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megashawn
Visible Light Wave


USA
655 Posts
Posted - 02/26/2003 :  01:33:02  Show Profile Send a private Message
I've read many articles concerning the origins of the bible. Here is a pretty good one.

http://www.biblebabble.com/godl01.htm

Here is my problem. I think the popular theory is that the bible was oral tradition for many years. We all know how unlikely it is for a verbal message to be exchanged between 20 people over 10 minutes of time and remain intact and contain original content, much less when it is spread out over many years.

We also know that there are a good portion of people in this world today who would do almost anything to make a buck. Look at these giant corporations that have been falling as of recent.

A reasonable assumption is that man has always been greedy and power hungry. As detailed in the above site, it shows how the Roman Empire used Christianity to remain powerfull.

If you honestly take an objective look at the origins of the bible, not biased by your current beliefs (not possible) then perhaps you can gain some understanding as to why more and more people are leaning away from it. Especially when almost every story of the bible quite apparently is a rerun of an ancient pagan tale.

Not to mention the things preached such as slavery, oppression of woman, orders of murdering entire villages. Lets not forget gods big grand finish, the destruction of humanity. Is this really the type of things you want to guide the world into the future?

And with such questionable origins, how can one of christian following so blatantly ignore the facts when they are as plain as day.

Christian documentation belongs in the same section of the library as Zeus and Gilgamesh; Mythology.


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megashawn
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USA
655 Posts
Posted - 02/27/2003 :  01:47:26  Show Profile  Send a private Message
Come on, nobody game? I'd love to hear/read other sources of the origins of the bible. I'd also appreciate if someone could verify that sites data. It appears to be fairly accurate, and many sources noted.

Or is it that uncovering the origins of the source of your beliefs scares you?

The fact that alot of history does not agree with storys of the bible should definetly bother a person who believes its the untouched word of god.

The fact that alot of the storys of the bible are mere clones of other ancient storys should also worry the above mentioned individual.

"Waiting for your modern Mesiah to take away all the hatred that darkens the light in your eyes, still I'm waiting on..." - Disturbed

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MajinVegeta
Visible Light Wave


USA
676 Posts
Posted - 02/27/2003 :  02:34:25  Show Profile  Send a private Message
quote:

A reasonable assumption is that man has always been greedy and power hungry. As detailed in the above site, it shows how the Roman Empire used Christianity to remain powerfull.

Actually, Rome prospered on account of their military advantages(I don't want to go into detail, it'd steer us off topic) and the fact that their trade routes where immune from robbers(as they were common in those days). The safe trade routes attracted merchants from all over the known world so the government got a lot of profit form the diverse stuff brought from the merchants. Religion was hardly the case.
You know, the King James bible was altered by King James. He didn't like something about it ( I'm not sure what) so he just altered it.
Check this site out (courtesy of Psyber Freek, for he reccomended it to me)
www.carn.org to read the other side of the story. It would be wise to learn both sides of the story before one chooses which is best in his opinion.


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megashawn
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USA
655 Posts
Posted - 02/27/2003 :  02:45:22  Show Profile  Send a private Message
quote:
Rome prospered on account of their military advantages

And towards the time Christianity came on the scene, there "advantages" were quickly fading away. You can deny the ways christianity has/is used to oppress people, but its still the truth.

"Waiting for your modern Mesiah to take away all the hatred that darkens the light in your eyes, still I'm waiting on..." - Disturbed

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MajinVegeta
Visible Light Wave


USA
676 Posts
Posted - 02/27/2003 :  02:50:56  Show Profile  Send a private Message
oops, sorry. The website is www.carm.org

Anyway.....
Are you saying that Christianity causes oppression? No, it doesn't. People attribute it to oppression 'cause other people use it as a tool (which is defined as peaceful) to oppress.

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ray b
Micro Wave


USA
193 Posts
Posted - 02/27/2003 :  07:26:52  Show Profile  Send a private Message
christians cause rome to fall
they would not serve in the army
christians caused and extened the thousand year dark age that followed
in which they ruled unquestioned or they just burned the people asking the questions socalled witch heritic ect!!!

christians retarded, prevented, medical knowage in every way they could

there for CHRISTIANS HAVE KILLED OVER A BILLION PEOPLE
and had many inter christian wars
and crusades in their 1600 year rain of terror

and are still today in the USA trying to
limit medical procedures like
abortions, and worse research on stem cells from them too
clones and several other ways, that all are wrong and the fool christians cost lifes even today with their fairytale and the way they want the bible to be made into our LAWS
is there any real difference in the christians GODS LAWS and the very program the tali-ban used in afgan??? exct for the burka???????

Question wonder and be weird

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Edited by - ray b on 03/04/2003 13:42:06
Tog_Neve
X-Ray Wave


USA
1294 Posts
Posted - 02/27/2003 :  16:58:04  Show Profile  Send a private Message  Send Tog_Neve an ICQ Message
Megashawn -
Following the link you provided it would appear that a portion of it is almost a clip and paste of research done by John Moore. http://www.ao.net/~jmo/john/personal/origins.html However the page there by John Godl does not hit upon some of the other points made by Mr. Moore.

