This is coming from an interesting story I heard about a boy who wouldn't accept that men and women had the same number of ribs because God made woman from Adam's rib so man has one less rib. Apparently he full out yelled at his biology teacher and even brought his preacher into it. We all look back at Greek and Roman religions and the religions of the ancient people of Egypt and we view their stories as MYTHS. Of course there isn't a god that ferries people over from the dead and weighs your heart against a feather. Of course there aren't gods living up on Mt. Olympus. Of course there isn't a Neptune who makes waves and war. But at that time those people believed that with all their hearts and souls. But we know that those are myths. Why in this day and age do people take the bible literally? Can anyone explain why we can't view it as a collection of really nice, morally good myths? Why are there fundamentalists?
2007-12-19 14:14:58 · 13 answers · asked by N.S.K. 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I can't explain this. It's too generalized. Fundamentalists are extremists, and convincing them to believe otherwise is a fruitless effort. People can't even convince them to tone it down a little bit, much less admit to the world that their beliefs are really mythologies. Religion, in its beginnings, had the purpose of explaining why things happened the way they did. Now, its purpose is to merely to control people and keep them from doing "bad things". If that's how they want it, so be it. It's a choice they're allowed to make, no matter how scary it is.
2007-12-19 14:23:21 · answer #1 · answered by Azure AM 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I think the Edge gave you a pretty good answer. Go to www.nationalgeographic.com And lookup the human genome project. It pretty much says that all humans do in fact share a common ancestor.
The recorded formation of the first woman could hardly have been invented by the human imagination. Neither can it be interpreted in the context of theistic evolution, even if one could interpret the formation of Adam’s body from the dust in evolutionary terms. Its historicity is confirmed in the New Testament (I Timothy 2:13; I Corinthians 11:8). All other men have been born of woman, but the first woman was made from man.
Man’s body was formed out of the elements of the earth, the same materials (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, etc.) from which both plants and the bodies of the animals had been formed (Genesis 1:12,24). This unity of physical composition is a fact of modern science thus long anticipated by Scripture.
Typically when you read any other sort religious books that predate the bible all you have to do is read one of them and then read the Bible side-by-side and you'll go,"Oh one of these is a legend." The Bible is written in real time with things like genealogies, identifying who was in power, what was going on in the government at that time, geography, archaeological facts, science. And then go back to read the other religious books and they were all written before time began in the playground of the gods. There's a huge difference in my opinion.
2007-12-19 23:56:40 · answer #2 · answered by Evolution - of - the - gaps 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think there is a simplistic answer to all this. Look at an answer a few responses up.
"No one ever claimed to see Zeus with their very own eyes. That is what sets Christianity apart."
This statement is absolutely idiotic for a few reasons. First of all, there were thousands of people who claimed to not only see Zeus, but have sexual relationships with him! Greeks and Romans were much more intimately close to their Gods, but we all know they were wrong due to advances in science that showed that no, the Sun does not get carried by a chariot. The reason Christianity is so resistant to this is that it gained political power centuries ago and has not ever lost it. Much like Greeks and Romans dominated their time periods, Christians have largely controlled ours. One thing televangelists and other leaders have done is to demonize alternatives. Not in religion (which the Romans most famously did by crucifying Jesus), but in science. The ability to make evolution and intelligent design remotely debatable is stunning. By creating strongholds of belief, like there was in Europe for centuries and there is in America today, Christian systems of thought will always he a voice disproportionate to their legitimacy.
2007-12-19 22:45:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, its not a book of really good moral myths. Its full of hate and fear and death and destruction, instructions of who to kill contradicted by the Ten Commandments and so on. There are also stories of good morals but some of these good morals are very unaccepting.
If you are to be Christian you must be a fundamentalist and believe without regard everything written in both the OT and NT. Otherwise, you are an infidel. It is implicit in the Christian religion that all in the bible is the word of God with absolutely no contradiction. Ask Huckabee.
2007-12-19 22:33:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
These "interesting" stories people say they heard are almost never true. Even if you take the Biblical account of Eve being made from Adam's rib as true, there is no reason that men would have less ribs than women. If a man lost one of his fingers in an accident, would all subsequent children he fathered be born with nine fingers? Of course not. Biology doesn't work that way.
God is not mocked. You reap what you sow. You should take the Bible seriously instead of mocking it.
2007-12-19 22:29:52 · answer #5 · answered by Northstar 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I understand them but that is because I am one. As to the rib that is such a simple explanation. Just because Adam lost a rib would not mean his offspring did. If I cut your leg off will your children be born with one leg? Obviously no. The same would be true if I removed a rib of yours.
2007-12-19 22:27:46 · answer #6 · answered by Bible warrior 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
If you're not a fundamentalist, you may as well be an atheist, because you will not have a perfect directive from God.
Your scripture will be relative and your faith will have no grounding.
I was a Christian fundamentalist - now that I have my PhD in Comparative Religions and History, I know that Jesus Christ was never a historical figure at all and the Bible is composed for political reasons and a collection of myths.
2007-12-19 22:22:12 · answer #7 · answered by The Burninator 1 · 3⤊ 4⤋
Don't worry about the fundies. Worry about Anubis.
After that "no god that weights your heart against a feather," I hear that you are DEFINITELY on his Naughty List!
Note for the humorously-impaired: the above was a joke.
2007-12-19 22:32:14 · answer #8 · answered by Wolfeblayde 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because we are worshiping a living God....a Savior who can be reached through our spirit....The thing about atheists is they never get that....We don't worship someone we don't know...we know God and he knows us..there is a personal relationship between us and God. And you will never understand that as long as you rebel against him and do not admit you are sinner who needs saving. You can feel God's presence when you draw close to him in prayer,,you know he is there,,,you don't think he is or hope he is....you know he is there.....that is the best I can tell you because if you haven't experienced God in your life,,,then you can't possibly understand. I hope some day you will know.
2007-12-19 22:25:40 · answer #9 · answered by dreamdress2 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Frankly, I'm not sure even the fundamentalists understand the fundamentalists. I'm not going to waste my life trying.
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2007-12-20 10:52:39 · answer #10 · answered by Stranger In The Night 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