Part 39 of Post Your Tough Questions Regarding Christianity

Well truth is the same can be said regarding any other particular religion in that the majority don't agree with the religion which btw includes your religion of the atheist church of no god fundamentalism.

And so yes, that is a true statement you're spouting off which would be a true statement regardless of what religion you are referring to but what's interesting is that of the world’s major religions, Christianity is the largest with a little more than two billion followers which is approx. one-third of the world's total population. And so two-thirds of the world's total population don't agree/don't follow/don't believe in the Christian religion. They agree/follow/believe in other religions. The religion that has the least members/followers are the atheist church of no god fundamentalism.

But anyway if by your statement you're implying/suggesting because the majority of the peoples of the world don't agree/don't follow/don't believe in Christianity, therefore the religion itself can't be true and is somehow flawed, then your implication/suggestion would be an informal fallacy, specifically a fallacy of relevance called the argumentum ad populum which is similar to an argument from authority (argumentum ad verrecundiam). It uses an appeal to the beliefs, tastes, or values of a group of people, stating that because a certain opinion or attitude is held by a majority, it is therefore correct.

Appeals to popularity are common in commercial advertising that portrays products as desirable because they are used by many people or associated with popular sentiments instead of communicating the merits of the products themselves.

The inverse argument, that something that is unpopular must be flawed, is also a form of this fallacy.

And furthermore you can't single out Christianity or any other religion for that matter because as I've already mentioned above, truth is the same can be said with any other particular religion in that the majority don't agree with the religion so it would be a fallacy to say that all religions are untrue just because the majority don't agree with the particular religion in question. It's fallacious because it defies logic for all religions to be untrue, one religion has to be true regardless if the majority of people don't agree/don't follow/don't believe in that particular religion.

So bottom line is that all religions can't be true since they all contradict one another by having dissimilar beliefs, neither are all religions false but truth is one religion has to be true among all the rest. I myself personally believe that the Christian religion above all others is the only true religion based on several logically sound reasoning. I know that in previous posts of mine I laid out what those logically sound reasons are, I believe they were in Part 38.

Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ because He is omniscient proclaimed as written in Scripture that the majority of people will not enter God's Kingdom. It's the same as saying the majority of people will not agree, will not follow, will not believe in the Christian religion and so the result for the majority will be the highway to hell which is broad, and its gate wide for the many who choose that way.

We Read in Scripture:

The Narrow Gate

Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ said, 13 "You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." Matthew 7:13-14 NLT

So choose wisely in what religion you agree with/follow/believe in by doing your diligent work in researching, evaluating, then choosing wisely.

True, as I have already acknowledged that above.

Well you are not entirely correct. Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ was rejected by most of the Jews particularly by the Pharisees and Sadducees who were two of the influential religious sects within Judaism in the time of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the early church.

Our Lord's disciples/followers essentially were the ones who gave start to the new religion...the Christian religion that was believed/followed by Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) alike. So let's not forget that the Holy Bible consists of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. And so not only Jews but Gentiles (non-Jews) believed in the Almighty God of the Holy Bible.

Ok will I will stop here for now and will continue on later by responding to your other comments that you posted so please stay tuned for them.

 

Sure. I'm fully OK with people having different opinions.

But, YOU judge the views of others on the basis that your personal view of the Bible is the definition, and that all others are evil.

In particular, you can't even tolerate Christians whose views of Christianity and interpretations of the Bible don't agree with yours.

Your claims that some religion today must be true is totally ridiculous. New religions are coming into vogue every year. I don't even see Christianity moving toward one definition of that religion.

Even in the Abrahamic faiths we have the old testament and the new testament being different religions. The old testament is all about Israelites and their losses and conquests, aided and blessed by god as Israelites conquer lands for themselves. The new testament shows a very different god - a god interested in those who aren't even Jews, a god not interested in direct support of wars of non-Jews, a go no longer interested in similar forms of worship, etc.

