what's the purpose of praying?

[GagHalfrunt]

But we do have evidence. A written account, and that's what makes Christianity so compelling.

We have a written account of a cow jumping over the moon and a dish running away with the spoon, that doesn't make it true. Even the leaders of Christianity can't find a single written word about Christ from someone who supposedly met him. EVERY SINGLE WORD in the bible was written from 50 to hundreds of years after Christ supposedly lived. Now even if you ignore the embarrassing questions like how can anyone know what Christ supposedly said if nobody wrote down a single word of it, it seems pretty odd that a person who performed miracles, preached to tens of thousands and ROSE FROM THE DEAD made so little impact that nobody mentioned meeting him.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

But we do have evidence. A written account, and that's what makes Christianity so compelling.

We also have written accounts of Scylla, Charybdis, Cyclops, dog-faced Aethiopians, Dragons, Mermaids, Sasquatch, the Tatzelwurm, and the Chupacabra.

Guess what?

Just because something is written down doesn't make it evidence of anything else but the fact that something was written down.

 

[pete6032]

We have a written account of a cow jumping over the moon and a dish running away with the spoon, that doesn't make it true. Even the leaders of Christianity can't find a single written word about Christ from someone who supposedly met him. EVERY SINGLE WORD in the bible was written from 50 to hundreds of years after Christ supposedly lived. Now even if you ignore the embarrassing questions like how can anyone know what Christ supposedly said if nobody wrote down a single word of it, it seems pretty odd that a person who performed miracles, preached to tens of thousands and ROSE FROM THE DEAD made so little impact that nobody mentioned meeting him.

Even if it was not written down until 50-60 years later, we know that it was customary at the time for Jewish people to memorize a rabbi's teachings word for word, using recitation based on Arametic poetical form, which was used specifically to aid memorization. Many scholars have concluded that the time period between Jesus death and the writing of the first gospel is too small for any significant corruption of Jesus's account and teachings.

Also of note, there are a multitude of works of history that are considered accurate records by scholars despite the fact that periods of several hundred years pass between the actual event in question and the recording of it. If we are to judge the Bible with equal bibliographic criticisms applied to other works of antiquity then it certainly passes.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Even if it was not written down until 50-60 years later, we know that it was customary at the time for Jewish people to memorize a rabbi's teachings word for word, using recitation based on Arametic poetical form, which was used specifically to aid memorization.

Jesus wasn't a rabbi, and he didn't teach in Arametic poetical form.

Many scholars have concluded that the time period between Jesus death and the writing of the first gospel is too small for any significant corruption of Jesus's account and teachings.

Oh really? That must be difficult to do when nobody has a copy of the first gospel, not to mention the fact that they haven't a fucking clue who wrote it.

The bottom line is that "somebody wrote some shit down once" is not evidence that any of that shit is true.

Also of note, there are a multitude of works of history that are considered accurate records by scholars despite the fact that periods of several hundred years pass between the actual event in question and the recording of it.

How many of those propose that somebody walked on water, fed thousands of people with a few fish and crackers, restored sight to blind men, raised people from the dead or ascended to heaven?

If we are to judge the Bible with equal bibliographic criticisms applied to other works of antiquity then it certainly passes.

You don't have the first idea what you're talking about.

 

[Sonikku]

i don't think a hammer can fix cancer

Use it repeatedly on the patient and the cancer will be dead in a couple months tops.

 

[Jeff7]

Even if it was not written down until 50-60 years later, we know that it was customary at the time for Jewish people to memorize a rabbi's teachings word for word, using recitation based on Arametic poetical form, which was used specifically to aid memorization. Many scholars have concluded that the time period between Jesus death and the writing of the first gospel is too small for any significant corruption of Jesus's account and teachings.

25 seconds is enough time to corrupt something that someone else said. Ever played Whisper Down the Alley? Do it through decades and centuries.

Also of note, there are a multitude of works of history that are considered accurate records by scholars despite the fact that periods of several hundred years pass between the actual event in question and the recording of it. If we are to judge the Bible with equal bibliographic criticisms applied to other works of antiquity then it certainly passes.

And there are plenty of things that are complete fabrications, yet can still endure for a long time.

