|
|
Post by captainbryce on Dec 6, 2018 20:36:39 GMT
...is a TERRIBLE way for any god to reveal itself to humans. The fact that Christians have to “interpret” the meaning of his words, arbitrarily determine when something is meant to be taken literally or figuratively, decipher through metaphors, allegory, and symbolism, jump back and forth through different timeframes, try to match prophecy to fulfillment, figure out which “John” or “Mary” is being talked about at any given time, attempt to resolve all the contradictions and inconsistencies with science, cherry pick which parts to emphasize and which parts to ignore altogether, come up with apologetics for all the immorality it teaches, and then simultaneously have the arrogant audacity to suggest that god’s message is “clear” to anyone...this represents a special kind of willful ignorance and cognitive dissonance! Because that is precisely why there are a thousand different denominations of Christianity, who all think they are the ones that got it right! It also speaks to just how foolish it would be for any god to determine that a book was the best way to get his message across to future generations. Manuscripts that are thousands of years old, copied from older texts which we have no access to, written by unknown authors, in ancient languages, that have been translated into other languages, canonized differently depending on the church, and ultimately interpreted by the reader is the most absurd way for any god to communicate truth to anybody. Even a 10 year old child knows the result of playing the “telephone game”; the message is always wrong! Why is the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god such an idiot? Why couldn’t God figure out what every other 9 year old kid discovers playing a children’s game? He’s “all-knowing”, so you’d assume he’d know about the telephone game “in the beginning”.  |
|
|
|
Post by goz on Dec 6, 2018 20:46:55 GMT
We are so lucky on this Board that we have posters like Winter Suicide and Cool Guy to do all that shit for us!  |
|
|
|
Post by Isapop on Dec 6, 2018 21:35:11 GMT
Agree. As a matter of fact I can't think of anything I would add.
|
|
|
|
Post by CoolJGS☺ on Dec 6, 2018 21:56:50 GMT
Books are a fantastic way to explain ones views and wishes
|
|
|
|
Post by goz on Dec 6, 2018 22:43:28 GMT
Books are a fantastic way to explain ones views and wishes The Bible should have been a 'better' book, then! |
|
|
|
Post by Arlon10 on Dec 6, 2018 23:24:09 GMT
...is a TERRIBLE way for any god to reveal itself to humans. The fact that Christians have to “interpret” the meaning of his words, arbitrarily determine when something is meant to be taken literally or figuratively, decipher through metaphors, allegory, and symbolism, jump back and forth through different timeframes, try to match prophecy to fulfillment, figure out which “John” or “Mary” is being talked about at any given time, attempt to resolve all the contradictions and inconsistencies with science, cherry pick which parts to emphasize and which parts to ignore altogether, come up with apologetics for all the immorality it teaches, and then simultaneously have the arrogant audacity to suggest that god’s message is “clear” to anyone...this represents a special kind of willful ignorance and cognitive dissonance! Because that is precisely why there are a thousand different denominations of Christianity, who all think they are the ones that got it right! It also speaks to just how foolish it would be for any god to determine that a book was the best way to get his message across to future generations. Manuscripts that are thousands of years old, copied from older texts which we have no access to, written by unknown authors, in ancient languages, that have been translated into other languages, canonized differently depending on the church, and ultimately interpreted by the reader is the most absurd way for any god to communicate truth to anybody. Even a 10 year old child knows the result of playing the “telephone game”; the message is always wrong! Why is the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god such an idiot? Why couldn’t God figure out what every other 9 year old kid discovers playing a children’s game? He’s “all-knowing”, so you’d assume he’d know about the telephone game “in the beginning”. <"I need a general" artwork> You have two glaring mistakes. One is that any god wants or needs to "reveal" itself to just anyone. The other is that the Bible is the preferred means to do that. The god of the Old Testament seems quite content to deal with a rather small portion of humanity and let the rest go their merry ways. (To whatever end that was is not certain.) It is much later in the New Testament that his people have been sufficiently prepared to begin including just anybody or everybody into the apparently wonderful camp. Nowhere in the Bible, including the New Testament, does it claim to be the "way" for any god to reveal himself. Rather the god of the Bible uses a prophet or prophets to deliver essential news to the people who follow his leaders. The Bible is just a collection of writings regarding the history of those prophets and the followers of the advice and traditions. In the New Testament these people can be anyone with the help of the "Holy Spirit." Your failure to understand something has two very different implications. One is that it makes no sense. The other, and far more likely regarding such thoroughly established traditions as religion, is that the failure is your own doing. |
|
|
|
Post by captainbryce on Dec 6, 2018 23:52:09 GMT
Books are a fantastic way to explain ones views and wishes Yeah, as long as the book is: A) about a person who is actually confirmed to exist, B) authored by the actual person who is specifically doing the "explaining", rather than hearsay, C) written in the contemporary language of the target audience, instead of having to be translated, D) well written, clear, and not subject to wide interpretation that allegory, metaphors, parables, and symbolism invite, ...and... E) not making unreasonable demands, immoral judgements, or making unfalsifiable, untestable, supernatural claims. When any one of those elements are off, a book turns out to be a pretty pisspoor way of explaining anything to anyone! |
