Is the Bible Good For Us?

[nPeace]

That is abysmally low when those with severe illness is your go to, and not in amy way that demonstrates better efficacy than other methods of "addiction treatment."
Faith based is faith based. Rehab doesn't work. Bible or not, religion or not, higher power or not, evidenced based addiction treatment is a rarity.
You're claiming the same thing a million other things have touted.
The Lack of Evidence in “Evidence Based Treatment” for Alcoholism and Addiction - Fifth Avenue Psychiatry

The question - Is the Bible good for us?
The answer - Yes.
The proof - People find hope in the Bible which leads to them avoiding vices and living better lives.

The OP has not denied any other helpful entity, nor has the OP made any comparisons.
It is simply a matter of answering the question. ...which was done.
Any objections would be to prove that the Bible is not good for us. Thank you.

 

[nPeace]

I think you missed the point SW. What was it that led to the addiction in the first place?
Hopelessness is the fuel of depression. Drugs are being used to create a temporary solution to this problem and to exploit it at the expense of the addict. The instantly addictive nature of crystal meth needs only one hit and you are craving more. What creates relapses after rehab is usually what sent them there in the first place....hopelessness....seeing no way out of their situation.

Selling the drug to fund your own addiction is an old method among drug addicts, but in order for rehab to work, you have to have more than just a desire to quit.....lots of these people do...but the motivation is lost very easily because they see no light at the end of the tunnel. It requires something greater than yourself.....a power that comes from the Creator. Its all very well to discredit that power if you have never been the recipient of it, but we have in our ranks many who have conquered their addiction with God's help....and a clear hope for the future has a lot to do with that.

The Bible is what provides that help, and reliance on God rather than on your weak self, I believe makes all the difference.

Deeje the winner button broke when I was hitting it, so please accept this as a token of appreciation for such a great post.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Is there any proof the answer to that question is a resounding YES?

Please, watch the following.
Inside Iraq's crippling crystal meth crisis - CNN Video

As you would have heard, if you watched the video, people who lose hope, often find it hard to cope, and easily turn to drugs - ruining their lives.
Losing hope, or hopelessness is demonstrably a bad thing, while the opposite - being hopeful - is a good thing. One is negative. The other is positive.

The Bible Gives Hope
To give an example of how the Bible's has benefited the hopeless and the not very hopeful.
Joe - a military veteran in the United States experienced personal and family tragedies which left him homeless for some 18 years. One year he began to visit a local public library, where he sometimes conversed with a librarian. Those conversations changed Joe's life.
After being invited, Joe attended a Christian meeting, where he was introduced to a Bible study. Joe found much comfort in what he learned, and he began to apply Bible teachings, even though this meant making big changes in his life.
Joe made huge changes, and today, Joe is happy with his new life.

This is just one of millions of real life experiences where through a study of the Bible, millions of persons have avoided, and even rejected the vice mentioned in the video, along with the problem that go with it. Thus giving clear proof that the Bible is good for us... undeniably so. Isn't it?

Wonder of wonders: a salesperson tells us his product is wonderful.

I'm sure it's all true.

 

[nPeace]

The commonly used method of using individual examples to justify a proposition is illogical. You need statistical analysis of all positive and negative data controlling for other extraneous factors to get to any justifiable conclusion. This is a general critique, not limited to this OP.

That would be equivalent to asking the question does exercise do the body good? Then omitting the evidence that it does, just because there are millions exercising, but killing themselve with cigars, junk food, and a gluttonous and unhealthy lifestyle, among a whole heap of other things which defeat the purpose.

The proof is not in those who fail to properly use the asset. It is in those who do use it, and it is proof of its benefit.

 

[firedragon]

Is there any proof the answer to that question is a resounding YES?

Please, watch the following.
Inside Iraq's crippling crystal meth crisis - CNN Video

As you would have heard, if you watched the video, people who lose hope, often find it hard to cope, and easily turn to drugs - ruining their lives.
Losing hope, or hopelessness is demonstrably a bad thing, while the opposite - being hopeful - is a good thing. One is negative. The other is positive.