One thing not mentioned is that the OT was cannonized by the Hebrews before the birth of Christ. Mr. Godl makes it sound like they could not decide on what books to use in the entire Bible until 787AD.

quote:
I think the popular theory is that the bible was oral tradition for many years. We all know how unlikely it is for a verbal message to be exchanged between 20 people over 10 minutes of time and remain intact and contain original content, much less when it is spread out over many years.

Not a popular theory but more than likely fact....before writing there could be nothing but oral traditions.
However the accuracy of that which was passed down was just as stringent in its accuracy as the scribes were in their exact replication of the written works. During the times of oral traditions being passed down (which is as modern as the 19th century here in America with the American Indians), there was generally one person who was the person to keep the oral tradition. And they would take an apprentice and over the course of years pass that on to them. The job was not to make the history more colorful but to keep it accurate. And there have been studies done on this which have shown the stories have changed little over time. If you take your 20 people and tell them the same exact story over a course of 10 years and not 10 minutes then you will find that they will more than likely be telling the same exact story they were told.

quote:
If you honestly take an objective look at the origins of the bible, not biased by your current beliefs (not possible) then perhaps you can gain some understanding as to why more and more people are leaning away from it.

And I have honestly taken objective looks at the origins of the Bible. Both before and after becoming a Christian. And what I have honestly found is a few things.
1) Writings of the books of the Bible have remained relatively intact for 2000 years. With very little in the way of change. This includes 1500 years of time before the mass production of the texts...which makes it much more difficult to alter. And in that 1500 years there are mounds of evidence to suggest that those that were in the care of duplicating and producing the Bible maintained its printed form incredibly accurately.
2) Studies suggest that societies that had strong oral traditions adhered to the accuracy of those traditions as adherently as the scribes charged with keeping the written word intact.

quote:
Especially when almost every story of the bible quite apparently is a rerun of an ancient pagan tale.

However this would end up going back to beliefs. If one were to believe that origins of man as found in Genesis then the fact that all religions came after would explain why stories may seem similar. They all sprouted from one source.

quote:
The fact that alot of history does not agree with storys of the bible should definetly bother a person who believes its the untouched word of god.

hmmmm...I find this an odd statement considering that a good bit of history is falling in line with the Biblical stories. Jerhico...the history of the kings, the leaders found in the Bible being found to be fairly accurate as far as the timeframe they would fit into as wekk as sine if the events that may have taken place. http://www.slsoftware.com/study/html_outlines/Accuracy_Of_The_Bible.html has some information on findings and such and the historical accuracy.

"God wants Spiritual fruit not religious nuts"
- Community Fellowship Baptist Church Sign

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Tog_Neve
X-Ray Wave


USA
1294 Posts
Posted - 02/27/2003 :  17:27:36  Show Profile  Send a private Message  Send Tog_Neve an ICQ Message
Rayb as always your history is faltering.

Maybe if we take it down a notch.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/history/fall.htm
Some weak rulers (the sons) could not keep their empire(s) together. Arcadius and Honorius weakened the entire Empire. At which time the Germans and Goths (long standing enemies of Rome) saw a prime opportunity to march against the Empire. ANd they did...along with all of the other groups the Romans upset in their long history...the Vandals, the Visigoths, and more.

From the book: General Observations on the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West by Edward Gibbon
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gibbon-fall.html

quote:
But the decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and, as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight

In otherwords it grew to big and to vast. ANd it fractured under its own size. Even as the site I linked above mentioned...military leaders and such in control of regions split from the Empire and declared themselves ruler.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761578474
Encarta even mentions the fall of the Roman empire being attributed primarily to the Empire being to large that no one emperor could control and protect it.
That page also does a great job of walking one through the entire middle ages. Take a read.

"God wants Spiritual fruit not religious nuts"
- Community Fellowship Baptist Church Sign

Tog Neve

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MajinVegeta
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USA
676 Posts
Posted - 02/28/2003 :  02:01:28  Show Profile  Send a private Message
RayB. You must realize that some people, although they call themselves Christians, they are not. Anyone could go right ahead and call themselves a Christian very easily, yet at the same time, they are not. A murderer could call himself one, right? Its very easy.
There are wars that are allowed in the bible, you know.

I would also like to reccomend that you review your history, before making unsubstantiated accusations.

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malco94
Radio Wave


Australia
34 Posts
Posted - 02/28/2003 :  05:28:49  Show Profile  Send a private Message
Christians over the centuries have misunderstood teachings and as a result bad things happen. An example is the Roman Catholic Church trying to sell people forgiveness to build a Cathedral, HOWEVER a guy called Martin Luther changed all of that. I mean a lot of actions of Christians in the past cause wars and uproars. I wouldn't be surprised if Muslim Extremists were caused by some Christian missionaries. Since we are not omnipotent gods we will never fully understand all of the text so there will be misinterpretations. It also doesn't mean every Christian is like this.

