Is God Evil???

This thread has been drifted too far. So I'm going to steer it back to OP.

Is God Evil?
I already mentioned, I dont believe it. But I will provide Biblical texts on events that I deem worth for discussion.

1. A man gathering sticks on the sabbath day
A man is caught gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. Numbers 15.32

The people ask Moses what to do about it.

They … brought him unto Moses and Aaron … because it was not declared what should be done to him. 15.33-34
God tells Moses that everyone must stone the Sabbath breaker to death. The LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones. 15.35

So that's what they do.

All the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. 15.36

That poor guy could have been gathering sticks for his family! They stone him, just like that? I bet many will be stoned to death if it happens today. I find it rather amusing.

2. When the people complained, God burned them to death

11:1 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

Is this for real?

3. God sent two bears to rip apart 42 boys for making fun of a prophet's bald head

2 Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

2 Kings 2:24a And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD.

2 Kings 2:24b And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

2 Kings 2:25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

Wow, Elisha was a "nice prophet". Lol

There are many more amusing or rather mind boggling stories in Old Testament. But if Jesus said "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35),"the commandment of God" (Matthew 15:3) and as the ‘Word of God’ (Mark 7:13) "Until Heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the law, until all is accomplished’ (Matthew 5:18), then what else we have to say?

a reply to: ReyaPhemhurth
Confirmation bias is described at 2 Timothy 4:3,4 (see earlier quotations, I quote it very often cause it's very prevalent). To accuse others of it when demonstrating it when it comes to any argument against the bible (or "beneficial teaching") no matter how inaccurate or lame the argument is (like the unicorn argument used earlier by Joshuacox or the 'God is evil' argument of this thread), is a bit hypocritical and also demonstrates what is referred to as "psychological projection" in the field of psychology, accusing others of what one is doing themselves.Quite often this turns into what is described at Isaiah 5:20,21; describing one's own way of thinking about these subjects as the right or proper way and describing the efficient way of figuring out the truth as having flaws such as confirmation bias, irrationality, gullibility and blind faith. Often leaving out the word blind and conflating "faith" with "blind faith", as per the usual conditioning that I see when I'm watching a presentation from the likes of Richard Dawkins and other atheists or philosophical naturalists pretending they don't have blind faith in philosophical naturalism because they "accept" or "know", because they no longer like the word "believe" or "have faith in"; as if changing the way they say it is going to negate their blind faith.

Additional information on why the unicorn argument is lame (and a demonstration of 2 Timothy 4:3,4 when one uses it or gives any credit to it in their own minds):

[Heb., shohr (Ex 21:28), par (Ex 29:10), ba·qarʹ (1Ki 7:25), ʽagha·limʹ (“young bulls”; Am 6:4), reʼemʹ (“wild bull”; Nu 23:22); Aramaic, tohr (Da 5:21); Gr., tauʹros (Mt 22:4), bous (1Co 9:9), moʹskhos (“young bull”; Lu 15:23)].

These original-language words for the male of cattle have been variously translated “bull,” “bullock,” “calf,” “ox.” In modern English usage “ox” has come to apply especially to a castrated bull, but the original-language words often rendered “ox” and “oxen” in various translations are not to be understood in this restricted sense.
...
In Scripture, allusion is made to several of the characteristics of the “wild bull” (reʼemʹ): its intractable disposition (Job 39:9-12), its swiftness and invincibility (Nu 23:22; 24:8), the power of its great horns (De 33:17; Ps 22:21; 92:10), and its friskiness in youth (Ps 29:6). Wild bulls are also used to represent the intractable enemies of Jehovah against whom the execution of his judgments is directed.—Isa 34:7.

Source: Bull: Insight, Volume 1

Unicorns are not mentioned in any of the modern translations. Only in the King James version are they mentioned. Most of the modern translations say “wild ox.” Some translations even say “buffalo.”

However, many Christian apologists are insistent that the King James Version is the most accurate of all the English translations. So because of this, some people, especially atheists, like to scoff at the Bible and make fun of it as a book of myths and fairy tales.

Source: Why Does The Bible Mention Unicorns?

