QUESTION: Today's comes from TK...
"We moved to a new city last year, and the church we've started attending is more formal or traditional than our old one. Recently, they've been talking about Advent, and I'm too embarrassed to admit I don't even know what it means. I know it has something to do with Christmas, but what?".
IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
There is an Advent calendar which has a chocolate to eat on each day leading up to Christmas, but I haven't read anything in the Bible about this nor concerning Advent in any form. Christianity claims that the Bible is the whole truth but there are many Christian rituals and beliefs which don't appear there. Where do these come from? Are they holy or just some cultural curiosity? How did they originate? Why?
Don't be timid to ask questions when in church. Religions prosper when they are dictating terms to unthinking followers. If you are not sure on something or if it sounds implausible, speak up. Too many people just blindly accept what is told them without any period of reflection.
There are many differences in belief and ritual between denominations, and yet they all miraculously consider themselves to be right. If the church you have changed to does not satisfy you then go to another, or don't go to any, or start your own!
BILLY GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=7510
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
QUESTION: Today's comes from P.McD...
"How did the men who wrote the Bible know what happened thousands of years before they were born - things like the creation of the world, for example? I'd like to believe the Bible, but I guess I have too many unanswered questions."
IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
The men who wrote the bible claim to know what happened because they were inspired by some god. Their tales of creation, Noah's ark, people being swallowed and regurgitated by whales, burning bushes, etc have been proven to be false or impossible. The only conclusion is that these stories are made up. The creation myth has been debunked by evolution and geology. The flooding of the world at the time of Noah has no correlation with the experience of any culture outside the Middle East. You need to ask yourself why these impossible events occurred so much back then but never now.
If you are tempted to believe the bible's creation story because you want to have faith then it would be a worthwhile exercise to check out other versions of creation in wikipedia. Just type in "creation myth" and see if you can believe any of the preposterous nonsense listed there.
Furthermore you say you'd like to believe the bible. From the prevalence of belief systems over the centuries it appears that you are not the only one ready to believe something. It seems to be a human trait to want there to be something more - some higher plane of life. It is natural to search for this, but don't let a flawed publication such as the bible hinder your quest for the truth.
BILLY GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6202
"How did the men who wrote the Bible know what happened thousands of years before they were born - things like the creation of the world, for example? I'd like to believe the Bible, but I guess I have too many unanswered questions."
IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
The men who wrote the bible claim to know what happened because they were inspired by some god. Their tales of creation, Noah's ark, people being swallowed and regurgitated by whales, burning bushes, etc have been proven to be false or impossible. The only conclusion is that these stories are made up. The creation myth has been debunked by evolution and geology. The flooding of the world at the time of Noah has no correlation with the experience of any culture outside the Middle East. You need to ask yourself why these impossible events occurred so much back then but never now.
If you are tempted to believe the bible's creation story because you want to have faith then it would be a worthwhile exercise to check out other versions of creation in wikipedia. Just type in "creation myth" and see if you can believe any of the preposterous nonsense listed there.
Furthermore you say you'd like to believe the bible. From the prevalence of belief systems over the centuries it appears that you are not the only one ready to believe something. It seems to be a human trait to want there to be something more - some higher plane of life. It is natural to search for this, but don't let a flawed publication such as the bible hinder your quest for the truth.
BILLY GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6202
Saturday, July 31, 2010
It Depends On How You Look At It
QUESTION: Today's comes from SL...
"A friend of mine says you can prove anything from the Bible, and therefore it doesn't make any sense to believe it. To prove her point, she claimed the Bible even says in one place that there is no God. I don't agree with her, but I didn't know what to say."
IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
There are many denominations of Christianity. Wikipedia catalogues a myriad of these, and they exist because each has their own interpretation of the bible. If the bible were clear in its message there would only be one denomination, but it patently is a very interpretational text. There are several groups in my neighbourhood who lead radically different lifestyles based around the same bible. It's not hard to find justification for extreme views from a book in which the divine being takes extreme action such as: listing the rules for slavery; destroying whole towns (men, women, children, babies, animals); treating women as possessions; requesting animal sacrifices; and drowning the whole world's population except the eight on the ark. What tends to happen is that the reader already has their view of life and then scours the bible to find corroborating verses, and disregards the rest. If they can't find justification then they twist the text to suit their ends.
Also bible followers claim it to be the ultimate source of life guidance, however, this task can also be fulfilled from other works such as Aesop's Fables or the Laws of Hammurabi. Furthermore the bible makes claim to successful prophesy, but so do the writings of Nostradamus if you interpret them favourably. The bible is a very interpretational text and there are many sources of moral guidance, so read them all and selectively draw inspiration from all of them.
BILL GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6173
"A friend of mine says you can prove anything from the Bible, and therefore it doesn't make any sense to believe it. To prove her point, she claimed the Bible even says in one place that there is no God. I don't agree with her, but I didn't know what to say."
IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
There are many denominations of Christianity. Wikipedia catalogues a myriad of these, and they exist because each has their own interpretation of the bible. If the bible were clear in its message there would only be one denomination, but it patently is a very interpretational text. There are several groups in my neighbourhood who lead radically different lifestyles based around the same bible. It's not hard to find justification for extreme views from a book in which the divine being takes extreme action such as: listing the rules for slavery; destroying whole towns (men, women, children, babies, animals); treating women as possessions; requesting animal sacrifices; and drowning the whole world's population except the eight on the ark. What tends to happen is that the reader already has their view of life and then scours the bible to find corroborating verses, and disregards the rest. If they can't find justification then they twist the text to suit their ends.
Also bible followers claim it to be the ultimate source of life guidance, however, this task can also be fulfilled from other works such as Aesop's Fables or the Laws of Hammurabi. Furthermore the bible makes claim to successful prophesy, but so do the writings of Nostradamus if you interpret them favourably. The bible is a very interpretational text and there are many sources of moral guidance, so read them all and selectively draw inspiration from all of them.
BILL GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6173
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