do you believe that the Garden of Eden is a real place?

[URAVIP2ME]

Firstly, since I don't believe in god, I cannot be her enemy nor can I hate her. It is impossible to hate things that don't exist.
I do have an enquiring mind.
If Bible readers are in so much agreement, why are there so many branches/sects/divisions and other break-offs in each religion?

I find the reason why is because Satan is the ' god ' of this world of badness - 2 Corinthians 4:4.
Also, that people do Not have a love for religious truth (Scripture) as Jesus did.- John 17:17.
I'm pleased you have an 'enquiring mind' (sorry for the misspell) because that means you would be opened-minded enough to have questions. To me, that would include Why someone does Not believe in God.

 

[ecco]

Nope. It's not meant be understood by everybody.

It seems it's not understood the same way by any two people.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

That's what I love about the Bible (and all religious writings). There is so much to pick and choose from that everyone can take from it whatever anyone wants to.
So much for the True Word of God.

There are many cafeteria Christians, but Jesus did Not pick and choose but used logical reasoning on the old Hebrew Scriptures explaining them for us.

 

[ecco]

These are not contradictions in that it is not to be understood as a single creation but two creations. A creation and a recreation.

I find there are Not two creations

RE: the Bible

Not clear to those who hate God. it is clear to those with an acquiring mind who really want to know when studied by subject or topic arrangement.

Clearly, you and jhwatts do not agree on what is CLEARLY written in the Bible. Are you suggesting that jhwatts is one who hates God?



I'd be willing to bet there are a lot of things in the CLEAR chapter Genesis that you two Christians disagree on. And that's only one of sixty six.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Clearly, you ............... do not agree on what is CLEARLY written in the Bible..............

I agree with Jesus that CLEARLY the dead are in a sleep like state according to Jesus at John 11:11-14.
I agree that Jesus was well educated in the old Hebrew Scriptures which also teach the dead are in a sleeping state.
- Psalms 6:5; Psalms 13:3; Psalms 115:17; Psalms 146:4 and that the dead know nothing as per Ecclesiastes 9:5.
So, what is Not CLEAR about what is written in the Bible about the un-conscious state of the dead.

 

[Altfish]

I find the reason why is because Satan is the ' god ' of this world of badness - 2 Corinthians 4:4.
Also, that people do Not have a love for religious truth (Scripture) as Jesus did.- John 17:17.
I'm pleased you have an 'enquiring mind' (sorry for the misspell) because that means you would be opened-minded enough to have questions. To me, that would include Why someone does Not believe in God.

Can you understand why quoting Bible verses to an atheist does not impress.
Would you be impressed if I quoted Richard Dawkins?
Are you really naïve enough to believe that I haven't asked why I don't believe in god?

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Can you understand why quoting Bible verses to an atheist does not impress.
Would you be impressed if I quoted Richard Dawkins?
Are you really naïve enough to believe that I haven't asked why I don't believe in god?

Yes, why don't you believe in God
Do you have a particular Dawkins quote in mind
What textbook should a Christian use if Not the Bible ____________

 

[Altfish]

Yes, why don't you believe in God

Total lack of evidence.

Do you have a particular Dawkins quote in mind

"One of the things that is wrong with religion is that it teaches us to be satisfied with answers which are not really answers at all."

What textbook should a Christian use if Not the Bible ____________

Quoting/reading solely from The Bible is very narrow minded. You need to widen your horizons. So how about 'Cosmos' by Carl Sagan

 

[Earthling]

Did all that occur while you were still experiencing "night terrors"?

The voice came to me on two different occaisions years apart. The first when I was about 14, and the second when I was about 20. The leg twitching started about when I was 18.

Hallucinations are Hallucinations. They come in a lot of different forms. That doesn't make them real.

I call them night terrors and hallucinations. Animals or people charging me, spiders crawling on my arms or the walls or my pillow. At first I would freak out and jump up out of bed, running into walls or doors etc. Knocking stuff over, so it was like a dream but not a dream. Alien or demon figures hovering in a corner and taking off through the ceiling after I had noticed them.

 

[ecco]

and why does all that exists, exist ?

So that people like you can ponder it?

 

[ecco]

That's what I love about the Bible (and all religious writings). There is so much to pick and choose from that everyone can take from it whatever anyone wants to.

So much for the True Word of God.

There are many cafeteria Christians, but Jesus did Not pick and choose but used logical reasoning on the old Hebrew Scriptures explaining them for us.