|
|
|
Post by Rodney Farber on Dec 7, 2018 0:13:30 GMT
...is a TERRIBLE way for any god to reveal itself to humans. The fact that Christians have to “interpret” the meaning of his words, arbitrarily determine when something is meant to be taken literally or figuratively, decipher through metaphors, allegory, and symbolism, jump back and forth through different timeframes, try to match prophecy to fulfillment, figure out which “John” or “Mary” is being talked about at any given time, attempt to resolve all the contradictions and inconsistencies with science, cherry pick which parts to emphasize and which parts to ignore altogether, come up with apologetics for all the immorality it teaches, and then simultaneously have the arrogant audacity to suggest that god’s message is “clear” to anyone...this represents a special kind of willful ignorance and cognitive dissonance! Because that is precisely why there are a thousand different denominations of Christianity, who all think they are the ones that got it right! It also speaks to just how foolish it would be for any god to determine that a book was the best way to get his message across to future generations. Manuscripts that are thousands of years old, copied from older texts which we have no access to, written by unknown authors, in ancient languages, that have been translated into other languages, canonized differently depending on the church, and ultimately interpreted by the reader is the most absurd way for any god to communicate truth to anybody. Even a 10 year old child knows the result of playing the “telephone game”; the message is always wrong! Why is the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god such an idiot? Why couldn’t God figure out what every other 9 year old kid discovers playing a children’s game? He’s “all-knowing”, so you’d assume he’d know about the telephone game “in the beginning”. Those who say that the Bible needs to be "interpreted" are merely cherry-picking passages to support their beliefs.
It's all-or-nothing, pal. Interpreting not allowed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Arlon10 on Dec 7, 2018 0:13:51 GMT
Books are a fantastic way to explain ones views and wishes Yeah, as long as the book is: A) about a person who is actually confirmed to exist, B) authored by the actual person who is specifically doing the "explaining", rather than hearsay, C) written in the contemporary language of the target audience, instead of having to be translated, D) well written, clear, and not subject to wide interpretation that allegory, metaphors, parables, and symbolism invite, ...and... E) not making unreasonable demands, immoral judgements, or making unfalsifiable, untestable, supernatural claims. When any one of those elements are off, a book turns out to be a pretty pisspoor way of explaining anything to anyone! Rather than convince anyone religion cannot be explained you have only succeeded in convincing the world you cannot explain it. Perhaps it would be best if you restricted your public comments to things you can explain if there are any. |
|
|
|
Post by goz on Dec 7, 2018 0:15:21 GMT
...is a TERRIBLE way for any god to reveal itself to humans. The fact that Christians have to “interpret” the meaning of his words, arbitrarily determine when something is meant to be taken literally or figuratively, decipher through metaphors, allegory, and symbolism, jump back and forth through different timeframes, try to match prophecy to fulfillment, figure out which “John” or “Mary” is being talked about at any given time, attempt to resolve all the contradictions and inconsistencies with science, cherry pick which parts to emphasize and which parts to ignore altogether, come up with apologetics for all the immorality it teaches, and then simultaneously have the arrogant audacity to suggest that god’s message is “clear” to anyone...this represents a special kind of willful ignorance and cognitive dissonance! Because that is precisely why there are a thousand different denominations of Christianity, who all think they are the ones that got it right! It also speaks to just how foolish it would be for any god to determine that a book was the best way to get his message across to future generations. Manuscripts that are thousands of years old, copied from older texts which we have no access to, written by unknown authors, in ancient languages, that have been translated into other languages, canonized differently depending on the church, and ultimately interpreted by the reader is the most absurd way for any god to communicate truth to anybody. Even a 10 year old child knows the result of playing the “telephone game”; the message is always wrong! Why is the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god such an idiot? Why couldn’t God figure out what every other 9 year old kid discovers playing a children’s game? He’s “all-knowing”, so you’d assume he’d know about the telephone game “in the beginning”. <"I need a general" artwork> You have two glaring mistakes. One is that any god wants or needs to "reveal" itself to just anyone. The other is that the Bible is the preferred means to do that. The god of the Old Testament seems quite content to deal with a rather small portion of humanity and let the rest go their merry ways. (To whatever end that was is not certain.) It is much later in the New Testament that his people have been sufficiently prepared to begin including just anybody or everybody into the apparently wonderful camp. Nowhere in the Bible, including the New Testament, does it claim to be the "way" for any god to reveal himself. Rather the god of the Bible uses a prophet or prophets to deliver essential news to the people who follow his leaders. The Bible is just a collection of writings regarding the history of those prophets and the followers of the advice and traditions. In the New Testament these people can be anyone with the help of the "Holy Spirit." Your failure to understand something has two very different implications. One is that it makes no sense. The other, and far more likely regarding such thoroughly established traditions as religion, is that the failure is your own doing. Hey Planet Arlon! It is one thing for theists to make up a god in the first place, let alone make up what that god's intentions are! ...although I suppose if it supports the cause, it is the logical thing to do. |
