HolyShit Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 I was just thinking about how hard it is to remember things from several years ago and it just occurred to me that even if I tried I wouldn't be able to remember what someone actually said if enough time passed. Since we have a good idea of when the gospels were written (decades after Jesus' death) how can anyone believe that those words in the Bible were the actual words of Jesus? Did he have scribes writing down everything he said while he was alive? The Bible is very clear about what Jesus said in his own words but honestly how can someone remember what another person said some 30 odd years ago? It doesn't make any sense. Also, I'm operating under the assumption that the gospels were written by anonymous authors and are based on hearsay. This was brought to my attention by Bart Ehrman. So we have - anonymous authors > hearsay > 30+ years go by > Jesus' actual words > Bible (which Christians believe is the word of god) Does this make sense to anyone? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaitingInfinity Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Well, most Christians will tell you that God helped the writers to remember events just as Moses wrote Genesis without having been there to see any of it. That allows Christians to believe that these are the words of God as they were spoken. Hearsay makes sense to me because of the small differences in the stories. Oral tradition can work to pass down huge stories with small changes in them over time (Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey still make a coherent story even though they were passed down many times). However, the disciples may have written down short notes somewhere to help them remember important points. It is probably one of those things that no one will ever be able to understand fully. You would think that God might have included less doubt and more evidence because if you look at this stuff rationally, it makes perfect sense why people would doubt. And God wants to send us to hell for not believing in the little evidence that is there. Surely God knows exactly why we would doubt. He gave us prefrontal lobes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 But it's in red letters, so it must be jesus' words! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerk Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Yes, it makes sense. But today's Christians have come up with a definition of "inspired" that says that a real god would have the power to make sure that 1) there are no errors, and 2) everything the god wanted us to know would wind up in the final version of the book that would be passed down. This belief actually helps me to reject the whole thing. There are differences in the accounts of the resurrection morning that are not simply the story being told from different points of view. The stories actually contradict each other. If you point this out, you'll get the "different viewpoints" line. They'll say that it doesn't matter which women were mentioned, because each writer had a reason for mentioning specific ones. I would agree with that, but that isn't the problem! The problem is that in one version they go and tell Peter that Jesus had risen, and in another version they say the body is missing and they don't know what happened to it. Not the same thing! So, having been taught all of my life that Jehovah could make sure there were no errors, and seeing that one of the authors obviously got it wrong, well, kind of blows the whole "all powerful" thing, donchathink? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted August 3, 2013 Super Moderator Share Posted August 3, 2013 As Par noted, Jesus speaks in red. Moderators speak in red. Moderators, therefore, are Jesus. Unassailable logic, ye must agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ crazyguy123 ◊ Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Bible god should have just written his own Bible. The messages he wanted us to know should have been written in a clear and concise manner so that the scripture would be easy to understand. It should be completely free of any contradictions whatsoever and not only that, but every copy of the Bible should have been written by this god, instead of by men. Every time a copy of the Bible is opened, the text should automatically translate into a language that is easy to understand, by the magic power of some god. The Bible doesn't seem to be anything like this. Obviously no god wrote it and the gullible herd just want to believe that a god wrote it. The wolves in sheep's clothing are very good at exploiting their gullibility. When the pastors say "Jump!" the rest of the herd asks, "How high?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duderonomy Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 As Par noted, Jesus speaks in red. Moderators speak in red. Moderators, therefore, are Jesus. Unassailable logic, ye must agree. I will ascend to the gates of the most high. I will be as God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaitingInfinity Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 The Bible doesn't seem to be anything like this. Obviously no god wrote it and the gullible herd just want to believe that a god wrote it. The wolves in sheep's clothing are very good at exploiting their gullibility. When the pastors say "Jump!" the rest of the herd asks, "How high?" Lemmings! Groupthink! Hurrah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrox Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Holyshit - yes, someone on ExC a couple of months ago had a thread on this, but I can't find it. But basically it asked the question "Who is observing these events and writing them down?" It's written as if there is a Bronze Age reporter running around and writing down these wacky events as they happen! Silly Christians! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ ficino ♦ Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Hard-core inerrantists will say that it doesn't matter for us today what Jesus' actual words were. What matters is what's recorded in the Bible. Those words count as revelation now that the period of active revelatory acts has passed (including miracles, which they'd deny still occur except when... could it be... SATAN?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhoof Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 One of the biggest "DUH!!" moments for me, is the several accounts of Jesus praying in the garden. All three times, his words are carefully recorded... yet all three times, the only possible witnesses to what he said as he prayed were fast asleep! No, it doesn't have to make sense. You only need to BELIEVE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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