So your understanding of the OT comes from Jesus' comments on it. Actually, let me state that more correctly: Your understanding of the OT comes from Jesus' comments on it as quoted by the anonymous writers of the NT. In other words, your understanding of the OT is based on hearsay.

Nevertheless, you are certain that you are not a "cafeteria Christian". You are certain that anyone who interprets scripture differently than you is a "cafeteria Christian". Of course, each of them feels the same way about you.

As I said...
There is so much to pick and choose from that everyone can take from it whatever anyone wants to.

So much for the True Word of God.

 

[jhwatts]

Good grief, couldn't your god write a book that doesn't need interpreting?
It should be clear and not ambiguous.

Anyway, how could there be 2 creations?

I'm still looking for a response to support your claim of the many contradictions. I presented you with a perspective that eliminated you proposed contradictions. You listed several verses from the Bible and I showed how if you read differently the proposed contradictions are eliminated.

Please try to supply me with something other than you are just wrong. I need some specifics from the Bible. If you cant provided with a argument of how your proposed contradictions are true, you have no argument.

 

[ecco]

Clearly, you and jhwatts do not agree on what is CLEARLY written in the Bible. Are you suggesting that jhwatts is one who hates God?
I'd be willing to bet there are a lot of things in the CLEAR chapter Genesis that you two Christians disagree on. And that's only one of sixty six.

I agree with Jesus that CLEARLY the dead are in a sleep like state according to Jesus at John 11:11-14.
I agree that Jesus was well educated in the old Hebrew Scriptures which also teach the dead are in a sleeping state.
- Psalms 6:5; Psalms 13:3; Psalms 115:17; Psalms 146:4 and that the dead know nothing as per Ecclesiastes 9:5.
So, what is Not CLEAR about what is written in the Bible about the un-conscious state of the dead.

None of that addresses my comment regarding you and jhwatts.

 

[jhwatts]

It seems it's not understood the same way by any two people.

Not necessarily. This is the case with many things. Another example would be evolution. It is not either.

 

[ecco]

The voice came to me on two different occaisions years apart. The first when I was about 14, and the second when I was about 20. The leg twitching started about when I was 18.



I call them night terrors and hallucinations. Animals or people charging me, spiders crawling on my arms or the walls or my pillow. At first I would freak out and jump up out of bed, running into walls or doors etc. Knocking stuff over, so it was like a dream but not a dream. Alien or demon figures hovering in a corner and taking off through the ceiling after I had noticed them.

OK you went through a period of having hallucinations. There is no good reason to believe anything you saw or heard while having hallucinatory experiences.

 

[jhwatts]

RE: the Bible
Clearly, you and jhwatts do not agree on what is CLEARLY written in the Bible. Are you suggesting that jhwatts is one who hates God?

Again, the Bible not intended an all cases to be clear. Christ frequently taught in parables for a reason. What He taught was intended for those who could understand what he was speaking about. Some can't understand and cannot ever know any different.

 

[shmogie]

So your understanding of the OT comes from Jesus' comments on it. Actually, let me state that more correctly: Your understanding of the OT comes from Jesus' comments on it as quoted by the anonymous writers of the NT. In other words, your understanding of the OT is based on hearsay.

Nevertheless, you are certain that you are not a "cafeteria Christian". You are certain that anyone who interprets scripture differently than you is a "cafeteria Christian". Of course, each of them feels the same way about you.

As I said...
There is so much to pick and choose from that everyone can take from it whatever anyone wants to.

So much for the True Word of God.

The writers of the NT are not anonymous. Scholars know who they were except in one or two cases. This is a long disproven canard. No, his understanding of the OT is based upon the teachings of Jesus, called rabbi (teacher), as accurately written in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You cannot prove otherwise

 

[shmogie]

So that people like you can ponder it?

All intelligent people ponder this at one time or another. Sorry that people like you haven´t.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

'Eden' is all around us, and it always has been. What we lost when we decided to presume ourselves to be demi-gods (according to the story) was our ability to see it and appreciate it for what it was, and for our natural, humble place within it. And so instead we now toil and labor our lives away endlessly trying to "correct" our world because it will not serve us exclusively as we presume it ought to be doing.

That doesn't work because according to Genesis the lands outside of Eden were called the Land of Nod.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

You cannot prove otherwise

The lack of Jesus practicing Hebrew tradition is a solid give away.