Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

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help3434
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Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

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I often see people quote Bible verses about scripture when asked why they believe in the Bible. Of course arguing that the Bible is true because the Bible says it is true is circular. Are there any non-circular reasons for believing in the Bible?

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Post #131

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99percentatheism wrote:
help3434 wrote: I think that most people that believe in the Bible believe in it because they first felt some attraction to some aspect of Christianity. This bond with Christianity leds many to feel compelled to defend the rest of the Bible. 1213, did you first read the Bible as a neutral and objective reader, or were you taught about Christianity before you read the Bible for yourself?
If I may chime in, I read the bible intensely during my teenage years because I loathed the little Born-Againers and their ways.

My atheism came to an end (and I was a real atheist, not just a teen-angst or college enlightened wannabe)
If you were an atheist as a teen because you "loathed the little Born-Againers and their ways" it sounds like it was just teen-angst rather than "real atheism" (whatever that means)
99percentatheism wrote: when I realized that the way things are protratyed in the Bible showcase the reality of the world. Ceratainly once I gave the New Testament an honest representation, it didn't look like what I was urged to believe from my atheist worldview.
Does this reality of the world include all the supernatural things in the Bible? How about the earth being created before the sun and stars a few thousand years ago? If the universe is only a few thousand years old why can we light that has traveled millions of light years? When you gave the New Testament an honest representation did you think that it made sense for an innocent person to be able to take away the resposiblitly of some one else's sins by suffering for them? Does it make sense to punish non-belief with eternal torment, and belief with paradise (including deathbed confession of a criminal considering what Jesus told the thief on the cross)?
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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

Post #132

Post by 99percentatheism »

help3434 wrote:
99percentatheism wrote:
help3434 wrote: I often see people quote Bible verses about scripture when asked why they believe in the Bible. Of course arguing that the Bible is true because the Bible says it is true is circular. Are there any non-circular reasons for believing in the Bible?
Original sin. The depravity of man.

Probably the easiest aspects of humanity that shows the validity of Biblical reality.

How many people are perfect, peaceful and pure from the moment of birth to death?

There should be billions and billions as the default setting.
How does the fact that people aren't perfect show that the Bible is true? In fact, I think that is a strike against the idea of a perfect creator. Why would a perfect being create fallible things? The story of the Fall in the Bible is far from the only explanation of why people aren't perfect. Why don't you believe those other explanations?
Kidnap, rape and slaughter of a child. Gang warfare. War in general. Cultural hate. Etc., etc., etc.. Like I wrote, you would think that peaceful perfection would be the default mode of mankind. But the more ignorant OR educated one is, we just don't see utter caring being the norm. Not as long as we use real history.

Psycholgy would be "the other explanations" or maybe evolution, but I notice with great fascination, that secularists run away from the reality of what darwinianism is far further than Evangelical Christians do. And psychlogy appears to be making mankind not only more sick, but depraved.

Enter Sandman:

Now I lay me down to sleep . . .

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Post #133

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help3434 wrote: I think that most people that believe in the Bible believe in it because they first felt some attraction to some aspect of Christianity. This bond with Christianity leds many to feel compelled to defend the rest of the Bible. 1213, did you first read the Bible as a neutral and objective reader, or were you taught about Christianity before you read the Bible for yourself?
I don’t think it is possible for me to know have I really been neutral. Probably no one can be really neutral about anything.

I have not been taught much about Christianity, before I started to read the Bible as about 13 years old. I had heard some claims that are related to Christianity, before I read the Bible. And I started to read the Bible because I wanted to know what exactly it is claiming and are people’s claims true. And I have noticed that many “Christians� don’t really know well what the Bible tells.
My new book can be read freely from here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rIkqxC ... xtqFY/view

Old version can be read from here:
http://web.archive.org/web/202212010403 ... x_eng.html

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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

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Post by Theodore A. Jones »

help3434 wrote: I often see people quote Bible verses about scripture when asked why they believe in the Bible. Of course arguing that the Bible is true because the Bible says it is true is circular. Are there any non-circular reasons for believing in the Bible?
Are you gonna die? Yes or No

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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

Post #135

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Theodore A. Jones wrote:
help3434 wrote: I often see people quote Bible verses about scripture when asked why they believe in the Bible. Of course arguing that the Bible is true because the Bible says it is true is circular. Are there any non-circular reasons for believing in the Bible?
Are you gonna die? Yes or No

What does the bible have to do with that, other than making that some oberservation.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

Post #136

Post by Theodore A. Jones »

Goat wrote:
Theodore A. Jones wrote:
help3434 wrote: I often see people quote Bible verses about scripture when asked why they believe in the Bible. Of course arguing that the Bible is true because the Bible says it is true is circular. Are there any non-circular reasons for believing in the Bible?
Are you gonna die? Yes or No

What does the bible have to do with that, other than making that some oberservation.
Yes or No?

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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

Post #137

Post by Goat »

Theodore A. Jones wrote:
Goat wrote:
Theodore A. Jones wrote:
help3434 wrote: I often see people quote Bible verses about scripture when asked why they believe in the Bible. Of course arguing that the Bible is true because the Bible says it is true is circular. Are there any non-circular reasons for believing in the Bible?
Are you gonna die? Yes or No

What does the bible have to do with that, other than making that some oberservation.
Yes or No?
Yes, we are gognu to die. The bible has nothing to do with that. We are going to die no matter what the bible says.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

Post #138

Post by Theodore A. Jones »

Goat wrote:
Theodore A. Jones wrote:
Goat wrote:
Theodore A. Jones wrote:
help3434 wrote: I often see people quote Bible verses about scripture when asked why they believe in the Bible. Of course arguing that the Bible is true because the Bible says it is true is circular. Are there any non-circular reasons for believing in the Bible?
Are you gonna die? Yes or No

What does the bible have to do with that, other than making that some oberservation.
Yes or No?
Yes, we are gognu to die. The bible has nothing to do with that. We are going to die no matter what the bible says.
Wanna stay dead?

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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

Post #139

Post by help3434 »

99percentatheism wrote:


Kidnap, rape and slaughter of a child. Gang warfare. War in general. Cultural hate. Etc., etc., etc.. Like I wrote, you would think that peaceful perfection would be the default mode of mankind.
Why would I think that would be the default mode of mandkind? It seems to me that only someone starting from the premise that mankind was created in the image of a perfect creator would think that would be the default.
99percentatheism wrote:
Psycholgy would be "the other explanations" or maybe evolution
There are religions that do not use the Bible that attempt to explain suffering.
99percentatheism wrote: And psychlogy appears to be making mankind not only more sick, but depraved.
Are you a Christian or a Scientologist?
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Re: Non-Circular reasons for believing in the Bible.

Post #140

Post by help3434 »

[Replying to post 137 by Theodore A. Jones]

I presume that your answer to the OP is that you believe in the Bible because you like its promise of eternal life. Unfortunately wishful thinking does not make the Bible or any other promse of an after life true.
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