Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s


Reply
  • Page 3 of 3
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
 
Topic Tools Search this Thread
Diana_P is offline Diana_P Post #21  October 23,2011, 4:01am
Diana_P's Avatar

Board Leader - Religion & Spirituality

Joined: Sep 2010

Posts: 1,118

See profile

harnomygirl wrote :
There is a theory that Jesus' timeline for the end of the Biblical world was very different from the one we currently have. The entire geography of the 'world' didn't include much beyond the Holy Land, just as it didn't during the great flood.

I can't remember the details, and I apologize, but I know the main premise had to do with a passage where He said that some people standing before Him would join Him in Heaven that day. The theory is that a version of the rapture occurred soon after the crucifixion and the Bible story is already complete.

There were references to the destruction of the temple and a few other verifiable historical events mentioned in prophecy. The final conclusion was that we are now living outside of Biblical times.

It wasn't necessary for Jesus to share scientific knowledge, because he planned to save the worthy long before they would need it. We are the beings left behind.
Hornomygirl, this is a very interesting theory and aligns well with the quote below:

"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom, " Matthew 16:28.

This passage seems to suggest that the Second Coming has already occurred. That seems more logical than assuming there are those from Christ’s time who are still among us. I invite any of our board scholars to please comment if there is a more appropriate meaning.
 
  Reply With Quote
notamaninpower is offline notamaninpower Post #22  October 23,2011, 11:21am
notamaninpowe…'s Avatar

anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities

Enthusiast

Joined: Feb 2008

about 20 miles southwest of The Empire State Building

Posts: 865

See profile

AudioDad wrote :
Could it not also be the case that ancient humans discovered that fear, ignorance and superstition could be used to control others? Bribes of eternal bliss or threats of eternal torment can be powerful motivators. Gods, and the religions that prop them up, have been used for millenia to consolidate power and control in the hands of the few.
^^^THIS answers your question to me quite succinctly, Diana_P.
 
  Reply With Quote
AudioDad is offline AudioDad Post #23  October 23,2011, 1:50pm
AudioDad's Avatar

...has left the building

Enthusiast

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 800

See profile

Diana_P wrote :
My problem with the fiction angle is that usually when someone fabricates something there is some kind of purpose. Either they have something to gain by the subterfuge or the story is trying to teach a lesson of some kind. So if the Bible or all religious texts are “deliberate” fiction what did the writer or writers have to gain. If there was no gain then what were they trying to teach? I’m already familiar with the answer to the second part of that question.
First off, the Bible is not entirely a work of fiction. There is history, culture, some fiction, life lessons in general and politics found therein. That last one, politics, specifically pertains to the topic of this thread. It was written during the Roman dominance of, well, pretty much everything at the time. The book reflects the lives and the times of the people who wrote it (and there were many of them). The writing of the book spanned many centuries which is why you see different types of political and cultural aspects to it.

Diana_P wrote :
I have also considered your point about the fiction being unintentional. I get that perhaps the people of that time were merely trying to make sense of the world around them. I have no argument against that point except that present day man should know better.


My point was not that the Bible, in total, is a work of complete fiction. The point was that it was conceived and written by people who lacked the knowledge we have today of the physical world.

Diana_P wrote :
Why weren’t all deities dismissed as fallacy as soon as we had other explanations for the things we previously couldn’t explain? We don’t think the earth is flat anymore so why do we still believe in gods?


Because fear of the unknown is part of our genetic wiring. It's what allowed us to survive and evolve into the beings we are today. You don't "remedy" that over night, or even over many centuries. As a species, we're also wired with an insatiable curiosity. Over time, we also developed the capacity to reason, to use our intellect to get past the fear and look deeper into the things we were once afraid of. Still, there are many questions science hasn't answered yet so there are still gaps in our knowledge. Those gaps are always where God (all gods) has lived, and will likely to continue to live. As long as there are things we fear, there will be gods.

You also have to keep in mind that the old gods didn't die out immediately as humanity's knowledge increased. The pantheon of Greek, Roman and Sumerian gods, for example, existed for several thousand years. Over time, they were replaced with other gods, and those gods were eventually replaced by the Abrahamic gods. Sometimes, the gods of the old religions became the demons of the new. The cycle has repeated many, many times over the history of religion. Eventually, the Abrahamic gods will be replaced by the gods of some new religion.

Diana_P wrote :
This is why I believe there is something supernatural about the persistence of belief in deities. God is not going to let us dismiss Him no matter how hard we try!
Faith has never relied on evidence or proof. One simply believes. As I've said before, there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. My belief (or faith perhaps), is still that the world is big enough for us all to live in peace together....respecting each other's right to have a religious faith, or not.
Last edited by AudioDad; October 23,2011 at 2:05pm.
 
