Why the bible & not Mythology?

Why is it that the bible is taken as fact....it all really happened...supposedly, but the writing of mythology, is taken as just stories...this makes NO sense to me what-so-ever. The only reason I can't think of is because people are told from childhood that the bible is true.....I think much of mythology is real accounting of events...

I ask that question myself, historian already have proved the inconsistencies of the bible, the timing or chronology does not match and still some people will swear by it. Beat me!!!!!!!!!!

I guess old habits are hard to change.

Originally posted by marg6043
I ask that question myself, historian already have proved the inconsistencies of the bible, the timing or chronology does not match and still some people will swear by it. Beat me!!!!!!!!!!

I guess old habits are hard to change.

What timing is that? Just curious.

Timing from the begining of the old testament meaning the begining of the creation of the world to match the time of the birth of jesus chronological data.

The bible is not taken as pure truth except by some of those who believe it for the most part.

There is a good amount of historical reccord of battles and kingdoms and such included in it though, however this is far from making the whole book true.

Modern science has used the bible to locate some old battle sites and ruins but not too much else. Personally as a Pagan, a scholar at a major university and someone who uses common sense, I don't believe that Jona could live in a whale, that the earth was created in 6 days (and a day long break) or that the whole planet could be swallowed by a flood, sorry it just didn't happen and most every credible scientist and historian agrees.

Blessed Be
~Astral

Originally posted by The Astral City
The bible is not taken as pure truth except by some of those who believe it for the most part.

There is a good amount of historical reccord of battles and kingdoms and such included in it though, however this is far from making the whole book true.

Modern science has used the bible to locate some old battle sites and ruins but not too much else. Personally as a Pagan, a scholar at a major university and someone who uses common sense, I don't believe that Jona could live in a whale, that the earth was created in 6 days (and a day long break) or that the whole planet could be swallowed by a flood, sorry it just didn't happen and most every credible scientist and historian agrees.

Blessed Be
~Astral

So it is more believable that the entire universe started from something smaller than the period at the end of this sentence and expanded to what we have today (Big Bang Theory)?

lol... The Bible is probably taken seriously because of years of Christian dominance in the culture.

Since then, it's been used to substantiate almost every social or political viewpoint ever made, from anti-gay to pro-gay, to anti-semetism to pro-semitism, to polygamy to legalizing marijuana.

Maybe people will realize it's a bunch of morale tales and anecdotes written down on parchment and compiled into the first book, and that's its only real significance.

If you have studied advanced physics dcgolf, then yes it's quite plausible that the big bang did occour. In fact, from what we humans have seen through non-bias observation based science it's probably the most likely of the creation hypothesis that have come along so far.

Atomic density and the bending of the dimensions of space and time as well as the gravity that would be beyond anything that the human mind could possibly envision except abstractly could very well have caused the physically small entity to expand to it's current size. Also, according to some theoretical physicists, (with the notable exception of Dr. Hawking who reciently wrote a paper explaining his dissent) the Universal Engine had probably converted much of the matter to energy at that time, later turning it back into matter (no one is quite sure how this works but there is evidence of it) as the universe expands.

It all sounds more plausible to me than the Western Religious account of creation which somehow took a being that is perfectly powerful an extended amount of time to accomplish instead of just willing it into existance at one fixed point. Philosophy of religion students such as myself are still scratching their heads on that one.

You know, how bout rather than argue about something that has been proven to be in favor of science like the big bang we ask about something much more interesting and evenly debated, like proofs for inteligent design or the problem of evil.

This is a bit off topic though.

Blessed Be
~Astral

:sigh:

You know I really don't think we would have been having this discussion about why people believe the bible is more than just mythos ten years ago. I really am begining to think that the so called Christian Revolution has caused even more disturbing changes in America's thinking than I'd originally seen.

Ever since the times of the enlightenment the claims of the bible have been called into question by science. Now we live in an age where we are supposed to be the smartest, most advanced people ever and yet I see people calling science into question because of the bible?

This is not progress, I refuse to believe that we have reached such a crossroads where 5,000 years of civilization and learning through observation can be given the same weight as a book of Jewish and Chrstian mythology. If we are at this nexus though, humanity must choose factual enlightenment over religious socialization, so help me Goddess.

Blessed Be
~Astral

Originally posted by LadyV
Why is it that the bible is taken as fact....it all really happened...supposedly, but the writing of mythology, is taken as just stories...this makes NO sense to me what-so-ever.

A great portion of the bible is taken directly from mythology. Some of the best stories - creation, adam/eve and noah's ark - all come from more ancient, "pagan" traditions.

Do a search on the Epic of Gilgamesh - excellent resource for the earliest known written account of the great flood.

Also there are a few of us (not many) who believe that the story of Moses was actually a retooling of Egypt's brief experience with mono-theism. There are many similarities between Akhenaten's exodus to the desert where he built a city to worship his single god, Aton and Moses's exodus with the Hebrews.