And MajinVegeta why couldn't a murderer be a Christian? They are just as welcome into heaven as anyone else. You will notice all through Jesus' life he hanged out with adulterers, murders and the general outcast community. One sheep found causes a larger celebration than one that stayed. Lost son parable?

As to Magashawn and Rayb Christianity basically hald up modern civilation during the dark ages. The monks and nuns kept writing around. As Tog_Neve said oral tradition is amazingly accurate. It has also been found that Bibles found only a few hundred years ago match up with those huge found many many many years ago. I would say also that since the Bible is still around and has been around a long time ago that it is most likely true. The problem people have with the old testament is context. The creation story and the earliest stories were writtem for fellas that thought the Earth was flat and that the sun orbited the Earth. Give them some credit!



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Psyber Freek
Micro Wave


USA
151 Posts
Posted - 02/28/2003 :  22:13:27  Show Profile  Send a private Message
quote:
The creation story and the earliest stories were writtem for fellas that thought the Earth was flat and that the sun orbited the Earth. Give them some credit!

Actually the men who wrote the bible were pretty accurate.

http://www.carm.org/bible/ms_science.htm

quote:
christians retarted, prevented, medical knowage in every way they could

Then I'm suprised that you're not a christian. hehehe, just kidding. A lot christians are actually pretty smart, like Hugh Ross for example. \

quote:
and are still today in the USA trying to
limit medical procedures like
abortions, and worse research on stem cells from them too
clones and several other ways, that all are wrong and the fool christians cost lifes even today with their fairytale and the way they want the bible to be made into our LAWS

If you're saying abortion and stem cell research are okay, you're also saying that it would be okay to kill you in you're sleep.

as for you're entire post, I'd say you just have an irrational fear of christianity in general. Don't worry, you'll get over it.

"It is a question of cubic capacity." -Sherlock Holmes

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FZ
Gamma Wave


United Kingdom
2222 Posts
Posted - 02/28/2003 :  23:21:26  Show Profile  Send a private Message
quote:
Actually the men who wrote the bible were pretty accurate.

http://www.carm.org/bible/ms_science.htm



The trick is in the interpretation, eh? And ignoring all contradictory cases. (like how the pillars idea is repeated several times in the OT, the fact that space is not "nothing" etc etc)

Oh wow! In some places the bible is actually consistent with science. Golly that is unexpected! 9 truths from over 100 wrongs? Surely that proves the bible is right!

What did you think we mean? That every sentence of the bible is intentionally wrong in every way?

quote:
Then I'm suprised that you're not a christian. hehehe, just kidding. A lot christians are actually pretty smart, like Hugh Ross for example.

We didn't say every religious people is dumb. Now that statement would be doubt. But when religious dogma collides with science, the result is usually far from beneficial.

quote:
If you're saying abortion and stem cell research are okay, you're also saying that it would be okay to kill you in you're sleep.

No we are not. We are saying abortion and stem cell research are okay.
And HOW can you be opposed to stem cell research? Stem cell research is just research on a particular type of cells. It does not mean they have to be taken from embryos etc. Indeed without research, we will not be able to find an alternative. Seems like a knee jerk reaction, without understanding the science involved.....

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"....this will be one battle we will regret. Mark my words..."
FZ 11/14/2002

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ray b
Micro Wave


USA
193 Posts
Posted - 03/04/2003 :  04:08:55  Show Profile  Send a private Message
quote:
Originally posted by MajinVegeta:
RayB. You must realize that some people, although they call themselves Christians, they are not. Anyone could go right ahead and call themselves a Christian very easily, yet at the same time, they are not. A murderer could call himself one, right? Its very easy.
There are wars that are allowed in the bible, you know.

I would also like to reccomend that you review your history, before making unsubstantiated accusations.

www.dbzsc.com/vegeta34.jpg


roman history is well recorded and clear
they did just fine untill they were conned into becoming CHRISTIAN
then all other belifes were banned, and christian citizens refused to fight or serve in the army and rome fell as a direct result of the christians ideas and practices
but sundays schools love to LIE and say rome fell because of coruption
well it was christian coruption, and BS that did them in

then came the christian ruled DARKAGE
the suppression of learning and science
the only one taught or allowed to read were the monks or the nobles
that did last 1000 years and church did suppress all knowlage
accuse medical doc's of being in leage with devils if too sucessfull
at cureing disease, and limit many other science and social ideas and allmost all progress too
which are your so callled unsubstantiated accusations???????
I call those facts truth
please post real facts not BS spin

and the more than a billion people are still dead befor their time as a direct result of the christians actions and the same evil is still trying to make or change LAWS TODAY!!!!


not to go into modern results from christian's GODS laws that are very like the tali-bans!!!!!!!!!

Question wonder and be weird

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FZ
Gamma Wave


United Kingdom
2222 Posts
Posted - 03/04/2003 :  23:46:44  Show Profile  Send a private Message
To be fair, this was not a direct fault of christianity - the scribes etc certainly helped PRESERVE such early texts. However, I would point to the problem of religion at the time being overly detached from reality. The term "ivory towers" seem apt...

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"....this will be one battle we will regret. Mark my words..."
FZ 11/14/2002

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