The Bible Gives Hope
To give an example of how the Bible's has benefited the hopeless and the not very hopeful.
Joe - a military veteran in the United States experienced personal and family tragedies which left him homeless for some 18 years. One year he began to visit a local public library, where he sometimes conversed with a librarian. Those conversations changed Joe's life.
After being invited, Joe attended a Christian meeting, where he was introduced to a Bible study. Joe found much comfort in what he learned, and he began to apply Bible teachings, even though this meant making big changes in his life.
Joe made huge changes, and today, Joe is happy with his new life.

This is just one of millions of real life experiences where through a study of the Bible, millions of persons have avoided, and even rejected the vice mentioned in the video, along with the problem that go with it. Thus giving clear proof that the Bible is good for us... undeniably so. Isn't it?

There have been those who justified slavery via the Bible. Also justified many many bad things using the Bible as a tool.

But, that does not mean the Bible as you rightly said "Undeniably a good thing". Yes. It's undeniable.

 

[nPeace]

You cherry picked one thing religion (and so the Bible) is good at while ignoring all the bad teachings in that 1700 year old book.
The Bible also brought us the crusades, the witch hunts, misanthropy and misogyny especially, slavery, homophobia, feudalism and many other things we have overcome since the Enlightenment, against Bible teachings.
The Bible is not fit to teach morality in today's world. It has its perks but like blood letting it is limited in its applications and mostly outdated.

Sorry, No.
The terrorist using the knife to puncture a hole in someone's organs, does not mean the knife is a bad invention.
The idiot using the cell phone to send immoral messages or do other disgusting things does not make the cell phone a bad invention.

 

[nPeace]

You missed my point that, more or less, lots of things and people claim that. Amd it's why I criticized faith based approaches because they don't work. There is no strong evidence to support the claim you have to believe in a creator or higher power. That is faith based, not evidence based.
A treatment that is actually effective we can expect to work for most people regardless of their religious status. Secular or religious, it should work the same. 12 step programs and other similar programs have shaky evidence to support them. But because people prefer faith, they'll make the same claims you do, but in regards to equestrian therapy. Yes, it's a "real thing," and it works about as good as the rest of the faith based claims.

I don't know? Probably because the thread is about meth addicts.

The point here being made is not about believing in a creator. I hope you do get the point at some point

 

[nPeace]

Your hypothesis is basically the Bible gives hope, therefore=good.

But people derive hope from all kinds of non-Biblically based beliefs and or books, yet you wouldn't automatically equate them with good.

Be just as cynical to Biblical beliefs as you are to other beliefs and you will see why being a source of hope is insufficient to cut it.

Please name one bad thing that people derive hope from.
Also please show why the bible is bad for us.

 

[Spiderman]

The Bible causes hundreds of millions of people to believe that God tortures people in hell for ever.

There are over a billion Catholics alone who believe that. It's the most disgusting depressing thing I ever bought.

I became far more hopeful when I stopped believing in the Bible.

 

[nPeace]

Often when people become ill or reach the bottom of their life, they tend to in one way or the other turn to religion, and yes many have turned to Christianity, that is for sure. And Christianity have change the life of many to the better.

If we look closer on this issue, this also happens within other religions. in non christian countries, people turn to the religion that they know of, that could be Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and so on.
So in it self, Christianity is not extra special.

But then again, some very religious people who happen to end up in really bad situations, they blame the God they were loving and believed in, and if the situation do not turn to the better, Yes they even chose to refuse their God and become Atheists.

People have turned to religion and still felt helpless.
I am speaking only from what I know, and my experience. So if you have any information to share that would prove the Bible to be bad for us, I would like to hear of it, please.

As far as I know, the Bible has never told anyone to blame God for bad. So while it is true people do that, I don't see how that argument relates to the Bible.
Perhaps you can better explain.

 

[Spirit of Light]

People have turned to religion and still felt helpless.
I am speaking only from what I know, and my experience. So if you have any information to share that would prove the Bible to be bad for us, I would like to hear of it, please.

As far as I know, the Bible has never told anyone to blame God for bad. So while it is true people do that, I don't see how that argument relates to the Bible.
Perhaps you can better explain.

