Part 38 of Post Your Tough Questions Regarding Christianity

And how do you suggest that water would rise to the surface and flood the earth? That rising water would leave a massive hole in the earth filled with what? Air? A vacuum?
It can't be air as water is heavier than air and would immediately sink back down into the hole - if it ever rose in the first place. It can't be a vacuum for obvious reasons.
If the earth collapsed to fill the hole then the water level above would fall to the same level as before. So we can exclude underground waters.
Rain comes from the ocean so lowering the ocean level. It falls on the land and, because of gravity, makes its way back to the ocean, raising the level again.
Hydrology is obviously not your strong point.

We are not dealing with an unobservable past. Geology and associated sciences tell us a great deal.

Aren't you being 'intellectually' dishonest? All you have is faith which denies facts presented to you.
Intellect.'the power or faculty of the mind by which one knows or understands, as distinguished from that by which one feels and that by which one wills; the understanding; the faculty of thinking and acquiring knowledge.

 

Ever seen a map of the world as seen through ancient Roman eyes?
Says in the New Testament that "all the world was taxed" in the days of
Augustus. All the world? Surely not.
Depends what you mean by the word "world"
All the "world" was flooded in Noah's day could mean quite different to
the way we use the term "world" today.
Consider the word "universe" and how it has changed over the past 20
years. Once the "universe" was everything, now it's just one of many
"universes."

 

When is the bible literal and when is it figurative?
How much taxes were paid by the people in the Yucatan Peninsula?

 

3 alpaca's, 1 goat and a lamb chop - specially for Caesar's table. .

 

There are other examples of this hyperbole about the "whole world".

In the story of Joseph in Egypt forecasting the seven lean years,
Genesis 41:56, "And the famine was over all the face of the earth:"

In the story of Solomon, 1 Kings 24, "And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom"

 

Exactly, when the "world was taxed" it either meant the Roman world
or the world as people of the Roman period saw it.
The "world" will always mean different things to different cultures.
It certainly was a much smaller place in Noah's day.
As what is literal and what is figurative - that comes down to deconstructing
every verse I suppose. I am happy to accept that a world flood in Noah's day
was meant to be literal.

 

Can anyone explain why god would create such a big universe and then choose a tiny patch of dirt on a tiny planet in an inconsequential solar system, within a run of the mill spiral galaxy in one of many galactic clusters in the observable universe as the origin of his "greatest creation" Man? Let alone tell them how to worship him and punch your ticket to paradise.

Who knew god was so wasteful.

 

Regarding the miracles of the Bible, they should all be taken literally. All Scripture should be taken literally except those that are obviously intended to be symbolic/figurative/metaphoric.

I'll give you one example of something not to be taken literally because it is symbolic and it comes from the ESV Bible, Psalm 17:8 which says,

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,

We are not literally apples in God's eye, nor does God literally have wings.

But again regarding all the miracles, they were all real events, starting with God's first miracle which was creation. From nothing God created everything...ex nihilo which means...from nothing.

We Read in Scripture

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

 

It's a good question.
It's similar to the one about the AGE of the universe.
We need the AGE of the universe to create the world we know. Remember what it says in Genesis, "God commanded the seas to bring forth life." And from it came birds. That takes time (!!!!)
It takes time to allow the first and second generation of stars to evolve and create the elements.
It takes time for the galaxies to form.
Time and SPACE are one and the same according to Einstein.

 

You don't care about Scripture in general so why do you keep pretending otherwise. You only care about scripture that you think supports your man made dogma.

I posted "Scripture" and you ran and hid - still waiting for your response to post 275. If you can't take the heat then get out of the kitchen.

 

Pauline Gibberish does not prove that scripture all scripture is inspired by God. The dude was not a disciple (did not associate with Jesus) and did not become a Christian until years after Christs death.

Not that Paul wrote Timothy because he didn't.

Then we have the well established fact that the Bible has had numerous major changes and hundreds of minor changes over the years.

Which then is "inspired" the old version or the new ?

 

Thank you Tacoyah but, I would be able to enjoy the Universe all that much more if you were to help me to win the lottery. If you will do this I will give many more thanks to you !

