Hello everyone

While reading the Bible something attracted my attention...

Isa 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

Very interesting indeed, the word "circle" in that verse. Is the Bible telling us the earth is round? Well I thought it says "circle" so it could as well be saying the earth is a flat circle, no dimension are mentioned. I talked to a theologian about this and he told me that there were no word for "sphere" in the Hebrew language. So I thought what the hell and googled it, and found that other verses also says some interesting stuff:

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Very interesting, is the Bible saying the earth is in vacuum, hanging in "nothing" ?

I've also came upon the following verses:

Ecc 1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
Ecc 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

Ecc 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

Amo 9:6 It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.

Don't know if I'm imagining things here but is the Bible describing the Hydrologic Cycle here? Prior to my knowledge, it was only discovered by science in the late 1600's . What is going on here?

Some other verses that I also found:

Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

Is the Bible saying there is springs under the ocean? How on earth did people 3000 years ago know that? Only over the past few hundred years the mankind have the technology to discover springs beneath the ocean.

1Co 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
1Co 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

Is the Bible saying stars differ from one another? How did people 3000 years ago know that?? Scientists only discovered that over the past few hundred years.

Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

This verse always made me wonder, what the hell?? Why the rib? So I read that the ribs in a human's body grows back at a rapid pace when the bone is removed. Very interesting. And that one of the ribs, only when it comes to man, are "floating", it's not attached to our chest cavity. I haven't been able to find any research but but my house doctor once told me that the 'floating rib" is the only rib that can regrow without an membrane. Very interesting indeed.

My characters are all used up, but this is the information for now, lets discuss it! With this information I can't see how some guy, thousands of years ago just got bored one day and wrote the book with the most wisdom and life teaching in it than any other "self written" book in existence. In fact, all the "life coaching" books that I have ever read always included verses from the Bible. So if you don't like Christianity, at least use the wisdom!

Originally posted by Saidar
The Bible, man made book or God inspired?

Both, neither, and so much more. IMHO

Lots of the old testament is stolen from other cultures. The creation myth in the bible is very close to the creation myth of the summerians - except that the aliens are replaced with God.

The ten commandments was taken from the Egyptian Book of the Dead - something that Moses, being a prince of Egypt, would have been well schooled in. The only big difference is the sabath - the Egyptians didn't have that.

Onanism?? Man made control-the-masses type story. Or man made ignorant peasant story. In the story a man is forced to marry his dead brother's wife. He 'pulls out' during sex. She blabs to everyone that he did that which is against the 'rules'. He dies. The people say that God slew him for breaking God's commands. I say he died of a heart attack from the stress of having a brother die and of being forced to marry a loud mouthed shrew (how else would everyone know what went on in their bedroom)?

Abraham being told by God to kill his son and then at the last minute God changes his mind? This isn't anything else except a mental illness. IF it really were God - then God is just a kid with an ant farm - and we are the ants.

Revelation? Religious hallucinations during dementia. John is old, not in good health, stressed out, and very religious. Thus you get revelation.

The gospels? They contradict each other. They are good to read to get a general feel for what happened and what could have been said. There is good advice in them but it looks like a few of the gospel writers may have been plagerists. (spelling?) I DO think they get the general idea across about Christ and what He wanted. But just don't look to closely or you will see a lot of cracks ...

Lots of local customs and old religious traditions got put in as 'the Word of God'. I have no idea if those customs and/or traditions were really God inspired or if they were tools that those in charge used to keep the masses in line. Much the same way that we have no idea what is true that politicians say these days.

And of course since it was put together ~ 350 by the Catholic Church it has had a lot of changes. Martin Luther butchered it. People now adays use their own versions. A lot is lost in translating the original into 'inclusive language' etc etc.

Originally posted by FlyersFan


The ten commandments was taken from the Egyptian Book of the Dead - something that Moses, being a prince of Egypt, would have been well schooled in. The only big difference is the sabath - the Egyptians didn't have that.