I think what we find is that Christianity doesn't even have the forms of foundation, evidence and logic sufficient to convince Christians, let alone others.

I see that as fine. There are huge numbers of religious traditions. And, I would suggest that almost all of them have aspects that are beneficial, that we should consider in some way, that have values that COULD allow us to work TOGETHER.

So, I see the whole direction of assault on the religions of others as being a mistake. You can have your religion. I'm fine with that. But, it's time to back off the whole idea of using religion as a justification for attacks on others - whether physical attacks or religious attacks.

If Christianity doesn't help humans across the entire globe to come together to reduce war, reduce suffering, to help each other, etc., then Christianity includes a very real problem for all of us.

 

Appeal to popularity fallacy - Many in a herd following - often a good sign one is going the wrong direction

That it is true is also flawed .. for the same reasons -- same fallacy .. which you have posted - and as mentioned above.

1) is True .. logic test passed
2) is False .. logic test failed - "The Truth" is that every religion not only could be, but in all likelihood is at least partially false. Throw enough darts and you are going to get something right .. but we have no idea which is right .. which is not.

Perhaps the Marcionites were right - YHWH was not God of Jesus - YHWH was a nasty God.. got rid of the OT did Marcion .. using mostly the letters of Paul.

Oddly enough .. this is kind of the direction Christianity went at the end of the day .. keeping the OT mostly for Show .. focusing on Pauline Scripture . which includes John .. an attempt at a fusion of Pauline and Jewish Christianity - blending in hellenic Philosophy.

but at the end of the day .. the winner wrote the History ... and we are where we are ..was it the right path .. was it wrong .. none of us knows for sure.

Does Jesus say the Majority will not enter ? .. Don't recall that being stated directly .. indirectly yeah .. .. an unfortunate prediction in any case .. looks like 1/3 of the population Christians .. mostly going to be SOL .. perhaps a few finding the path . the way .. the Truth

Yes .. that "Highway to Hell" much beloved by Christians .. and in particular the more radical sects Ye Old Fire and Brimstone .. Scare em and Save em but what do we know about "Hell" Nothing .. perhaps it is a fine relaxation spot . perhaps not .. Should punishment come to those who deserve it .. aye an interesting question ... and what be the criteria by which this punishment is delegated .. another interesting one... Dante had a wild imagination .. but .. perhaps he was right ! or just another vivid imagination .. plenty of those ya know.

 

OK, so you like Matthew and believe action is required in order for humans not to end up in hell.

Yet, I don't see Christianity preaching Matthew 25:31 to end.

There, Jesus explains how the lives of Christians can end up with Christians going to hell, right along with Satan.

Further, Jesus modeled how one is expected to treat those from foreign countries, sinners, etc.

How can these not be KEY elements that Christianity must teach?

 

Sorry but your statement is not quite accurate, the Jewish people lay claim to the land because they first held possession of it millennia ago and because God directly gave them the land, as recorded in the Holy Bible. Of course I'm speaking about the land of Israel they now presently occupy today that you are no doubt referring to, there is probably no more disputed real estate on earth than the land of Israel. Even calling it "Israel" will raise heated objections from some factions.

We Read in Scripture:

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.[a]” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7 NLT

The verse above is when God first promised Abram, who had just arrived in Canaan, the land that will be for the descendants of Abram.

Then later God expands on that unconditional promise as we read the verse below.

We Read in Scripture:

18 So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt[a] to the great Euphrates River— Genesis 15:18 NLT

Then God reiterates the promise to Abraham (Note: Abram's name is now changed to Abraham by God...Genesis 17) adding that the land gift is irrevocable as we read the verse below.

We Read in Scripture:

8 And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:8 NLT

God later repeats the promise to Abraham's son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob, whose name God later changed to Israel as we read the verses below.