We argue over what some people said and meant a few hundred years ago when drafting things like the US Constitution.
The Bible claims knowledge of an infinitely powerful and invisible, non-corporeal being who made everything from scratch, and a guy who was said to be the son of (and sometimes equivalent to) this being. Those are some pretty darn lofty claims.

We also have written accounts of Scylla, Charybdis, Cyclops, dog-faced Aethiopians, Dragons, Mermaids, Sasquatch, the Tatzelwurm, and the Chupacabra.

Guess what?

Just because something is written down doesn't make it evidence of anything else but the fact that something was written down.

Harry Potter has seven books.

 

[Ruptga]

But we do have evidence. A written account, and that's what makes Christianity so compelling.

I don't know what kind of response you expected from this, but I for one am not surprised at all. Also, seriously? What religion doesn't have a sacred text that talks about things its founder(s) did? I don't see how that sets you apart at all.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Even if it was not written down until 50-60 years later, we know that it was customary at the time for Jewish people to memorize a rabbi's teachings word for word, using recitation based on Arametic poetical form, which was used specifically to aid memorization. Many scholars have concluded that the time period between Jesus death and the writing of the first gospel is too small for any significant corruption of Jesus's account and teachings.

Also of note, there are a multitude of works of history that are considered accurate records by scholars despite the fact that periods of several hundred years pass between the actual event in question and the recording of it. If we are to judge the Bible with equal bibliographic criticisms applied to other works of antiquity then it certainly passes.

You are either trolling or monumentally stupid. The bible suggests MIRACLES!! Works of wonder, resurrection, walking on water and it would be normal for nobody to bother to write it down until 50 years later? What kind of dope are you taking? Sure, maybe nobody will write down every single word of an ordinary sermon, but not record a miracle? A freaking miracle?!?!? Not one single instance of "Dear diary, today I was at a party and some hippie dude fed 1000 people with 3 fish!! It was so cool!!" and not one single mention of "Guy got executed last Friday and rose from the dead. You don't see that every day..." Nothing? Nothing at all?!?!?!? There are writings from that era detailing the lives of bread bakers, written civil records of prisoners and criminals, histories of notable events in that area from hundreds of years before Jesus supposedly appeared, so it's not like there were not people paying attention and chronicling what was happening. And yet none of them mention a guy performing miracles? BULLSHIT to what your imaginary scholars say maybe might have happened. A GOD walking among people and it didn't prompt one single person to record one single word of his exploits? You have to be trolling, nobody can be stupid enough to believe that.

 

[disappoint]

Many scholars have concluded that the time period between Jesus death and the writing of the first gospel is too small for any significant corruption of Jesus's account and teachings.

Also of note, many scholars have furthermore concluded that the time period between pete6032's post and the quoting of it by some random internet mansion dweller is too small for any significant corruption of pete6032's account and teachings. Which is why I, pete6032 hereby decree that all of you religionuts take your holy books and shove them up your sewage pipes sideways, maybe then, when you finally take a dump, you will realize how full of feces they have been all along.

Yeah right do you expect me to believe religious people will come to any realizations of this sort anytime soon? Hah!

 

[JEDIYoda]

Support? Sure.


What's on my mind with this sort of thing is that some people can become prone to substitute prayer for something practical, like true medical help in a relevant situation.

Whose to say whether this dying person had or did not have medical help???

 

[MongGrel]

But we do have evidence. A written account, and that's what makes Christianity so compelling.

• Scientology is bullshit! Man, I was there the night L. Ron Hubbard invented it, for Christ's sakes! … We were sitting around one night... who else was there? Alfred Bester, and Cyril Kornbluth, and Lester del Rey, and Ron Hubbard, who was making a penny a word, and had been for years. And he said "This bullshit's got to stop!" He says, "I gotta get money." He says, "I want to get rich". And somebody said, "why don't you invent a new religion? They're always big." We were clowning! You know, "Become Elmer Gantry! You'll make a fortune!" He says, "I'm going to do it."
  • "The Real Harlan Ellison" in Wings (November-December 1978) p. 3
  
  
  I believe they were drinking and playing poker at the time.
  
  

 

[MongGrel]

If you think just because something is written down makes it valid, you have a whole lot of waking up to reality coming in your future.

 

[Auric]

If you think just because something is written down makes it valid, you have a whole lot of waking up to reality coming in your future.

:sneaky: