From: user6340@newsgrouper.org.invalid
JTEM posted:
> On 1/4/26 12:49 PM, Mike wrote:
> >
> > 1. Is the Bible the literal word of God, or a collection of human
> > writings shaped by culture, politics, and history?
>
> They are a collection of morality tales -- akin to aesop's fables ==
Aesop's Fables hasn't had nearly the popularity or
positive effect on the world that the Bible has had.
There is a reason why the Bible is the best selling
book in the history of books.
>
> as well as (even today) typical "Oriental" i.e. middle eastern
> revisionism, justifying/proving their claim to ownership of the land
> and special status as the "Chosen people."
>
> You see the exact same thing going on with the "Palestinian "
> mythology.
In what best selling book?
>
> You know, where a half dozen "Arab" states declare war
> on Israel and they recast that as a "numerically superior" Israel
> chasing all the Palestinians off the land.
Which is, of course, a lie; and lies just don't stand
up to scrutiny, but the truth of the Bible does.
>
> > 2. How historically reliable are the Bible's major events, such as
> > the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, or the Resurrection?
>
> Zero.
Are you saying nothing in the Bible is historically
reliable? Or just the three examples given in Mike's
question?
>
> > 3. Why does the Bible contain apparent contradictions, such as
> > differing creation accounts, genealogies, or resurrection stories?
>
> Because the so called "Books" came from different authors, different
> time periods and even different cultures.
That's actually one of the strengths of the Bible. All
those different authors from different places and different
times, many of whom didn't know each other -- and yet in
their inspired writings, their books are all brought
together with a unified and consistent message.
Just imagine the Bible had all been written by one man --
the complaint from nonbelievers would be that it's merely
one man's fantasy. The fact that it was written by so
many different authors, over a period of 1500 years, it's
actually quite amazing how unified and consistent the
message is.
>
> > 4. If God is loving and just, why does the Bible describe divine
> > violence, genocide, or commands to kill entire populations?
>
> Much of it, or nearly all of it, was written at a time when there
> were still "living gods" i.e. god kings. There were literal gods
> smiting people left & right.
I answered the question in my response to Mike. One thing
I should have added is that we (as humans) are not able to
understand God's thoughts, as we are told in Isaiah 55:8-9:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
>
> > 5. Does the Bible support slavery, tolerate it, or condemn it, and
> > why is slavery never explicitly abolished?
>
> Slavery was a cultural norm throughout the world. The bible writers
> talking about slavery would be akin to fish talking about water.
They didn't just talk about it, they put guidelines on
slavery that changed the way slaves were treated by
slave owners who observed the Bible -- and eventually
led to the abolishment of slavery where the Bible is
observed in society, so that the only places where
slavery continues to exist in today's world are in
societies where the Bible is banned.
>
> > 6. Why are women often portrayed as subordinate, and does the Bible
> > endorse patriarchy or gender inequality?
>
> They were subordinate. A man could own as many wives as he could
> afford. Plus he could have concubines.
Polygamy predates the Bible (just as slavery did). The
Bible actually recommends monogamous marriage between
one man and one woman. Where polygamy is discussed in
the Bible, it is not the ideal that God preferred. The
first mention of marriage in the Bible is in the first
book of the Bible.
Genesis 2:24 says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father
and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh." That message holds true throughout the
Bible, with 1 Corinthians 7:2 being an example: "But
because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man
should have his own wife and each woman her own husband."
>
> > 7. Who decided which books belong in the Bible, and how was the
> > biblical canon formed?
>
> The bible was finalized in the 5th century, when Justinian banned
> (criminalized) all but the official versions -- one in Greek, one
> in Latin.
A lot of people from different times were involved in the \
process, and the final result is the inspired Word of God.
>
> > 8. Are biblical moral laws meant to be timeless, or were they only
> > intended for ancient societies and cultures?
>
> They lacked our concepts of change.
Moral laws don't change. Societal views of those laws may
change -- and, unfortunately, they do, which gives us the
degradation of moral standards that has become all too
common around the world. The world would be a better place
if the Bible's moral laws were upheld and observed.
>
> Just in your lifetime you've
> seen... what? Cable TV and that's already given way to streaming.
> The internet, computers and then phones... socially you've seen
> a massive flood of illegal aliens changing your culture, gay
> marriage and then the whole "Trans" & non binary thing...
We've also seen increases in drug addictions, pornography,
sexually transmitted diseases because of the rejection of
the Bible's moral laws and the increase in fornication and
adultery, and the resulting divorces. .
>
> > 9. Is salvation based on faith, works, divine election, or some
> > combination, and why does the Bible seem to support all of these?
>
> If you have love of your fellow man in your heart, it's got to
> come out in some ways.
That's why faith in Jesus is the way to salvation, because
if you have Jesus in your heart, your good works will follow.
>
> > 10. Did Jesus explicitly claim to be God, or was that belief
> > developed later by his followers?
>
> Son of God. He explicitly refers to God as his father.
The Trinity consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. All three are God. Jesus said, "I and the Father
are one." John 10:30
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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