The world is reborn every 26 thousand years.

Umm….citation needed. Because – no it isn’t. Where did you study astronomy?

I would agree that religion has greatly held us back.

One thing wrong with man is his proneness to believe that he is so much above animals. Well, he forgets that he is also an animal. He is so egotistical about this, he treats other animals horribly. Part of the problem is that the Bible teachs him that animals were created by God especially for man’s benefit.

Being above animals, man believes that he should have an everlasting life. I haven’t seen any written material that states animals should also be included in this pert. What will happen when man is surpassed in intelligence by a future species, one that will most likely develop if man doesn’t destroy Earth. Will that species then be the only one that can go to heaven?

The Bible teaches that homo sapiens are born evil, thanks to the illogical Adam and Eve story. That seems strange and probably only reflects that little was known in the days the Bible was written. Now we know that so-called evil characteristics are simply those that animals – which includes man – are born with in order to survive. In other words, survival instincts eqate with evil thoughts and tendencies. In the past few years, scientists are finding that even though animals have these “evil instincts,” they also are capable of altruistic and moral actions. How about that?

Okay then, have faith, faith perhaps in everlasting life, but also have faith based on reality, faith that we are what we are and that we can do the right thing and not be scared to death by horrific teachings of the Bible.

But I’m also curious what you think of these thoughts I had about the Bible and my interest in why or why not someone who thinks like you do supports the very concept of having a single, unchanging Bible at all. And I mean genuinely curious, in that I don’t think there is any one correct answer to the question: different goals, theologies, and concerns could lead one in various directions on the subject.

Faith is faith.
Reason is reason.

There’s absolutely no reason (within the framework of reason. hah.) why the two can’t co-exist, even within the same person. But one should not be applied to the other, nor set restrictions on the other. They are separate (not opposing) ideologies.

You wouldn’t say “I believe in gravity because that is what I believe” – if you enter into a reasoned debate on this theory, you can trace back the reasons why you believe in it, deconstruct the belief down to a catalogue of observations and experiments, and say to your debate partner, “well, based on the evidence, it’s the best theory we’ve got.” Or, disprove your theory and be overcome with excitement at what else has taken it’s place.

You can’t do that with faith. Faith doesn’t need to be justified, it needs to be lived. Criticism ought to be levied against peoples actions in this world and not why they do the things they do. You wouldn’t enter into a reasoned debate with a stranger on why you love your wife or child, so why would you attempt to prove or justify your love for your chosen God?

Have your faith, it’s pretty. It provides your life with meaning and hopefully makes you a better person. We should all be so lucky as to believe in something comforting. Show us the joy it brings you and when we say, “but don’t you think it might all be a big LIE?” Say, “no, i don’t believe so.” and smile and change the subject.

further, and I’ll keep this short as I’ve already ranted for too long on someone else’s blog:

Pascal’s wager really irks me. I appreciate faith. I respect it.

I believe that you can arrive at a basic humanist ethic from an atheist or agnostic standpoint (Kant’s categorical imperitive, the golden rule Jesus was on about). Without threat of punishment. Faith by proxy doesn’t work.

Be good people, encourage others to do the same. Full stop.

The de-conversion wager mentions a benevolent God. That disqualifies the God described in the Bible, not least because of the verses you listed.

Justin

When I found no reason to believe in a god beyond personal hopes and fears, I could no longer believe. Other people can believe, despite the evidence that the Bible is a human creation and the lack of evidence that a god exists. That is their choice. I have no reason to try to make them choose differently, but it is not a choice I can make myself.

dsmith77:

If the Bible is the bona-fide Word of God and it says in Ephesians…

And if it isn’t? If it’s just a book of ancient myths? Then the rest of your post really isn’t meaningful. Trust me, we’ve all heard the bible quotes before.