God and the Devil

If i were told to write it is raining cats and dogs from annall knowing god i would say he is tricking me.

Again God doesn’t seem to be very clear. Why didn’t He just say 600 trillion days?

And how did He know how long a day was before the Earth was poofed into existence?

The Bible was inspired by God, not dictated by Him.

Inspired? Surely someone mush have heard the dictates of god?

Basically, the translation into English could have been, “In the first period of time…” But then, one of the definitions of ‘day’ is a period of time. That being the case, why not use the word day with the expectation that people are indeed smart enough to get the point?

What has you jumping to that conclusion?

Do you think the word ‘day’ means trillions of years?

How else can it be inspired by god unless someone heard from god?

Depends on context now, doesn’t it? I wouldn’t expect to see that reference in a science book, but it is easy to imagine it phrased that way in poetry or story-telling. (Hint: The Bible was not written as a science text.)

So…like poetry God was deliberately vague about the most important thing. Ever.

Is that your belief? That God dictated the Bible?

You consider the age of the universe the most important thing? Ever?

That was my assumption they must have heard something. Otherwise the bible becomes more of a fairy tale.

Okay. Interpreting as a fairy tale, while incorrect, is at least a step up from believing creation took place in 144 hours and that kangaroos must have been on Noah’s ark. Now it is a question of whether a person wishes to remain on the second step or proceed from there. It has been my experience, though, that atheists prefer to argue a literal Bible.

Fair enough. Perhaps i should have used fiction instead of fairy tale as how i interpret the bible.

Fiction–an even better path to understanding the Bible, its authors and its original audiences. I cannot tell a good–or memorable–story. My best friend could tell great and memorable stories because she never let facts get in the way of a good story.

I always found it remarkable (and ironic) how the true essence of the facts became better known through my friend’s version of events than mine. She could paint a picture whereby people could actually see the story.

Modern English is a subjective language. We say “anger”. Hebrew is objective in that its word for anger literally is, “nostrils flared.” The entire language is in pictures, objects people have seen.

So, yes. In modern English, the Bible is easily labeled and dismissed as “fiction” just as Aesop’s Fables, which illustrate fundamental truths, is also fiction, brilliantly written. And, if one does not get past the fact that animals cannot talk, then one will never see the truth Aesop is illustrating. Likewise the Bible.

Don’t you consider getting the word of God correct the most important thing? Ever.

The Word of God comes in many forms, science/nature being one; the moral law of the Bible being two; the wisdom of the Holy Spirit both Biblical and today being three. Others can probably name more. What most people of faith understand is that God cannot be contained in the Bible–or anywhere else for that matter. We are immersed in both the knowledge and wisdom of God, but our capacity to know and to understand is limited.

Why doesn’t God just make himself easy to understand?

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Funny, I was just imagining my chinchillas whispering about me, “Why doesn’t she just make herself easier to understand?”