We Read in Scripture:

3 Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants,[a] just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. 4 I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Genesis 26:3-4 NLT

13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Genesis 28:13 NLT

In the Abrahamic Covenant, then, God laid out the extent of the land that would belong to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...a territory including all of Canaan and stretching from Egypt to modern-day Iraq. When it came time for the Israelites to actually take possession of the Promised Land several centuries later, God again spoke of a vast area.

We Read in Scripture:

3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea[a] in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ Joshua 1:3-4 NLT

This promise of land belonging to Israel is permanent, it's permanent because Our Creator Almighty God made it so.

History tells us Israel was expelled from their land twice, God knew this would happen in foretelling the removal of Israel from their land but He promised them they would return.

We Read in Scripture:

4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth,[a] the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. 5 The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors! Deut. 30:4-5 NLT

This promise is part of what is today sometimes called the Palestinian Covenant or the Land Covenant.

We Read in Scripture:

29 [a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai. Deut. 29:1 NLT

10 The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Deut. 30:10 NLT

In foretelling the removal of Israel from their land, the Palestinian Covenant anticipated the Babylonian Captivity of 586 BC and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem of AD 70. In both cases, the promise of the covenant held true in that the Jews regained their land and their nation in 537 BC and again in AD 1948.

As noted today, Israel is still in their land, despite the fact that their conquerors, Babylon and Rome, are long gone. All of this reinforces the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would establish Israel in their land as His chosen people.

We Read in Scripture:

13 By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Deut. 29:13 NLT

The Land Covenant also contains some special promises to Israel that many believe will not be completely fulfilled until the millennial reign of Christ.
And so according to the Holy Bible in Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:3-4 that I have presented above, the land God gave to Israel included everything from the Nile River in Egypt to Lebanon (south to north) and everything from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (west to east).

On today’s map, the land God has stated belongs to Israel includes everything modern-day Israel possesses, plus all of the territory occupied by the Palestinians (the West Bank and Gaza), plus some of Egypt and Syria, plus all of Jordan, plus some of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Thus, Israel currently possesses only a fraction of the land God has promised; the rest of their inheritance likely awaits the return of the Messiah, Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ. God has given His word that the nation of Israel will never cease as long as the sun still shines by day and the moon and stars still shine by night.

We Read in Scripture:

35 It is the Lord who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night, and who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and this is what he says: 36 “I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!” 37 This is what the Lord says: “Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundations of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away for the evil they have done. I, the Lord, have spoken! Jeremiah 31:35-37 NLT

(References: Christian Holy Bible NLT and Christian site gotquestions)

Ok will I will continue on later to respond to other comments you made and so please stay tuned for them.

 

This is one of the monumental evils of the Bible.

The idea that Israel can carry out humanitarian atrocities against those living in West Bank is one of the worst sins possible.

In NO place in the world can it be considered legit to slaughter people for the only reason that they are living on land that was once owned by others in some previous millennium.

That's no better than suggesting native Americans have a right to slaughter caucasians in America.

 

The constant "we read in Scripture" references gives the distinct impression of somebody not thinking for themselves.

 

Well your statement is not adequately correct, essentially we Christians believe Our Creator Almighty God created the universe and everything in it...all life, all non-life matter. He is the Uncaused Being that caused everything else to come into existence. He is "Uncaused" because He is Eternal meaning He has always existed, He has no beginning, He has no end, He simply exists.

We Read in Scripture:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NLT

It is more logical to say a Creator Almighty God created everything than to say what people of your kind believe in, in that "nothing" created everything which goes against/defies a logically scientifically true statement in that "From nothing, nothing comes".

The irony here is that people of your kind look to science as if it were some kind of a god but then you shrug off one of science's most basic logically true statements in that "From nothing, nothing comes".

No, Christians don't believe that something came from nothing, again let me make it perfectly clear, we believe that Our Creator Almighty God (who btw is Something) created the universe and everything in it...all life, all non-life matter out of nothing.