The verses listed on the site above as mentioning "unicorn(s)" in the King James Version are the verses listed in the 2nd paragraph of the first source I used, all of which have been translated "wild bull(s)" in the New World Translation. "Unicorn(s)" is misleading and inaccurate, especially once one considers that some of these verses are talking about the horns (multiple) of a wild bull. Not the single horn of a unicorn or one-horned creature (as suggested by the 2nd source which talks a lot about irrelevant things concerning the etymology of the word "unicorn" cause it's tip-toeing around being overly critical of the King James Version I think, perhaps even trying to justify the use of the word "unicorn"; haven't read the whole page, it's not a source I like to read too much but it will do in describing the situation, I am somewhat wondering about their use of the word "only" though. Ah, just noticed that isn't true, here are some other examples including modern translations that try to stick with the rendering of the King James Version: Jubilee Bible 2000, American King James Version, Webster's Bible Translation. As found on biblehub, there are probably more bad translations like that).

New World Translation, Numbers 23:22

22 God is bringing them out of Egypt.

He is like the horns of a wild bull for them.

a reply to: whereislogic

BWAHAHAHA

NO WAY, lol..

Man I haven't laughs that hard over an internet post in a while..

Did you really just accuse someone else of psychological projection , as you project the Christian dogma onto the Jewish religion.


Oh man.. that is Rich.... that takes a whole new level of oblivious..

Atheists and scientists don't have blind faith in anything...

The Whole point is they only believe in things that they can prove.. so where is the blind faith in that???

The definition of a scientific theory is a collection of data that leads to one definitive conclusion. With all the evidence for and no conclusive evidence against.

That means just one single definative example of evolution being wrong is all it would take to undo it.

Just one..


Period after literally every human being on the planet for all of human history has tried to find some proof of the supernatural (99% of the time their religion) and what do we have to show for it???

Testimonials without one single example of anything unexplained , that is actually testable..

Not one single experiment that requires prayer to work..

Not one single mystical artifact..

Not one mystical creature..

Faith healing has the same placebo level results no matter the religion..

On the other hand what does science have to show for really only a hundred years or so of running society??

All the wonders of the modern world.

a reply to: whereislogic

Also it is funny how the people closest to the source of Christianity were the farthest off about the real nature of reality...

The Christian interpretation for the history of creation was to take a literal view of the Bible, but now that science has made its claims laughable, well now...


" those are just analogies...they didn't literally mean 7 days.. they were speaking in analogies.. "

Well shouldn't the earliest Christians/Jews/Muslims have known it was analogies???

Because to any unbiased source it is what's knows as "moving the goal post.."

The second the Bible is dusproven Christians claim, it wasn't wrong.. my interprtaion is wrong..

Just don't think about the fact that has been Christian dogma for 2000 years...

It's ridiculous.

Speaking of unicorns, there are other mythical beasts in Bible King James version reality.

Unicorn


Numbers 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

Numbers 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

Deuteronomy 33:17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Job 39:9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?

Job 39:10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

Psalm 22:21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

Psalm 29:6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

Psalm 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

Isaiah 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

Dragon


Revelation 12
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. ...

Deuteronomy 32:33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

Nehemiah 2:13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

Job 30:29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.

Psalm 44:19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

Psalm 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Psalm 148:7 Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:

Isaiah 13:22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Isaiah 34:13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

Isaiah 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

Isaiah 43:20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

Jeremiah 9:11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

Jeremiah 10:22, Jeremiah 14:6, Jeremiah 49:33, Jeremiah 51:34, Jeremiah 51:37, Ezekiel 29:3, Micah 1:8, Malachi 1:3, Revelation 12:4 and Revelation 12:7.


Behemoth


Job 40:15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

Leviathan


Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

Psalm 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

Psalm 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Cockatrice


Isaiah 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

Isaiah 14:29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

Isaiah 59:5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Jeremiah 8:17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.

Satyrs


Isaiah 13:21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.


The Second Beast


Daniel 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

Revelation 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

Revelation 6:3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

Abaddon’s Locusts


Revelation 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Revelation 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.


The Talking Donkey

Numbers 22:28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

Numbers 22:30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since




Well, at least we know where this children bed stories come from.

a reply to: JoshuaCox
Still better than repeat mode:

Messianic Jews are not considered religion Jews..

Must be a modern term: "religion Jews", first time in my life I've heard it (googling it didn't make me much wiser). Still an irrelevant point regarding what I said, since I already translated your point to a more honest representation of what you're arguing about. A semantic dance around the words or concepts: "jew(s)", "jewish".

