Why The Bible is Such a Horrible Information Source

[Dom]

The entire bible (and most religious texts) are all about being "judgemental".  You violate their rules, you get punished.  If you violate rules set therein, you are reincarnated as a lower form, you go to limbo, you go to hell, etc.  

In a slight way, I evaluate a religion's level of insanity by the penalties assigned to heretics and unbelievers.  Christianity wins "worse" for "eternal hell".  But I don't want to reincarnate as a slug, either.  LOL!

Wait, isn't it slugs who have both sets of genitals? That might be fun.

[pattylt]

Wait!  What about the zombies that "Matthew" swears were walking around Jerusalem when the godboy got whacked?

Just another Christian lie, what else! Jews have a golem but no zombies.

[Minimalist]

But..... we have pictures!

[Cavebear]

The entire bible (and most religious texts) are all about being "judgemental".  You violate their rules, you get punished.  If you violate rules set therein, you are reincarnated as a lower form, you go to limbo, you go to hell, etc.  

In a slight way, I evaluate a religion's level of insanity by the penalties assigned to heretics and unbelievers.  Christianity wins "worse" for "eternal hell".  But I don't want to reincarnate as a slug, either.  LOL!

Wait, isn't it slugs who have both sets of genitals? That might be fun.

Well, with slugs, as long as the mating isn't too "salty", anything goes. And they aren't the only ones who go both ways. The less complex the animal, the likelier the hermaphrodism.

Enjoyed the humorous reply! Sometimes I come here for the factual stuff, sometimes for the debates, and sometimes for the more light-hearted stuff. We all need all of those sometimes. Or at least I do.

[Dancefortwo]

The entire bible (and most religious texts) are all about being "judgemental".  You violate their rules, you get punished.  If you violate rules set therein, you are reincarnated as a lower form, you go to limbo, you go to hell, etc.  

In a slight way, I evaluate a religion's level of insanity by the penalties assigned to heretics and unbelievers.  Christianity wins "worse" for "eternal hell".  But I don't want to reincarnate as a slug, either.  LOL!

Wait, isn't it slugs who have both sets of genitals? That might be fun.

Banana slugs go back and forth between male and female.  Trees sometimes do the same thing and some trees are both male and female.  I think some other plants are this way too.  When people claim that nature only has two genders they don't know much about the plant and animal kingdom.

[Cavebear]

Wait, isn't it slugs who have both sets of genitals? That might be fun.

Banana slugs go back and forth between male and female.  Trees sometimes do the same thing and some trees are both male and female.  I think some other plants are this way too.  When people claim that nature only has two genders they don't know much about the plant and animal kingdom.

Yeah, I should have included plants too.  Many self-pollinate in "times of trouble", some just are fine with it routinely, and some can't.  Sometimes, I think that plant and animal reproduction is more complicated than quantum physics.  

Weird sex stuff...

1.  A new (non-functional) alpha female hyena will grow a fake penis.
2,   Some fish change sex (physically-functionally) if they are the largest in the area.
3.  Mammal males have nipples because they develop before gender is actually expressed.
4.  Some male barnacles have a penis 9X the length of its body.
5.  Some female marsupials have have three vaginas and two uteri.

Nature is both weird and creative...

[Dancefortwo]

Banana slugs go back and forth between male and female.  Trees sometimes do the same thing and some trees are both male and female.  I think some other plants are this way too.  When people claim that nature only has two genders they don't know much about the plant and animal kingdom.

Yeah, I should have included plants too.  Many self-pollinate in "times of trouble", some just are fine with it routinely, and some can't.  Sometimes, I think that plant and animal reproduction is more complicated than quantum physics.  

Weird sex stuff...

1.  A new (non-functionalalpha female hyena will grow a penis.
2,   Some fish change sex (physically-functionally) if they are the largest in the area.
3.  Mammal males have nipples because they develop before gender is actually expressed.
4.  Some male barnacles have a penis 9X the length of its body.
5.  Some female marsupials have have three vaginas and two uteri.

Nature is both weird and creative...

The interesting thing about the Bible is that there aren't really any rules about being transgender as there are the one anti gay passage in Leviticus.  But Christians look for anything that might apply to those they personally hate and interpretate it to fit that worldview.   

What's funny is that the earliest sculptures of Jesus depict him as more feminine than what we later get.   He has rounder hips, slight breasts, no beard and a feminine face.  This is Jesus dated to 340 CE.




He runs around with a magical wand and points it at people and does an abracadabra, presto-chango thingy.  But the earliest Jesus represented what we today call a more gender fluid person.  Interestingly, the  depictions of Buddha  also looks gender fluid. 



It makes me wonder how much influence the Buddha image had on some of the Jesus images.  I can also see a lot of Greek god influences in Jesus.

[airportkid]

This is Jesus dated to 340 CE.

There must be some vast christian conspiracy that manages to hide all the images and sculptures of christ made in the years BC. 

[Cavebear]

This is Jesus dated to 340 CE.

There must be some vast christian conspiracy that manages to hide all the images and sculptures of christ made in the years BC. 

Jesus BC. I love the concept. I entered the world in 1950 AD. So 1949 was me in 1949 BC (Before Cavebear).

[Cavebear]

Yeah, I should have included plants too.  Many self-pollinate in "times of trouble", some just are fine with it routinely, and some can't.  Sometimes, I think that plant and animal reproduction is more complicated than quantum physics.  

Weird sex stuff...

