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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is anything in the bible proven untrue | Ps 119:160 | Reformer Joe | 67237 | ||
Again, nonsense. The number 7 would be a bad approximation for pi, not 3. In any case,how do you definitively determine that the Old Testament is fudging on pi at all? How are you certain that it is not the diameter of the sea that is being approximated, or the cirumference, or both? How precise does a recorded measurement of a circumference have to be to its diameter times an irrational number in order for it to meet the great atheist's standard of precision? After all, it does have the same number of significant figures as measurement of its diameter, so I would have supposed it would have met your keen scientific standards. :) Do you really think that something pitiful like this proves the Bible to be unreliable? I suppose that if I said that I lived 400 miles away from my parents, but actually lived 412 miles away, then I suppose I couldn't be trusted to give an accurate representation of the facts. Seriously, take a few steps back (or 3.1415926 steps back, if you prefer), and think about how silly your argument is. Then, I recommend that you go read the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which is perhaps the best summary and explanation of what the doctrine of inerrancy is and isn't. In it, you will find this paragraph: "So history must be treated as history, poetry as poetry, hyperbole and metaphor as hyperbole and metaphor, generalization and approximation as what they are, and so forth. Differences between literary conventions in Bible times and in ours must also be observed: Since, for instance, nonchronological narration and imprecise citation were conventional and acceptable and violated no expectations in those days, we must not regard these things as faults when we find them in Bible writers. When total precision of a particular kind was not expected nor aimed at, it is no error not to have achieved it. Scripture is inerrant, not in the sense of being absolutely precise by modern standards, but in the sense of making good its claims and achieving that measure of focused truth at which its authors aimed." And the whole document (a good read for all, IMO) can be found here: http://www.jpusa.org/jpusa/documents/biblical.htm --Joe! |
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2 | Is anything in the bible proven untrue | Ps 119:160 | ateo | 67275 | ||
Joe, I'll take your questions one at a time. "How are you certain that it is not the diameter of the sea that is being approximated, or the cirumference, or both?" B/C to assume something like that is pure speculation. To the best of my ability, I try not to add to Scripture, I take it as it comes. "How precise does a recorded measurement of a circumference have to be to its diameter times an irrational number in order for it to meet the great atheist's standard of precision?" Assuming the diameter is 10 cubits, the circumference should be 31.4159265... Thus, I wouldn't have a beef if the circumference was given as 31.5 cubits. "Do you really think that something pitiful like this proves the Bible to be unreliable?" No. As I said before, it's not that big of a deal. "I suppose that if I said that I lived 400 miles away from my parents, but actually lived 412 miles away, then I suppose I couldn't be trusted to give an accurate representation of the facts." This argument looks good on paper, but you are a human being, so I expect you to roundoff a little. I don't expect God to give an approximation that was worse than ones already found by mathematicians at the time. Being a graduate student in math, I suppose I take this a little too personally. :-) As I said before, it's not earth-shattering. There's really nothing there to debate. ateo |
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3 | Is anything in the bible proven untrue | Ps 119:160 | Reformer Joe | 67276 | ||
You wrote: "Thus, I wouldn't have a beef if the circumference was given as 31.5 cubits." Well, I am sure the God you don't believe in is distressed by your "beef." :) You wrote: "I don't expect God to give an approximation that was worse than ones already found by mathematicians at the time." Well, God does all kinds of things we don't expect. Rounding off is not unbiblical. :) "Being a graduate student in math, I suppose I take this a little too personally." As a side note, speaking of math and precision and the design of things, you might enjoy a book entitled _Intelligent Design._ It is by William Dembski, who holds two Ph.D.'s -- one in mathematics and one in philosophy. http://www.discovery.org/crsc/ --Joe! |
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4 | Is anything in the bible proven untrue | Ps 119:160 | ateo | 67290 | ||
Joe, What makes you think I don't believe in God? ateo P.S. Your sarcasm is childish and unbecoming. |
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5 | Is anything in the bible proven untrue | Ps 119:160 | Reformer Joe | 67325 | ||
You wrote: "What makes you think I don't believe in God?" Because you say so every time you sign your "name": "ateo" Try checking my occupation under my user profile. "P.S. Your sarcasm is childish and unbecoming." Well, I find it dishonest to impersonate a Christian on a forum specifically designed for Christians to study the Bible. Ever time that you send a post, you agree to the following terms: "2. This post is not intended as a personal attack on the authority of the Bible or on other users of this forum." If you wish to debate with Christians on the authority of Scripture and the tenets of Christianity, there is no shortage of forums on the Internet for that purpose. The owners of this Web site determined from the outset that this is not one of them. I recommend carm.org or beliefnet.com (you will find me posting quite regularly on the latter under the same name; I welcome dialogue with you there). This is simply not the place to be declaring that the Bible is false because of a cubit and a half. --Joe! |
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6 | Is anything in the bible proven untrue | Ps 119:160 | Emmaus | 67448 | ||
Joe, You are as sharp as a tack on this one. Of course tacks can be painful for those they come into contact with. Sometimes they are accused of being tactless tacks. On the subject of ateos, I thought you might enjoy todays entry from a service I subscribe to: Subject: American Minute - November 21st American Minute with Bill Federer November 21st The French author Voltaire was born this day, November 21, 1694. He was celebrated for his wit, brilliancy and his hatred of Christianity. According to Yale President Timothy Dwight, Voltaire had "formed a systematical design to destroy Christianity and to introduce... a general diffusion of... atheism." Bruce Barton, an American advertising executive, wrote: "Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a short-lived book. He said that within a hundred years it would pass from common use. Not many people read Voltaire today, but his house has been packed with Bibles as a depot of a Bible society." Emmaus |
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7 | Is anything in the bible proven untrue | Ps 119:160 | Reformer Joe | 67465 | ||
And the funny thing isthat people are still saying things like this about the Bible today. Too bad that a lot of them profess to be Christians nonetheless... --Joe! |
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