Was The Bible Written by Lunitics?

[EdwardAbbey]

Was the bible written by a bunch of primitive/superstitious lunitics?

 

Of course it was! What else could it be but the writtings of men who have lost their rational minds?

 

It is very obvious the bible was written by people who were stupid, scared and extremely uniformed about the world and the universe surrounding them. What other reason could possibly have motivated them to come up with such bullshit stories?

 

The bible has stories of virgins giving birh after having sexual relations with ghosts; corpses coming back to life; talking animals; water turning into wine; a man walking on water unassisted; food magically multiplying feeding thousands of starving people and on and on the fables continue in this rediculous book.

 

But to add insult to injury, people today actually believe in this stuff. Imagine that.

 

How else could they possibly come up with such superstitious nonsense unless they were out of their rational minds?

[Amethyst]

I thought the Bible was mostly "borrowed" from other sources. The writers just tweaked a few things to make it seem original, much like a kid writing a long essay for school and taking material from the Internet without giving credit.

[Lizard]

Put that way..it sounds like the basis for some really not so great fantasy..

[spamandham]

It is very obvious the bible was written by people who were stupid, scared and extremely uniformed about the world and the universe surrounding them.  What other reason could possibly have motivated them to come up with such bullshit stories?

 

Mushrooms. Modern monotheism has forgotten its roots (and other hallucinogens).

[I Broke Free]

How else could they possibly come up with such superstitious nonsense unless they were out of their rational minds?

 

 

So true: even at the tender age of eight, I can remember being in Sunday School and listening to this crap. I kept looking around for the hidden camera. I was sure Alan Funt was going to burst into the room and announce we were on "Candid Camera."

[Ouroboros]

Was the bible written by a bunch of primitive/superstitious lunitics?

 

Yes and no.

 

First it was built on the sun-worship paganism and not the luna (moon) worshippers. So they were not Luna-ists.

 

Second, a lot of the religious dogma is derived from hellenistic pre-neoplatonic philosophical ideas, that where semi-religious and mystical from start. Maybe Philo was a bit loony too.

 

But, in the sense they were crazy, yeah, I think I can agree. Paul was even a crappy illiterate pseudo-philosophical without the skill of making logical assertments. Basically, he doesn't impress anyone who has some working graymatter between their ears!

[Checkmate]

Was the bible written by a bunch of primitive/superstitious lunitics?

Yep. Lunatics and idiots. I'm in no mood to be charitable. In fact, I'm headed over to the Rants section to vent. Got something on my chest.

[Brother Jeff]

The Bible was written by primitive, scientifically ignorant, superstitious men who - compared to us - knew very little about the universe and the world and how they work. But, that doesn't make them necessarily stupid. The folks who lived back then had the same intellectual capacity that we do today. They were just generally less educated and literate, and they didn't enjoy the benefit of having the scientific knowledge that we have today. Their lives were also generally short and brutal, and much more occupied with sheer daily survival than ours generally are in the developed world. I understand that the average life expectancy of an average ancient Roman citizen was about 25 years. I don't believe that the authors of the Bible were lunatics, though a few of them may have suffered from a seizure disorder or from mental illness. I don't think anyone can know about that for sure, though. I don't believe - generally speaking - that the authors themselves had power or control in mind, but I do KNOW that the Church has certainly used their writings to exercise a great deal of power and control over the minds of men over the centuries.

 

I don't see the authors of the Bible as idiots or lunatics. There sure do seem to be a lot of idiots and lunatics out there who believe in the Bible, though! Glory!

[Mike D]

I don't see the authors of the Bible as idiots or lunatics.

I agree. Wasn't it CS Lewis who said Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar or he was the Son of God? I don't think Jesus was any of those things, I think he was a man who had faith. People of faith are not necessarily lunatics or liars, yet they hold their beliefs as true (no matter how absurd) with every fiber of their being. We can see evidence of that in every religion and belief known to man, in every culture, in every level of intelligence, at every time in human history. Faith is a human behavior which is very much unto its own....

[Amethyst]

Nobody has sufficient evidence to prove that Jesus actually existed. IMHO, he is a myth made up of other myths. Sort of like the ultimate myth.

[EdwardAbbey]

The Bible was written by primitive, scientifically ignorant, superstitious men who - compared to us - knew very little about the universe and the world and how they work. But, that doesn't make them necessarily stupid. The folks who lived back then had the same intellectual capacity that we do today. They were just generally less educated and literate, and they didn't enjoy the benefit of having the scientific knowledge that we have today.

