Why Would An Intelligent God Expect Intelligent People To Take The Bible Seriously?

[Lyra]

Hi everyone,

 

Another discussion about the Bible made me want to start a thread specifically on this angle: Why would an all-intelligent God judge people's eternal souls based on their willingness and ability to believe the claims of a book like the Bible?

 

Why would a Creator/Higher Power expect people to believe--to the point where belief is the threshold for being saved vs not saved--literally in a book that says:

 

--The Earth was made prior to the Sun, Moon, stars, etc.

--Two people lived in a perfect garden where they trained all the animals, etc

--This oasis was ruined because they ate a piece of fruit under the manipulation of a talking snake

--Because these 2 people ate the fruit, humanity is cursed with sin forever, and only can be saved from hell if they truly believe that God turned into a human and died for us as a sacrifice to himself from his own need for blood revenge, as outlined in this highly believable book

--Said God turned into a human by magically impregnating a virgin

--At one point, a giant flood covered the entire earth, but one family of 8 built an ark and put 2 of each kind of animal on board to save them all, and rode out the flood for 40 days before repopulating the entire earth

--The reason why we have different languages on Earth, is because once a bunch of guys wanted to build a tower to heaven, but God thought they were getting too uppity, so he smited them all with the curse of talking different languages so they couldn't understand each other in order to sabatoge their project. Before this, everyone on earth spoke the same language, and this event is how languages differentiated. 

--God wanted to punish a city for being corrupt, so he smote them all down except for one family who he told to flee. But the kicker is that, because the wife was curious and looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt! A real literal one!

 

In addition the flat-out unbelievable claims listed above, the Bible is also full of focus on ancient tribal/iron age moral codes, ironically alongside acceptance of slavery/genocide/etc. So being gay or worshipping the wrong god is evil, but killing all the children and civilians in war is perfectly fine? Ok then.

 

In addition to the non-logical content, the Bible was written thousands of years ago and pieced together/re-translated many  times since then. And we're supposed to "have faith" that the people in power didn't just change the Bible in order to suit their control-seeking agenda (since at the time, only the elite could read), or that the "gospel prophecy match-ups" weren't strategically written in order to weave in stuff  that already existed in the old testament? Or that they weren't just inventing myth-like stories about a beloved leader/teacher in order to give their mentor honor and/or give people a sense of hope, especially for political purposes?

 

Come on.

 

Even if, miraculously, all this somehow WAS true (cough), why would a benevolent and all-knowing God expect intelligent people--to whom He blessed with critical thinking ability--to believe all that stuff and take it literally, to the point where their failure/inability to do so would boot them out of heaven and send them to hell when they die?

 

So a kind, humble, charity-giving, volunteering person who is peaceful and helpful and never harmed anyone in his/her life would go to Hell for thinking the Bible and its claims are bullshit, but a serial killer and rapist who scams old people out of  their money, molests little kids, and tortures animals would go to heaven if, in their prison cell before death, they believed literally in the Bible/Jesus? Okay then.

 

Please discuss.

[quinntar]

Hi everyone,

 

Another discussion about the Bible made me want to start a thread specifically on this angle: Why would an all-intelligent God judge people's eternal souls based on their willingness and ability to believe the claims of a book like the Bible?

Why would a Creator/Higher Power expect people to believe--to the point where belief is the threshold for being saved vs not saved--literally in a book that says:

--The Earth was made prior to the Sun, Moon, stars, etc.

--Two people lived in a perfect garden where they trained all the animals, etc

--This oasis was ruined because they ate a piece of fruit under the manipulation of a talking snake

--Because these 2 people ate the fruit, humanity is cursed with sin forever, and only can be saved from hell if they truly believe that God turned into a human and died for us as a sacrifice to himself from his own need for blood revenge, as outlined in this highly believable book

--Said God turned into a human by magically impregnating a virgin

--At one point, a giant flood covered the entire earth, but one family of 8 built an ark and put 2 of each kind of animal on board to save them all, and rode out the flood for 40 days before repopulating the entire earth

--The reason why we have different languages on Earth, is because once a bunch of guys wanted to build a tower to heaven, but God thought they were getting too uppity, so he smited them all with the curse of talking different languages so they couldn't understand each other in order to sabatoge their project. Before this, everyone on earth spoke the same language, and this event is how languages differentiated.

