Then you have no problem with homosexuality and are in favor of gay marriage?


Again, a modern interpretation and 1500 years ago, you would have been burned as a heretic. Most practicing Jews I've talked to have allowed some movement to fit in modern understandings of evolution and old Earth, but still take most of the stories from the Torah literally (the flood, Tower of Babel, etc), and some Jewish sects still believe in a purely 6000 yr old earth as do many Christian sects.

You're entitled to your opinion, but it is not a universal interpretation of the Bible from many Christians and Jews.

It is the same stuff, KJV or NIV or the ancient Hebrew.

The translation does not change the content.

I do not believe that people lived for hundreds of years.

There can be a huge difference actually. Not so much in this instance. Just letting you know no top level theologian or biblical scholar uses the KJV, and there is a reason for that.

Again, how much do you know about ancient genealogies?

I am not aware of any translation difference in the genealogies. Are you?

I know they are fictional.

This is a small minority. Roman Catholics, the largest sect of Christianity and 2nd largest religion in the world, accept both evolution and the big bang theory as fact that fits in the their non literal interpretation of the bible.

First, you believe the genealogies are fictional. there's a difference.

Second, I an not talking about translation differences. I explicitly said there are no translational issues here.

So you are stating that you know nothing about ancient genealogies? History, meaning, purpose, etc

OP why no questions on the new testament? Do you love Jesus?

Can i trust the Jewish calendar?

Here's the thing if the old testament makes no sense and is full of immoral and contradicting information then there is no need to even go into the story of Jesus.

Nice cop out.

What did you want to hear? It's simple, if the first story sounds like a lie the second part built upon the first one is not going to be all of the sudden true...

I already told you that I don't believe that people lived for hundreds of years. Do you?

You brought up the translation issue. I just quoted the KJV because it popped up at BibleGateway. There are no differences in the fictitious genealogy translations. But you brought it up anyway. Did you change your mind?

We are waiting for you to tell us the "real" "history, meaning, purpose, etc." of ancient genealogies.

The purpose of ancient genealogies is to convince skeptics that the Bible is incorrect so they become atheists and so the all loving God can send them to hell.

Incidentally this is the reason for all the other factual errors in the Bible and the reason why God only performs miracles that could easily happen spontaneously and not be trickery and avoids eg healing amputees.

Anything to add Jib or did I just about get everything?

Basically, though what you mean by "marriage" is unclear. If you mean state-licensed civil unions, I don't object to that.

Citing this or that religious consensus or tradition is without significance imo. The Bible itself says, "Let God be true, but every man a liar," meaning the opinions of churches and one's fellow Christians are not what count. Only God's word matters.

if this is truly the case then isnt the pope overstepping his boundaries by advocating condom use? if only gods word matters and he says that sex must be for procreation then is there really anything more that needs to be said?

if he says 'thou shall not kill' could any human say differently? can i say yes it is not right to kill unless that person is a witch?

who am i or you or the pope to interpret his words? condom use as the lesser of two evils (wrt AIDS) is what kind of judgement call? is that really a call to be made by man if god has already set his guidelines?

that is my problem with religion.

I have a similar problem with religion. The short answer to your questions is to allow the possibility that every man is a liar, as Paul says to do, and accordingly rank their trustworthiness below that of the Bible itself to the best of your ability interpreting it (which I believe is the most God holds you accountable for), if you trust them at all or even care enough to consider their opinions.

why is the bible such a difficult book to interpret in that when 1000 people try their best to interpret it they come away with 1000 different interpretations, often times containing interpretations that are complete opposites of each other?

Trusting your own ability to interpret the bible *cant* be the right way to do it can it? Unless God really is happy (or is laughing to himself) with the current state of the Christian church.

I mean in the end, isn't everyone's opinion about the bible their own interpretation, atheists included?

You're asking the wrong questions. The question should be why people are so bad at interpreting things.

So true.

Sometimes I wonder if there are 12 true interpretations and thus offshoots from the 12.

1 Corinthians 15 says:

What Our Bodies Will Be Like
35Some of you have asked, "How will the dead be raised to life? What kind of bodies will they have?" 36Don't be foolish. A seed must die before it can sprout from the ground. 37Wheat seeds and all other seeds look different from the sprouts that come up. 38This is because God gives everything the kind of body he wants it to have. 39People, animals, birds, and fish are each made of flesh, but none of them are alike. 40Everything in the heavens has a body, and so does everything on earth. But each one is very different from all the others. 41The sun isn't like the moon, the moon isn't like the stars, and each star is different.

If God gives each its own body type then don't each have its own mind type and the interpretation is influenced by the mind it passes through.

There were 12 tribes of Israel and there are 12 fruits on 1 tree in the book of Revelation.

Can't prove it...Just something to think about...

Examine the 12 Fruits. Doesn't everyone have some natural strengths and some natural weaknesses in these categories in this life? We could have all have a perfect 12 in a future life.
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/faith/12fruits.htm

I don’t think that works.
When there is only one possible result that is all we find.
You don’t have thirty thousand competing results for the gravitational pull of the earth, you have one.
The reason there are so many different interpretations of the bible, is because there is no clearly correct way to read it.
There are many intelligent, educated Christians on this site alone, who claims to be able to decipher the one correct meaning of the bible.
Yet none of you agree what that meaning is; I will never learn to understand why you don’t find that ironic.

And you know?

How do you know it isn't some deeper spiritual lesson?

Didn't you know not everyone can be an ancient language translator and even translators disagree on some translations.

Did you ever take a word with 7 meanings in one language and try to fit into a language with a word with only 3 meanings?

Any book that asks me me to stone people or kill them in other ways "isn't some deeper spiritual lesson"

You've lost touch with reality.

The NT is an update and Christ said "he who is without sin cast the first stone".

I suggest you check with the Jews but afaik none of them are practicing stoning people today either.

So? The jews have modern standards of morality that is quite different from passages in the OT that condone stoning and the like. Saying that followers of the religion don't practice stoning has no relation on the morality of the line from the bible.

You can research the times then. Posters on this board are notorious for making critical comments with authority when they have done little to no research into the times they are critiquing.