer 10

Thank you for your politness and courtesy. It is refreshing for an atheist to act in such a manner here. Could you please give an example of one such alleged contridiction

Answer 11

There is an irony here you do realize that don't you? or did you do it on purpose? Like I just did.