Originally Posted by Hastings
Originally Posted by DBT
Originally Posted by Hastings
Originally Posted by mauserand9mm
Originally Posted by Hastings
Originally Posted by Steve
Originally Posted by Hastings
Originally Posted by mauserand9mm
The whole Genesis story is fiction - there's nothing useful about it except fanciful entertainment.
The whole book of Genesis is fiction? Or just the creation story?
Genesis covers a lot of time and territory. Maybe billions of years.


Naw... Only 6000 years... /s
Whatever. But I would bet a lot of the book has a basis in real events. Cain and Abel could have been two tribes where a bunch of nomadic herders wiped out some farmers that were irritable over the nomad's animals eating their crops. As to the flood, we know the ocean spilled over into what is now the Black Sea, the deposing of Esau in a conspiracy by Jacob and his mother is believable. The slaughter of the Shechemites by Simeon's and Levi's men could easily be based in an event. Moving on further into the other books the destruction of Jericho probably did result from an earthquake at an opportune time. The David and Goliath story is believable in that a teenage sharpshooter could knock a huge opponent unconscious and then behead him with Goliath's own sword.

Surely a lot of the bible including Jesus' parables are allegories meant to convey a lesson but there are many cases where the historical parts have some basis in fact and real events. I'm sure the writers took some liberty and license in their recording of long ago oral history.

I think it's safe to say all the extraordinary events are bullshit.

A large chunk of it is demonstrabally factually and historically wrong.
Which of the examples I gave are demonstrably factually and historically wrong. Not suspect or unproven but factually proven false and ''bullshit''? There are plenty of examples I could have given that may have a base in actual events but that would take a while.


What you claim to have done is not necessarily what you have in fact done. No doubt that you honestly believe that you have made a case, but you are wrong.


The failure here is conflating the historical and factual parts of the bible with the fantastic supernatural elements of its stories. Where one can be true, the places, the kings, rulers, tribes, cities, etc, while the other, the supernatural portion, Good, gods, angels, demons, etc, are fictional.
Did I conflate the (probably distorted) factual parts of the bible with the supernatural elements? I just said that I would bet that a lot of the bible stories are based in real events. I also mentioned my belief that the writers took liberty and license in juicing up the lore passed down in oral history.

I really don't think I invoked the supernatural.

I do believe the survival of the Jewish people to be a miracle based in supernatural protection and discipline but that is another subject that wasn't addressed this time.

Nobody is disputing real events. Whenever real places and events are confirmed, there is no dispute. The issue is the supernatural claims in the bible and other ancient works, Gita, Quran, etc.

If you are referring to verifiable places and events, you most likely have nobody to argue with.