JoJaBuckeye;736221; said:
Questions for skeptics:
Never mind finding fault with this or that.
1. What does the bible tell you about human nature that is provably false?
2. What does the bible say (in EVERY original manuscript you cite, not just selective ones) that is not factual?
3. What does the bible tell you about your eternal destiny that it fails to equip you for?
4. How long did it take science to catch up with the bible in regard to:
a. anesthesia for major surgery?
b. the design of the moon as a secondary light source
c. the composition of the human body?
d. knowledge of coagulation of the blood in newborn males?
e. the fact that matter consists of elements that the naked eye cannot see?
Well, lets see here.... What does the Bible say about human nature that is provably false.... Gosh, I don't know... sounds like a loaded question to me. 1 - we probably won't agree on what is human nature, 2 - even if we did, there is ALWAYS going to be an exception to whatever "rule" I might cite as to human nature. So, I'll say the answer to your first question is useless and is obvioulsy a set up and one which I won't take.
What does it say that's not factual? Well, here again, all we're going to do is argue about whether or not science is telling the truth or not. How about the whole creation in 7 days bit. There's absolutely NO support (save for the Bible itself) for the contention that the universe as created in 7 days. (Well, 6 and resting for 1). Here's another... the ability for a man to build an arc which would be home to 2 of every animal on the earth. Never mind the fact that Noah would have to travel to each corner of the earth and dig up 2 of everything prior to the rains coming (We know, for example, that Noah would have to travel to Australia to save the Kangaroo and/or Koala Bear, as there are none sitting around the middle east), I'm completely unconvinced 2 of everything would fit in a craft which meets these conditions: "The length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, the breadth of it 50 cubits, and the height of it 30 cubits"; that is, 450 x 75 x 45 feet. Indeed, I'm not convinced we could fit two of each animal found only in North America on such a craft. But, all that said, I'm sure you'll come back with something like this: "You can't prove they wouldn't fit" and fully expect that I'm not going to do the required research wich would affirm that the voume of 2 of every animal in the world exceeds the volume of this craft.... and you'd be right, I'm not going to do that research, as it would be - in my mind - a complete waste of time.
3 - what does it tell me about my desitiny that it fails to equip me for? I don't know. Lets assume nothing. So what?
4 - I don't care how long it took science to catch up to the bible. In fact, I embrace the "correctness" of the Bible on these sorts of issues as indica of some reliability of some kind. That is to say, I find it interesting that the Creation story, when read metaphorically, conforms to what scientists observe about how this universe began... a simple example of which would be "The LORD said let there be light" I can understand that as looking like "the Big Bang"
All that said, and as my answer to 2 should indicate, its being reliable in at least some part does not demand the conclusion that it is relaible in FULL. And, frankly, the New Test. is nothing but religious politics, far as I can tell. I call bullshit on the Papacy picking and choosing which accounts of Jesus to include in the Bible and which to ignore (ie the Gnostic Gospels). I won't say that the Papacy didn't use some sort of criteria, or even that their criterea was wrong. I'll simply say, because I think I know a thing or two about how man tries to control man, I'm in need of more convincing.
As with my statement above, I do not mean that the entirety of the New Test. is garbage. I simply mean I will not buy it "hook line and sinker" at the cost of what I see in the world.