1 Timothy 6:4,5

he is puffed up with pride and does not understand anything. He is obsessed* [Or “has an unhealthy fascination.”] with arguments and debates about words. These things give rise to envy, strife, slander,* [Or “abusive speeches.”] wicked suspicions, 5 constant disputes about minor matters by men who are corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth, thinking that godly devotion is a means of gain.

2 Timothy 2:14

14 Keep reminding them of these things, instructing them before God not to fight about words, something of no usefulness at all because it harms* those listening. [*: Or “destroys; overturns.”]

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: whereislogic
Just don't think about the fact that has been Christian dogma for 2000 years...

Incorrect (the young earth creationism you describe as Christian dogma for 2000 years, I've been unable to trace it back defintively beyond 1880-1923), but discussed on another forum:
The Genesis Account and How it Refutes Creationism
Some snippets from my commentary there, I hope it's not too much:

The rise of fundamentalist Christianity at the start of the 20th century saw a renewed interest in proposals that the Earth was thousands of years old,...In 1923, George McCready Price, a Seventh-day Adventist, wrote The New Geology, a book partly inspired by the book Patriarchs and Prophets in which Seventh-day Adventist prophet Ellen G. White described ...

Well, I'm still questioning if it was a "renewed interest" since like I said, I see no clear indication that Ussher or any of that time period viewed the 'creative days' in Genesis as literal 24 hour days ...

Note that the above time period for young earth creationism is consistent with the etymology and historical introduction of the word "creationism", by young earth creationists.
...
...harmful to people's understanding ... and providing bible critics with a nice straw man to debunk and ridicule the bible at the same time...
...
Nah, it's just blatant denial of the way the word "day" has been used for thousands of years in different languages and is still used that way today. From the google dictionary regarding the word "day":

2. a particular period of the past; an era.
"the laws were very strict in those days"
synonyms: period, time, age, era, generation
"the leading architect of the day"

That is no different than the way Moses used the word "day" in Genesis chapter 1.
...
why don't you help us out a bit and quote something about "24 hours" (or "24 hour day(s)") from one of these "historical writings" you're talking about. That would be quite interesting to me cause I love tracing myths back to their roots; preferrably from before 1880, and even better before Archbishop Ussher (1581-1656). Or something from Archbishop Ussher about "24 hours" or perhaps something that demonstrates he didn't view Genesis 1:1 as seperate from the creative days/periods/eras in the rest of the chapter in Genesis (making the date Ussher mentions not applying to the age of the earth if he views Genesis 1:1 seperately as LifeisGrand explained in the OP, since the universe and the earth are already created preceding the 1st creative day/period/era, unlike what many young earth creationists teach).

Young earth creationism has not been around as long as young earth creationists (and bible critics for whom this is convenient in their ridicule of the bible or attempts to point out that it's wide open to convenient interpretation and moving the goalpost behaviour) would like you to believe.

a reply to: EasternShadow
Evil: Insight, Volume 1

...God sets the standard as to what is good and what is bad; it is not within man’s prerogative to do so apart from God.
...
The Meaning of Jehovah’s Bringing Evil. Rightly, Jehovah brought evil or calamity upon Adam for his disobedience. Hence, in the Scriptures, Jehovah is referred to as the Creator of evil or calamity. (Isa 45:7; compare KJ.) His enforcing of the penalty for sin, namely, death, has proved to be an evil, or a calamity, for mankind. So, then, evil is not always synonymous with wrongdoing. Examples of evils or calamities created by Jehovah are the Flood of Noah’s day and the Ten Plagues visited upon Egypt. But these evils were not wrongs. Rather, the rightful administration of justice against wrongdoers was involved in both cases.

Breaking God's laws (like the Sabbath law that was in place in the nation of Israel) has consequences, whether one thinks they're unfair or evil or not. Luckily for us:

...He kindly forgave us all our trespasses 14 and erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us. He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake. (Col 2:13b,14)

originally posted by: whereislogic

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: whereislogic
Just don't think about the fact that has been Christian dogma for 2000 years...

