The bible is a fairy tale!

Status
Not open for further replies.

MapleOne

Worlds greatest Dad'n
Jul 19, 2010
145
0
16
Kitchener, Ontario
www.MapleOne.com
OK, sorry about the title guys, I really don't want to take it that far but I do wish to make a point.

Can I talk about my non-religious beliefs in this forum too? Is it OK to give an opposing point of view?

I was brought up going to Cathlic school and getting my finger whacked every time I said the wrong thing. I had to study the bible everyday and the more I had to read it the more it sounded like a fairy tale. I mean.... Adam & Eve and a serpent? come on, get real, even as a kid I did not believe this. The great flood and the parting of the seas? hmmm.... maybe I'm not sooooo sure about this one.

Anyways, the only point I'm trying to make is that religion exists everywhere and it is always an almighty father. You always hear about what happens if you don't do as you're told.

Fact is, in the olden days the Roman Catholics had to control the public or there would have been anarchy. Imagine if there were no consequences to your actions. So just as a child gets told "wait till your father gets home" so do adults get told by their religious leaders in order to put the fear of god into them. For adults it is "wait until you meet your almighty father". Very much the same way we control our young ones.

I do believe in a higher power, but I believe we are all gods in our own right. We are part of the whole and when we pass our energy re-joins the whole, so therefore we are part of the energy that makes up god. The best way I can express a comparison is to compare it to the human brain, it is one single entity but it is made up of millions of separate cells making up the whole.

We are all one and interconnected, what you do to others will certainly come back to you in the end.

I am deeply deeply sorry if I offended anyone and I need to express that this is my opinion only and does not intend to take away from anybody else's beliefs, nor do I intend to belittle them in any way.

I would love to hear more non-traditional views on religion, without slandering the belief of others of course. Please respect my view in the same manner I respect yours.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
OK, sorry about the title guys, I really don't want to take it that far but I do wish to make a point.

Can I talk about my non-religious beliefs in this forum too? Is it OK to give an opposing point of view?

I was brought up going to Cathlic school and getting my finger whacked every time I said the wrong thing. I had to study the bible everyday and the more I had to read it the more it sounded like a fairy tale. I mean.... Adam & Eve and a serpent? come on, get real, even as a kid I did not believe this. The great flood and the parting of the seas? hmmm.... maybe I'm not sooooo sure about this one.

Anyways, the only point I'm trying to make is that religion exists everywhere and it is always an almighty father. You always hear about what happens if you don't do as you're told.

Fact is, in the olden days the Roman Catholics had to control the public or there would have been anarchy. Imagine if there were no consequences to your actions. So just as a child gets told "wait till your father gets home" so do adults get told by their religious leaders in order to put the fear of god into them. For adults it is "wait until you meet your almighty father". Very much the same way we control our young ones.

I do believe in a higher power, but I believe we are all gods in our own right. We are part of the whole and when we pass our energy re-joins the whole, so therefore we are part of the energy that makes up god. The best way I can express a comparison is to compare it to the human brain, it is one single entity but it is made up of millions of separate cells making up the whole.

We are all one and interconnected, what you do to others will certainly come back to you in the end.

I am deeply deeply sorry if I offended anyone and I need to express that this is my opinion only and does not intend to take away from anybody else's beliefs, nor do I intend to belittle them in any way.

I would love to hear more non-traditional views on religion, without slandering the belief of others of course. Please respect my view in the same manner I respect yours.

The Bible was written by men and some of them were probably not "Rhodes Scholars", but more than likely shepherds, fisherman and carpenters and blacksmiths etc. We really don't know who wrote what or how much of it was jotted down at the local after a hard day in the fields and several grogs. A lot of the knowledge is probably recited from memory. It's just like you get a dozen people witnessing a crime scene. Of the dozen probably no two completely agree. That's the way I see the Bible.
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
36,362
4,336
113
Vancouver Island
Just be prepared to field poorly written rants from the fundies like YJ that believe the world is only 6000 years old and made in six days.. They believe this because some preacher told them. Also that theirs is the one true god. Same source.
Near as I can tell the bible was written several hundred years after the fact by a bunch of evil old men with their own agenda. But then I treat all religions equally. As myths and campfire stories.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
24,691
116
63
Moving
Just be prepared to field poorly written rants from the fundies like YJ that believe the world is only 6000 years old and made in six days.. They believe this because some preacher told them. Also that theirs is the one true god. Same source.
Near as I can tell the bible was written several hundred years after the fact by a bunch of evil old men with their own agenda. But then I treat all religions equally. As myths and campfire stories.