1.  A new (non-functionalalpha female hyena will grow a penis.
2,   Some fish change sex (physically-functionally) if they are the largest in the area.
3.  Mammal males have nipples because they develop before gender is actually expressed.
4.  Some male barnacles have a penis 9X the length of its body.
5.  Some female marsupials have have three vaginas and two uteri.

Nature is both weird and creative...

The interesting thing about the Bible is that there aren't really any rules about being transgender as there are the one anti gay passage in Leviticus.  But Christians look for anything that might apply to those they personally hate and interpretate it to fit that worldview.   

What's funny is that the earliest sculptures of Jesus depict him as more feminine than what we later get.   He has rounder hips, slight breasts, no beard and a feminine face.  This is Jesus dated to 340 CE.




He runs around with a magical wand and points it at people and does an abracadabra, presto-chango thingy.  But the earliest Jesus represented what we today call a more gender fluid person.  Interestingly, the  depictions of Buddha  also looks gender fluid. 



It makes me wonder how much influence the Buddha image had on some of the Jesus images.  I can also see a lot of Greek god influences in Jesus.

There is probably almost nothing that can't be supported or unsupported to in the bible. You just have to find the right part... It's like common English sayings. Like "Look before you leap" vs "He who hesitates is lost".

And depictions of Jesus vary with the majority population. Jesus (if he existed at all) was a medium dark-skinned guy on the Middle East. Yet in some parts of the US, Jesus is depicted as a regular old white male (and sometimes blond and blue-eyed). If theists found intelligent beings on Mars who had 3 eyes, he would have 3 eyes. LOL!

[Minimalist]

Banana slugs go back and forth between male and female.  Trees sometimes do the same thing and some trees are both male and female. 

Oh, my.  I hope you realize, D42, that by this time tomorrow the MAGATARDS will be insisting that slugs and trees be banned!  We can probably live without the slugs but trees are important.

[Cavebear]

Banana slugs go back and forth between male and female.  Trees sometimes do the same thing and some trees are both male and female. 

Oh, my.  I hope you realize, D42, that by this time tomorrow the MAGATARDS will be insisting that slugs and trees be banned!  We can probably live without the slugs but trees are important.

Mentioning trees is a breath of fresh air...

[Dancefortwo]

I really like the part of the bible that claims flying insects have four legs.  

 Leviticus 11:20-23 in the New International Version (1984) reads:

20  All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you. 21 There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest. 

Religious nuts fall all over themselves trying to explain it away.  It's so funny.

[Dom]

Every time I think it can't get any crazier than that, it does.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm just wondering why this needed any explanation all.

[airportkid]

I'm just wondering why this needed any explanation all.

The insects were confused.  Especially spiders.  You can see the terrible effects of their confusion just watching the winged insects flying - they can't fly a straight path to save their lives, always zigging and zagging, not knowing where they're headed.

[Dancefortwo]

Another fun mistake is the "mustard seed is the smallest seed" claim.

 Matthew 13:31-21 “He told them another parable: the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows......

Umm, no you dummies!  It is NOT the smallest seed.  The orchid is the smallest seed by far.  It's almost the size of dust, but orchids grow on the other side of the world which the writers had no knowledge existed.  The mustard seed parable shows why the Bible is a locally composed book written by desert dwellers in the Middle and Near East using the local myths and who knew nothing about South East Asia or the islands in the Pacific. 

Religious nuts try to dismiss it as a "parable" so it doesn't matter.  I don't care what they're calling it, it's still shows how wrong and ignorant the writers were. And if it was a book written by their god then he's also a total idiot.  He doesn't seem to know anything about insects or orchids which these bible nuts claim their all knowing god created.

[Minimalist]

God suffers from arrested development, D42.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm just wondering why this needed any explanation all.

The insects were confused.  Especially spiders.  You can see the terrible effects of their confusion just watching the winged insects flying - they can't fly a straight path to save their lives, always zigging and zagging, not knowing where they're headed.

Mmhmm.

[Dancefortwo]

God suffers from arrested development, D42.

Or, this god should be arrested!  

That's one of my many pet peeves about the bible.  It's entire world only encompases a small tribal group in a small portion of the world out in a small desert trying to establish itself in the region as a political entity using ancient myths.  The Bible is more of a political manifest than anything else.   If a god really existed and had an important message for his (or her or it's) creations he would have informed everyone on every continent with his message all at the same time. He wouldn't be concerned with tribal enemies or in groups fighting each other because the message would be clear and translated immediately in all the languages of the world.  Yeah,  I might be impressed with that.

But this is an idiot god who uses languages that would die out, written on papyrus that crumbles, is subject to continuous human error and is a nebulous message subject to all sorts of crazy interpretations.  Dumb, dumb, dumb de-dumb.

[Minimalist]

That's where the priests, popes, ayatollahs, and grand mufti's come in.  THEY know what god wants.


And mainly what he wants is MONEY.

[Rhythmcs]

  The Bible is more of a political manifest than anything else.   

That's where it actually is a great source of information. It's the casus belli of a later group than the narrative focuses on - which also lost the conflict it handpicked.

[SYZ]

The entire bible (and most religious texts) are all about being "judgemental".  You violate their rules, you get punished.  If you violate rules set therein, you are reincarnated as a lower form, you go to limbo, you go to hell, etc.  

In a slight way, I evaluate a religion's level of insanity by the penalties assigned to heretics and unbelievers.  Christianity wins "worse" for "eternal hell".  But I don't want to reincarnate as a slug, either.  LOL!

Wait, isn't it slugs who have both sets of genitals? That might be fun.

Well... yes.

Like theists, slugs can go fuck themselves.