Incorrect (the young earth creationism you describe as Christian dogma for 2000 years, I've been unable to trace it back defintively beyond 1880-1923), but discussed on another forum:
The Genesis Account and How it Refutes Creationism
Some snippets from my commentary there, I hope it's not too much:

The rise of fundamentalist Christianity at the start of the 20th century saw a renewed interest in proposals that the Earth was thousands of years old,...In 1923, George McCready Price, a Seventh-day Adventist, wrote The New Geology, a book partly inspired by the book Patriarchs and Prophets in which Seventh-day Adventist prophet Ellen G. White described ...

Well, I'm still questioning if it was a "renewed interest" since like I said, I see no clear indication that Ussher or any of that time period viewed the 'creative days' in Genesis as literal 24 hour days ...

Note that the above time period for young earth creationism is consistent with the etymology and historical introduction of the word "creationism", by young earth creationists.
...
...harmful to people's understanding ... and providing bible critics with a nice straw man to debunk and ridicule the bible at the same time...
...
Nah, it's just blatant denial of the way the word "day" has been used for thousands of years in different languages and is still used that way today. From the google dictionary regarding the word "day":

2. a particular period of the past; an era.
"the laws were very strict in those days"
synonyms: period, time, age, era, generation
"the leading architect of the day"

That is no different than the way Moses used the word "day" in Genesis chapter 1.
...
why don't you help us out a bit and quote something about "24 hours" (or "24 hour day(s)") from one of these "historical writings" you're talking about. That would be quite interesting to me cause I love tracing myths back to their roots; preferrably from before 1880, and even better before Archbishop Ussher (1581-1656). Or something from Archbishop Ussher about "24 hours" or perhaps something that demonstrates he didn't view Genesis 1:1 as seperate from the creative days/periods/eras in the rest of the chapter in Genesis (making the date Ussher mentions not applying to the age of the earth if he views Genesis 1:1 seperately as LifeisGrand explained in the OP, since the universe and the earth are already created preceding the 1st creative day/period/era, unlike what many young earth creationists teach).

Young earth creationism has not been around as long as young earth creationists (and bible critics for whom this is convenient in their ridicule of the bible or attempts to point out that it's wide open to convenient interpretation and moving the goalpost behaviour) would like you to believe.

.....I really could have replied to literally ANY of your posts within this thread...because they're all the same garbage scipture with the same garbage Youtube videos. Your posts....when I can actually stomach to read your nonsensical, shoddy walls of texts..are littered with fallacies and contradictions. But, alas...what is to be expected when you're spewing religious text like an elementary school student who's been forced to memorize the Gettysburg Address?

You are a true testament to the word irony when one looks at your posts and then your username. Perhaps a suggestion for you: try reading your posts, followed by repetitively repeating your username aloud to yourself in the form of a question.

Just a thought!

Happy hunting.

a reply to: EasternShadow

Buahaha. I love you Especially that last picture of Donkey. I legitimately read that in his voice.

Greatly compiled post!

a reply to: ReyaPhemhurth
Good timing so shortly after my quotation of 1 Timothy 6:4,5. Thanks.

originally posted by: whereislogic
a reply to: ReyaPhemhurth
Good timing so shortly after my quotation of 1 Timothy 6:4,5. Thanks.

Do you ever NOT cite religious text?

a reply to: ReyaPhemhurth
Sure, but sometimes I also prefer sticking as much to "the Scriptures" as possible because:

2 Peter 3:

3 First of all know this, that in the last days ridiculers will come with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires 4 and saying: “Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as they were from creation’s beginning.”

5 For they deliberately ignore this fact, that long ago there were heavens and an earth standing firmly out of water and in the midst of water by the word of God; 6 and that by those means the world of that time suffered destruction when it was flooded with water. 7 But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire and are being kept until the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly people.

8 However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.
...
15 Furthermore, consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. However, some things in them are hard to understand, and these things the ignorant* and unstable are twisting, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

*: Or “untaught.”

