May I ask about human authorship!!?

Question

This just occurred to me so I hope I get it out properly.

Christians are called stupid and gullible for believing in a book (or collection of books) written by humans thousands of years ago and naively believe it to be the word of God and infallible.

Now... let me ask. Aren't scientists fallible humans as well? Hasn't science often been turned upside down, and hard and fast FACTS been dismissed when new information is gained. Then later even that sometimes gets overturned? Common "scientific" belief was that the earth was flat. Leeches were the medical marvel of a certain time.

The Bible and it's teachings, whether you believe them to be inspired of God or not, has stood the test of time and it's advice practical down to our day. Can you say the same for science, which is ever changing?

True. Greater knowledge improves a particular science. But the fact is that it is fallible...experimental, in it's very nature.

Honest thoughts please? Keep it nice!!

PS: No I'm not dismissing science at all. It's a great thing and has accomplished much. What I'm asking boils down to this. Should people be so dismissing of the Bible simply because in your opinion it was written by fallible men?

Thank you all for your respectful responses so far. But please notice I took God out of the equation for purposes of this question. The Bible is often dismissed on it's merits because it's written by a bunch of old men thousands of years ago. It is that specific issue I'm addressing.

What is the test of time that the bible has withstood? That is addressed in the body of my question. It's wisdom, when adhered to is as valid today as it was when it was first written down.

Answer 1

Science operates on the premise that its theories, once accepted, will be modified or replaced by better theories to explain newly discovered "data". There is no assumption that science is perfect, infallible or inerrant. Of course, scientists are only human. Good science is achieved by not allowing personal bias (based on untested belief) to interfere with the process.

Christians claim the Bible is what science can never be: perfect, unchanging, infallible and inerrant, and divinely inspired. They claim that enduring mysteries can be dealt with through having faith in God's plan, which is not entirely known (God works in mysterious ways).

Science does not rest on mysteries remaining unresolved. Science does not ask us to have faith in something we cannot explain. Science continues to inquire and test new observations against current theory. Theories must be disprovable otherwise they cannot be tested.

True, science has been "stood on its head". It happens all the time. From Copernicus shattering the Earth centered model, to String Theory revealing other dimensions beyond what we know as "space time". Science thrives on this constant change. Otherwise there could be no progress.

Again, science must continue to change, as our observations of nature change and become more refined. This is the strength of science as a method for understanding our universe.

Peace.

.

Answer 2

If that were the *only* reason, you might have a point. Science is dynamic and self correcting i.e. leeches may have been the marvel of the time, but scientists realized the mistake and corrected it may times since then and have even revisited leeches for anticoagulants.

The "word of God" on the other hand, hasn't changed much, it still has only circumstantial evidence for it, it contains a number of contradictions and errors, and there is no external collaboration for it.

To the poster several above me, there may have been eyewitnesses still alive at the time of the gospels' writing however they would have been fairly old for that time, not to mention that the *only* one that doesnt claim to be written by a disciple is Luke. Books not written by their "pretend" authors based on hopefully eyewitness accounts doesn't make for a solid case, not to mention the implied falsehood there.

Answer 3

I am currently a PhD student in Biological sciences. I once asked my boss a question similar to yours. I mentioned the fact that we laugh at the scientists of even 50 years ago and the silly things they believed. Did he think in 50 or 100 years when students were taught what we think is fact will they laugh. He did not like the question and gave an emphatic no as the answer. However you are correct. Science is in a constant state of flux. The answer today may not be the answer tomorrow.

Also do you know why science is so emphatic that the Earth is billions of years old? Why they would not even consider anything that disproves this? It is because if that is challenged all evolution falls apart.

To the poster above me. Evolution has not actually withstood the tests of science. Evolution can not actually be proven scientifically. For one thing much of evolution is based upon the fossil record and morphological comparisons. Genetics has shown that morphology is a very poor measure of relatedness. The simple fact is you cannot say a fossil is an ancestor of a modern organism based upon morphology.

Answer 4

It's amazing people still think like that. If you really look at the gospels, they do stay intact as far as Christ is concerned. I mean to have four men write about one person in different fashions, so to speak, still does not dispute the fact that they talk about the ministry and words of he spoke.

And understand that when these gospels were written there were still eye-witnesses. So if what was written was disputed by those who actually saw it, then there arose problems. But notice there wasn't any dispute over those four.

Now I have no quarrels with science. It's just fraudulant ones that I do have a problem with. Evolution is a required class, yet Creationism isn't. It's like your being forced to study one when you should have a choice. And isn't that what the California Textbook trial was about?

Answer 5

I agree. I believe the Bible was inspired by God and it makes sense to me that he used men to write it. I look at it like this, if you were the king of the universe or even a regular human king, you too would have someone do the actual writing of your laws for you as you tell them exactly what to write. Why would the great God write it out himself when he has so many servants who can do it for him. If he had written it himself it would have been too holy for anyone to even touch and it would have been like the Ark of the Covenant, killing people upon contact.

Answer 6

What is the "test of time" that the bible has passed?
Homer's Illiad could be said to have stood the "test of time".
Because many people blindly believe what the bible says, doesn't make it true.
Scientific claims have to undergo rigorous tests to be taken seriously by the scientific community.
Evolution has withstood the tests of Science.

Answer 7

The difference, my dear, is the scriptures are perported to be the divine Truth and the perfect finished work of God, whereas scientific theories are just that and scientists work with them until better theories come along, and then they discard the old theories for the new ones, and they understand the difference between workable theories and the cut-in stone unfallible Truth of God which is accepted by millions of believers.

Answer 8

You're called gullible and stupid for worshiping a being that no one has ever seen. Why? Because he is invisible of course. Not only that but Christians have decided that everyone else must live in accordance with their delusions and share in their ignorance.

No thanks. I'll stick with science instead of the invisible sky pixie. Science is ever-changing because the world is ever-changing. If you want to live in the 1st century However, go ahead. Let us know how it works out for you.

Answer 9

But rational people listen to modern science. We don't still think that we can transmute wood into gold through alchemy. One of the best properties of scientific knowledge is that it changes and gets more precise all the time. The Bible does not.

And science and religion are two different things. There are modern authors who make up modern religions all the time (L. Ron Hubbard, et al) and we ignore them, too. Science is based on logic, religion is based on superstition. That's the main difference.

Answer 10

Rant all you want, Mohamed is not the Biblical Son of God and Islam is a me-too religion that appeals to people who live in the dark ages. Give it up, the Jews were God's chosen people. That's why Abraham kept David and sent Ismael away. You can't rewrite the scripture now.