Posted on 12/11/2009 4:56:40 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Even though the Bible was completed 2,000 years ago, long before the invention of the microscope, the telescope, satellites, etc. it does not contain any scientific errors. This might be considered a miracle in itself. Without exception, every ancient religious writing has certain unscientific views of astronomy, medicine, hygiene, etc. The Qur’an says in Surah 18:86 that the sun sets in a muddy spring. Qur’an 18:86 “…when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring” The only exception to these kinds of errors, among ancient religious writings, is the Bible.
Not only is the Bible free from scientific errors, it miraculously makes known numerous, accurate scientific facts about the universe thousands of years before modern scientists caught up. There are lots of them. For time’s sake I will give you a few quick examples.
A. The Sun
In contrast to the Qur’an, the Bible teaches that the sun is actually on a circuit through space. Writing of the sun in Psalm 19:6, David said, “Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end.” For many years critics scoffed at this verse, claiming that it taught that the sun revolves around the earth. Scientists at that time thought the sun was stationary. However, it has been discovered in recent years that the sun is in fact on a circuit through space, just like the Bible says.
B. The Shape of the Earth
When the rest of the world believed the earth was flat, Isaiah declared that the world was round… Isaiah 40:22 “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth." The Hebrew word there for circle [“chuwg”] literally means “sphere.” When did Isaiah write these words? Between 740 and 680 B.C. That was at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested, in his book On the Heavens, that the earth might be a sphere. Other verses are Proverbs 8:27 and Job 26:10. More than 2,000 years later some people still believed that Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was going to sail off the edge of a flat planet in 1492!
C. The Suspension of the Earth
Before Isaac Newton discovered gravity Hindus believed that the earth rested on the back of an elephant who stood on the back of a turtle that was swimming in a great endless sea. The Greeks believed that the mythical god Atlas carried the earth on his shoulders. What did the Bible say? In one of the oldest books in the Bible, Job said in Job 26:7, “He [God] hangs the earth on nothing.” Scientists did not discover that the earth hangs on nothing until 1650. ... (EXCERPT for more click the link!)
I'd rather have bad grammar than to have bad manners.
Why would you presume that I arrived at my claims and statements unilaterally or without I having spent considerable time pondering these issues? What is there in the Catholic teachings that would lead you to believe that I might not God or love others and that my Salvation might be in doubt?
I defer to you, since you have more experience with both.
The story is either literal or allegorical. The American Heritage dictionary defines allegory as follows:
The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.
The New American Bible, the Roman Catholic Church and I do not accept the story of Jonah and the fish as literal, but I do agree with you regarding the message it conveys.
if you were to die today, and you were to stand before the judgment seat of God, would He let you in? If so, why?
Why is it when we see a galaxy edge on, we see the stars on one side moving toward us, and the stars on the other side moving away from us?
There is no short answer to this question. It requires context and definitios be shared and understood.
The Catholic Church teaches that sin is nothing else than a morally bad act (St. Thomas, "De malo", 7:3), an act not in accord with reason informed by the Divine law. God has endowed us with reason and free-will, and a sense of responsibility. He has made us subject to His law, which is known to us by the dictates of conscience, and our acts must conform with these dictates, otherwise we sin (Romans 14:23).
In every sinful act two things must be considered, the substance of the act and the want of rectitude or conformity (St. Thomas, I-II:72:1). The act is something positive or proactive. The sinner intends here and now to act in some determined matter, inordinately electing that particular deed in defiance of God's law and the dictates of right reason.
The Cathecism of the Catholic Church, 1033 states: "We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves. Furhter, to die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell"."
Now, having said that mouthful, I am not perfect, but I have rejected sin and repented for my transgressions.
Catholic teaching distinguishes a twofold hatred of sin ; one, perfect contrition, rises from the love of God Who has been grievously offended; the other, imperfect contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc. (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione).
In this context I believe that I am worthy, but leave my judgment in the hands of God.
I suppose that Hitler, Stalin et al would have been just as vicious without Darwin.
The vicious part is the idea that the government can pick winners and losers. That is the mercantilist heresy, which never needed Darwin to committ its brutalities.
You mean “pita”?
Nice strawman. My statement is about the cost of labor, not the percentage of slave wages one can keep. (Not that it has anything at all to do with this thread.)
Thanks for your views. I have read and I shall ponder your words at some length.
Interesting thread. Thanks for posting it.
The Bible, as we know it, was pulled together in 325 AD at the Council of Nicea.
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth” is a general thematic introduction to the following text, which expanded upon that with greater detail.
Hi Mr. Right Now, you originally posted your thoughts about the historicity of Jesus Christ and the validation of his claims in a thread that was specifically for believers.
You might want to explore this thread instead. :)
And for the record, Christ prophecied his OWN death and resurrection in the gospels. Several times.
Here’s one of them:
“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” ~ Mark 10:33-35
* And here is one of over 40 ancient, SECULAR historians OUTSIDE of the Bible who recorded this supposed “mythical” character you speak of:
“...He falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.” ~ Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals of Rome 15:44
Evidence for the trustworthiness of the Bible on archeological, historical, literary, and scientific grounds:
http://www.alwaysbeready.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=99&Itemid=43
Sure. You're right. The Civil War was started by all those factory workers escaping to the South to be slaves.
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