I'm not religious, but do any Christians on here feel the bible is a bit of a stretch of the imagination?

Answer 1

It is an absolute fantasy story and anyone with any form of rationality can see this. As religious people always have a silly answer for every logical argument against religion they will just say that 'you are not supposed to take it literally'. Yeah well I don't... who in there right mind can think that all the people we see in the world today are descended from Noah?? At the very least it would mean incest, I'm not familiar with the Bible but I thought Noah and his family were the only ones to survive the floods and that he only had sons, so what did they do? Impregnate themselves or their mother? I may have got this completely wrong as the only reason that I can remember the laughable story of Noah's Ark is from being told it at school... even as a 7 year old I remember thinking what a ridiculous story.

Answer 2

Well as much as people are going to disagree with me, yes, a lot of it is. I'm sure certain events had some basis in truth (the floods could have happened, but perhaps not the entire world, more the "world" as those people knew it) but I also feel some of those events are just pushing it too far. Problem is with the information being passed down time and time again, and with all the different translations and interpretations and the Bible itself being "edited" at one point (Council of Nicea), then I imagine much of the original Bible has been changed to the point I doubt certain points of it are anything like what was first put.

Whether other religious books are just as feasible or not is completely irrelevant, due to the nature of "spiritual truth", every book is as valid or as invalid as the next. Its' just whether those books are palatable or not to the reader. Bearing in mind Christianity is based on religions like Judaism, Islam, e.t.c.

But back to the question. I am no Christian I admit, but I do think some parts of the book are just perhaps going a bit too far. Yes it talks about God's power being limitless, e.t.c, though the Nature of God as most Christians see it really is subjective - but that is another arguement altogether.

Though I think this some up a lot of the sentiment:

"People like Moses and Noah didn't write because there wasn't a written language at that time and no writting tools."

Now that's fair enough, but it does beg the question, how could people who lived so long after Noah and Moses be able to write out events in their lifetime? People say the Bible has been proved true, no, elements of the Bible have been proven true, the existence of Jesus, etc. But there is nothing still that says Jesus did any of the things it claims he did, or anyone else for that matter.

Though it begs the question, "something cannot come out of nothing" so then how could God be there from beginning to end if there was nothing in the first place?

Gen 1:1 In the beginning there was nothing but darkness and the Lord God. (not an exact quote, but that is actually what it says)

No heaven, nothing. So how could something as powerful as God be there in the vastness of "nothing"?

Just a couple of points

Toodles

Answer 3

I did when I was in high school. I went to Catholic school for 8 years and raised by a Catholic family. Went to mass every Sunday. Prayed the rosary with my mom. Was told by nuns that I was going to go to hell every time I did something wrong, even a little thing like took an extra cookie without asking permission from my mom. I hated my school for forcing me to have to believe the Bible. I've always believed that God exists. That has never changed but for 15 years I questioned the book and the church, the papacy, etc. Humans make mistakes all the time, how can a pope be infallible? How can I be sure that the writers of the Bible didn't make any mistakes? or that they didn't just make it all up just to make up a fake religion and see how many people would follow? I played devil's advocate in school all the time and flunked religion class for 3 quarters becuz I refused to read the Bible. My parents were pissed! When I was 19 I literally told God to go to hell. Well, 4 yrs ago I prayed for the first time in 15 yrs and asked for forgiveness. I go to church, I belong to Bible study groups, I talk to God throughout the day, I can't get enough of Him. I know that the Bible is true. The events are true, the parables that Jesus told were stories with moral lessons, that that 10 Commandments are actually common sense laws, that the people in the Bible did really live, that the holy temples existed (many destroyed in wars) but there is plenty of remanents of them still around. The Church has had thousands of Biblical scholars for hundreds of years studying the Bible, the old Hebrew ones, the ancient languages, translations, etc. It's been proven all true and we know much about the lives of the authors that did the actual writing of the Bible. People like Moses and Noah didn't write because there wasn't a written language at that time and no writting tools.

I've been reading a lot of books, magazines, articles, websites, even things from non-believers that have tried to disprove it and I am 100% convinced that the Holy Bible is the inspired word of God our Lord written by men that the Holy Spirit guided.

Answer 4

Well sure, the Bible is a stretch of the imagination if you don't believe that a supernatural being is responsible for everything that exists in this universe. Of course, if there is no God then how do you account for anything being here? I mean, think about it. Since something cannot come from nothing then when you let your mind look way way back in time you have to ask "Well how did anything come to be in this universe? I just doesn't make sense".

If someone says "Well, everything has just always been here" what they are basically saying is "Gee, I don't know how to explain how anything got here, I guess maybe it was always here and we can't know how it got here in the first place". All the big bang theory does is push the problem back in time because where did the matter come from to go BANG!

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

So if God can speak and bring the universe into existence then I guess He can do all of the other things mentioned in the Bible like parting the Red Sea or walking on water or telling a storm to shut up and the sea to calm down

Psalms 107:24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. 25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end. 28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
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Luke 8:22 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?"

Answer 5

those all got here after the bible a million. Calvinists - incorrect doctrine 2. Arminianists - precise doctrine (purely Calvinists use this be conscious) 3. Molinists - No Clue 4. Baptists - Cessationists yet in any different case cool 4. Fundamentalists - The bible is what the bible says that's. The inherent recognize God

Answer 6

No more that Herodotus or Homer. The Bible is ancient work of literature.
But too many people accept Joe Baptist's Bible-centered mythology instead of actually studying what the text says. A global flood is a stretch - but the Hebrew Bible does not describe a global flood. Moses parting the waters is a stretch - but the Bible does not describe Moses parting the waters.

Answer 7

Ok, so you don't believe in God...fair enough, your choice.
But to someone who does, they believe that god is a fair, just and loving God. He inspired the writing of the bible. So why would he hyave truths mixed up with stories? Wouldn't it just be confusing? Plus if God exists but he didn't back the bible, why do you think it has survived for so many thousands of years? Why does all our basics laws, ones that even our conscience tell us, come from the bible?

You either have to believe ALL of the bible or none at all.

Answer 8

Used to... started studying it and the archaeology etc... after my research... it is Truth.

Right from page 1
"If I had no other data than the early chapters of Genesis, some of the Psalms and other passages of Scripture, I would have arrived at essentially the same picture of the origin of the universe, as is indicated by the scientific data." Nobel Prize-winning physicist Arno Penzias (Big Bang Theorist)

Answer 9

not me. to me, believing that a metaphor was consistant and expanded over the course of 1600 years, incorporating thousands of other just to explain one metaphor is a bit of a stretch, especially in a society where most of the populous did not have anything in writing but just listened to a priest

Answer 10

imagination is a pretty powerful thing and anything is possible,but as for the bible..if ever there was an original its been lost by all the people that changed and distorted it to gain power and control over the masses.god?.....maybe,but i ain,t seen hide nor hair of him yet....i guess i'm an optomistic sceptic......lol