The bible

1. 61

   Bigcountry12577posted 15 years ago

   There is nothing written in the bible that will hurt man, so why do people hate it so? The bible says don't steal, how can this hurt man? the bible commands us to love one another, how can this hurt us? the only complaint I can see someone having against the bible or God is for folks to want to be a God unto themselves.

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      Mikel G Robertsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      There are many things written in the bible that will hurt humanity. The Bibles are just as capable of spreading hate and evil as anything else because there are also examples of hate and un-forgiving in the Bibles(and those hateful acts are perported to be acts of obedience to God, which supposedly makes them not evil acts)...where is Earnie when we need his bible quotes???

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      1. 61

         Bigcountry12577posted 15 years agoin reply to this

         tell me more cause I just can't find hate in the bible. Better yet tell me something Christ did that was hateful. Didn't he walk the earth as a humble servant and heal those who were sick and have compassion on those who were poor and down and out? As I recall he died for our sins.

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            srwnsonposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            I think Mike is  speaking of Chronicles, Deutoronomy, Joshua all are books of the old Testiment that speak of war and destruction as God cleansed the land for the Isralites.
            
            These passages, and others, have been used often by people to demonstrate Gods violence.
            
            Christ was a truely caring man but he did become outraged at the money launderers. The Bible is littered with violence but it is put there for us to learn from.

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         2. 60

            Hokeyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Here you go! 
            
            
            "And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, 'Take all the heads of the people and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.'" (Numbers 25:3-4)

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   2. 59

      qwarkposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      The "bible" represents all that is "primitive" in man.
      The concept "god" has it's foundation in primitive fear and superstition.
      If one studies the history of "religion" it is obvious that as man became a more sophisticated creature, his "gods" followed suit.
      From it's incipience, beliefs in supernatural entities have been used to gain and hold on to power and control over the "lesser" evolved.
      This was happening long before the writing of the bible.
      Thirty five or so thousand years, before the bible, as "Modern Man" was evolving and progressing, his gods took the form of many misunderstood objects.
      When thoughts could be conveyed in "hieroglyphic" form gods could be "visualized." The "learned," shrewdly, capitalized on a new found ablity to control: "language."
      The bible, as corrupted as it is, propates the fear and superstition that has "always' controlled primitive thought and behavior.
      The bible, the qur'an, the torah, all exist as a crutch which alleviates the fear and understanding of eternal death for the, unthinking, easily led, primitive, lesser evolved of the human species.
      As it was yesterday, it remains so today. tch, tch, tch.

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   3. 60

      Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      You have obviously never read this book.  There is no such thing as god - so to start with you are working under a delusion.
      
      2000 years of wars should have shown you how damaging it is when people think they speak for an invisible super being in the sky.
      
      The very idea that humans are somehow special and "have dominion over" the earth should give you an idea of how much damage we are doing to us and the planet.
      
      Or are you not aware that we are consuming everything and polluting as we go. Secure in the ridiculous notion that "God will provide."?
      
      How damaging do you think that notion could be?

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         Hokeyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Hello Mark!  Some people just don't get it. It is easier I guess for them to live in fairy tales so they don't have to deal with real life.

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         qwarkposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         STANDING OVATION MARK! CLAP, CLAP CLAP...ETC., ETC., ETC.   :-)

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   4. 69

      AdsenseStrategiesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      The first part of the Old Testament is a description of God's command to the Ancient Hebrews to commit ethnic cleansing and genocide in order to inhabit a land already inhabited by a variety of city-states. Shall I go on?

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   5. 71

      getitriteposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      

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   6. 75

      IntimatEvolutionposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I think the whole "commanding" thing, has a lot to do with it.

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      1. 77

         aguasilverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         That's what he was saying... people hate the concept that they really don't have too many options, humanity likes to think it's able to control its own destiny, but in reality we are more like actors in a film, we may know our lines and we may add some depth to the script, but it's the director who decides what makes the final cut and what ends up in the bin.
         
         We are like actors with big egos and who are totally are selfish.
         
         Christ is able to reverse that polarity.
         
         John

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2. 75

   Uninvited Writerposted 15 years ago

   It's the way some people choose to interpret it that causes hurt.

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3. 61

   srwnsonposted 15 years ago

   Exactly, because so many feel the Bible is not a work of fiction.
   
   Tempers flare.

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4. 60

   Hokeyposted 15 years ago

   "And Gideon said, Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers" (Judges 8:7)
   
   "Now Zebah and Zalmunna were Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword." (Judges 8:10)

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   1. 60

      Hokeyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Need some more? I have plenty! 

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5. 60

   tantrumposted 15 years ago

   Simple minds
   Simple reading

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6. 60

   Hokeyposted 15 years ago

   God Buries Them Alive
   
   "And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense." (Numbers 16:32-35)
   Comment
   
   Moses relays a threat that asks us to believe that God punishes members of families, including infants. And again we have the $atanic fire coming from God burning his creations.

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7. 60

   David Bowmanposted 15 years ago

   The Bible was used to justify the divine right of kings for centuries with scriptures like the following:
   
   13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 
   13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
   
   So much for those Christians who criticize Obama.
   
   The Bible was used to justify slavery as well with scriptures like the following:
   
   Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever. Lev.25:44-46
   
   The witch killings - which claimed the lives of many thousands of men, women and children - were justified with scriptures like the following:
   
   22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
   
   The subjugation of women was justified for centuries with scriptures like the following:
   
   5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
   5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
   
   2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 
   2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 
   
   Nothing in the Bible that will hurt man? Rubbish.

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8. 68

   MikeNVposted 15 years ago

   50 different versions of the "Bible" in the world right now.  Written by different people in different languages.  Based on?
   
   Death Passages in the Bible.
   
   Kill People Who Don't Listen to Priests
   
       Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death.  Such evil must be purged from Israel.  (Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT)
   
   Kill Witches
   
       You should not let a sorceress live.  (Exodus 22:17 NAB)
   
   
   Kill Homosexuals
       "If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives."  (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)
   
   
   Kill Fortunetellers
   
       A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortuneteller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death.  (Leviticus 20:27 NAB)
   
   
   Death for Hitting Dad
   
       Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death.  (Exodus 21:15 NAB)
   
   
   Death for Cursing Parents
   
       1) If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness.  (Proverbs 20:20 NAB)
   
       2) All who curse their father or mother must be put to death.  They are guilty of a capital offense.  (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)
   
   
   Death for Adultery
   
       If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death.  (Leviticus 20:10 NLT)
   
   Death for Fornication
   
       A priest's daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death.  (Leviticus 21:9 NAB)
   
   
   Death to Followers of Other Religions
   
       Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed.  (Exodus 22:19 NAB)
   
   Believe whatever YOU want.  I have no problem with that.  But for those who chose not to believe the same way you do... extend the same courtesy.

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   1. 77

      aguasilverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Now do the same search in the new covenant, what did Christ say about the same issues...
      
      Get some context, nobody is saying that Judaism is the way forward at this time, we are talking about Christ and His worthiness.
      
      Christ FULFILLED the law, so please don't use those quotes to tie me to the old covenant, which Christ replaced with he kingdom of heaven.
      
      Believers are bound anything from the old covenant which is reiterated in the new covenant, and are released from anything in the old covenant, which is not reiterated in the new covenant.
      
      John

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   2. 79

      aka-djposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      So, what your saying is, if God instructed believers to follow these laws, every one of these catagories of offenders would be dead right now.
      That  would be most of humanity, RIGHT?. (Including me, because I am also guilty of some in your list.)
      I signed up, not to kill, but to receive grace and forgivness, for that which deserves punishment.
      We are (as a society) tolerant enough to have all these (groups) living among us today. WHO is killing them? Not me? Not my church? Not my "sect" (as you all like to call them). Not my political party? Who, pray tell is doing all this killing?
      I don't see any of this happening, do you?

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      1. 60

         Hokeyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Then give yourself grace and forgiveness. You are the only one that can truly forgive you.

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9. 59

   Doug Hughesposted 15 years ago

   "Believe whatever YOU want.  I have no problem with that.  But for those who chose not to believe the same way you do... extend the same courtesy."
   
   I don't want to offend Mike - but I agree completely. That goes not only for the Bible but for any number of books held to be sacred by the believers. I don't think  many people 'hate the bible' - but they push back against people who want to force the bible on them. Of course there's no one like that on THIS forum....

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10. 60

    Hokeyposted 15 years ago

    Utter Destruction, 1
    
    "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword." (Joshua 6:21)
    Comment
    
    These "God inspired" words give not a hint of mercy to slaughtered women, children or the old.
    
    After Moses and Aaron died, Joshua assumed command and the Israelites entered Jericho. Note that in the same siege, "all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord" (Joshua 6:19)
    
    In the battle of Ai, the Bible tells that twelve thousand, the whole population of Ai, got slaughtered. (Josh. 8:25)
    
    Note that many invaders throughout history have used such words as justification for wars and looting.

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11. 61

    brianzenposted 15 years ago

    Wow I so ain't touchin' this one.

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    1. 61

       brianzenposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       catch you late guys.

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12. 60

    Hokeyposted 15 years ago

    "I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own-- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism."

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    1. 71

       earnestshubposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Well said Hokey.
       It is not love, but megalomania that emanates from the belief in a deity.

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       1. 68

          Faybe Bayposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          people still think the Bible is a history book, that is the true sadness.

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             Hokeyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

             Very true.

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    2. 77

       Mikel G Robertsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       The first part I can agree with, up to the word neither, after that I disagree:
       
       The soul, the part that goes on after death of the body, is the whole reason we are here. It isn't through fear or egotism that my logic leads me to believe in the soul. In fact thinking that there is no soul and we just cease to exist would be less fearful to me. Kinda like turning off a robot, the time spent in the turned off condition would simply not be. Simply not being, isn't scary at all. Egotism? thinking that our frail, extremely limited existence here may be just a starting point for a greater form, a form that is born and protected by the human cocoon (the human body)?
       
       Believing humans were the only creation that God made in this fashion would be to me egotism, but I don't believe that we are alone in our realm of existence. I believe there are life forms on other planets with souls identical to ours, sheathed in bodies different but as frail. Bodies that grew in union with the environment that they find themselves in.
       
       But that's me.

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          Hokeyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          That is a nice thought but in the end what it all comes down too is that nobody knows. All these thoughts are mans attempts to make himself feel comfortable with something he simply cannot know. The only ones who really know are the ones who are gone and they aren't talking.

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13. 75

    IntimatEvolutionposted 15 years ago

    Hi John!
    
    You know, I have never thought of it that way.  The whole actor and ego thing.  Nevertheless, I feel virtually the same way.  However, I think people tend to forget what purpose the bible was really to serve.
    
    Moreover, the real problem with the bible is that, too many people literally take the bible word for word, and turn into something not God like at all.

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    1. 71

       ledefensetechposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       To be fair that's an assumption on your part.  Just because someone reads the Bible, doesn't mean that they necessarily believe it's the True Word of God(tm).  You might be surprised at how much scholarship there is on the Bible, both by practitioners of the religion and those who do not.
       
       Personally speaking, I find the beliefs and their reasons fascinating reading.  Fundamentalists don't have a stranglehold on Biblical scholarship, far from it.  One of the more interesting uses for the Bible that I've seen is using it as a guide to discover the places described in the Bible and get archeology teams out to them.
       
