we are in the 21st century

[MelodeonMan]

Can you honestly believe there is any truth in the book called the Bible, give me facts to prove that what is said is true,
Can anyone show me proof that the man called Jesus was anything more than a joiner in his century.What proof has anyone given in science,

This is the 21st century and science has prooved how the world started,

If the bible is true and what I was brainwashed into believing when I was young,,,why has the supposedly God let so many Children die in terrible conditions,

The Bible says in genisis that check the wording WE made man in our imaje,so whoever that was gave them a brain,
so why did they use it wrongly,

And why does the Bible condone Incest,,,,,Adam and eve was first man and women,,,,so who made love after them must have created incest and you wish people to believe in the bible,, be realistic,,,,man is educated now,,,

[Scottie_Brooke]

Yes, I can honestly believe in the Bible, because it's God's word.

Why do you not believe? Did something happen?

Science has improved lately, yes, but they have'nt found a cure for cancer yet, or some other diseases.

None of us really know why God lets His Children die, even I wonder the same thing a lot.

Are you sure Genesis says that we made our own image? If I recall correctly, it says God made us from His image. The study Bible doesn't say it, because that's what mine is, but I know in the non-study Bible with every story in it has it in Genesis. I mean, man's not THAT smart! Who wouldv'e made us if there is no God and if we created ourselfes, how could we do it?

I'm not sure of your last question, but God made other people obviously after that, and maybe He dug up some dirt.
Look, I don't mean to sound critisizing or anything, but I really would like to know why you think all this. Ok, 5 years ago I decided to change, but even then my friendship with Him wasn't strong. This year's the closest we've been pals, so why say he's your enemy?

Scottie_Brooke

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

The best evidence for the divine inspiration of the Bible is the phenomenon of predictive prophecy. I will use the book of Daniel as representative of the whole Bible. Parenthesis indicate historical background. Everything else is taken straight from the text.

Daniel predicted that the Greeks would conquer Medio-Persia and build a large empire (which they did under Alexander the Great), which would subsequently split into 4 smaller empires (Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, Cassander). The Northern and Soutern empires would struggle back and forth, with the Northern (Seleucid) empire eventually gaining the upper hand. From the Northern empire there would arise a leader (Antiochus Epiphanus) who would brutally opress the Jews and suspend the temple service in Jerusalem. However, the Jews would eventually defeat their opressor (Maccabean rebellion) and after 2,300 days from the time it was ended (171 B.C. to Dec. 25, 165 B.C.), the temple service would be restored. There are only 2 ways to explain this phenomenon. Either the Bible is inspired of God or the prophecies were written after the events they claim to have foretold. However, all of the internal and external evidence regarding the date of composition of Daniel suggests that it was written shortly after the Persians conquered Babylon.

For archeological and textual evidence for the veracity of the Biblical record of history, read The Stones Cry out and The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? I have links in my reading list post.

The best evidnce for Jesus' divinity is that He was unlike any other man in history. Usually, people who claim to be God are lunatics who don't have anything new to say and can only gain a small, cult following. Jesus, on the other hand, claimed Divine power, yet was gentle and loving, and gave us the most profound moral teachings in history. G. K. Chesterton wrote an entire book devoted to this theme, entitled The Everlasting Man.

Also, throughout the New Testament, the authors claim to be eyewitnesses to great miracles, and even to have performed miracles themselves. This means they were either lying or those things never happened. But from everything we know about the apostles' characters, they were good, upright people. They suffered great persecutions for their religion, and many were martyred.

To answer your question about Genesis: God refered to Himself in the plural. When someone called himself "we" in ancient Hebrew, it meant that he was someone big and important. Kings called themselves "we" in the Middle Ages.

Also, in Leviticus God explicitly forbids incest. Fundamentalists will tell you that Adam and Eve's children were allowed to sleep with each other because genetic defects hadn't yet found their way into the human gene pool. I think it more likely that there were other homo sapiens around at the time, and their children didn't actually sleep with each other.

Originally posted by Melodeon_Man
If the bible is true and what I was brainwashed into believing when I was young,,,why has the supposedly God let so many Children die in terrible conditions.

Theodicy is a comple issue. I would recommend The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis and When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Kushner.

[Scottie_Brooke]

Wow, FNB, I wish I could use words like those to convince.


Scottie_Brooke

[Theja]

MelodeonMan, did you say science has proven the origin of this earth? You've hit a jackpot. The first and only scientist to have this evidence.

Please briefly share with us your finding. I'm shaking in anticipation of your earth-shaking discovery.

The evidence, ladies and gentlemen....

[ANDY-J2]

I can state with certainty that the bible does not contain any divine revelation.Mankind has lived on this planet for 30 000 odd years and the first civilisations emerged over 12 000 years ago yet we are supposed to believe that God waited for some obscure tribe called the Israelites to emerge in the fertile crescent about 6000 years ago before he endowed humanity with his great plan.Christians that actually bother to examine their faith objectively and dispassionately cannot fail to accept that it is fundamentally flawed-the bible is not innerant,there is no evidence of an intelligent creator and atheists are capable of living useful and fulfilling lives just the same as Christians.Christian fundamentalism and it's outmoded beliefs have happily been rooted out of Britain during the past century and we are left with a more experiential form of belief which places an emphasis on following the moral teachings of Christ rather than concentrating on his supposed divinity.I believe this was what Christ would have desired and I have no doubt whatsoever that it is this form of Christianity that will become more popular worldwide in the future.The demise of orthodox christian belief with it's emphasis on meaningless dogma and supernatural mumbo-jumbo is assured-it has no place in the modern world.

[Theja]

FNB, the earliest generations lived nearly a thousand years and in between many generation of children were born. At first the children of Adam married within and then cousins married and so on. Remember, the law against incest was commanded only after the Exodus experience.

So for the first generation (Adam's immediate children Genesis 5) God must have made an exception to the incest problem. But right from the start God must have instructed them the sanctity of marriage (Genesis 2:24-25; Matthew 19:1-6).

Remember Cain and Lamech had wives (Genesis 4:17-26, all the while Adam was still having children). Noah and his sons have wives of their own. Evidence that they understood commitment in the marriage bond. Even up to the time of Abraham people were marrying their cousins and neices (Genesis 11:27-32, etc; by then longevity was reduced to about 120 years).

They literally were fruitful and multiplied (1:28).