Part 6 of Post Your Tough Questions Regarding Christianity

Being a newby on here I don't know whether this is too controversial but here goes.

Noah.

1. Can you tell me how the whole earth including mountains could be covered. Rain falling in one place to raise the level of water has been taken from another, causing the water there to fall. Only two earthshattering events in a period of about 140 days could have caused the earth to flood completely. The mountains would have had to collapse to level ground while the beds of the oceans rose to the same level, then the water would cover the earth, and the reverse would then have to happen. And that did not happen.

2. 8 people came from the Ark. Given Biblical geneology that would date the flood to circa 2000BCE. In 4000 years those 8 people interbred and have produced 7.2billion (at the last estimate) people of today. These are of different colours, features, cultures etc. etc. and have managed to populate lands that will not be discovered for millenia, even the USA, and remote islands.

3. Noah took 7 pairs of all animals 'to keep them alive on the earth'. Did that include the Kangaroo from unknown Australia, or the Buffalo from unknown USA?

A version of the Flood story was known in Sumerian culture long before the Bible account.

 

Could jesus resurrect without God's help?
When did lazurus die a 2nd time?

 

The story about raising Lazerus from the dead, along with stories like making water into wine, walking on water, and feeding a whole crowd from one little kid's lunch, were passed down by word of mouth for years before being written.

Ever play "gossip"?

 

In time, it will become clear to you that those few who take a literal interpretation of the bible(s) on here...will not address the issues you bring up, nor any of the other blatant impossibilities they believe to be true. Though it is entertaining to watch them run from anything approaching debate....it is rather futile.

Still....I look forward to you trying.

 

No, you are wrong, there is evidence outside of the bible of His existence. Looks like you haven't done a thorough research. You have a computer, now go do some research.

 

Outside of the Bible? What, in the Koran?

 

There is no evidence outside of the references to a Jesus/Joshua/Chrestus or whatever in Early history. Most of these are second/third and other hand. And the Koran isn't proof either, as Flyflicker infers. It simply takes the NT at a distance of 600 years.

I agree that many scholars agree that Jesus existed, but there is no proof. All their 'evidence' is based on studies of Judea and the conditions prevailing at the time, and study of Bible texts (books) and historians. We have no actual physical proof.
The only two events generally agreed on by most scholars are the Baptism and Crucifixion.

Everything is down to studies of texts, not studies of 'evidence'.

As it happens I happen to believe that Jesus, the Rabbi, existed - but I can't prove it.



Here's a thought. If the Tanakh is taken to be, in the main, allegories - and some Jews are coming to that conclusion, where does that leave Islam. They believe implicitly in the Tanakh and have taken all its characters for their own.

 

Damn! Not surprising though.

 

Here is a question that has flummoxed me for years. Jesus was tried in Jerusalem by the Pharisees , the Jewish law givers, tried in the largest Jewish city in the world in the nation consisting mainly of Jews. Are you telling me he couldn't find a lawyer?(*)

 

Quote Posted by Woody on pg. 33 #326 of Part 3

See. I told you. Put blame everywhere but where it belongs.
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Tell us who is to blame for all the miseries that plagues mankind? Please tell us from your atheistic point of view.

 

Man is! No mythos God has anything to do with it! It's easy for you fanatics to blame it on everything and everyone except your Sky Daddy which in your convoluted viewpoint created all this. So if his so called power is so great and he created man then surely he has the intestinal fortitude to step up to the plate and take responsibility for his screw ups. Or his he so ashamed of his puny creation that he just hides behind some far away star and watches..

 

You are not making any sense...what else is new?...lol Clearly your statements are contradictory.

At first you put the blame on man where it rightfully belongs but then you carry on to say, "No mythos God has anything to do with it! It's easy for you fanatics to blame it on everything and everyone except your Sky Daddy which in your convoluted viewpoint created all this. So if his so called power is so great and he created man then surely he has the intestinal fortitude to step up to the plate and take responsibility for his screw ups. Or his he so ashamed of his puny creation that he just hides behind some far away star and watches.."

First off, God created the universe and all living beings, however He did not create the miseries that plagues mankind.

It is man's sinful nature that is responsible for all his miseries. You cannot say God is responsible for His screw ups because He does not have any and so that is an illogical statement. Truth is, it is all man's screw ups!

God gave all of us a mind, a mind that can think, rationalize, create, make decisions, a mind that has free will. Sadly many choose to make wrong decisions, regardless that they know their decisions are wrong and consequently for the most part their wrong decisions effect themselves and others in a negative way.

So with all said, it doesn't make sense for an atheist such as yourself to blame man and then contradict yourself by stating what you've said above. You can't have it both ways.

The truth is, in an atheistic worldview, man is solely to blame for all the miseries that plagues mankind. God does not exist as far as the atheists are concerned and so it would be contradictory and nonsense if an atheist spouts out "Man is to blame but God is to blame too!"