|
|
|
Post by goz on Dec 7, 2018 0:18:04 GMT
Yeah, as long as the book is: A) about a person who is actually confirmed to exist, B) authored by the actual person who is specifically doing the "explaining", rather than hearsay, C) written in the contemporary language of the target audience, instead of having to be translated, D) well written, clear, and not subject to wide interpretation that allegory, metaphors, parables, and symbolism invite, ...and... E) not making unreasonable demands, immoral judgements, or making unfalsifiable, untestable, supernatural claims. When any one of those elements are off, a book turns out to be a pretty pisspoor way of explaining anything to anyone! Rather than convince anyone religion cannot be explained you have only succeeded in convincing the world you cannot explain it. Perhaps it would be best if you restricted your public comments to things you can explain if there are any. What is the point of having a religion that you can't explain? |
|
|
|
Post by Arlon10 on Dec 7, 2018 0:22:03 GMT
...is a TERRIBLE way for any god to reveal itself to humans. The fact that Christians have to “interpret” the meaning of his words, arbitrarily determine when something is meant to be taken literally or figuratively, decipher through metaphors, allegory, and symbolism, jump back and forth through different timeframes, try to match prophecy to fulfillment, figure out which “John” or “Mary” is being talked about at any given time, attempt to resolve all the contradictions and inconsistencies with science, cherry pick which parts to emphasize and which parts to ignore altogether, come up with apologetics for all the immorality it teaches, and then simultaneously have the arrogant audacity to suggest that god’s message is “clear” to anyone...this represents a special kind of willful ignorance and cognitive dissonance! Because that is precisely why there are a thousand different denominations of Christianity, who all think they are the ones that got it right! It also speaks to just how foolish it would be for any god to determine that a book was the best way to get his message across to future generations. Manuscripts that are thousands of years old, copied from older texts which we have no access to, written by unknown authors, in ancient languages, that have been translated into other languages, canonized differently depending on the church, and ultimately interpreted by the reader is the most absurd way for any god to communicate truth to anybody. Even a 10 year old child knows the result of playing the “telephone game”; the message is always wrong! Why is the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god such an idiot? Why couldn’t God figure out what every other 9 year old kid discovers playing a children’s game? He’s “all-knowing”, so you’d assume he’d know about the telephone game “in the beginning”. Those who say that the Bible needs to be "interpreted" are merely cherry-picking passages to support their beliefs.
It's all-or-nothing, pal. Interpreting not allowed.
I'm certain you are not qualified to decide what is or is not allowed in general practice. |
|
|
|
Post by Arlon10 on Dec 7, 2018 0:24:29 GMT
Rather than convince anyone religion cannot be explained you have only succeeded in convincing the world you cannot explain it. Perhaps it would be best if you restricted your public comments to things you can explain if there are any. What is the point of having a religion that you can't explain? Why does your ability to understand it matter? Did I ask you to understand it? Who are you that I should care what you think or not? |
|
|
|
Post by general313 on Dec 7, 2018 0:35:13 GMT
Maybe God is like a software engineer: he or she loves writing code but never seems to have the time to come up with decent documentation.
|
|
|
|
Post by goz on Dec 7, 2018 1:03:27 GMT
What is the point of having a religion that you can't explain? Why does your ability to understand it matter? Did I ask you to understand it? Who are you that I should care what you think or not? It's not about you, or me. It's about the point that the OP made that the Bible does a piss poor job of explaining Christianity. |
|
|
|
Post by captainbryce on Dec 7, 2018 2:21:48 GMT
Maybe God is like a software engineer: he or she loves writing code but never seems to have the time to come up with decent documentation. So, incompetent then! |
|
|
|
Post by CoolJGS☺ on Dec 7, 2018 5:17:59 GMT
Maybe God is like a software engineer: he or she loves writing code but never seems to have the time to come up with decent documentation. Or maybe the people who don't understand language are like 5 years olds reading War and Peace. Picture Books and cartoons ftw. |
|
|
|
Post by captainbryce on Dec 7, 2018 10:35:34 GMT
Maybe God is like a software engineer: he or she loves writing code but never seems to have the time to come up with decent documentation. Or maybe the people who don't understand language are like 5 years olds reading War and Peace. Picture Books and cartoons ftw. Which again would require that this god is completely incompetent. |
|
|
|
Post by Vegas on Dec 7, 2018 11:12:02 GMT
I have no argument against this.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vegas on Dec 7, 2018 11:36:16 GMT
Those who say that the Bible needs to be "interpreted" are merely cherry-picking passages to support their beliefs.
It's all-or-nothing, pal. Interpreting not allowed.
Now.... This is just stupid crazy talk. 1) Who says that interpreting is not allowed?... It's the written word.. it's bound to be a factor. 2) Nobody really says that it "needs" to be interpreted... Other than some symbolic prophecies and such, most believers see it as pretty straight forward: The writer had a specific idea of how his words should be understood to mean... 3) Most argue that other people interpret something wrong.. which is always a possibility. Not all interpretations are right... Some are bound to be wrong. I mean, seriously, have you seen some of the dumbass conclusions that you have arrived at?  |
|