In other words He didn't use material that already existed, because there was nothing in existence only He was in existence until He created everything else to come into existence from out of nothing. It was the beginning of time, space, matter. Let me reintroduce Genesis 1:1 again. Let's not forget now what science has already told us. They told us the universe had a beginning and it was not eternal as they once believed it to be. So since it began then it had a cause. So who/what caused it? Was it Almighty God or was it "nothing"?

We Read in Scripture:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NLT

In the beginning (there's time)
God created the heavens (there's space)
and the earth (there's matter)

So let's get it straight, it is people of your kind...atheists...who believe everything in existence came about from "nothing" as being the cause, essentially saying that something (the universe and everything in it...life and non-life matter) came from "nothing" as being the cause of existence.

Since your kind don't believe in an All-Powerful Eternal Almighty God then by default "nothing" is the cause of everything existing, there is no 3rd option/choice, it is either an All-Powerful Eternal Almighty God or it was "nothing" causing everything else to exist.

So from an atheistic world view miraculously one day eons ago...poof!...everything just came about, came into existence by itself from "nothing" causing it, which is illogical being that it goes against/defies the scientifically logically true statement in that, "From nothing, nothing comes".

And from the scientifically logically true statement, "From nothing, nothing comes" then it stands to reason and we can deduce that the contrary to that statement is also true in that "From something, something comes". How could anyone who is rational deny those statements as being true?...you can't, you need to be irrational then you're able to deny those statements as being true.

Now just ponder on those two true statements for a bit.

"From nothing, nothing comes" is the same as saying, nothing cannot be the creator of the universe and everything in it...life and non-life matter because from nothing, nothing comes.

Whereas, "From something, something comes" is the same as saying an All-Powerful, Eternal, Almighty God (who is Something) is the creator of the universe and everything in it...life and non-life matter because from something, something comes.

Well ok will, I will continue on later to respond to a few more comments you've made but in the meantime just grapple with what I have presented here. Think deeply about those 2 scientifically logically true statements I've presented, maybe you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

I have been studying Daniel of late (I do believe the "End Times" are upon us) His prophesies can be double checked with secular history, and there is no explaining the incredible accuracy, other that divine revelation.

 

Salutations Brother MatT.. may God's blessing continue to rain upon you!
I just think of Christ last week as He made His appointment with fate , and the winning the age long battle with Death and th eSatan.

 

I think you are dodging some issues here.

Of course one is that you are claiming that your version of god is the only one - ignoring the thousands of others, even without evidence. Your god says he must be taken on faith alone.

More important, my point has been that there are MANY ways a god such as the one you claim could have created this universe.

For example, he could have created the singularity that immediately preceded the Big Bang, in a way that resulted in intelligent life - at least on Earth.

 

I hear ya Brother Todd! The Book of Daniel is a very interesting prophetic book of the end times authored by the prophet Daniel. Below is what Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ said regarding the end times from a passage in the Book of Matthew that gives us some important clues discerning the approach of the end times.

We Read in Scripture:

Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ said,

4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.[a] 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration[c] standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones. Matthew 24:4-22 NLT

 

Indeed this prophecy has come to pass. The Fundamentalists in particular like to put words in the mouth of Jesus .. misrepresent and twist the teachings of our lord based on man made dogma .. usurping the position of the Logos - committing the unforgivable sin.

We see these deceivers crying "Jesus Jesus" but inside they are vicious wolves.

These false prophets will tell you that you don't need to bear "Good Fruit" to obtain salvation .. that merely crying "Jesus Jesus" will save you. These are the decepticon's - do not follow them down the dark path.

 

True but science doesn't have evidence as to who/what caused the initiation of the development of this universe. All they know is that the universe had a beginning and since its beginning the universe has been expanding.

Science tells us that anything that begins has a cause but again as far as our universe and everything in it such as life and non-life matter is concerned they don't have nor will they ever have any physical evidence as to who/what caused the universe to come into existence. So their knowledge in this respect is limited.