 

I hear ya there partner but it seems like fundamentalist believers today surely do their best to discredit scientists and scientific research in our times don't you think? They know that science is destroying their creation theory big time.

 

 

I don't see the authors of the Bible as idiots or lunatics. There sure do seem to be a lot of idiots and lunatics out there who believe in the Bible, though! Glory!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It could very well be that they might not have been lunitics in a sense but it's possible the real lunitics are those who continue to believe in all the born-again paganistic madness today.

[EdwardAbbey]

I agree.  Wasn't it CS Lewis who said Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar or he was the Son of God?  I don't think Jesus was any of those things, I think he was a man who had faith.  People of faith are not necessarily lunatics or liars, yet they hold their beliefs as true (no matter how absurd) with every fiber of their being.  We can see evidence of that in every religion and belief known to man, in every culture, in every level of intelligence, at every time in human history.    Faith is a human behavior which is very much unto its own....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If the Jesus of the bible was an actual literal person who said and believed the things about himself as written in the bible then I would say he was a full fledged lunitic! How can any sane person make such extraordinary claims and still be considered a normal individual?

 

I seriously doubt it. Can you imagine someone making those claims today? They'd throw the net over him in a NY minute!

[Amethyst]

I seriously doubt it. Can you imagine someone making those claims today? They'd throw the net over him in a NY minute!

 

Which makes me wonder why there are still people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson allowed to walk around free.

[spamandham]

Which makes me wonder why there are still people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson allowed to walk around free.

 

They're not free to walk around. They must be paid handsomely first.

[Amethyst]

They're not free to walk around. They must be paid handsomely first.

 

Okay, make that being rewarded to walk around.

[Mike D]

If the Jesus of the bible was an actual literal person who said and believed the things about himself as written in the bible then I would say he was a full fledged lunitic! How can any sane person make such extraordinary claims and still be considered a normal individual?

 

Can you imagine someone making those claims today? They'd throw the net over him in a NY minute!

Assuming for the sake of argument that Jesus did really exist, there's nothing but anecdotal evidence that he even said whatever it is he supposedly said, or if he even ever claimed to be god or the son of god. I think that's one of the big problems with the Bible is that it is all hearsay and is not an account of what Jesus actually said, but an account of what one person says another person said Jesus said. Who knows how many "he said she said he said she said's" there are between Jesus and the writer(s). And again, all this is assuming he even ever existed.

 

Anyway lets also assume not only that Jesus existed, but that he actually said "I am the son of god" or "I am god". How does that make him a lunatic? How are his delusions, hallucinations, etc. any different than any other person of faith who believes invisible people are real, god talks to them, satan and demons are out to get them, etc. Fundies today make crazy claims like that all the time and they aren't carted off to a looney bin. IMO, either all people of faith are lunatics or none of them are. Why is someone who claims they are god classified as a "lunatic", but someone who talks daily to invisible people that nobody can see is just called "a person of faith" or "religious"? I don't really see the difference

[Guest Iconoclastic1]

Isaac Asimov once said, "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived."

 

The problem is not every bible-toting christian can "properly read". The desire to live forever and be with their sky-daddy after death is a little stronger in most than the desire to critically examine what they believe.

[EdwardAbbey]

Assuming for the sake of argument that Jesus did really exist, there's nothing but anecdotal evidence that he even said whatever it is he supposedly said, or if he even ever claimed to be god or the son of god.  I think that's one of the big problems with the Bible is that it is all hearsay and is not an account of what Jesus actually said, but an account of what one person says another person said Jesus said.  Who knows how many "he said she said he said she said's"  there are between Jesus and the writer(s).   And again, all this is assuming he even ever existed.  

 

I personally don't believe the biblical Jesus was a real person anyway. As far as I'm concerned, he never existed. There isn't any first-hand/historical accounts of his alleged life by one single historian who lived during his alleged lifetime. So we can scratch off lier and lunitic and go with: he was a non-existent person and just a mere legend like all the other pagan savior-gods of the past.