 

Quote - "Not that Paul wrote Timothy because he didn't."
So Paul didn't write to Timothy.
And people didn't ride camels in Abraham's day.
And there was no King David.
etc..
But if someone tells you the universe sprung into being without cause, physical laws, time, space, energy, matter or even REASON then I suppose we ought to believe it.

 

I think you do have some questions to answer about this one.

It sounds like you are saying that God will revoke your salvation due to subsequent misdeeds.

By the way, you don't have to "raise hell" to commit any of the "seven deadly sins" - purportedly the worst sins that exist.

 

Per the biblical fairy tale Christians didn't exist until Paul and Barnabas created the religion. Jesus wasn't a Christian; he was a Jew.

There have been a lot of changes in the Bible versions throughout the years but the main message is still the same = complete obedience and loyalty to the Boss regardless of the cost.

 

Paul certainly did have much to do with the creation of modern Christianity.

 

Most of the principles of Christianity were laid down in the Old Testament.
Few of the 'saints' of the OT actually lived by the strictures of the Mosaic law.
You would be struggling to read Mosaic law in the life of David, or Ruth etc
and you wouldn't find it at all in Abraham, Joseph etc..
Many of these people spoke of the Messiah who would come to do away with
the old covenant.
Stating that Paul invented Christianity is a seriously misreading of the bible, I
suggest it's a serious NOT reading.

 

I'm not sure where the "Paul didn't write the letters to Timothy" thing came from.

But, the second part is interesting, I think.

I think it's important to note that science doesn't ascribe a cause or reason without there being physical evidence.

There are lots of things that mankind does not know. Claiming we know something when there is no physical evidence is a serious problem.

So, there ARE people trying to think about what could have been going on outside the point source that our universe came from. That helps scientists to look for evidence that might confirm or falsify one or more of those conjectures. So, we hear a lot of the various conjectures concerning how our universe fits into something larger.

But, that does not mean that those are answers. It means those are ideas that would require confirming evidence which is not available today.

 

The Mosaic Law was simply an accumulation of earlier laws already known in ancient codes and civilisations. The stories of Abraham and Moses are just that. Stories. Studies of ancient history of the area show up the errors written into the stories. In any case both Abraham and Joseph would have been 600 years before the supposed 'Moses'. The Mosaic law was drawn up long after (7th century BCE) the tribal king David (!000BCE).

Speaking of a messiah to come was speaking of an anointed one - not a saviour. And there were several anointed ones in the OT. People placed to fulfil Gods purpose on earth. They did not believe in a saviour from sin. They were responsible for their own sins. What covenant? God had several with the Jews.

Paul was indeed the inventor of Christianity. Left to the other disciples Christianity would have been a Jewish sect. Even Paul didn't completely give up Jewish ritual, though he adapted much of it for Christianity.

Christianity came into being when Matthew took OT prophecies to fulfil his birth of Jesus. A study of these prophecies show they have nothing to do with Jesus at all, but the Jews. Jesus was a Jewish preacher, who preached Judaism, fulfilled Jewish ritual and lived as a Jew. Any Christian connotations were put in to facilitate the Gospel writers purposes. Jesus baptism was a Jewish ritual of cleansing, his temptation was understood in Judaism as testing his faith. The Satan of the OT was a messenger of Jahweh whose purpose was to test peoples faith - along with other things. Christianity turned Satan into an enemy of God.

Stating that Paul invented Christianity is a seriously misreading of the bible, I
suggest it's a serious NOT reading,.

With respect. It's not a case of reading - it's a case of understanding. Read as much as you like - try study and understanding.

 

Christianity is based on the belief in a Jewish zombie. Without that it's nothing. 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

 

Christians are nothing more than Jews who got tired of waiting. And yet they are always harping on about "faith"! They try to distinguish themselves from the Jews with tiny & silly changes like taking off their hat when entering a church rather than put one on ..... and by celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday rather than Saturday. But all in all they are just impatient Jews looking for an easy way out, too weak of fortitude & faith to follow "the chosen way". They are phonies, that's all.

 

Nonsense.

You're making yourself out to be unknowledgeable and being offensive doing so.

 

And what part of it can you prove is untrue?

Telling the truth is "offensive"? Against whom? Against myself?

 

I knew you couldn't stay away.....after all, this is what you live for.

 

I have to say, you've got a lot of strong faith to present this all the time knowing the sharks are lurking all around. I've got your back Brother!