No I am not, i specifically said its one reason i dont believe any of it.
The reason isn't valid. As I said, we never judge any other work on a "take it all as true or reject it all as false" basis. You take the claims one at a time and evaluate each claim. Darwin claims in Origin that all species produce more offspring per generation than the environment can support. The data he presents and other data since say that is a true claim. He also claims that wingless beetles on islands arose because of a Lamarckian mechanism of disuse. That claim is false. We don't throw out all of Origin because of one false claim.
So, to say you "don't believe any of" the Bible because of that reasoning is to use the fallacy of Special Pleading.
inspired to make up entire stories of things that didnt happen?
Inspired to write down the correct theology. "making up entire stories that didn't happen" is not, a priori, a bad thing. The story of the Good Samaritan, for instance, is made up and didn't happen. But doesn't it tell us a truth about hypocrisy and helping our fellow human beings?
Shakespeare's
Macbeth is an entire story that is made up and didn't happen. But the reason the play is so popular is that it tells us truths about the human condition: lust for power, corruption by power, justice, redemption, etc.
how wrong does it need to be before you just say its nonsense thru and thru?
How wrong does
Macbeth have to before you say it is nonsense thru and thru. Or
Grapes of Wrath or
Moby Dick?
There are essential theological statements in the Bible:
1. Yahweh exists.
2. There is only one deity.
3. Yahweh cares about humans.
4. Yahweh created the universe.
Now there are also accounts of Yahweh's intervention in human history. The crucial interventions, IMO, are the Exodus and Jesus' life, death, and particularly Resurrection. As Paul said, if the Resurrection did not happen, Christianity is toast.
To the best of my knowledge, the essentials of each of these have not been shown to be wrong. Yes, some of the details are wrong, but that happens for every historical event. No, there weren't 250,000 Hebrews leaving Egypt, just like there weren't 100,000 at many medieval battles, despite what the chroniclers said. But we have nothing showing that the essential statements are wrong.
I have heard that "theologically accurate' before, mabye you could explain it in a way that would be reasonable. To me it sounds like " Its true even tho it didnt happen".
Let's look at the theology in Genesis 1. Remember, the sequence of creation events in Genesis 1 is modeled on the Enuma Elish, the creation story of the rival Babylonian religion. Genesis 1 is a refutation of that religion. It has worked so well that most people don't even know there was a rival religion!
1. Yahweh (elohim) created the heavens and the earth.
2. Yahweh (elohim) is just one. Monotheism.
3. Yahweh creates all the physical objects associated with the Babylonian gods: freshwater, sweetwater, land, plants, sun, moon, stars, etc. And does so in the order in which they appear in the Enuma Elish. THus, the theological message is that the Babylonian gods don't exist.
4. Yahweh creates all animals. Thus there are no animal spirits.
5. There is no magic.
6. In the Babylonian religion, humans are created to be servants to and playthings of the gods. In Genesis 1, humans are created for their own sakes.
7. Humans have dominion and power over the earth. The theology here is that whatever humans do to the earth, then that is what will be. Yahweh is not going to pull their chestnuts out of the fire (unlike the opinion of some global warming deniers today).
i thought the bible said you arent supposed to be go figuring out your own interpretations of it? What is that verse?
First, the verse refers to
prophecy. That's prediction of future events. Second, these aren't private interpretations. Have you looked at the first quotation in my signature?
I dont read the bible as history, i see it as semi historical at least in places, tho not in any of the supernatural stuff.
Except for the crucial interventions of Yahweh into human history I mentioned, it is semi historical. The history is there to supplement the theology. For instanc, Matthew is making the case that Jesus is the new Moses, because Matthew is writing specifically to Jews. Moses was in Egypt and Moses had to flee because all other infants were being killed. So Matthew invents a story about infants in Judea being killed and Jesus' family flees to Egypt.
The problem is that you can't, by any objective means, tell that the supernatural stuff is not historical. This is where you are using Special Pleading. Now, I am not trying to change your belief that the "supernatural stuff" is not true. You need that belief to be an atheist. And possibly it isn't true. BUT, it is also possible to believe the "supernatural stuff" is true. There is no objective means to say it is false.
But other parts are supposed to be read as history? How do you know which is which?
Critical thinking. Which parts, if not history, destroys the theology? As I said, IMO there are 2 events.
I know its theology, but without the narrative, then what is it?
Ah, I see part of your confusion. Judeo-Christianity is what is called a historical religion. That is, it depends on God intervening in human history. Judaism is founded on the Exodus. God intervenes in human history to release the Hebrews from forced labor in Egypt and helps them set up a nation. Christianity is founded on the Resurrection. The rest can be, but doesn't need to be history. For instance, Jonah doesn't need to be swallowed by a whale (or giant fish). The purpose of the story is that God, if He so chooses, will openly manipulate your life to achieve His purpose. If God
really wants you to do something, you can't avoid it.