And many of us do not - is that a problem???
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
192
63
Nakusp, BC
Like you, MapleOne, I was raised Catholic, experienced the "Go is Love," - Whack!! from nuns and priests. Decided that it was a bunch of Hooie. That was life in the city. When I moved to live in the forest, however, I had a different perspective. I began to see certain coincidences between my actions ad what I experienced. I began to study all kinds of stuff from comparative religions, philosophy, metaphysics, parapsychology, psychology and spirituality. Living in the forest, I gravitated toward aboriginal spirituality. It just made sense to me at the time.
I have since developed my own view that encompasses many different beliefs and philosophies. Studying quantum physics and mechanics, I came to the conclusion that if I look at everything, including the bible, from this perspective, I see that the Earth is a living biosphere and that all life on this planet gets the spark that we call life from the planet itself, the Gaia principle. The Earth is the source of the energy/consciousness that animates all living things on Earth - the Mother.

There may have been a god/dess that created the Universe, maybe not, but it has nothing to do with us as individuals - we are nothing more than the Who that Horton heard. But life, our lives we owe to the planet and the fluke or intention that created the conditions for evolution to become established. How the primordial ooze from which life evolved became established is still anybody's guess, but that it happened and that we exist today is a testament to both the creativity inherent in the solar system and in ourselves. I also believe that we create ourselves out of pure consciousness and that the biological process is a secondary process.

In the beginning of our lives we are a product of our social conditioning but when we become fully self aware, we begin the process of creating who we are and who we will become. In that sense, we are our own gods and goddesses. We have no need for external gods that were created by those who would control the masses through religion by preventing us from knowing who and what we really are. We are our own creator, so we have nothing to fear about death or an after life.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
24,691
116
63
Moving
Like you, MapleOne, I was raised Catholic, experienced the "Go is Love," - Whack!! from nuns and priests. Decided that it was a bunch of Hooie. That was life in the city. When I moved to live in the forest, however, I had a different perspective. I began to see certain coincidences between my actions ad what I experienced. I began to study all kinds of stuff from comparative religions, philosophy, metaphysics, parapsychology, psychology and spirituality. Living in the forest, I gravitated toward aboriginal spirituality. It just made sense to me at the time.
I have since developed my own view that encompasses many different beliefs and philosophies. Studying quantum physics and mechanics, I came to the conclusion that if I look at everything, including the bible, from this perspective, I see that the Earth is a living biosphere and that all life on this planet gets the spark that we call life from the planet itself, the Gaia principle. The Earth is the source of the energy/consciousness that animates all living things on Earth - the Mother.

There may have been a god/dess that created the Universe, maybe not, but it has nothing to do with us as individuals - we are nothing more than the Who that Horton heard. But life, our lives we owe to the planet and the fluke or intention that created the conditions for evolution to become established. How the primordial ooze from which life evolved became established is still anybody's guess, but that it happened and that we exist today is a testament to both the creativity inherent in the solar system and in ourselves. I also believe that we create ourselves out of pure consciousness and that the biological process is a secondary process.

In the beginning of our lives we are a product of our social conditioning but when we become fully self aware, we begin the process of creating who we are and who we will become. In that sense, we are our own gods and goddesses. We have no need for external gods that were created by those who would control the masses through religion by preventing us from knowing who and what we really are. We are our own creator, so we have nothing to fear about death or an after life.
And after we die -What happens??????????????????????
 

Downhome_Woman

Electoral Member
Dec 2, 2008
588
24
18
Ontariariario
OK, sorry about the title guys, I really don't want to take it that far but I do wish to make a point.

Can I talk about my non-religious beliefs in this forum too? Is it OK to give an opposing point of view?

I was brought up going to Cathlic school and getting my finger whacked every time I said the wrong thing. I had to study the bible everyday and the more I had to read it the more it sounded like a fairy tale. I mean.... Adam & Eve and a serpent? come on, get real, even as a kid I did not believe this. The great flood and the parting of the seas? hmmm.... maybe I'm not sooooo sure about this one.

Anyways, the only point I'm trying to make is that religion exists everywhere and it is always an almighty father. You always hear about what happens if you don't do as you're told.

Fact is, in the olden days the Roman Catholics had to control the public or there would have been anarchy. Imagine if there were no consequences to your actions. So just as a child gets told "wait till your father gets home" so do adults get told by their religious leaders in order to put the fear of god into them. For adults it is "wait until you meet your almighty father". Very much the same way we control our young ones.

I do believe in a higher power, but I believe we are all gods in our own right. We are part of the whole and when we pass our energy re-joins the whole, so therefore we are part of the energy that makes up god. The best way I can express a comparison is to compare it to the human brain, it is one single entity but it is made up of millions of separate cells making up the whole.

We are all one and interconnected, what you do to others will certainly come back to you in the end.

I am deeply deeply sorry if I offended anyone and I need to express that this is my opinion only and does not intend to take away from anybody else's beliefs, nor do I intend to belittle them in any way.

