Originally posted by Andrew HamiltonThere is actually a great deal of information in the Bible. Many people get a good amount information out of it, but Those that get the most are they that believe it and follow it by faith.
I find this completely bizarre. I am honestly desperate want to understand you. I don’t understand how you can possibly base a belief on mere “scriptures” or “verses”. “Scriptures” and “verses” do not give logical arguments -they just state propositions without premise. So, therefore, I am totally mystified to how you can possibly perceive any ...[text shortened]... to? and how do you perceive that kind of “impact” as a ‘premise’ for any of your beliefs.
I have found a great deal of power in the words of it.
Joh 4:24
(24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Joh 14:17
(17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Yes, I find the scriptures to be very reliable and base my beliefs off of it. I appreciate your honesty in this discussion very much.
Originally posted by SmoothCowboy“There is actually a great deal of information in the Bible….”
There is actually a great deal of information in the Bible. Many people get a good amount information out of it, but Those that get the most are they that believe it and follow it by faith.
I have found a great deal of power in the words of it.
Joh 4:24
(24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Jo ...[text shortened]... eliable and base my beliefs off of it. I appreciate your honesty in this discussion very much.
If I wrote a book that is full of random numbers, that book will also actually have “a great deal of information” ; the information would consist of a vast list of random numbers. But I wouldn’t be able to understand how you could base any of your beliefs on that information.
Ok, that is no quite the same kind of information. So, suppose I wrote a book that is full of randomly computer generated ideas that are not based on any premise or evidence and than, to make it at least logically consistent, before I publish this book on ‘random ideas’ , wherever in the book some of those ideas contradict each other, some are pruned out so just to leave one there so there is no contradiction between those ideas. But I still wouldn’t be able to understand how you could base any of your beliefs on the information in that book.
Yes -there actually is “a great deal of information in the Bible”. But that “information” has no premise.
For this reason, I am still mystified as to how you could base any of your beliefs on that “information“.
To me, that is as mystifying as somebody claiming that they gain their beliefs through singing songs or reading poetry.
“…Many people get a good amount information out of it, but Those that get the most are they that believe it and follow it by faith. …”
Are you saying here that if you “believe it and follow it by faith” then this will mathematically increase the total amount of information you can extract from the Bible? because, if you are, then I am not sure how that is supposed to work.
Do you believe that if you read some information that you “believe it and follow it by faith” then the fact that you “believe it and follow it by faith” makes that information more valid? (I am not implying you do believe this, I am just curious).
Originally posted by SmoothCowboyReliable in what way? There are many ways to interpret that statement and it is not clear which one you mean.
Yes, I find the scriptures to be very reliable and base my beliefs off of it.
I also suspect that your belief in the Bible comes prior to basing your beliefs 'off of it'.
Originally posted by SmoothCowboyi found the bible useful for my maths exam:
There is actually a great deal of information in the Bible. Many people get a good amount information out of it
The mathematical number Pi is the ratio of a circle's diameter to its circumference. The value of Pi truncated at 10 digits is 3.141592653. The bible itself gives us a different value of Pi.
"Then he made the molten sea; it was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would encircle it completely."
A circle with a diameter of 10 units should have a circumference of 31.4 units not 30.
Unfortunately i scored an E-
No, that's not what I said. It's too bad that some feel the need to post about something completely unrelated to a topic they have no interest in to begin with. Having an opinion is fine, but opinions don't count for much - yours, mine, or anyone else's. *shrugs*
If one is an athiest it makes no sense to me that they would even bother reading scripture drivel, much less post about it. If one is religious but not of Judeo-Christian belief then they may not be interested either. But I'm not surprised; opinion on any side rarely is logical.
Originally posted by BadwaterWhy would you think that someone is not interested in a topic just because they take a skeptical position on it? That's assuming too much.
No, that's not what I said. It's too bad that some feel the need to post about something completely unrelated to a topic they have no interest in to begin with. Having an opinion is fine, but opinions don't count for much - yours, mine, or anyone else's. *shrugs*
If one is an athiest it makes no sense to me that they would even bother reading scripture d ...[text shortened]... may not be interested either. But I'm not surprised; opinion on any side rarely is logical.
I guess our 'worthless' opinions will have to do until we come to a better consensus on the hard questions like "does god exist?", "why should there be something rather than nothing", "what is the meaning of it all", etc. etc.
How do you think people become atheists? Personally, reading the bible in depth was one of the primary things that converted me to atheism in the first place.