No one can make definitive statements as to who/what caused the universe to come into existence. All we can say is that from something, something comes and from nothing, nothing comes.

So who/what is that something that caused everything else to come into existence? We Christians have faith and believe it is Our Creator Almighty God who caused everything else to come into existence. He is the Uncaused Being that caused everything else to come into existence. He is "Uncaused" because He is Eternal meaning He has always existed, He has no beginning, He has no end, He simply exists.

We Read in Scripture:

The Account of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[a] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 NLT

 

The root problem here is that when science says "I don't know" there are people who suggests that proves some religious story.

Obviously, that's just plain silly.

As to the beginning of this universe, we absolutely do NOT know that it came from "nothing". As you point out, coming from "nothing" has implications in science.

On another important aspect of your post:

I'm not here to dispute your religion or your god.

But, I think your dispute is mostly about the methodology that a god could possibly use.

If there is a god, I would suggest that god could use any one (or more) of an impossibly large number of methods. Once you say there is a god, you can not then say that there is only one or two ways he could have pulled off what we see of the universe.

How limited is your god? Is it impossible that our initial singularity was brought together of the energy that has been eternal? Could your god have not possibly caused this Earth by the manner that science documents by observation?

(Please try to answer without bible quotes, as they clearly do not address this issue.)

 

Well human beings didn't develop into human beings from the process of evolution if that is what you are suggesting. Like we were at first some tadpole or something swimming in a filthy parasitic infested muddy pond eating garbage to sustain our lives then through a long process of evolving became what we are today...human beings...lol

We didn't develop into human beings because from the get go we were already human beings when Our Creator Almighty God created the first human beings our first parents, Adam & Eve along with pairs of animals, all vegetation, all the different life forms.

We Read in Scripture:

The Account of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[a] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

13 And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

23 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.

24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 25 God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,[c] and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings[d] in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.

31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. Genesis 1:1-31 NLT

Ok will, I will respond to a few more comments you've made so stay tuned for them. In the meantime have a wonderful weekend!

 

We do not know, and cannot assume, the Universe had a beginning.

The best we have is Occams Razor, the simplest and best explanation is that it's cyclical..

 

That is not an answer to my question.

I would like you to answer that question:

As for your Biblical quotes, I'd point out that there is NO EVIDENCE that life on earth was formed in that manner. And, there is HUGE evidence that we are a result of millions of years of evolution.

In fact, we can see evolution today.

 

Sorry but that is definitely not true. All you have are speculations, opinions, guesswork, which intellectually honest people know they are not fact based. So please try to be intellectually honest here when you spout off claims on these threads of mine. If you stated something like this, "I believe in my opinion that no super power was needed in order to cause the appearance of man and animals" And then go on to elaborate your reasons as the basis of your opinion/belief then it would be considered an intellectually honest opinion of yours but again still not quite fact based.

And furthermore it appears by your statement you are suggesting that man is just another animal. Well we human beings are not animals that's why we are referred as human beings and not animals. Our Creator Almighty God makes clear to us this distinction between human beings and animals when He created us.

We Read in Scripture:

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings[a] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings[c] in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” Genesis 1:26-28 NLT

Ok will, I will respond to a few more comments you've made in a bit. I believe there's just 4 or 5 more left then I will be done responding to your comments that you posed in a previous post. In the meantime have a pleasant day!

 

ALL biology is founded on the unchallenged principles of evolution.
The evidence is overwhelming.

And, YOU have ZERO evidence of that theory not being true.
[...]
Ok will, I will respond to a few more comments you've made in a bit. I believe there's just 4 or 5 more left then I will be done responding to your comments that you posed in a previous post. In the meantime have a pleasant day!
[/QUOTE]

 

I would say there is some evidence for divine involvement in the Universe but the way Mitt envisions it .. definitely no evidence .. if one is "intellectually honest here" and obviously loads of evidence for evolution.