Isaiah 30:

9 For they are a rebellious people, deceitful sons,
Sons who are unwilling to hear the law of Jehovah.
10 They say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’
And to the visionaries, ‘Do not tell us truthful visions.
Tell us flattering* things; envision deceptive illusions. [*: Lit., “smooth.”]
11 Turn aside from the way; deviate from the path.
Quit putting before us the Holy One of Israel.’”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Since you reject this word
And you trust in fraud and deceit
And you rely on these,
13 So this error will be for you like a broken wall,
Like a bulging high wall ready to fall.
It will crash suddenly, in an instant.
14 It will be broken like a large potter’s jar,
So completely smashed that no fragment among its pieces will be left
To rake the fire from the fireplace
Or to scoop water from a puddle.”
15 For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“By returning to me and resting, you will be saved;
Your strength will be in keeping calm and showing trust.”
But you were unwilling.
16 Instead, you said: “No, we will flee on horses!”
So flee you will.
“And on swift horses we will ride!”
So those pursuing you will be swift.
17 A thousand will tremble at the threat of one;
At the threat of five you will flee
Until what is left of you is like a mast on the top of a mountain,
Like a signal pole on a hill.
18 But Jehovah is waiting patiently to show you favor,
And he will rise up to show you mercy.
For Jehovah is a God of justice.
Happy are all those keeping in expectation of him.
19 When the people dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem, you will by no means weep. He will surely show you favor at the sound of your cry for help; he will answer you as soon as he hears it. 20 Though Jehovah will give you bread in the form of distress and water in the form of oppression, your Grand Instructor will no longer hide himself, and you will see your Grand Instructor with your own eyes. 21 And your own ears will hear a word behind you saying, “This is the way. Walk in it,” in case you should go to the right or in case you should go to the left.

Anyways...
1 John 4:7, 8

7 Beloved ones, let us continue loving one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love has not come to know God, because God is love.

Can't go wrong with the bolded part if genuine and not hypocritical (or only in word). "Love is patient and kind. ...It does not brag,..." (1 Corinthians 13:4). Proverbs 15:12:

12 The scoffer does not love the one correcting him.
He will not consult the wise.

Assuming this thread allows another viewpoint than "God is evil" to be argued for as has been done so far without spelling it out and taking a definitive position (by some who argue only one viewpoint yet won't admit to their beliefs, or what they prefer arguing for). Cherry-picking the bible verses that they can twist or point to in support of their view (which makes me think of the topic you described as "confirmation bias" again).

Science Fiction isnt my favorite reading but I dont see any harm in it. So, Let's talk about science fiction in Bible.

1. Earth has four corners, and floats on water

Isaiah 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Psalm 24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

Psalm 136:6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Revelation 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

2. Earth is a circular disk

Isaiah 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:


3. Earth does not move

Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

Psalm 96:10 Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.

Psalm 104:5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

1 Chronicles 16:30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

4. Thunder is God's voice

Psalm 77:18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

5. The moon has a light of its own

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

6. The bat is a bird

Lev 11:13 ‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; ... 19 the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat

Deuteronomy 14:11 “All clean birds you may eat... 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.

7. The whale is a fish

Jonah 1:17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Matthew 12:40 for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

8. Rainwater does not return to the sky

Isaiah 55:10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven. And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud. That it may give seed to the sower. And bread to the eater,

9. Earthquakes are caused by God's anger

Job 9:5 “He removes mountains without their knowledge, overthrowing them in his anger.

Psalm 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.

( Psalm 77:18, Psalm 97:4, Isaiah 2:19, Isaiah 24:20, Isaiah 29:6, Jer 10:10, Ezek 38:20, Nah 1:5 )


10. Earth's rotation stopped for a day

Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.



( Note: This must be the most fanciful science fiction ever made. Even Darth Vader could not do what Joshua did.
A. It violates the principle of conservation of angular momentum of rotating bodies, a fundamental law.
B. The moon, also, cannot simply stop in its orbit; it would fall towards the earth.
C. The ocean waters have momentum, and if the earth's crust beneath them suddenly stopped, the waters of the oceans would overflow the eastern coasts of the continents, in mighty tidal waves traveling hundreds of km per hour. This would be a catastrophe probably greater in scale than even the world wide flood of Noah's time!
D. The atmosphere has momentum, and if the earth's crust suddenly stopped, winds of hundreds of km per hour would cause devastation around the earth. )


11. The Second Plague: Frogs

Exodus 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs.


Plague with Frogs? Why not with chickens?

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: whereislogic

BWAHAHAHA

NO WAY, lol..

Man I haven't laughs that hard over an internet post in a while..

