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Highway
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Joined: 20 May 2007
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 Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 6:49 pm Post subject: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
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Q: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? A friend of mine just laughs when I say something about the Bible, because he says it's full of errors and contradictions. How can I answer him? — K.F.
A: Dear K.F.,
One way to deal with him might be to hand him a Bible and ask him to show you one of these alleged errors or contradictions—because in my experience, most people who say things like this have never actually read the Bible.
But remember: You aren't trying to win an argument with him, nor are you trying to embarrass him. Your goal is to point him to Jesus, and everything else is secondary. He may well have questions about the Bible that need answering before he'll begin to think seriously about its message—and if so, you should offer to help him find those answers. Your pastor or local Christian bookstore may be able to help you do this.
On the other hand, many people who claim they have questions about the Bible actually have a far deeper problem: They don't want to turn their lives over to God. You could answer every question they asked and they still wouldn't believe—because that's not their real problem. Their problem isn't with their mind but with their will, and they need to face it.
Do you remember "doubting Thomas," Jesus' disciple who refused to believe He had been raised from the dead? Jesus' response to him was simple: "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!" (Luke 24:39). And this is what you should encourage your friend to do—to look at Jesus as He is presented in the Bible. No one who honestly examines Him will ever be the same.
quoted from Billy Graham |
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Specus_Meretricis
Peddler of Bombast
Joined: 08 Mar 2007
Posts: 2754
Local time: 12:52 AM
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 6:56 pm Post subject: Re: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
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| Highway wrote: | Q: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? A friend of mine just laughs when I say something about the Bible, because he says it's full of errors and contradictions. How can I answer him? — K.F.
A: Dear K.F.,
One way to deal with him might be to hand him a Bible and ask him to show you one of these alleged errors or contradictions—because in my experience, most people who say things like this have never actually read the Bible.
But remember: You aren't trying to win an argument with him, nor are you trying to embarrass him. Your goal is to point him to Jesus, and everything else is secondary. He may well have questions about the Bible that need answering before he'll begin to think seriously about its message—and if so, you should offer to help him find those answers. Your pastor or local Christian bookstore may be able to help you do this.
On the other hand, many people who claim they have questions about the Bible actually have a far deeper problem: They don't want to turn their lives over to God. You could answer every question they asked and they still wouldn't believe—because that's not their real problem. Their problem isn't with their mind but with their will, and they need to face it.
Do you remember "doubting Thomas," Jesus' disciple who refused to believe He had been raised from the dead? Jesus' response to him was simple: "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!" (Luke 24:39). And this is what you should encourage your friend to do—to look at Jesus as He is presented in the Bible. No one who honestly examines Him will ever be the same.
quoted from Billy Graham |
If this had been posted by almost anyone else on this board, we would have all taken it as ironic and gotten a little chuckle. So you are saying that if someone has questions about the Bible that you cannot answer, that the quester actually has some kind of deep seated issues instead? Wow. Just...wow. |
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Knight_of_BAAWA
Jedi Slackmaster
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 7:07 pm Post subject: Re: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
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| Highway wrote: | | Q: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
A. Complete lobotomy.
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lumpymunk
Forum Master
Joined: 17 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 7:10 pm Post subject: Re: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
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| Quote: |
If this had been posted by almost anyone else on this board, we would have all taken it as ironic and gotten a little chuckle. So you are saying that if someone has questions about the Bible that you cannot answer, that the quester actually has some kind of deep seated issues instead? Wow. Just...wow. |
Sounds more like the Scientologist Approach. CRIMINALS!!!!!
_________________
“Here, here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up, go back to bed America, here is American Gladiators, here is 56 channels of it! Watch these pituitary retards bang their fucking skulls together and congratulate you on the living in the land of freedom. Here you go America - you are free to do what well tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!” ~ B.Hicks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNOPu_wU6hs |
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lumpymunk
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 7:11 pm Post subject: Re: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
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| Knight_of_BAAWA wrote: | | Highway wrote: | | Q: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
A. Complete lobotomy. |
I love this guy, srsly.
_________________
“Here, here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up, go back to bed America, here is American Gladiators, here is 56 channels of it! Watch these pituitary retards bang their fucking skulls together and congratulate you on the living in the land of freedom. Here you go America - you are free to do what well tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!” ~ B.Hicks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNOPu_wU6hs |
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rickyroma
Repressed hippy
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | You could answer every question they asked and they still wouldn't believe |
Damn right.
Even if you could convincingly hammer the Bible into a consistent and coherent whole that would only make it the same as most other books anyway.
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Theists wank too. |
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Sal1981
Do you hear me now?
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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There are more than 100 logical contradictions (i.e. mutually exclusive) in the Bible.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/inconsistencies.html
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Hurtman2000
Atheist First Class
Joined: 30 Aug 2005
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Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 8:30 pm Post subject: Re: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
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| Highway wrote: |
Do you remember "doubting Thomas," Jesus' disciple who refused to believe He had been raised from the dead? Jesus' response to him was simple: "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!" (Luke 24:39). And this is what you should encourage your friend to do—to look at Jesus as He is presented in the Bible. No one who honestly examines Him will ever be the same.
quoted from Billy Graham |
Once I looked at Jesus as he is presented in the Bible and examined him honestly, I turned atheist! My life will surely never be the same...thank you honesty, critical thinking, freethinking, skepticism, integrity, humanism, etc.!!!
