there is no possible rational argument that you could use which would convince me that an evolved species would consider anything other than what was best for the individual.
well, that is becaue you do not read enough evolutionary biology. species often work together for mutual benefit. living things are just robots programmed to copy their genes into future generations, and sometimes it helps to work together towards this end.
Selfishness is innate. Altruism is conditioned. This would be a much better world if everyone were selfish individuals, not blowing themselves up for allah and other sacrificial bull****.
because often individuals want to maximize personal utility at the expense of collective utility. so we make rules and we try to operate in such a way that utlity is maximized for the most people possible. the most basic of these rules are sometimes called "morals" you should know this if you either: 1. went to college or 2. are alive and human with a brain
Don't get all pissy with me, just trying to help you feel relevant. Maximize personal utility at the expense of collective utility huh, sounds like a fancy way of saying "sin" to me.
Another martin fantasy. I think the Bible is an amazing, unmatched, 4-millenia history of the Jewish people and its later Christian sect and documents their beliefs. I think it exceptional as literature among all ancient documents. Moreover, I believe it is instrumental in shaping the moral and legal concepts of western civilization in its advancing of the Judeo-Christian ethic. It is a cherished piece of history, literature, and law. I only maintain that The Bible is not infallible, inerrant, and literally true. The closest I come to your beliefs, martin, is that I do not believe the bible is holy. It is the work of men and their concepts of God, it is not the creation of God. I do not deny the existence of God. I only believe that it is impossible for us to ever know if God exists and what he expects from us. I definitely don't believe in holy men, holy objects, and holy books. But this book I can appreciate as truly great. Any library that doesn't have it is not a library at all.
I think the biggest issue when discussing Biblical contradictions is that it is all about the readers interpretation. There is alot of it that can mean different things based on how you are looking at it. Due to that dual nature of the Bible (literal description vs. parable) it is almost impossible to peg down what is intended to be a hard fact, or just an account. I do feel that (many of) the lessons taught in the Bible are important ones for people to learn, but I view it like Asope's Fables- a collection of life lessons that have universal themes. The only problem I have with the Christian religion is with Fundamentalists: basically the ones that believe the Bible is the 100% literal inerrant Word of God. There's just too many holes in the story, and too many translations that have occured for someone to take it every single word 100% literally, and it's that type of thinking that forbids any type of critical thinking. Doubt is frowned upon as a lack of faith. Interpretation is heresy. The more you close your eyes to observable reality and embrace the word of God the better. That was the overwhelming attitude of the Fundamentalist and Southern Baptist churches I grew up in, and the amount of ignorance and belief in some very ridiculous concepts I grew up with was incredible (ie Rock Music is a sin, Dancing is a sin, Drinking Wine is a sin)
The phrase "face to face" cannot be taken literally. God is spirit so it is silly to think of him has having a face. I repeat, fire is one of the traditional ways of expressing God's presence. Yes, man was created in God's image, not not his physical image because God is not physical. And if you want to take that verse literally, does that mean women were not created in God's image? Athiests and Fundamentalists suffer from the same problem. They insist on interpreting the Bible literally, but for different purposes. That is where they get into trouble.
I agree 100% that the Bible is an anthology of folklore, poetry, drama, and history, but when read in the proper context it is a mistake free work. One of my main problems with fundamentalist Christianity is the literal interpretation of the Bible. I can definitley see such a view leading to closed doors and ignorance. The various interpretations by the different protestant groups is one of the main reasons I am Catholic.