  Reply With Quote
AudioDad is offline AudioDad Post #24  October 23,2011, 2:00pm
AudioDad's Avatar

...has left the building

Enthusiast

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 800

See profile

suzyque wrote :
Perhaps Hindus and Muslims combined. However, taking religions separately, Christians outnumber the second largest, Muslims, by a fairly large percentage. True, Muslim growth is outpacing Christian growth but that is mainly through birth rates.
From a strictly statistical perspective, that's correct. My point was to expose the argument from numbers logical fallacy, which is often found in religious topics in these forums. It's often advanced by believers that [insert your deity of preference] exists, or their particular religious texts are true, because of the sheer number of people who believe in it/them. It's a well used strategy, but nonetheless a fallacy. It remains a simple fact that the majority of this planet's population are not Christians, thus rendering the number of people who believe in some variant of the Christian god irrelevant.

One could similarly assert that, because the majority of the planet believes in one god or another, that there must be some kind of divine or supernatural force at work in our lives. This would also be an example of the argument from numbers fallacy.
 
  Reply With Quote
harnomygirl is offline harnomygirl Post #25  October 24,2011, 6:33am
harnomygirl's Avatar

Power Poster

Joined: Mar 2011

Posts: 6,418

See profile

...
Last edited by harnomygirl; October 24,2011 at 10:42am. Reason: :-)
 
  Reply With Quote
USMC0811 is offline USMC0811 Post #26  March 9,2012, 8:35am
USMC0811's Avatar

Newbie

Joined: Mar 2012

Posts: 7

See profile

I think you're reading too much into it. Jesus didn't come to earth to bring about technological advancement or social reform. He came to allow the salvation of humanity. It doesn't matter if we have medicine or technology or space ships or money or anything else that exists in this physical universe, because someday that will all be gone. What IS important is that we accept salvation so that we may live on a new, restored earth where we won't need medicine, we won't need technology, we won't need spaceships, we won't need social reform. Jesus came to treat the disease, not the symptoms, so to speak.
 
  Reply With Quote
harnomygirl is offline harnomygirl Post #27  March 9,2012, 9:59am
harnomygirl's Avatar

Power Poster

Joined: Mar 2011

Posts: 6,418

See profile

USMC0811 wrote :
I think you're reading too much into it. Jesus didn't come to earth to bring about technological advancement or social reform. He came to allow the salvation of humanity. It doesn't matter if we have medicine or technology or space ships or money or anything else that exists in this physical universe, because someday that will all be gone. What IS important is that we accept salvation so that we may live on a new, restored earth where we won't need medicine, we won't need technology, we won't need spaceships, we won't need social reform. Jesus came to treat the disease, not the symptoms, so to speak.
You are right. That is how we are supposed to look at that.

He raised the topic from the secular level of politics and taxation to a different plane. Almost everyone moves it back down in one way or another eventually though.
 
  Reply With Quote
Reply
  • Page 3 of 3
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3


« Judge Rules Attack 'OK' | Religion & Spirituality | What if Jesus Christ was "just a man"? »
Topic Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new topics
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off

Similar Topics
Topic Topic Starter Board Replies Last Post
20 things all men should know landstar59 A Man's Point of view 36 March 2,2011 10:32am
Proper Closure, just "Poof", or keep things open? Long story. Noble713 Ask a Dating Expert 12 February 11,2011 8:26am
Going great until..."figuring things out with ex" dcdude1978 Dating 25 November 19,2010 1:58pm
Profile Review: To go along with personality questionaire re-take. uniquegurl Using eHarmony 5 October 11,2010 9:14pm
We both said "I love you", then things got weird! How to keep this train on the tracks? p56360 Ask a Dating Expert 17 September 17,2009 3:34pm

Looking for a Great Relationship?

Get started now. Fill out this form and take the questionnaire to receive your matches.

First Name:

I'm a:
seeking

Postal Code:

Country:

Email:

Confirm Email:

Password:


How did you hear about us?


Latest on our Dating Advice Discussion Boards

“ Excellent, thank you. I think I will leave out the first part, I think it is unnecessary information to give him. I'm not interested in putting myself out there like that and it might be a little ... ” –  generallyyou

Join the “Ending a friendship” discussion

“Alfred Hitchcock - 18 Steven Spielberg - 62 *notice what?” –  dmi

Join the “War of the Directors” discussion

“ I would be "certain people" :P The issue isn't a deal-breaker, but a very strong factor preference-wise, for me.” –  ThePriestess

Join the “How much does race play in your dating someone?” discussion

“Love Texas Hold'em!.. I'm thinking of trying another tournament this summer...not sure yet though.. Never entered a tournament before, outside of online ones. Personally I prefer to play with ... ” –  Freezepop

Join the “Favorite Card Game” discussion

“Make that 3! I also had a crush on Donny Osmond. I think I still have a record or two of his. Suzie ” –  legend29

Join the “Robin Gibbs Dead at 62...How Deep is Your Love?” discussion

“Oh, my revised profile can be seen in the forum in the section where you can ask for a profile review. Suzanne” –  SuzanneScorpio

Join the “Photo Review” discussion

“Just remember, everything that you are feeling and/or are capable of he is as well. If he wanted to reach you, he could. Right now he knows that you are hurting, and that this is not what you ... ” –  lynntlb78

Join the “Can I wait and move on at the same time?” discussion

“ Yohio. And the shortened form (Anya) is nice too.” –  ThePriestess

Join the “Where is Becky?!?” discussion



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 9:39am.

Discussion Boards Archive

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0