 

Anyway lets also assume not only that Jesus existed, but that he actually said "I am the son of god" or "I am god".  How does that make him a lunatic?  How are his delusions, hallucinations, etc. any different than any other person of faith who believes invisible people are real, god talks to them, satan and demons are out to get them, etc.   Fundies today make crazy claims like that all the time and they aren't carted off to a looney bin.  IMO, either all people of faith are lunatics or none of them are.   Why is someone who claims they are god classified as a "lunatic", but someone who talks daily to invisible people that nobody can see is just called "a person of faith" or "religious"?  I don't really see the difference 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Maybe people of faith or whatever you want to call them should be considered lunitics too then. but you'd never know that or be able to even prove it. They act normal except for when it comes to them defending their delusional beliefs you just have to wonder. I say maybe they should all be gathered, rounded up and have someone throw the net over them and haul them off to the insane asylems.

 

Just kidding of course but sometimes you just can't help but express it that way especially when they act and say some of the strangest things that can be imagined. I think the more tolerant we atheists are of these types of fundamentalists and not expose their craziness, the more we are going to be headed for a faith based, theocratic nation in no uncertain terms

 

Maybe instead of us being to extremely polite by calling them "people of faith", maybe we should try another selection of terms as: "people who have suspended reason, logic and common sense"

 

It's as if the "people of faith" badge is giving them more virtuous status in the eyes of society. Just because they have "faith" and "believe" doesn't make them any more decent or moral than atheists are concerned. They are people who have suspended rationality.

 

"People of delusionary thought" better known as: "People of faith"

[spamandham]

So we have;

 

1. liar

2. lunatic (yah, like moon worship is so much worse than sun worship)

3. lord

4. never said the things attributed to him

5. never even existed

 

some more...

6. Actually existed and actually said those things, but meant them figuratively (a secret language between he and his disciples)

7. Actually said them and meant them and we have misinterpreted it due to translation errors (we have no Aramaic texts, so as a minimum whatever he said was translated to Greek before being recorded, how well did thos translators understand Aramaic figures of speech?)

 

So, there are at least 6 perfectly reasonable possibilities other than 'lord'.

[Mike D]

Maybe people of faith or whatever you want to call them should be considered lunitics too then.

Well it's a slippery slope no doubt. I mean I would guess that most people here were "people of faith" at one time, but I doubt any of us would have considered ourselves lunatics. And many of my family members are still Christians and I would hate to see them commited as certifiably insane. But I do think all those types of faith-based delusions (no matter how outrageous the claims are) come from the same source and are not necessarily the same type of mental illness as say someone who is psychotic or psychopathic, or something like that. Well unless they are people like those idiots who kill their kids thinking they are possessed demons or something like that. Then it becomes really dangerous and those people should definitely be carted off for life

[shy1680]

I'm starting to wonder if the N.T. was written by a bunch of Atheist out to get a good laugh but it ended up getting more serious responses to it than they thought it would.

[Mythra]

I just find it funny to try and understand how the human mind works. If I had never been a Christian, I'd never be able to figure out how anyone could buy it. How the hell could anyone really believe stories about talking donkeys and oceans parting in half and smelly dead dudes coming back to life and the sun standing still and human beings surviving a fiery furnace and people living to be 1,000 years old?

 

But I was there. I wanted so bad to believe it that I managed to for a time. I managed to trust in these stories more than what I observed in the world and more than what common sense and observed reality would lead a person to believe.

 

All things are possible with God. Such a trite cop-out of an explanation.

 

Now, as I distance myself further and further from my former beliefs, it's embarrassing to realize just how gullible I was to believe such silliness.

 

Don't know if lunatics wrote the bible or not. All I know is you'd have to be a lunatic to believe it today.

[EdwardAbbey]

So we have;

 

1. liar

2. lunatic (yah, like moon worship is so much worse than sun worship)

3. lord

4. never said the things attributed to him

5. never even existed

 

So, there are at least 6 perfectly reasonable possibilities other than 'lord'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think figure of speech is very fitting for the god of the bible and the Jesus of the bible.

[Reach]

Was the bible written by a bunch of primitive/superstitious lunitics?

I think it was written by liars rather than lunatics. I think it was written by those who stood to gain some measure of power over others. In that scenario, perhaps it was written by liars for lunatics.

[Ouroboros]

I think it was written by liars rather than lunatics. I think it was written by those who stood to gain some measure of power over others. In that scenario, perhaps it was written by liars for lunatics. 

Maybe the real title was supposed to be "The Idiots Guide For Dummies."