Laughter figures prominently in the Scriptures as an expression of derision. The Hebrew verb tsa·chaqʹ (laugh) also has the meaning “poke fun; make a laughingstock.”—Ge 21:9; 39:14.
...
Leviathan (the crocodile) is said to laugh at the rattling of a javelin, because of his heavy armor.—Job 41:1, 29.
...
Servants of God have had to endure much derisive laughter against them. Job said: “One who is a laughingstock to his fellowman I become.” (Job 12:4; 30:1) Jeremiah was an object of laughter all day long among his contemporaries. (Jer 20:7)

Source: Laughter: Insight, Volume 2
Ecclesiastes 7:5, 6

5 Better to listen to a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns burning under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool; and this too is futility.

...
Job was falsely accused of deriding others (Job 11:3), whereas, in reality, he was the one derided, mocked, and made a laughingstock for his course of integrity. (Job 12:4; 17:2; 21:3) David was derided and mocked. (Ps 22:7; 35:16) Likewise, Elisha (2Ki 2:23), Nehemiah and those associated with him (Ne 2:19; 4:1), and many others “received their trial by mockings” (Heb 11:36).
...
As God’s Servant and Prophet, Jesus Christ was sneered at, laughed at, made fun of, treated insolently, even spit upon, during his ministry on earth. (Mr 5:40; Lu 16:14; 18:32) The Jewish priests and rulers were especially hateful in their derision. (Mt 27:41; Mr 15:29-31; Lu 23:11, 35) The Roman soldiers joined in the mockery when he was delivered up to them.—Mt 27:27-31; Mr 15:20; Lu 22:63; 23:36.

The disciples of Jesus Christ were likewise mocked by the uninformed and by unbelievers. (Ac 2:13; 17:32)
...
At one point in his career, Jeremiah the prophet of God said, “I became an object of laughter all day long; everyone is holding me in derision.” Momentarily he weakened and considered stopping his prophetic work because of the unceasing reproach and jeering. But he recognized that it was “for the word of Jehovah” that the derision came, and God’s word in his heart proved to be like a burning fire that he could not endure to hold in.
...
God later explained to Job that these ridiculers were actually (in the final analysis) speaking untruth against God. (Job 42:7) Similarly, Jehovah told the prophet Samuel when Israel demanded a king: “It is not you whom they have rejected, but it is I whom they have rejected from being king over them.” (1Sa 8:7)

Ridicule: Insight, Volume 2

originally posted by: whereislogic
a reply to: JoshuaCox
1 Timothy 6:4,5

he is puffed up with pride and does not understand anything. He is obsessed* [Or “has an unhealthy fascination.”] with arguments and debates about words. These things give rise to envy, strife, slander,* [Or “abusive speeches.”] wicked suspicions, 5 constant disputes about minor matters by men who are corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth, thinking that godly devotion is a means of gain.

"For God is a God not of disorder but of peace." (1 Cor 14:33)
Pillars of culture - Sir Isaac Newton - playlist

originally posted by: whereislogic
Luckily for us:

...He kindly forgave us all our trespasses 14 and erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us. He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake. (Col 2:13b,14)

Nah dont sweat it. He "erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us," because;
God can change his mind

2 Samuel 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.

Exodus 32:14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Although God allegedly does not change his mind:

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

1 Samuel 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

God says that he intentionally gave out bad laws

Ezekiel 20:25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;


God also confused the order of creation

GE 1:3-5 On the first day, God created light, then separated light and darkness.
GE 1:14-19 The sun (which separates night and day) wasn't created until the fourth day.

GE 1:11-12, 26-27 Trees were created before man was created.
GE 2:4-9 Man was created before trees were created.

GE 1:20-21, 26-27 Birds were created before man was created.
GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before birds were created.

GE 1:24-27 Animals were created before man was created.
GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before animals were created.


God make other mistakes

GE 2:15-17, 3:4-6 It is wrong to want to be able to tell good from evil.
HE 5:13-14 It is immature to be unable to tell good from evil.

GE 1:28 God encourages reproduction.
LE 12:1-8 God requires purification rites following childbirth which, in effect, makes childbirth a sin.

GE 4:4-5 God prefers Abel's offering and has no regard for Cain's.
2CH 19:7, AC 10:34, RO 2:11 God shows no partiality. He treats all alike.