Then it goes off the rails .."Were not animals" "Some storybook made that clear" -- Who's been feeding you this ..That is ridiculous

1) we have something like 50% of our DNA in common with a bannana .. never mind a chimp .. every biology book on the planet . sans the one you read obviously .. says humans are animals ..

2) The storybook .. which storybook mate .. which do we use .. as one is just as perfectly good as the other ..No evidence one way or the other... Well .. except for one story- as "Ancient Alien Theorists would suggest !"

Sure Mitt .. man is different .. a bit smarter than an Octopus .. some rapid evolution perhaps from Neanderthal .. but they were not that dumb either .. buried their dead .. you can do a DNA test .. find out how much Neaderthal you got in you .. beneficial it is the more you have it turns out..

So . the best explanation for this rapid advancement is .. you got it .. Came from the Sky they did.. needed a worker so created a genetic hybrid of themselves "Like US" and the Neanderthal .. primative earthling .. The hybrids tooks these folks to be Gods.. and for all intensiver purposes they were ..

The evidence is there Mitt -- right there in the Bible .. Now which story were you referring to ?

 

Yes.

He does himself a disservice in that there really is no reason to believe that Genesis was meant to be a treatise on cosmology or biology.

Besides, surely the Bible had higher objectives that that.

There are interesting allegories in Genesis - even ideas that pertain to today.

But, suggesting that these allegories are actually factual records just plain does not work.

 

I watched an interesting show on the Bible the other day .. talked about Anachronisms. Such as Abe riding a camel 1000 years before they were domesticated .. Jericho being destroyed long before Joshua's time .. cities being mentioned that did not exist at the time .. and so on.

From this we know that Genesis was most likely written when most scholars think it was .. After 500 BC. Now .. this does not mean that they did not use material that was older ..and in fact Genesis is thought to be a patchwork of many documents .. spliced together ..documents from different times .. and different traditions .. which is one of the reasons we find many contradictions as these traditions often differed. In one of the Northern Kingdom tradition for example .. Abe actually kills Issac.

Not only were there different Genesis traditions among the Israelites .. but different Genesis traditions among all the various peoples of the near east. The important thing to understand being that they all had the same/similar story in one form or another -- whether you were an Assyrian in Akkad .. or a Canaanite in Jerusalem - your belief in how we got here was pretty much the same.

The idea then .. "Which came first" the Genesis story in "The Bible" or the Cannanite story .. is nonsense .. as the stories are the same .. these stories existing over a 1000 years before Moses .. which leads to a major problem .. namely .. why would God dictate a story to Moses and everyone else at the time that they already knew .. inside and out .. part of the upbringing of every soul in Mesopotamia / Near east. Then of course we have the problem of even if God did dictate to Moses ... which version was it that was dictated ?

So what we have handed down to us in Genesis .. was a modern take on the old story(s) . .. the authors desperate to put a monotheistic spin on an old story .. but obviously they could only do so much without failing the giggle test .. as people at the time already knew the story .. so there was only so much they could spin.

Piecing together what did remain of the old perspective .. and with what we know know about the beliefs of all the different peoples region due to digging up libraries of cunaiform tablets only 5% of which have been translated .. is that the "Like US" meant "Like US" as in the divine Pantheon .. the higher/older Gods - cause that is what everyone believed .. Including the Israelites who were raging Polytheists for all of their history .. things changing only after the Northern Kingdom (which was 90-95% of the population of Israel) was toasted by the Assyrians around 700 BC.

Prior to that the Israelites .. including Jerusalem .. were raging Polytheists according to the Bible .. should one deign to read the book.

 

1- Why don't snakes talk anymore?
2- Why didn't the worldwide flood destroy Egypt?
3- What exactly did JC sacrifice? He started as gawds second in command, and he ended as the same thing. I'm not seeing a sacrifice there.