Ted Grant II
Registered Senior Member
People who love to quote from Scripture during sermons usually leave out the parts that they know will not be believed or are contrary to the morals they wish to promote.
I'll give and example of an obvious fable from the Bible.
When the Israelites were wandering in the famous (but not unique) desert, with Moses and God guiding them, the people complained to Moses about the lack of food and water. Moses complained to God, who reliably provided some food and water, but the people weren't pleased with the quality. They complained further, so Moses asked Aaron to to spy out the land ahead. Aaron sent his three best soldiers, knowing that God would not approve of this innovation, as He had said that the route to the Promised Land would be chosen by Him alone.
Anyway, off they went, taking with them some provisions, including a "paddle", which one assumes was some kind of spade for digging holes where they could relieve themselves. On the first night, they were attacked by some Baalites and although they managed to escape, they left their paddle behind and one of them was found dead the next morning. The two remaining spies discussed what to do and decided to carry on, as they feared Aaron's wrath. The next night, they were attacked by wild animals that had four faces and one of the soldiers was swallowed alive, but his companion escaped by hiding up a tree. The remaining solder decided again to carry on with his mission, being vary careful, hiding among rocks and sleeping up trees.
One night, he decided to travel in the dark, to avoid being seen, but this was his undoing.
He stumbled into a bottomless pit and fell to his death.
Can you see that this story must be fiction?
Ask yourself, with all the witnesses dead, how could all the details be recorded ?
Many stories in the scriptures were clearly not witnessed by the authors.
For example, the creation, when God says, "Let there be light".
There were no people around to record this and in any case, languages were developed by humans over many thousands of years. English did not exist when the Universe was created !
It puzzles me why "Scriptures", which are clearly works of fiction, came to be believed.
One trip to a public library reveals an interesting fact.
Most books are grouped into Fiction and Non-Fiction categories.
Some books are unclassified however, presumably because the librarians are not sure.
The vast majority of books are in the Fiction category.
The reason is obvious. Fiction is unlimited. Anyone can make up a story with any elements.
You can include magical events and people love it, especially children.
Kids queue up for the latest Harry Potter book.
Non-fiction, on the other hand, is limited to what is known and what is known is finite.
Plus, to the average reader, real facts are boring, when compared with magic.
The Bible is the best selling book of all time.
It is filled with magical events and superhuman powers.
It's in the Unclassified section along with books about Ghosts and Angels.
They should be in the Fiction category.
I'll give and example of an obvious fable from the Bible.
When the Israelites were wandering in the famous (but not unique) desert, with Moses and God guiding them, the people complained to Moses about the lack of food and water. Moses complained to God, who reliably provided some food and water, but the people weren't pleased with the quality. They complained further, so Moses asked Aaron to to spy out the land ahead. Aaron sent his three best soldiers, knowing that God would not approve of this innovation, as He had said that the route to the Promised Land would be chosen by Him alone.
Anyway, off they went, taking with them some provisions, including a "paddle", which one assumes was some kind of spade for digging holes where they could relieve themselves. On the first night, they were attacked by some Baalites and although they managed to escape, they left their paddle behind and one of them was found dead the next morning. The two remaining spies discussed what to do and decided to carry on, as they feared Aaron's wrath. The next night, they were attacked by wild animals that had four faces and one of the soldiers was swallowed alive, but his companion escaped by hiding up a tree. The remaining solder decided again to carry on with his mission, being vary careful, hiding among rocks and sleeping up trees.
One night, he decided to travel in the dark, to avoid being seen, but this was his undoing.
He stumbled into a bottomless pit and fell to his death.
Can you see that this story must be fiction?
Ask yourself, with all the witnesses dead, how could all the details be recorded ?
Many stories in the scriptures were clearly not witnessed by the authors.
For example, the creation, when God says, "Let there be light".
There were no people around to record this and in any case, languages were developed by humans over many thousands of years. English did not exist when the Universe was created !
It puzzles me why "Scriptures", which are clearly works of fiction, came to be believed.
One trip to a public library reveals an interesting fact.
Most books are grouped into Fiction and Non-Fiction categories.
Some books are unclassified however, presumably because the librarians are not sure.
The vast majority of books are in the Fiction category.
The reason is obvious. Fiction is unlimited. Anyone can make up a story with any elements.
You can include magical events and people love it, especially children.
Kids queue up for the latest Harry Potter book.
Non-fiction, on the other hand, is limited to what is known and what is known is finite.
Plus, to the average reader, real facts are boring, when compared with magic.
The Bible is the best selling book of all time.
It is filled with magical events and superhuman powers.
It's in the Unclassified section along with books about Ghosts and Angels.
They should be in the Fiction category.