”Hail to thee, great God, Lord of the Two Truths. I have come unto thee, my Lord, that thou mayest bring me to see thy beauty. I know thee, I know thy name, I know the names of the 42 Gods who are with thee in this broad hall of the Two Truths . . . Behold, I am come unto thee. I have brought thee truth; I have done away with sin for thee. I have not sinned against anyone. I have not mistreated people. I have not done evil instead of righteousness . . . I have not reviled the God. I have not laid violent hands on an orphan. I have not done what the God abominates . . . I have not killed; I have not turned anyone over to a killer. I have not caused anyone’s suffering . . . I have not copulated (illicitly); I have not been unchaste. I have not increased nor diminished the measure, I have not diminished the palm; I have not encroached upon the fields. I have not added to the balance weights; I have not tempered with the plumb bob of the balance. I have not taken milk from a child’s mouth; I have not driven small cattle from their herbage… I have not stopped (the flow of) water in its seasons; I have not built a dam against flowing water. I have not quenched a fire in its time . . . I have not kept cattle away from the God’s property. I have not blocked the God at his processions. “

I've found this translation of the Book of the Dead. Very interesting indeed. Isn't it so that all people, deep in their harts know good from evil? Isn't this a manifestation of someone's guilt of things that he have done, and so found the "good" in his hart and made it part of life? It is quite similar to the 10 commandments, but it is because the ten commandments is based on "good", and so is that part of the book of the dead. And it definatley is not a "copy and paste" of the book of the dead. Similar philosphy yes, but not the same

To me, the Holy Bible is so psychedelic and fable-ish, I can't get much out of reading it. Christianity has some very good teachings, the Jesus teachings, which are pretty much the same as the Buddhists had about 500 years before Jesus.

Christianity is a spin-off of Middle Eatern Judaism, which I really don't relate to, not being Jewish and not being Middle Eastern. The blood and flesh ritual of communion is also too psychedelic for me to participate in.

Too bad there wasn't a religion made just out of the few good, basic things Jesus said, "love thy neighbor" and so forth, without all the guilt, angst, persecution and awful stuff that ancient Jews worries about so much.

I always thought it funny how Jesus and the other Bible figures are portrayed in the Western world as having a sort of Anglo appearance. The whole thing was Anglicized but it's really the ancient Middle Eastern Jewish religion, not anything to do with Anglo-Saxons prior to the importation of it into Western civilizations.

Since I'm Anglo-Saxon by heritage, I'm much more related to ancient Druids or even the Picts of Scotland, or Norse traditions. So, being told I should care for the Holy Bible and it's Middle Eastern Jewish roots is sort of strange I think.

It is all left up to "acknowledgement and Preception" of the individual. If one feels better thinking or excepting there is a "Higher" power or "Omni-potent" creator, "To each their own."
As far as any bible that has been transcribed, "It was done by a man somewhere in the past." Cut and dry.
The way you have listed your thread, it leads one to think you were in question of "Who wrote the bible," and not "My beliefs of the bible." thread.
OR even, "Great prophecies of the word of God" would have been more suitable.

But, it's your thread and I am not bashing any religions, I just don't personally have one to speak of, and for god reasons of my own.

"You don't have to believe anything, if people force Christianity upon you tell them to get a life, really. it doesn't work that way."

FYI -- no one has ever forced anything on me. Christianity is something I explored but I think it is mostly ancient Jewish fables and not worth all the attention it has received over the years. Jesus was a good man with good teachings, so that part is fine. But you can keep all the hocus-pocus and all the quoting passages and stuff. I'm one of those who thinks that in the last couple of thousand years more harm than good has come of Judeo-Christian religions, unfortunately.

An idea for the current economic crisis in the USA --- all churches pay taxes...property taxes and income taxes.

Originally posted by Saidar
Don't know if I'm imagining things here but is the Bible describing the Hydrologic Cycle here? Prior to my knowledge, it was only discovered by science in the late 1600's . What is going on here?

You are imagining things. (not necessarily bad) I don't know if it was because of how literature was back then (in the divine sense) but the Bible might have been intentionally vague. The majority of passages in the bible can be scrutinized in reference for or against the validity of the bible ( this is why there are so many apologetics and so many accusations to it)

Gday,

Originally posted by Saidar
Very interesting indeed, the word "circle" in that verse. Is the Bible telling us the earth is round? Well I thought it says "circle" so it could as well be saying the earth is a flat circle, no dimension are mentioned. I talked to a theologian about this and he told me that there were no word for "sphere" in the Hebrew language.

Wrong.
Your "theologian" is ignorant of Hebrew.

There IS a word for "sphere" or "ball" in Hebrew (dwr), and it is used in
Isaiah 22:18 -
"He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball
into a large country;"

The word used for circle is "chuwg" - it means a flat circle, NOT a sphere.

So your entire argument is wrong - the OT uses the word for "flat circle" when it COULD have used the word for "sphere".

Clear and present evidence that the OT writers thought the earth was flat, NOT a sphere.


(The rest of your post is just as accurate.)


Kapyong


[edit on 18-11-2008 by Kapyong]

[edit on 18-11-2008 by Kapyong]