Uh, one quick question, what does this mean: "non-bias observation based science"...I didnt realize such a thing existed.

Originally posted by Jamuhn
Uh, one quick question, what does this mean: "non-bias observation based science"...I didnt realize such a thing existed.

Well, that's the entire goal of the scientific method.

the ctholic religion in comparitive...the caths removed several books from the bible...as did christians....to mould what it is into their religous system....in perspective alot of the bible is recreation of ancient story...before christianity...egyptian text states that ptah vomitted the world from his mouth...just as christianity states god spoke the world into existence....the stories of rah and his journeys...compare to jesus and his journeys....the bringer of light set...also comparitive to lucifer,satan,was cast from the heavens to rule the dead souls that have no good...also the earth is ruled by set in the texts...as satan rules the earth in christianity....
lesser gods equal angels...christianity vs egyptology...
in greek myth they speak of the son of the god...same as in romanism...and christianity....paganism is the proprietary belief of all religions...the belief of one all powerful and the lesser...saints...angels...demons....judges....archangels....gods...goddesses....mother earth father universe....the elements....water=jesus fire=satan earth=mankind wind=god(his voice) all around us and beside us and inside us think about it....
+++LoSs+++

Originally posted by lossofreason this is all we are
the ctholic religion in comparitive...the caths removed several books from the bible...as did christians....to mould what it is into their religous system....in perspective alot of the bible is recreation of ancient story...before christianity...egyptian text states that ptah vomitted the world from his mouth...just as christianity states god spoke the world into existence....the stories of rah and his journeys...compare to jesus and his journeys....the bringer of light set...also comparitive to lucifer,satan,was cast from the heavens to rule the dead souls that have no good...also the earth is ruled by set in the texts...as satan rules the earth in christianity....
lesser gods equal angels...christianity vs egyptology...
in greek myth they speak of the son of the god...same as in romanism...and christianity....paganism is the proprietary belief of all religions...the belief of one all powerful and the lesser...saints...angels...demons....judges....archangels....gods...goddesses....mother earth father universe....the elements....water=jesus fire=satan earth=mankind wind=god(his voice) all around us and beside us and inside us think about it....
+++LoSs+++

i consider the bible and greek mythology to be on the same level. while most of it are mainly stories created by humans, at the same time there is a more cryptic meaning behind all it.

One of the reason of manipulating the creation myth in the bible was to used the original sin and made mankind afraid of God.

The fundation of the church relay in this part of the bible to make people dependant on salvation. Without original sin people will not need salvation.

(The Doctrine of Original Sin) declares that (man) ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge - he acquired a mind and became a rational being. It was the knowledge of good and evil - he became a moral being. He was sentenced to earn his bread by his labor - he became a productive being. He was sentenced to experience desire - he acquired the capacity of sexual enjoyment. The evils for which ( the preachers ) damn him are,

Reason,

morality,

creativeness,

Joy

All the cardinal values of his existence.

By Ayn Rand.

since this lil srting was started i have been doing alot of comparitive study and you all have good thoughts we need to continue this string it is very interesting and i want elaboration and more conversation please i am begging you all
ty loss

Here in the Netherlands most people don't take the bible literally. Well, at least I don't think I've ever met someone that took the bible literally on my christian school.

Originally posted by Bleys
Do a search on the Epic of Gilgamesh - excellent resource for the earliest known written account of the great flood.

Yes, and it's also a great story. Gilgamesh searches for eternal life after the death of his friend Enkidoe and in the end comes to the conclusion that he should live eternally through his great deeds. In his search for eternal life he goes to Oetnapisjtin, the surviver of the great flood. Because no humans were supposed to survive the flood, the gods (I believe Ea) gave him eternal life and making him a god instead of a human. Oetnapisjtin tells the story of the flood to Gilgamesh and it is basicly the same as the Christian story, but with multiple gods instead of one.

Ah, LadyV, you are a saint!

Yes, yes...I realize the strangeness of that statement.

But, it is a question that I have asked myself countless times over the years.

Why Armageddon and not Ragnarok?

Why Yahweh, and not Quetzoacoatl?

Why Jesus, and Not Zeus?

I don't really know, and I don't expect you'll find a much more satisfactory answer as the one I'm about to give you.

Simply put: The bible has been modernized. It's easier for people to digest... As for myself, I'm teetering on the very dangerous 3-way precipice of Christianity, Atheism, and Asatru. It's a very hard situation to come back from. It's just that the religions througout history that have been at one point 'right' have all been 'defeated'. And all defeated religions, (save for one) are not practiced, save for in remote backwaters, as most bible scholars put it.

These 'defeated' religions are regarded as simply 'wrong'. And that's the closed-minded sad truth. Sorry to break it to you. I know, it makes me sad too.

Finally! Someone else sees the irony in this situation. The bible taken as fact but all other sources disregarded. I believe you are on the right path to the truth!