Eph 4:20-23
(20) But ye have not so learned Christ;
(21) If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
(22) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
(23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
The Bible contains 66books. 39 commonly called the Old Testament and the other 27 books the New Testament. It was written over a period of 1500 years by about 40 authors. The OT was written in Hebrew(a small portion was written in Aramaic. The NT was written in Greek. This old Book has been recognized by a vast majority of religions for it's much wisdom. Many of these religions also recognize Jesus as a great man or prophet.
The best I can I'll try relate to you my personal reasons for putting so much faith into this seemingly blind thing this way.
If someone offers you a strange new diet to cure a disease you have(sin) and you really want to be rid of it, you do it. The trick is you have to follow it exactly or it wont work. You only have his word that it works. You follow this
diet and start to feel healthier very quickly. You understand it works. A person could reject this diet as a radical fruitcake diet and not give it a chance.
This is just a simple illustration. For me, I believed what it said was true. After that point I knew it would work. I have continued in studying it and it has done even more for me. Rom 10:17
(17) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
This may seem extreme but since I know what it can do for me I want to go all the way.
Originally posted by SmoothCowboy“…If someone offers you a strange new diet to cure a disease you have (sin) and you really want to be rid of it, you do it.…”
.... The best I can I'll try relate to you my personal reasons for putting so much faith into this seemingly blind thing this way.
If someone offers you a strange new diet to cure a disease you have(sin) and you really want to be rid of it, you do it. The trick is you have to follow it exactly or it wont work. You only have his word that it works. You ...[text shortened]... works. A person could reject this diet as a radical fruitcake diet and not give it a chance...
I assume what you mean by “(sin)” is doing bad things to other people or at least thinking of doing bad things to other people?
So is that why you read and believe verses and scripture? -as a part of a mechanism to form beliefs which are designed with the purpose of deterring you from committing sin? If so, then the “premise” for your beliefs would appear to me that they have the desirable effect of deterring you from committing sin. But, the problem I would have with that is that I cannot see how you or anyone else can think that what the effects of a belief has on you, no mater how desirable, pleasant or beneficial those effects may be, can be a valid “premise” for that belief.
Do you believe that atheists have a disease called “sin” that they need to be got rid of? If so, I don’t see any evidence that theists are anymore prone to committing “sin” than atheists -unless you define merely not believing that any god or gods exist as a “sin” -in which case atheists are, by definition, constantly sinning every moment of their lives. (do you believe that?)
Originally posted by jaywillBut those “some people” really do have "diverse opinions"!
Nope, rather its too bad that it is hard for some people to stick with a topic, under the guise of having "diverse opinions".
And, like most people with opinions, they sometimes wish to express those opinions.
Even if expression of opinions sometimes means redirecting the subject of a particular thread to take a different route, you cannot blame people for expressing their opinions.
This is a public forum which means, within reason, there is generally little reason why people should put constraints on themselves when deciding what opinion to express in which thread. One of the things I mean here by “within reason” is that it would be obviously inappropriate to suddenly introduce a completely new subject in a thread when that introduction of the new subject was not done by either an appropriate ‘reply & quote’ post to give an reply to what someone else had posted in the same thread nor in response to what had been so far been said in the thread. But I cannot see any examples of either in this thread (and I have search all the way through just to make sure).
Originally posted by Andrew HamiltonJames 4:17
I assume what you mean by “(sin)” is doing bad things to other people or at least thinking of doing bad things to other people?
So is that why you read and believe verses and scripture? -as a part of a mechanism to form beliefs which are designed with the purpose of deterring you from committing sin?
Do you believe that atheists have a disease ...[text shortened]... eists are, by definition, constantly sinning every moment of their lives. (do you believe that?)
(17) Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Sin is violating a law. Either the written law or conscientious law. If you have ever done anything you knew was wrong, that is sin.
Like the verse says I am rewarded for believing it. I am not rewarded with anything you can touch, taste, or physically see(except maybe a change the way I live my life if you knew me).
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
I did come to him with the desire of forgiveness of my sins. As far as my sinning goes-I may be free from the enslavement of sin,but my sinful body will not be free till Christ comes back to redeem it.
Philippians 3:20-21
(20) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
(21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Yes, atheists do. They fall under the category of all in Romans3:23," For all have sinned,".
I would be a lier if I said I don't still sin. I believe that by learning and trusting in God's word, he will replace my natural desires to sin with desires to serve him in love.
Romans 12:2
(2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.