GE 6:4 There were Nephilim (giants) before the Flood.
GE 7:21 All creatures other than Noah and his clan were annihilated by the Flood.
NU 13:33 There were Nephilim after the Flood.

GE 11:7-9 God sows discord.
PR 6:16-19 God hates anyone who sows discord.

GE 11:9 At Babel, the Lord confused the language of the whole world.
1CO 14:33 Paul says that God is not the author of confusion.

GE 15:9, EX 20:24, 29:10-42, LE 1:1-7:38, NU 28:1-29:40, God details sacrificial offerings.
JE 7:21-22 God says he did no such thing.

GE 17:7, 10-11 The covenant of circumcision is to be everlasting.
GA 6:15 It is of no consequence.

GE 35:10 God says Jacob is to be called Jacob no longer; henceforth his name is Israel.
GE 46:2 At a later time, God himself uses the name Jacob.

EX 3:20-22, DT 20:13-17 God instructs the Israelites to despoil the Egyptians, to plunder their enemies.
EX 20:15, 17, LE 19:13 God prohibits stealing, defrauding, or robbing a neighbor.

EX 4:11 God decides who will be dumb, deaf, blind, etc.
2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is a god of love.

EX 20:5, 34:7, NU 14:18, DT 5:9, IS 14:21-22 Children are to suffer for their parent's sins.
DT 24:16, EZ 18:19-20 Children are not to suffer for their parent's sins.

PR 30:5 Every word of God proves true.
God deceives some of the prophets.

1 Kings 22:23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.

2 Chronicles 18:22 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.

Jeremiah 4:10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

Ezekiel 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.


I'm sure God sets the standard as to what is good and what is bad, quite fine.

a reply to: ReyaPhemhurth

There is some truth the the young earth stuff being kinda new..


This is from memory, but if I'm right Christians nor Jews have always had a literal interpretation. Espeacially Jews considering a lot of the crazier claims analogies to teach a moral like esops fables.

Appearently most of the evangelical young earth type stuff was installed in the mid to late 1800's.

maybe it was more that it wasn't until then that Christians started acting like science was in a conspiracy with the devil (lol).. and started the Christian anti science trend..

I can't remember exactly, but heard this is a fairly new trend.. a much later edition like hell..


Can you imagaine walking into some barbarian camp and telling them god was gonna kidnap their soul and torture them for all eternity..

You would be dead before you got off your horse.

originally posted by: Raggedyman
and what's the bet she quoted the Old Testament, a Jewish book

A Jewish book, sure. Still the Christian God. Or the Father of the Christian Jesus. Or God incarnated on the Earth as Jesus. Or a Trinity. However people want to view that theologically is fine. In my opinion, you can't separate the God of the Old Testament from Jesus. The evil God of the Old Testament did evil things, in my opinion. Just because things changed tune with Jesus is no reason to forget his past transgressions. Evil Yahweh is part of the Christian package.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

God is sadistic because he wrote the ten coandments to have people obey. Then he seduced himself into living people loves and collecting their sin for his own wicked and evil intent to satisfy how bloodthirsty desire thatbhe had for the sacrifices that were done a very long time afo. When people go to church he sucks their sin away like a vampire and satisfies himself as a pervert. He was just a man just like it says he created men in his own image however he was an ugly old man that looked quire different than normal people you might think about today. Adam AND EVE WERE BASICLY ORDERED FDOM A CATALOGUE AND WERE MORE SQUARE FACED PEOPLE. He actually perverted his own son in the garden also which he ordered from a catalogue and he let people suffer with little knowledge of reality. When revalations passed he became enraged at the true Gods that were before him and the masters that made the Gods and he didn't lope it that humans were destined to receive gifts that were dtronfer than what he jad himself. There were foing to have dna upgrades that allowed for intercommunication and for extended lives without disease. He also tried to kill love itself which came to love humans and give them a way to connect to each other to experience heightened feelings and to procreate. He God which is a gemeeic word is ognorant and deceitful and wicked and evil with hatred to mem and women and deserves nothing than to be condemned for breaking the covenenet and promises he made to people he deserves a grave of eternal death especially for rapimg the women men and the land of the fruit it meant to give people. More to come on this topic as I update you on the true evil intent of god and reasons you should disbelieve in him as the true continuing religion of earth. UNIVERSE