I am having a very difficult time understanding why you believe in god. You understand a lot of scripture is hogwash. You accept knowledge via science. What is your basis for accepting anything from the bible?
From a logical perspective I believe that in order for there to be existence, that a god entity must be real.
Logically I cannot, however say that the God of the Bible is that entity. To make that connection requires faith and as any honest person can admit, faith CAN be misplaced. My reasons for embracing and not trashing the Bible is two fold. One is logical and has historical backing while the other is because of my personal desire for what it says about man ultimately overcoming death to be true. The logical part of it is really tied to the amazing prophecy it contains and fulfillment of many of those prophecies (not even including the Messianic Ones).
For you, the latter of the two is much much stronger and yet you use the former, the weakest of the two, to fulfill and support your lust and desire for the latter. Interesting.
I wish those who study the Bible whether it be to criticize it or to follow it would treat it like other works of literature that one studies by reading it without religious blinders as much as possible as well as by keeping things in the proper context historically and based on what the authors of the respective passages dictate. In doing so, a better understanding can be reached.
Indeed ! It should be treated as the piece of historical fiction that it is. A full understanding is accomplished when done so.
So to be honest and hopefully humble in my arrogance, I believe I undersatnd the message of scripture better than most theologians because I do not read it to defend or uphold a doctrine, my goal in studying it is simply to understand what it actually proclaims.
Yes. And to understand that it's merely a Hebrew proclamation meant for the most part, for Hebrews, is to be off to a good start with regards to understanding. The
legend of Christ was of course the catalyst to what we see as the christian religion today. However, one must keep in mind that the
entire book has a fictional element through and through, including the new testament. Any moral value taken from the stories of the book, which is little, does not necessarily mean that the events of that story were true or actually happened. (Casting demons into pigs)
You shouldn't let your desire for eternal life jade a proper perspective of what the book is
actually saying, not saying, meaning and not meaning.
This personal ancient Hebrew diary and its amalgamation of faulty perceptions of what reality was, and the predictions of what it should be, shows very little relevance for us in the 21st. century.
Very little time should be wasted on it.