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whitecrow · 09-11-2008, 05:50 AM

That's actually a heck of a good question, and it deserves a better answer than it usually gets from religious folks OR those who think the whole thing is a joke.

First of all, I can't stand it when someone wants to talk to me about how the Bible is literally true. The only way anyone can think that is not to have read it. Ask any Christian and he'll tell you he reads his Bible. Trouble is, 99.9% of haven't read the Bible, they just read the parts of it that their pastor suggests.

Sit down and read the thing from cover to cover, and you'll discover it isn't the book you thought it was. Yes, it contradicts itself in a number of places. No, it is not literally true in the sense that we would use that term today. Nor is it history in the sense we think of it today.

Is it "true?" Let me put it this way...everyone knows that facts can be made to lie. And everyone knows that the deepest truths can be found in works of fiction. The Bible is like everything else we think we know. It's all true. It's all lies. Some truth is false, and some lies are truer than the truth.

Murnut!

I am a Friend

http://www.quaker.org/friends.html

I was a member of the Dallas Monthly Meeting for many years. I'm no longer officially Friendly, but nevertheless it's good to meet thee!

09-11-2008, 05:50 AM	#19
whitecrow Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: California Posts: 469	Re: How can We take the Bible seriously? That's actually a heck of a good question, and it deserves a better answer than it usually gets from religious folks OR those who think the whole thing is a joke. First of all, I can't stand it when someone wants to talk to me about how the Bible is literally true. The only way anyone can think that is not to have read it. Ask any Christian and he'll tell you he reads his Bible. Trouble is, 99.9% of haven't read the Bible, they just read the parts of it that their pastor suggests. Sit down and read the thing from cover to cover, and you'll discover it isn't the book you thought it was. Yes, it contradicts itself in a number of places. No, it is not literally true in the sense that we would use that term today. Nor is it history in the sense we think of it today. Is it "true?" Let me put it this way...everyone knows that facts can be made to lie. And everyone knows that the deepest truths can be found in works of fiction. The Bible is like everything else we think we know. It's all true. It's all lies. Some truth is false, and some lies are truer than the truth. Murnut! I am a Friend http://www.quaker.org/friends.html I was a member of the Dallas Monthly Meeting for many years. I'm no longer officially Friendly, but nevertheless it's good to meet thee! Last edited by whitecrow; 09-11-2008 at 05:56 AM.