Is the Bible false? Specifically, the miracles written within the document

Good points, thanks for taking the time to write that response.

Well, all I know right now is I am genuinely enjoying the community of Christians at the church I am going to. So this is sort of a miracle in itself because the past almost 10 years I’ve just been spending a lot of time by myself.

But yea, I’m gonna keep going and see how things turn out.

As far as the miracles and God letting me know who did the miracle… God doesn’t seem to speak very clearly to us humans haha… it’s not like we are Moses where God spoke “face to face”.

But I guess the argument could be made that the “sayings” of Jesus are actually God talking to us “face to face”, so maybe things can be made pretty clear

 

This is at least partially true. There are many different religions in the world. All of them can't be true. So at least some people are operating under autosuggestion.

But as far as existence itself. Okay, so say God created everything. But how did God get there in the first place? How did God exist in the first place? There seems to be no logical explanation of how anything exists, yet we do exist. Even from a purely scientific standpoint about the "Big Bang", --- they still say everything "came forth" from one small particle or one small atom. But the answer to how that atom got there in the first place, there is no answer to that. So then, if there is no logical answer to how anything exists, then how does everything exist?

There is a Bible verse that somewhat relates to this I think.

Isaiah 55: 8-9 -- "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways", declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

So the answer to existence, there HAS to be an answer, because we do exist. So whatever the answer is --- some people call this God and that God is alive and has an intelligence. But other people say the "answer" to existence is not alive and does not think for itself, this is maybe more of a purely scientific view of things.

 

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Yea there was a church I attended a few years ago and I ended up becoming friends for a while with a Jewish guy (who believed in Jesus). He told me that in Judaism there are certain writings that are meant to convey a certain truth or certain lesson, but that the supernatural event didn't necessarily happen. For example, in the book of Joshua when he asked God to keep the sun from setting so the Hebrew army could hunt down the rest of their enemies. My Jewish friend at this church didn't believe God actually did this.

I can also see how the story of Jonah could easily represent going against his calling and then being swallowed up by "choas", but not necessarily a whale in the ocean.

However, I guess it really comes down to if Jesus really was resurrected from the dead like how described in the Gospels. For Christianity to be true, and for Jesus's sayings and teachings to be truly trusted and counted on, then this resurrection would needed to have happened. Otherwise, yea I'd just probably view God more from the "Jewish" perspective than "Christian" perspective.

But yea, that's interesting on how much the Greeks wanted the Jews to study Western philosophy. I don't know much about the interactions between the Jews and Greeks or Jews and Romans.

And who knows, maybe Jesus really was resurrected in his physical body. If the Gospel stories are false, then the Jewish writers must have knowingly wanted to go against their own religion.

 

Yea I can see your point.. so I guess no matter what, the existence of our reality will eventually point towards something that no longer is logical. And at this point, due to the nature of our minds, we won't be able to get any further because we can't, as far as I know, think in a different way beyond logical thinking.

Here is a verse from Ecclasiastes that I think fits well:

[17] Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

 

Yea its a strange reality we are in. very strange.... but the fact that we can't logically understand how anything exists in the first place gives me hope that there will be life after death. Because if we humans don't have an answer, then that means the possibilities are endless in a way. So there is great hope for life after death I feel like

 

I have a similar story to yours. I have went to church and church groups and "young adult" groups off an on for about 10 years now. And I have also gotten into a lot of arguments about the Bible, most of the time just arguments in my own mind after hearing a sermon. I would usually feel like a lot of the sermon was partly truth and partly falsehood.

Then for a little while at school I joined a Jewish group on campus. Hung out with them for a while. And yea, I felt some strong compassion towards the Jewish people, too. And yea, the Gospels do pretty much blame the Jewish leaders for Jesus's crucifixion. The Gospel writers also almost try to show Pilate as more closer to the truth than the Jewish leaders.

Even more, there is a commandment in the book of Deuteronomy that says this:

13 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

I have read this argument among modern day rabbis that say even if Jesus was born from a virgin and even if Jesus was resurrected from the dead, that the commandment clearly states to not follow this person if they try to get you to follow another god.

And the fact that since the appearance of Jesus did change things around... now the "Trinity" exists....

But yea, I guess the arguments over what the Bible said and supposed "prophecies" about Jesus could go on forever.

Also, yea about the Christian community.. I actually decided not to attend on of the "Young adult" groups this weekend. The thing about the Christian community that also bothers me... yea everyone is nice and appears to be "loving"... but I kind of feel like behind the scenes they are just like most other people in the world - trying to make money and find someone to be in a romantic/sexual relationship with.

Just the other night, it was one of the girls birthdays... and this guy was texting her asking if he could buy her an ice cream. This girl wasn't romantically attracted to this guy at all.

Sometimes I feel like Christian churches are a woman's "beta male dream"... Tons and tons of guys to give her attention, protection, and material goods and other "help"... and these guys are expected to not want anything sexual from the girl. So sometimes I get weirded out by this dynamic and it makes me want to run away from there as fast as I can.

Modern Christian church: scores of men addicted to PMO surrounded by women who are patiently waiting for their perfect "alpha male" to come along and who could care less about the beta men who are suffering in their own repressed sexuality