Bible & Critical Thinking

[PoetPhilosopher]

p.s. Is it me, or does the Bible portray women as the cunning ones while the men are pretty dumb?

It's possible. Take the story of Adam and Eve for instance. It seems to go Satan > Women > Men

 

[sooda]

Balaam's ***:

Hilarious story. I always wondered why the book shows Balaam reacting as if it was normal instead of acting surprised. From a religious perspective, if the book said that the donkey spoke as if it was normal then that raises questions. But since it does say that God opened the donkeys mouth then that means it was a miracle and, if a God does exist, he can pretty much make anything happen.

Pulling out:

This was Judah's son I think. And the Messiah came from the line of Judah so it seems like Onan was inadvertently attempting to foil God's plan by doing this. Therefore God got ticked off and killed him. The story doesn't reveal whether God warned him about it or not. Also, clearly the guy wasn't aware that one only has to leak for a chance to impregnate a lady. The real freaky aspect of the story is when the daughter in-law tricks Judah into impregnating her.

p.s. Is it me, or does the Bible portray women as the cunning ones while the men are pretty dumb?

There are problems with the Book of Numbers. Joshua had no big army and he didn't destroy any Canaanite towns. Further, Noah's flood in Genesis killed all the Nephilim, but they show up again in Numbers.

 

[Samael_Khan]

It's possible. Take the story of Adam and Eve for instance. It seems to go Satan > Women > Men

Abigail and David. Jezebel and Ahab. Proverbs 7:22. Some people say that the Bible degrades women but it seems more likely that it shows the cultures fear of women.

Anyway. I digress. This is a funny thread.

 

[Samael_Khan]

There are problems with the Book of Numbers. Joshua had no big army and he didn't destroy any Canaanite towns. Further, Noah's flood in Genesis killed all the Nephilim, but they show up again in Numbers.

Is the whole thing with Joshua's army a definite or could it be that we have found no evidence for it but we might?

The Nephilim one does raise a problem. Although the Bible doesn't say that angels couldn't come down to marry women again does it?

 

[Cooky]

Numbers 22:28-30 New International Version (NIV)
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.



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Genesis 38:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his [seed] on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.



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Question: Is Bible fundamentalism compatible with Critical Thinking?

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Personally, I tend to be cautious in dismissing miracles. When you think about life itself, and human life specifically, where you and I are essentially animated star dust communicating with one another, it's hard to say that miracles are impossible.

 

[dybmh]

@AT-AT ,
@Israel Khan ,

Another example: According to the story, the women did not participate in worshiping the first Golden Calf at Mt. Sinai...

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Personally, I tend to be cautious in dismissing miracles. When you think about life itself, and human life specifically, where you and I are essentially animated star dust communicating with one another, it's hard to say that miracles are impossible.

I mean yeah. You're a monkey one moment and then boom! Miracle.

 

[Samael_Khan]

@AT-AT ,
@Israel Khan ,

Another example: According to the story, the women did not participate in worshiping the first Golden Calf at Mt. Sinai...

And Balaam used women to exploit a loophole in God's protection of Israel getting a whole lot of Israelites killed which is what even armies couldn't do. Us men are weak. They can even get God to kill his own people.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

In this thread, I learned that the Bible defines women as lower gods.

And here people say you can't gain much from debating

 

[Samael_Khan]

I mean yeah. You're a monkey one moment and then boom! Miracle.

If CRISPR can mess with genes then it shouldn't be a problem for a God theoretically.

 

[Samael_Khan]

In this thread, I learned that the Bible defines women as lower gods.

And here people say you can't gain much from debating

Yep. They are God's Kryptonite. He makes a plan, they foil it.

 

[dybmh]

Us men are weak.

I know I am... Weak and Predictable...

 

[Samael_Khan]

I know I am... Weak and Predictable...

That is why they easily manipulate us AND we don't have a problem with it.

Another thing, women excel at killing prophets as well. Jezebel killed so many that Elijah thought that he was the last prophet left.

How did John the Baptist get beheaded? The woman who is having an affair with Herod uses her daughter to get Herod to promise to do anything that she requests of him. She asks him to behead the guy who everybody either loved or feared and who was foretelling the coming of the Messiah. The men feared God's messenger. She did not.

 

[Samael_Khan]

That is why they easily manipulate us AND we don't have a problem with it.

Another thing, women excel at killing prophets as well. Jezebel killed so many that Elijah thought that he was the last prophet left.

How did John the Baptist get beheaded? The woman who is having an affair with Herod uses her daughter to get Herod to promise to do anything that she requests of him. She asks him to behead the guy who everybody either loved or feared and who was foretelling the coming of the Messiah. The men feared God's messenger. She did not.

Also, Delilah got the invincible Samson killed.

 

[dybmh]

I learned that the Bible defines women as lower gods.

My opinion: closer, not nessessarily "lower"

 

[Maximilian]

How is insisting, as Atheists do, that the universe came from nothing by nothing for nothing critical thinking?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

How is insisting, as Atheists do, that the universe came from nothing by nothing for nothing critical thinking?

I'm a theist but not a Christian. So the question I'm not sure applies.

 

[Maximilian]

In this thread, I learned that the Bible defines women as lower gods.

And here people say you can't gain much from debating

Where exactly does the Bible do this?

 

[Maximilian]

I'm a theist but not a Christian. So the question I'm not sure applies.

So it's not critical thinking?

 

[Wandering Monk]

Animals have languages and God is able to translate it into an understanding in the mind of a man.

No different than a man figuring out what the dog wanted:

Stange dog wants the police to come to his house – one glance at the balcony and he quickly calls 911

The only difference is that the policeman didn't get the verbal translation, just the understanding of the dog's actions.

Didit fallacy - RationalWiki