In the Christian worldview, again, man is solely to blame for all the miseries that plagues mankind. God does exist as far as the Christians are concerned but although He is the Creator of the universe and all living beings, He is not to be blamed for the miseries that plagues mankind...it is man's sinful nature where the blame is to be put and rightfully so!

 

Quote Posted by WanRen on pg. 35 #348 of Part 3

Men are the problem not God.
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Exactly! But of course to an atheist, God is the problem, but how could He be the problem when in their perspective, in their view, He does not exist?...lol

Those atheists, I tell ya, they are indeed lost souls!

 

Quote Posted by AlphaOmega on pg. 36 #352 of Part 3

So christians believe in archeology now? But not the archeology that shows there was no flood and the carbon dating that predates the creation timeline? Thats another striking contradiction in beliefs.
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Where have you been? Christians have always believed in archeology. the authenticity of the Bible is supported by empirical, archaeological evidence. There has been numerous findings throughout history that validates the Bible.

You like the rest of the unbelievers are just in denial of these evidence. You falsely claim there are no evidence but when it is presented to you, you shrug it off in denial...such dishonestly!

Furthermore there is no evidence that absolutely proves that there was no Great Flood, however there is an acclaimed underwater archaeologist who thinks he has found proof that the biblical flood was actually based on real events.

Robert Ballard, one of the world's best-known underwater archaeologists, talked about his findings. His team is probing the depths of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey in search of traces of an ancient civilization hidden underwater since the time of Noah.

Lastly, there are no contradiction in beliefs...what contradiction?

 

It is possible that there are civilizations that have disappeared beneath seas and oceans.
It is not possible that all life on Earth was once wiped out by a universal flood, and then re established by creatures saved on a boat.

Impossible.

and the Bible is a collection of writings, no more or less. Some of those writings are accounts of historical events, and might even have a degree of accuracy. Some are legends, myths, fables, and stories, just like the writings that we find in the public library today.

 

Sometimes people forget what the real purpose of the Bible is. It uses stories to show various methods by which people might be saved from the "lake of fire" (disaster, regret, misfortune) and gain entrance to the "golden cube" (happiness, joy, peace, harmony).

The Noah story shows how a person's works can be so great that he can save not only himself but his family and even the world. Think of the polio and smallpox vaccine creators. Sometimes the crowd will jeer and make fun of the person who is doing something unconventional but in the end the person realized his goal because he never stopped working on what he believed in.

All of the stories show examples of works, faith, and entitlement (birthright) in action and the results of each one. Who in the Bible had more faith than Job? He suffered all kinds of disasters but he never lost his faith. In the end he ended up with twice what he had lost. Is that a lesson worth remembering when you are hit by a tornado?

Consider what the stories are trying to show and not whether they actually happened. Jokes are not true but some of them do contain useful moral lessons. That's why the Bible is better than the Koran or the Book of Mormon. It has better stories that illustrate the results of one's actions and beliefs.

 

Precisely.
The Noah story is about faith, about being prepared, about following the word of God, not about a real event. There are many stories with morals in the Bible, lots of parables, fables, and just plain tall tales.
There's a bunch of junk there, too, but that's mostly due to poor translations.

 

I see the Noah story more as one of works instead of as faith. Noah had to actually do some physical activity. Job is the premier example of faith.

 

Well of course to a person such as yourself anything regarding the Bible must be nothing but myths...just plain tall tales. So to you and many others the Noah story is not about a real event.

Because skeptics such as yourself have viewed the Bible as myth, they oftentimes also attempt to paint Jesus of Nazareth as a legendary figure.

While the controversial figure Bruno Bauer (1809 – 1882) put forward a series of widely-disputed works nearly 200 years ago arguing that Jesus never lived, today the myth that Jesus is only a myth has received the equivalent of the death penalty in historical and scholarly circles (although various internet atheist haunts still try in vain to resurrect the charge).

As Princeton professor Bruce Metzger wrote decades ago, “Today no competent scholar denies the historicity of Jesus.

Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ said, "When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes." (Matthew 24:37-39 NLT)

Lastly in my view and belief, the story of Noah's Flood was a real event as written by Moses in the Book of Genesis being inspired by the Word of God!

 

All the atheists understand the idea. Try to reach the fundies with it.

 

Have any theists declared victory here yet? I figure they might do so by appealing to the view that all of this length discussion has taken place through 6 long threads of "tough questions" now without getting the believers to quit their faith.

It's a fallacy I know I've seen elsewhere in the past..

 

A rather pointless thread. All the "tough" questions don't ever get answered with anything resembling fact. It's either personal sentiment, psuedoscience, or being refered to the Bible...

 

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Lastly in my view and belief, the story of Noah's Flood was a real event as written by Moses in the Book of Genesis being inspired by the Word of God!

Where would all the water come from to cover Ararat let alone Everest? Not from earth for sure. And where did it go?

 

Ha! The wind wafted it to Neptune, where it shines to this day as a warning beacon against incoming rogue angels.

(reference available on request)