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Two MUST hear and read gems: http://www.greylodge.org/gpc/?p=60 and
http://freethought.mbdojo.com/thanksgivingsermon.html
<----- This avatar is the computer image of what Jesus might have looked like was created from the skull of a 1st-century man. It presents a very different concept of Jesus' appearance from the Italian interpretation. (from the Discovery Channel) |
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Trout XIII
Stratocaster
Joined: 09 May 2007
Posts: 291
Local time: 11:52 PM
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Highway,
I don't think the battle is an intellectual one as outlined.
I think I'm most convinced of the truthfulness of the Bible when it's lived out in the every day life of a simple Christian. I know some people who live very convincing arguments, I'm not one of them.
_________________
"I like Trout and I hope I get into his signature one day." . . . Mr_C, Singing my praises
"i like trout, he's hilarious and he makes me giggle..." . . . anamoly, Trout's favorite AF member
"I like Trout" . . . rickyroma |
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Nimitz
Guest
Local time: 2:52 PM
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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Here you go nutjob!
rook_hawkins/biblical_errancy
Chew your way through this web site.
If you TRUELY read it, you'll be one of us at the end!
I doubt that you'll have the balls to read it!
RRS!
Better yet go troll their site!
Your candy ass wont amount to a snack!
They get a hundred nutters like you a week. |
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lumpymunk
Forum Master
Joined: 17 Feb 2007
Posts: 2141
Local time: 11:52 PM
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Nimitz wrote: |
RRS!
Better yet go troll their site!
Your candy ass wont amount to a snack!
They get a hundred nutters like you a week. |
Indeed it's a Jungle.
_________________
“Here, here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up, go back to bed America, here is American Gladiators, here is 56 channels of it! Watch these pituitary retards bang their fucking skulls together and congratulate you on the living in the land of freedom. Here you go America - you are free to do what well tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!” ~ B.Hicks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNOPu_wU6hs |
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tonyman1989
Forum Master
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Posts: 2461
Local time: 12:52 AM
Location: I was hoping you could tell me.
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| Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 12:07 am Post subject: Re: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? |
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| Highway wrote: | Q: How can you convince someone that the Bible is true? A friend of mine just laughs when I say something about the Bible, because he says it's full of errors and contradictions. How can I answer him? — K.F.
A: Dear K.F.,
One way to deal with him might be to hand him a Bible and ask him to show you one of these alleged errors or contradictions—because in my experience, most people who say things like this have never actually read the Bible.
But remember: You aren't trying to win an argument with him, nor are you trying to embarrass him. Your goal is to point him to Jesus, and everything else is secondary. He may well have questions about the Bible that need answering before he'll begin to think seriously about its message—and if so, you should offer to help him find those answers. Your pastor or local Christian bookstore may be able to help you do this.
On the other hand, many people who claim they have questions about the Bible actually have a far deeper problem: They don't want to turn their lives over to God. You could answer every question they asked and they still wouldn't believe—because that's not their real problem. Their problem isn't with their mind but with their will, and they need to face it.
Do you remember "doubting Thomas," Jesus' disciple who refused to believe He had been raised from the dead? Jesus' response to him was simple: "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!" (Luke 24:39). And this is what you should encourage your friend to do—to look at Jesus as He is presented in the Bible. No one who honestly examines Him will ever be the same.
quoted from Billy Graham |
I became an atheist before laerning about the contradictions and the evils of god. so you bible contradictions are second to the impossablty of god.
_________________
"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for a reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed." Albert Einstein
"For then we will know the mind of God." Stephen Hawking
"We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes." Richard Dawkins
http://www.atheistforums.com/weblog.php?w=22 Tonyman1989 blog's - updated on 8/28/07 - An interview of steven weinberg on religion |
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wandering soul
Forum Plebian
Joined: 16 May 2007
Posts: 147
Local time: 11:52 PM
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| Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 11:02 am Post subject: |
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I HAVE read the Bible, and very thoroughly, and it does have errors, contradictions, and endorsement of atrocities and genocide within its pages. Just take a look at the Old Testament. If you really care to research the subject, go to the links posted above and do some reading or google it.
The errors of the Bible are NOT why I quit believing in God. I stopped believing in Christianity because of the Bible, but I held on to my belief in God. My reason for becoming an atheist is purely intellectual. Neurotheology has really influenced my views.
James |
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rickyroma
Repressed hippy
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 6516
Local time: 4:52 AM
Location: England
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| Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 11:24 am Post subject: |
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Hi there James.
"Neurotheology" is a new term on me. I can guess what it might be from the name, but could you sum it up in a sentence or two?
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Theists wank too. |
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wandering soul
Forum Plebian
Joined: 16 May 2007
Posts: 147
Local time: 11:52 PM
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| Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 11:49 am Post subject: |
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Neurotheology is the theory that God and spirituality are basically hardwired into the brain. Google neurotheology or Persinger's helmet or God machine. There are some really interesting articles about it online. Basically, spiritual experiences can be reproduced artifically by stimulating certain parts of the brain. It's really interesting! There is also a link between near-death/mystical experiences and epilepsy.
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The Happy Heretic |
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