I would love to hear more non-traditional views on religion, without slandering the belief of others of course. Please respect my view in the same manner I respect yours.
A fairy tail? How the hell would I know? Creation myths have circulated throughout the globe for ages. Are they all fairy tails? And yes, one culture borrows from another when it comes to the legends and why not? All they are are 'that same culture ' just stretching themselves and moving somewhere else. They take the story and they add to it.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
Just be prepared to field poorly written rants from the fundies like YJ that believe the world is only 6000 years old and made in six days.. They believe this because some preacher told them. Also that theirs is the one true god. Same source.
Near as I can tell the bible was written several hundred years after the fact by a bunch of evil old men with their own agenda. But then I treat all religions equally. As myths and campfire stories.

One of the problems is we don't know if God just made the world or whether he made the complete universe where things like "days" and "years" have different meanings depending on which part of the universe you are talking about. On Pluto a year is 248 of our years. Anyway it should all be taken with a grain of salt. It was probably more likely written by gullible people rather than evil people.
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
36,362
4,336
113
Vancouver Island
Is it a problem that I have religious beliefs - Should have been a tad clearer on tha.

You are entitled to believe what ever you wish. However you are not entitled to force your beliefs/doctrines on the rest of us as most fundies would and indeed the RCs did and muslims still do, murdering anyone that disagreed with them.
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
192
63
Nakusp, BC
And after we die -What happens??????????????????????
In the field of physics, nothing is destroyed. The energy that constitutes our bodies and animates them is only transmuted into other living things. Our consciousness, well, who knows. I haven't died yet (but I have come close many times) and all I can say about that is that, though I flat lined a couple of times, I never lost awareness of who I was, what I was leaving behind and I chose to come back and not continue on to where ever it was that I could have gone.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
In the field of physics, nothing is destroyed. The energy that constitutes our bodies and animates them is only transmuted into other living things. Our consciousness, well, who knows. I haven't died yet (but I have come close many times) and all I can say about that is that, though I flat lined a couple of times, I never lost awareness of who I was, what I was leaving behind and I chose to come back and not continue on to where ever it was that I could have gone.

Yep, I think our physical entity is just a small insignificant part of our total being. More like just a container or a vehicle.
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
192
63
Nakusp, BC
Yep, I think our physical entity is just a small insignificant part of our total being. More like just a container or a vehicle.
Yes, the vehicle analogy is a good one because, let's face it, it is not much more than a very complex machine. But our consciousness is multi-layered. There is the part that thinks, there is a part that is aware of everything that is going on outside our peripheral vision, and there is a passive observer who just watches without emotional attachment to what we do. At least I am aware of those. There may be more, like in the dream state which seems to be very different than waking consciousness.
 

Dexter Sinister

Unspecified Specialist
Oct 1, 2004
10,168
536
113
Regina, SK
Can I talk about my non-religious beliefs in this forum too? Is it OK to give an opposing point of view? .
Well, a forum called "Christian Discussion" probably isn't the best place to start off with a contrarian view, what usually happens is that somebody starts out offering a Christian perspective on something and others respond with other opinions. But I don't think it really matters much, you want to talk about anything, you're in a good place for it.

I don't think the Bible is literally true in any meaningful sense, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a fairy tale. There are some great stories in it, it treats of universal human themes, and as such has a significant didactic and pedagogical value, but it's not a history book or a science book or a book of prophecy, and people who take it as such rapidly go astray into nonsense. Actually a lot of it's pretty dumb, like all the rules for correct behaviour offered in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, many of which are illegal, and in fact criminal, in any modern civilized nation. But against that you can set things like the story of Job, a really superbly thought out exploration of the problem of suffering, except for the way it ends, which I find deeply unsatisfactory, and Solomon's Song, a wonderful bit of frankly erotic love poetry. "Thy belly is like a heap of wheat fenced about with lily flowers..." Wow, what an image. It's mythology, which is to say it's about the human condition, it explores and gropes for explanations for life's many mysteries, it's about archetypes and heroes and losers and successes and failures, all the good and bad things that happen to us all. It's pretty uneven and inconsistent, which you'd expect from a book with multiple authors writing in very different social and cultural circumstances, but it's been so important to and had such an influence on what we are now pleased to call civilization that you simply cannot make sense of the history and literature of the modern world if you don't know the Bible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MapleOne

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
24,691
116
63
Moving
You are entitled to believe what ever you wish. However you are not entitled to force your beliefs/doctrines on the rest of us as most fundies would and indeed the RCs did and muslims still do, murdering anyone that disagreed with them.
Me I am just one of the real average type Christians - What another person believes or not is up to them.

Those that force or coerce a religious belief on someone go against their religion - whether it is Judaism, Christianity or Muslim.

Actually he didn't ask, but made a statement regarding his beliefs. I respect his religious/spiritual beliefs and yours.
It was humor.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.