--God wanted to punish a city for being corrupt, so he smote them all down except for one family who he told to flee. But the kicker is that, because the wife was curious and looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt! A real literal one!

In addition the flat-out unbelievable claims listed above, the Bible is also full of focus on ancient tribal/iron age moral codes, ironically alongside acceptance of slavery/genocide/etc. So being gay or worshipping the wrong god is evil, but killing all the children and civilians in war is perfectly fine? Ok then.

In addition to the non-logical content, the Bible was written thousands of years ago and pieced together/re-translated many times since then. And we're supposed to "have faith" that the people in power didn't just change the Bible in order to suit their control-seeking agenda (since at the time, only the elite could read), or that the "gospel prophecy match-ups" weren't strategically written in order to weave in stuff that already existed in the old testament? Or that they weren't just inventing myth-like stories about a beloved leader/teacher in order to give their mentor honor and/or give people a sense of hope, especially for political purposes?

Come on.

Even if, miraculously, all this somehow WAS true (cough), why would a benevolent and all-knowing God expect intelligent people--to whom He blessed with critical thinking ability--to believe all that stuff and take it literally, to the point where their failure/inability to do so would boot them out of heaven and send them to hell when they die?

So a kind, humble, charity-giving, volunteering person who is peaceful and helpful and never harmed anyone in his/her life would go to Hell for thinking the Bible and its claims are bullshit, but a serial killer and rapist who scams old people out of their money, molests little kids, and tortures animals would go to heaven if, in their prison cell before death, they believed literally in the Bible/Jesus? Okay then.

Please discuss.

Why should "serial killer and rapist who scams old people out of their money, molests little kids" Go to hell anyway. No one should, at the very least they should get the help they need to function humanly.

[Lyra]

I don't believe anyone deserves eternal torture either. I was just making a point on how stupid it is to use belief in the bible as the determining factor for the state of someone's soul, as opposed to the way they treat others or the way they spend their time on earth.

[MOHO]

Lyra,

 

Good topic.

 

I feel, more and more, that the bable was written by men, a very long time ago, to the typical intelligence level of the masses during those times. They could con most of the people of that time. The fact that they are still conning people, posthumously, today is a concern for me. Personally, I have found that the most over-the-top, all-in, believers are also the lease education.

 

That may be an unintended insult to many here who are obviously very educated thinkers. My contention is that those individuals were never really really into it or came out of the spell very soon after they decided to use the ability that Ma Nature gave them.

 

Back to your point: I agree that, if believers really looked at what they are begin fed, they would snap out of it. How long can someone lie to themselves?

[Lyra]

"How long can someone lie to themselves?"

 

I bet this is the reason why so many extreme Christians are so angry, controlling and belligerent. Any hint that they've wasted their life on a lie and denied their own desires for nothing cannot be tolerated, so they shut down anything that makes them even consider it.

[Guest Furball]

Because the god of the bible isn't intelligent at all. It's already been listed on here using verified examples by myself and other members that the god of the bible doesn't have a clue about factual history, science, geology, archeology, astronomy and human biology. I think the real question is why did unintelligent people who made up god and the bible expect intelligent people to take it seriously? My own answer to that question is that they didn't. It's just a bonus for them if people of intelligence buy into it, though they eventually figure out it is a lie quicker than the uneducated. After all, where does religion have it's best success? Among the miserable and oppressed, because it's great at promising, but not delivering hope. If you're feeling down or that your life has no purpose, then magical answers appeal to you. If you pray, god will swoop down and help you out of your problems, which he doesn't. The bible increases misery as it tells the reader to get rid of logically based in reality thinking that could lead them to real solutions to their problems, whereas the bible just tells the reader to have magical thoughts. Christianity, religion and the bible are a parasite of the mind that promotes its own disease. 

[Lyra]

Furball, i totally agree. When i phrased the question that way, i was seeing what kind of explanations the Christians would have.