Quote:
"The problem is not with human limitations, as some claim. The problem is the bible itself. People who are free of theological bias notice that the bible contains hundreds of discrepancies. Should it surprise us when such a literary and moral mish-mash, taken seriously, causes so much discord?"
(Dan Barker in
Losing Faith in Faith.)
Here are some contradictions within the bible about the ark:
How many animals in the ark?
Genesis 6:19 "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark."
Genesis 7:8-9: "Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of everything that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the femal, as God had commanded Noah."
Genesis 7:15 "And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life."
Geneses 7:2 "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female, and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female."
Barker goes on to say that
Quote:
it is always scholarly to consider the original languages, but why should it be necessary with the "word of God?" An omnipotent, omniscient deity should have made his all-important message unmistakenly clear to everyone, everywhere, at all times. No one should have to learn an extinct language to get God's message, especially an ancient language about which there is so much scholarly disagreement. If the English translation is flawed or imprecise, then God failed to get his point across to English speakers. A true fundamentalist should consider the English version of the bible to be just as inerrant as the original because if we admit that human error was possible in the translation, then it is equally possible in the original writing.
(Source: Dan Barker:
Losing Faith in Faith)
Interesting links:
http://www.ffrf.org
http://www.infidelguy.com/
AND I guess you all know this thread has been hijacked.
It started out about ghosts and hauntings, now we're talking about the ark and other aspects of the bible! Let's try to continue the thread as it was intended. Discussions about ghosts and hauntings are always going to include references to one's religious beliefs but ghosts and hauntings and whether or not we believe in them was the original thread topic. Let's get back to that aspect of the discussion, please.