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Sunday, October 03, 2004
What would it take for you to say that your holy book was not the inerrant word of God? Let's look at a few scenarios:
1. Someone showed you a direct contradiction. E.G. Purple is evil and Purple is holy. Now if I told you that your holy book said this, you would automatically begin to find a way to dismiss this, and you would accept whatever excuse was given to you, no matter how bad the reasoning. Purple is holy unless you elevate it above god, then it is evil. "It doesn't make sense to us, because god is wiser than us." "God put that in there to test our faith." Excuses such as these can and have covered anything written in holybooks. When you are in war, your side is always right. Yes, you are both killing, but your side is killing to save innocent people. Hate is blinding, but when you drop the hate, and seek the truth you can see all sides with no bias. That is not possible while you are still defending your way of life. Here is a contradiction from a popular holybook in my country. Do you take a staff or not?
Mark 6:8 "These were his instructions: 'Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts."
Luke 9:3 "He told them: "Take nothing for the journey-no staff, no bag, no bread, no extra tunic."
2. God came down from heaven and revealed the correct holy book and told you to follow it. You had been wrong.
"That wasn't god, that was satan. The bible says satan is beautiful and that is why that creature was so beautiful and powerful. That was satan trying to confuse us. God said in our book that we have the one true religion." You see, when you believe that it cannot be wrong, it won't be. When something is the standard of truth, it will never be wrong. You must first start with a level playing field, and then decide what is right. Starting off with an a priori belief and then investigating is merely self-fulfillment. You will see what you tell yourself to see.
Today's bible verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:21 "Test everything. Hold on to the good." There is some wisdom in that book.
Do you really believe?
Here is an interactive question. Imagine you have contracted a deadly disease. There is a cure, maybe an antibiotic, that will heal you. Do you take it, or do you pray and trust that if god wants you sick you will remain sick, and he will heal you if that is his plan? Is medicine circumventing god's will in your life? Before you answer that Luke, a friend of Jesus was a doctor, keep in mind that Luke never prescribed antibiotics. Also keep in mind that Jesus was close to prostitutes as well. That doesn't make prostitution right does it?
Here is something easier for you. You have a cold. Would you rather have someone pray for you, or would you rather have the cold medicine? The bible says you can trample snakes, yet you fear snakes. The bible says you will have bliss after you die, yet you fear death. There are those who really do believe though, they are called martyrs. Many Muslims truly have faith. Faith is the evidence of things unseen; remember? If that is the case, maybe the Muslims are right.
I would like to present a challenge. It is the one the prophet Elijah presented to the people to prove which god is more powerful. God enjoys the smell of burning things. He says so many times in the bible. Elijah knew this and used it to his advantage. Two altars were set up, both with wood and a bull placed upon them. Elijah bet that his god would send fire down from heaven and light his sacrifice and the god Baal would not be able to do so. He knew god would do this to prove to the people that he had all the power.
Any of you who believe your god can do this I challenge you. Can your god do this? Let me use the taunts that Elijah used: "Shout louder.... maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened."
Punked
So I bought a modem for my new apartment. I ordered it from New York. I am not in New York and it took nearly two weeks to get here. I finally get the thing set up after fighting with my cable company. (My former cable company never made me jump through so many hoops) I use the modem for about two weeks and it dies. By the time I trouble shoot it and find out it is indeed the modem, then get around to sending it back, it is day 31 of the 30 day warranty. The store will not take it back. I leave messages for Netgear, the modem manufacturer, and they refuse to get back to me. Netgear has pissed me off. I should have bought a Motorola in the first place. Just some advice for all of you. I have stacks of old computer parts. Most are too old to donate to anyone, but I hate throwing away a good motherboard. Such is life.
Well I am off to go see if my altar has been set ablaze yet by my god. Not sure who my god is, I guess whoever sets this thing on fire. I'll let you know when it happens. I have my marshmallows ready. Hey, put down that lighting rod! Cheaters.
Churches with lightning rods are showing a lack of faith
Posted at 10:14 pm by elvenSarah
 | | | Nyl
October 3, 2004 11:17 PM PDT
Have you ever read Conversations with God? You might enjoy it it's not what you think. It certainly wasn't what I thought it was going to be and I'm pretty positive it isn't approved by most "Christians." It is a very non-religious based view on God supposedly from God itself. I'd be very interested in hearing your viewpoints on it. | |
| | | J f Z
October 6, 2004 11:37 PM PDT
Heh. This reminds me of something:
When I get frustrated with life and the idiots in it, so much so that only screaming out loud seems like the right thing to do or the remedy needed for relief, I'm glad to know there's a God up in heaven to hear my screams and ignore them.
I mean, it would be just plain CRAZY to be screaming out loud to myself, right?
(cough)
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| | | >slave<
October 16, 2004 06:47 AM PDT
it's not really a lot of exercise, I think it works out to be burning about 160 calories. And then for the rest of the day I sit on my ass at school, so that's why the calorie intake is low(er). Anyway. I sound like a freak now I guess. Eep. | |
| | | Brandon Starr
October 20, 2004 08:35 AM PDT
As much as I enjoy reading about the contradictions in the Bibles...
I find that allowing the conversation to get down to specific quotes in the Bible, in the end, doesn't accomplish much. Believers can always blow off such things--I mean, they believe an all-powerful being created, controls and sees everything, yet has never been seen except by a few dead guys in a highly suspect book. They can blow off a little staff/no staff thing pretty easily.
I did a blog about some amazing Pat Robertson quotes from CNN today. Before his war, Bush told Robertson that there aren't going to be any casualties! There's more, too.
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| | | ElvenSarah
October 20, 2004 01:05 PM PDT
Brandon, I agree. I only lay out the contradictions as evidence for those who use/hear that there aren't any in the bible. As I mentioned in the post, you could put ANYTHING in a holy book and it will be explained away.
As for Patty, I have some crazy stuff on that guy as well. I don't understand how TV evangelists can have failed prophecies over and over, yet still be touted as hearing god's voice. Christians are just lazy about researching this kind of thing. | |
| | | Nemo
October 21, 2004 04:31 PM PDT
I think I love you now. | |
| | | Ren Galskap
October 21, 2004 06:21 PM PDT
There's a Buddhist saying: "Everything is delusion, but you still have to give medicine to the sick".
I did the samething you did. I bought a Netgear modem on the recomendation of the customer service people at the cable company. It lasted a few months and died. The techs from the cable company said "Buy a Motorola". No problems since.
Just an idea; maybe you should save all your dead computer gear and give it to a televangelist. He could pray over it and heal it and have free computer equipment. | |
| | | Jezebel
October 21, 2004 07:48 PM PDT
You'll love this link: http://www.uq.net.au/slsoc/bsq/budchr0.htm
A Buddhist's Critique of Christianity | |
| | | Winston
October 28, 2004 02:49 PM PDT
I think you need a new cable company rather than just a new modem.
Incidentally, my netgear stuff works OK after a lengthy 4 months. If only the human lifespan was that long.
Ummm.... | |
| | | Name
March 19, 2007 07:25 PM PDT
Three phrases should be among the most common in our daily usage. They are: Thank you, I am grateful and I appreciate. | |
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I'm a computer test engineer for a well known corporation, but my hobby is debunking myths and exploring the human mind. I'm a female, a bi sexual, and a former fanatical christian. In this blog I expose the foolishness of many of the traditions and idealogies of Americans and humans in general. If you are lucky, you may also get an update on the progress of the porn site I am slowly building. Oh, and yes, I still have my pointy ears. :)
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