God-Breathed

[SallyF]

Is it possible to demonstrate the truth of this Christian claim ?

Is this Christian claim false ?

[brunumb]

Let's face it, if you want to flog a product to the masses what better sales pitch can you have than to claim it is endorsed by God.

[Tcg]

Let's face it, if you want to flog a product to the masses what better sales pitch can you have than to claim it is endorsed by God.

That's a good point:

"Hey Buddy, want to buy a book?"

'Why should I?'

"God wrote it."

'Well okay then. How much?'


Tcg

[pleinmont]

I am of the opinion the Bible is wholly the work of humans, including the creation of the god character.

[marco]

Is it possible to demonstrate the truth of this Christian claim ?

Is this Christian claim false ?

If the book makes God into a buffoon who flies through the air partly exposing himself to some open-mouthed nomad somewhere or who shouts "I can see you!" to a cavemen or loses his temper and casts a spell on a woman turning her into table salt or gives Moses a chunk rock on which he has scratched some words or who says: "Know what I'd really like - a bit of your genitalia, please." - there is no need for proof. Laughter will suffice.

[marco]

Let's face it, if you want to flog a product to the masses what better sales pitch can you have than to claim it is endorsed by God.

You can do better, brunumb. You can say God dictated it, patiently, in his best Arabic voice. That sells billions of copies. Another good selling feature is to avoid hiding what's in heaven (eye hath not seen) but to say there are pretty ladies lying waiting for happy warriors to die. The Bible can't compete.

[Elijah John]

[Replying to post 6 by marco]

I wonder if Paul to Timothy meant "dictated" when he said "God-breathed" the way that Muslims claim for their beloved Qur'an.

If "God-breathed" means inspired like a Muse to the poet, that is one thing. But to claim that God dictated the Bible is quite another. Fundamentalists often speak as though the Bible is more than inspired, they speak as though it was dictated. And that to even question it, is blasphemy.

Also, one wonders just what Paul to Timothy was referring to when he said "all Scripture". His own letters included? Or Jesus' own Bible, i.e. the Hebrew Bible/ "Old" Testament.

[Difflugia]

"Hey Buddy, want to buy a book?"

'Why should I?'

"God wrote it."

That exact reasoning worked on me as a young teenager. The church I went to with a friend convinced me that God was actively responsible for the Bible's contents. If the book was written by God, I wanted to read it. I couldn't figure out why others didn't.

[Difflugia]

Also, one wonders just what Paul to Timothy was referring to when he said "all Scripture".

If scholars are right and Paul didn't write 2 Timothy, then probably. By the time 2 Peter was written, Paul's letters were considered to be Scripture, at least by some.

[1213]

Is it possible to demonstrate the truth of this Christian claim ?

Is this Christian claim false ?

I think evidence for that to be true is that atheist have failed to show contradiction in the Bible. If it would be just from humans, it would be easy to show mistakes in it. But, what is the point of this, what difference would it really make for you, if you would know God has guided people?