       As an example there are farmers in the Negev who are using wind traps much like the ancient Hebrews did to turn the Negev into a garden.  I've also seen scholarship done that approaches the Exodus from a military point of view.  If their scholarship turns out to be correct, we may have to rethink the Exodus as a band of rag-tag ex-slaves.
       
       Personally I find Fundamentalists kind of sad.  There is so much to learn about the real history of the Bible and these people will never see it because they can't use their minds and challenge the way they think.  But Fundamentalists are not the last word when it comes to Christian theology.

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14. 75

    IntimatEvolutionposted 15 years ago

    Well of course it was an assumption.  Nothing is for sure in this life, not even the words of the bible.
    
    But some people believe otherwise.  I assume.

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15. 0

    StormRyderposted 15 years ago

    I noticed that once some of the death and violence in the bible was posted that Bigcountry has gone missing from his own thread???

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    1. 60

       Randy Godwinposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       This happens quite often when the Bible is discussed!  Some only read the good parts.

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16. 75

    IntimatEvolutionposted 15 years ago

    I noticed that too.  Not so much about when he left, rather than he was just gone. 
    
    What is up with that?

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17. 59

    errum fattahposted 15 years ago

    quran never says to kill any one so y u hate it?
    quran never says to hurt anybody's cuz God is in the heart of tht person so y u hate it?
    quran never says to say bad word against anyone so y u hate it?
    quran never says to start killing in the world so y u hate it?
    quran neversays to insult anyone's religion or anyone's God it says to respect the ppl n the books so y u hate it?
    quran never says to be disobey ur parents so y u hate it?
    
    now can u answer me my last question?
    
    y u insulting our quran by putting ur foots on it? y? wats our fault? wat we did wrong with u ppl?
    no any church is being bombed in ur country so y? y u doing this all mess things?
    
    REMEMBER! the one who don't respect, can never get respect.
    let us free to live...live n let to live..
    never forget tht oneday u'll b infront of ur God n u would b answered.
    'We believe in that which is revealed to us and which was revealed to you'

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18. 71

    earnestshubposted 15 years ago

    Oh yes, here is some "love" from the quoran
    
    
    
    Qur’an 2:193 “And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah”
    
    Qur’an 8:71 And if they intend to act unfaithfully towards you, so indeed they acted unfaithfully towards Allah before, but He GAVE YOU MASTERY OVER THEM
    
    Qur’an 8:55 Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve.
    
    Qur’an 22:19-22 “fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem” “for them (the unbelievers) garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods”
    
    
    Are you sure you're reading the right book?

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19. 59

    errum fattahposted 15 years ago

    how dare u ask me tht im reading the right book or wrong? im on the right path n poud to b called as  amuslim.
    
    'Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve.'
    
    people in bani israel who refused the teachings and miracles of moses they were called as a sharudawab or animal, yea ofcourse they r..cuz when they listen ayats they say v listen but in true they didn't, they r deaf n unable to talk this is character of an animal, n they r  animals.
    
    'And if they intend to act unfaithfully towards you, so indeed they acted unfaithfully towards Allah before'
    
    of course if somebody had rejected to the teachings of mohommad(pbuh) they had rejected the teachings of ALLAH, cuz ALLAH send mohommad(pbuh) as a his messenger n send him to guide the people.
    
    “fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem”
    
    in this verse islam didn't ordered to fight with any innocent non muslim, it ordered to fight with the people who were thinking to kill muslims n finish islam, this was for them not for all non muslims.
    
    “for them (the unbelievers) garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods”
    
    if ALLAH will not warn them of punish than how they will scare of God n if there will b no punishment than nobody will therefore, not belive. so people should must b scared frm ALLAH.
    
    
    
    now plz don't start debate here cuz im not in the mode to listen nonsence. n as u dont have any religion than y should i waste my energy on u.

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20. 0

    Brenda Durhamposted 15 years ago

    Excuse me.  Humans aren't animals, even though some of them may act like animals.

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