though, in fairness, some people really are terrible singers... ;)
Then you are not using the Bible to determine what morals, etc. are good - you are using your own faculties/morals to determine what parts of the Bible are good.
And how does a protest demanding equal treatment by their government or having pictures of that protest land in a newspaper hurt anyone?
Should no one ask for anything - since it might be denied?
I think they are referring to organizations that are experts in the field and that this is more of an appeal to authority than just an ad populum argument.
Santa Claus, or the tooth fairy were only for example - the question remains:
Do you still believe in everything you believed in when you were young? If not, what convinced you otherwise?
never had a reason to doubt
- the bible contradicts science ref ref (e.g. says there was an earth with an atmosphere and trees and grass and night and day, etc. before there was a sun)
- it contradicts history ref
- it makes unfulfilled prophesies ref
- it makes self-contradictory claims about God (e.g. is it possible for an all-powerful god to make a stone that god cannot lift?)
- it tells similar stories that existed in close by regions (e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
- it even contradicts itself! ref ref ref
there certainly is "reason to doubt", you just choose not to
I've believed in him since I was young
Do you still believe in everything you believed in when you were young (Santa Claus, tooth fairy, that the earth is basically flat), etc.? If not, what convinced you otherwise?
I almost forgot the best one. What were Jesus' last words? You would think that might be important to get right, but out of the 4 gospels - Jesus has 3 different last words.
Matthew 27:46 -
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Mark 15:34 -
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Luke 23:46 -
Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
John 19:30 -
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
he spoke to me after that and said he was lying to you - then we had a good laugh (and a good scotch)
maybe you mean regional cooling and warming, but the entire globe cooling and warming at the same time is not possible unless you have a new brand of physics you want to spring on us.
and whether or not anyone is depressed is not a valid arguement that they are right or wrong.
what do you use to tell what parts of the bible are completely true and what parts are completely made up?
been there done that - it is an entertaining read to see what people are willing to believe with sufficient unknowns.
for those who haven't gone back and read again with fresh eyes - here's a good example of of the fun you can have:
The serpent told the truth!!
re-read the garden of eden fable and you will see that:
God told Adam that the day he eats the fruit of that tree he will die
the serpent (who at that time had feet) said No you won't die, you will learn the difference between good and evil
eve and adam ate the apple
THEY DID NOT DIE! Adam lived 930 more years
* they learned the difference between good and evil - just like the serpent said (and like the name of the tree would suggest)
Moral of the story: God lied! the serpent told the truth!
to cut it of at the pass for those who say that after eating the apple they became destined to die, keep reading - there was also a tree of life in the garden (the reason they were kicked out) which would not be necessary if they were going to live forever from the beginning.