Honestly i have nothing bad to say about the bible or christianity.

 

[sayak83]

That would be equivalent to asking the question does exercise do the body good? Then omitting the evidence that it does, just because there are millions exercising, but killing themselve with cigars, junk food, and a gluttonous and unhealthy lifestyle, among a whole heap of other things which defeat the purpose.

The proof is not in those who fail to properly use the asset. It is in those who do use it, and it is proof of its benefit.

When one uses proper controls, which includes controlling for other lifestyle factors, then statistical results regarding the benefits of exercise are unambiguos. See below,
Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence
I do not know if there are such good statistical analysis of the claims of your OP. If there are not, then there is very little justification for believing in them.

 

[nPeace]

The Bible is a great money maker for many churches and their leaders; so it is certainly good for some people.

So are many scientific achievements.
However, I think someone pulled the wool ove your eyes.
It's not the Bible at all. It's the flamboyant sweet-talking, psychological manipulating, energetic ones, that pulls the people's pockets.

Yes. they do get rich quick. Maybe that gives them hope. I don't know, but that's not the Bible.

 

[sun rise]

I see those who call themselves Christians worshiping someone who lies, cheats, steals, exhibits gluttony, celebrates lust, worships greed and lets his anger flow. (trump)

 

[sun rise]

Any objections would be to prove that the Bible is not good for us. Thank you.

By your standard the Quran, Gita, Ramayana, Adi Granth, books by atheist psychologists and psychiatrists are good for us.

So you've in effect asserted the Bible is nothing special.

 

[Altfish]

So are many scientific achievements.
However, I think someone pulled the wool ove your eyes.
It's not the Bible at all. It's the flamboyant sweet-talking, psychological manipulating, energetic ones, that pulls the people's pockets.

Yes. they do get rich quick. Maybe that gives them hope. I don't know, but that's not the Bible.

I don't know why you bring scientists into this.

People (Like the one you show) use Jesus/The Bible/Qu'ran/etc to make money and scam usually poor people

 

[Twilight Hue]

Honestly i have nothing bad to say about the bible or christianity.

Me neither when things go well.

Unfortunately, that's where the benefits ends as misguided expectations and interpretation have made things a literal hell for a lot of expectant people who met terrible ends to a means because of that.

 

[Heyo]

Sorry, No.
The terrorist using the knife to puncture a hole in someone's organs, does not mean the knife is a bad invention.
The idiot using the cell phone to send immoral messages or do other disgusting things does not make the cell phone a bad invention.

Exactly. And that is why you can't cherry pick to make an evaluation. You don't look at knifes only from the number of people who got hurt with them. You don't look at cell phone only from the number of bad messages you received through them.
And you can't evaluate a book by what it does to one single person.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Me neither when things go well.

Unfortunately, that's where the benefits ends as misguided expectations and interpretation have made things a literal hell for a lot of expectant people who met terrible ends to a means because of that.

That must the christans answer on. As a muslim i have no reason to comment on how christians should follow their belief

 

[nPeace]

No. Putting all your eggs in a vauge collection of books is not going to improve anything.

You believe the books are a vague collection.
Tell me please, are the books a vague collection simply because one says that?
Isn't that like saying "ugh. Exercising is a waste of time because I am lazy so it's true."
The laziness of the individual isn't what determines what's true.

Likewise, because someone says, the Bible is a vague collection. Their subjective opinion does not make it such.
As the saying goes, "The proof is in the pudding."
That's what I am interested in - proof.
So if you have any, let's have it.

Adapting to circumstances and accepting reality as it plays out will because it dosent create false expectations as those who live inside a rose colored existence.

"Adapting to circumstances" ... I'm pondering those words.
Does anything help one to adapt to circumstances, or does evolution by national selection do that?
As far as I know something helps persons adapt to circumstances.
I proposed the Bible's hope helps in that. I know many whom that applies to, and millions of others agree, so I am not quite sure I see your point.
Are you saying the Bible does not help one "adapt to circumstances"?

Also, when you say "accepting reality", do you mean accepting those circumstances, or something else.
What makes you think people with the message of hope from the Bible don't accept reality, in any case?