Aug 12 2005
On the Bible Being Divinely Inspired
[read the disclaimer before proceeding]
The following are several points I’ve thought about recently that seem to contradict the idea of a divinely-inspired Bible.
If God chose to reveal his “word” to mankind, why did he do it at a point in history when human spirituality was in its infancy, when people were still struggling with their own primitive mythology and completely unprepared for such a revelation? For that matter, why did God make his “word” so similar to other competing mythologies, almost as if it had been derived from earlier forms of the same beliefs?
Why did God reveal his “word” to such a local group of people, instead of revealing it to every person in the world simultaneously, thus preventing the possibility of competing religious beliefs? Why did he leave it up to the people to “spread” the message to others, who may or may not believe, thereby causing bitter worldwide conflicts that threaten the very survival of our civilization?
Wouldn’t it be better if God made his revelation right now, in our time? Think about all the problems this would solve:
- All events would be well-documented by eyewitnesses and the media.
- We wouldn’t have to rely on a translation of 2000-year-old fragments of text written by second-hand sources. This would be a brand-new and complete message directly from God.
- Since the revelation would now be in plain modern English, all debates over translation inaccuracies would end. As far as contradictions and inconsistencies, I’m certain we can persuade God to clarify certain points if needed, now that God is taking a more active participation in his creation.
- Once and for all, we would be certain which religion and which denomination is the correct one!
Why is the “scientific” content of the Bible so suspiciously similar to the sum of human scientific knowledge at the time? (the firmament, flat earth, etc.)
Why did all direct communication with God cease since pretty much the beginning of the modern age? Why are there no modern-day prophets or Saints that perform actual miracles? Why did all the “magical” events in the Bible only occur in a time when people were gullible enough to believe they can happen?
Perhaps the strongest point against the divinity of the Bible is the fact that it can be interpreted in a million different ways, most of which are completely incompatible. This caused the fragmentation of the original Church into hundreds of denominations, with many displaying fierce hostility toward others.
Why a divine being could not write a better book is beyond me.
November 26th, 2005 at 12:12 pm
The reason is simple. Why is this stuff so muddled and unclear….to an agnostic it is unclear but to a Christian it is very clear. The reason why God chose to reveal himself as he did is so that people have to seek him out……If God showed up one day on the today show, people would be scared out of their minds and of course would follow him because they were scared out of their minds! This is not what God wants…first he respects your free will, your right to choose or reject Him. Second, God wants you to love him….if people followed him out of a terrible fear of Him, thats not love. That would be compliance….Have you ever had a boss that you feared and didn’t like? You listened to him anyway because you didn’t want to lose your job. God reveals himself in a way that is not intrusive so that you have to search him out and love him. I am sure there are other reasons why he chose to reveal himself the way He did…..why don’t you ask him…but be aware that he may respond. Do it in a joking manner and you won’t hear but if your sincere, He will answer.
December 13th, 2005 at 1:54 am
Quick comment: If he respects my right to reject him (which, for the records, I have) then why are those who don’t accept him sent to the Brimstone Concentration Camp that is Hell?
April 20th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Pete,
Thats total BS.
‘This is not what God wants…first he respects your free will, your right to choose or reject Him. Second, God wants you to love him….if people followed him out of a terrible fear of Him, thats not love.’
It’s the same. If you choose the wrong version of God(you keep saying him as if God has teststoterone and a penis) you can be penalized. Why are you not a Muslim? A Hindu? Buddhist?
How do you know they are not correct?
It’s only free will if there is never a penalty.
November 25th, 2006 at 2:35 am
hey, first time i’ve posted. really like the site, keep it up.
anyway, i’m a little bit put aback by you’re statement on the “mentally handicapped soul” -maybe i misunderstood what you were talking about.
how can a soul be mentally handicapped, mentality is a product of the physical brain and a soul is(if “souls” actually exists) metaphysical, so therefore the notion of physically repairing a metaphysical entity is quite absurd, all the different types of “mental-handicapp” are only the limitations of a human brain(this includes perspective, opnion, logic, personality, understanding-all theses dissapear(in the concept of the soul-if you believe in a soul) when one dies and becomes a soul so therefore mental handicapp( “limitations” in personality, logic reasoning understanding) is something that is left behind after the transition from physical entity to a non-physical entity.
if this doesn’t make any sense, or i’ve misunderstood, i do aplologise it is 6 in the morning here in sunny england. and also sorry about the punctuation and grammer.
November 25th, 2006 at 2:42 am
sorry the above statemen was meant to be left in the ‘mind-body duality…’ section. anyway reading through it again i think what i said you already covered.