I'm not sure if you're actually talking about contradictions or things within the bible that are beyond our human understanding (ie, just don't make any sense), like the concept of a time before time or Jesus being both completely God and completely man. There will always be things in this world that we don't understand - even scientific things, such as the Big Bang, can be hard to wrap our minds around.
As for contradictions, I have as yet to have anyone point me to a contradiction in the Bible that really matters. Show me one, and I'll explain it to you.
If you're talking about the disagreements within the Christian religion, then that's a matter of its people and the faults of religion, not the faith. As I heard said once, "Religion was the worst thing that could happen to Christianity."
And actually, the people who are narrow-minded in Christianity seem to be the people that take one passage and focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. Take the KKK, for example. I don't know what passage they were hung up on, if there's even one there in the Bible, but they failed to see that not only was Jesus himself Jewish, but He ate with the sinners and loved the people that the religious leaders spurned.
One contradiction she and I discussed was if God is omnicient, why would he ever need to test someone's faith? He instructed one person in the bible(i believe it was Jacob) to kill his own son to show his loyalty...he was already willing and able to do God's work wasnt he? also, in the case of adam and eve, did he put the forbidden fruit in the garden of eden to see how free will would affect their actions? why? what was the need? and even so....after all is said and done....he was ANGRY with Adam and eve...if he knows everything, was it really that much of a surprize?
It was actually Moses, and he was instructed to sacrifice Isaac to show his loyalty to God. That's a very good question that I never really thought about, but...God knew what Moses would do, but I think He also wanted Moses to know how difficult some things would be that God would ask of him, and for Moses to test his own faith. In other words, it was really more for Moses' benefit.
As for the Garden of Eden...that one's a little more difficult to explain, but I personally think that's more of a teaching story than anything. :/ Either that, or God was hoping that they wouldn't do what he knew they would, but then they did anyway. It's hard to understand God's ability to know everything...
thanks for clarifying narrow minded ^_^ and good quote lolzeeblueApril 5 2006, 19:27:31 UTC
God is omnicent, and we have free will..... thats a contradiction...... (i mean god is omnicient right, so he knows everything right.... he knows the path we will take, he knows every choice we will make, our choices are already made for us (b/c god forsaw the choice and the outcome)...... if u say u have free will, and are really free... then u are free of 'god's will' (are u free of god's will once u believe in him?... i dont think so...) if u have free will, then u can defy god and the path that he forsaw for you, (can u really defy god without becoming an athiest?) that is a pretty big contradiction is it not......
i mean u can rationalized 'free will' but u would be leaving out the omnicient part of god. so which one is true, is god omincent? or did god give us free will (the power to chose our own path)? that is a very deep argument for christianity i dont think anyone has solved it yet without creating another contradiction...... good luck tho (i am just point out the contradiction... that is all)
i am talking about christianity as a practice.... if u are a christian what happens when u act??? there is a fork in the road, left or right? (it looks like u have a choice) where do i go, left? or right? left or right??(god already knows your answer b/c he is omnicient).... why did u chose left?...... b/c i wanted to.... (or is it b/c god made you?). You will never know, did god set it up that way, or did he really give u the choice to do what u want to do?
Augustine (devout christian/philosopher from 350ad) says that wanting is evidence of free will (i havent wraped my head around that yet, b/c u could always say God made u want it, i mean he made our pshycology right...)
so can u try to be somone who has never stepped foot in a church and read this again..... (that goes for everyone) and i will try to become a christian when understanding your argument (b/c i think i forgot to do that..)
Re: thanks for clarifying narrow minded ^_^ and good quote lolsushikatApril 5 2006, 22:53:26 UTC
Darling, you're thinking much too hard.^^; God doesn't make us do anything, as if we're his little brainwashed zombies. He knows what's going to happen, but he doesn't force us down any path. We choose our own path, but he knows which way we'll go. Kind of like when you're watching an unmanned car roll down a hill. You know which way it's going to go depending on the incline of the slope, but that doesn't mean you forced it to go that way. Sorry if that analogy's overused, but it's seriously the best way to understand the concept.
ohh yeah... i think i can rationalize tiime before time.... but that is from class... dont ask me to expaine it... and God creating the universe out of nothing..... is called creation ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) like once there was nothing and God.... out of nothing came the universe...... (thats from Augustine) thank you love you im done talking about 'god' for now.... must go to class and think...... <3
As for contradictions, I have as yet to have anyone point me to a contradiction in the Bible that really matters. Show me one, and I'll explain it to you.
If you're talking about the disagreements within the Christian religion, then that's a matter of its people and the faults of religion, not the faith. As I heard said once, "Religion was the worst thing that could happen to Christianity."
And actually, the people who are narrow-minded in Christianity seem to be the people that take one passage and focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. Take the KKK, for example. I don't know what passage they were hung up on, if there's even one there in the Bible, but they failed to see that not only was Jesus himself Jewish, but He ate with the sinners and loved the people that the religious leaders spurned.
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also, in the case of adam and eve,
did he put the forbidden fruit in the garden of eden to see how free will would affect their actions? why? what was the need? and even so....after all is said and done....he was ANGRY with Adam and eve...if he knows everything, was it really that much of a surprize?
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As for the Garden of Eden...that one's a little more difficult to explain, but I personally think that's more of a teaching story than anything. :/ Either that, or God was hoping that they wouldn't do what he knew they would, but then they did anyway. It's hard to understand God's ability to know everything...
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if u have free will, then u can defy god and the path that he forsaw for you, (can u really defy god without becoming an athiest?) that is a pretty big contradiction is it not......
i mean u can rationalized 'free will' but u would be leaving out the omnicient part of god. so which one is true, is god omincent? or did god give us free will (the power to chose our own path)? that is a very deep argument for christianity i dont think anyone has solved it yet without creating another contradiction...... good luck tho (i am just point out the contradiction... that is all)
i am talking about christianity as a practice.... if u are a christian what happens when u act??? there is a fork in the road, left or right? (it looks like u have a choice) where do i go, left? or right? left or right??(god already knows your answer b/c he is omnicient).... why did u chose left?...... b/c i wanted to.... (or is it b/c god made you?). You will never know, did god set it up that way, or did he really give u the choice to do what u want to do?
Augustine (devout christian/philosopher from 350ad) says that wanting is evidence of free will (i havent wraped my head around that yet, b/c u could always say God made u want it, i mean he made our pshycology right...)
so can u try to be somone who has never stepped foot in a church and read this again..... (that goes for everyone) and i will try to become a christian when understanding your argument (b/c i think i forgot to do that..)
<3 (im not spell checking this....)
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and God creating the universe out of nothing..... is called creation ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) like once there was nothing and God.... out of nothing came the universe...... (thats from Augustine)
thank you
love you
im done talking about 'god' for now....
must go to class and think......
<3
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