Are you referring to the challenge to produce a book to match the Quran? Leaving aside the references to genies (jinn), who would judge the results? Sounds like a loaded bet, to me. If the Quran explains how to interpret it, then why do we have variations in translation? Obviously there is still some difference of opinion about what certain passages mean. I haven't read The Battle for God, but isn't it a study of the Abrahamic faiths. You know, the ones that you thought shouldn't be lumped together?
I just spat my coffee all over my laptop! So God sent down His "only son" (how did this son exist before taking physical form? In what way was it God's 'son'?) to have the people he was trying to absolve of sin (Something that had already been done, apparently, through the Noachian Flood) torture him and sacrifice him to Himself, so that he could then remove sin from the world that was present because his creation Eve ate from a forbidden tree that he also created, which served no purpose other than to be a temptation?
Yeah, I must admit, the Bible doesn't make a lot of sense if you take it literally. Original Sin doesn't even make sense as a concept, because Eve would have had no concept of right and wrong before eating the fruit.
That's funny, death is supposed to be an abhorrent thing, that is a punishment for Adam and Eve's supposed sin. But when it suits this argument, death is God's way of stopping her suffering. Once again, "cognitive dissonance" is the phrase that springs to mind. I mean no offence to you or your mother, by the way.
What's so funny about that? I take a lot of the Bible to be symbolic rather than literal. In particular, I think that the stories of Adam and Eve and the story about God creating the World in 6 days are symbolic.
Religion doesn't start wars. Religion doesn't cause pain. Humans will always start wars in any name religion is just one excuse, ask Hitler
I think I once read somewhere that evidence had been found of a World Wide flood that once took place
Christians believe that Jesus was sent to earth as God's son and was born of the Virgin Mary. God sacraficed his only Son to show his love for us and to absolve our sins. It was more the suffering that Jesus went through than the fact that he died.
I don't think that there can be a worldwide flood. The water has to come from somewhere. There are a number of flood stories in various cultures, though. Don't think that there's any physical evidence to support the biblical flood, though. Perhaps as a local event, if you take world to mean known world.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/1999/11/22/proof-of-noahs-flood That's actually from a religious site and so may be biased but I'm sure I read it somewhere else years ago.
I know what Christians believe, but it still makes no sense. God suddenly felt sorry and that he should give humans another chance? Why is a bloody, disgusting torture necessary? Why did a physical form of God, in Human flesh, have to die?
That they were crazy! Dying was supposed to be part of Jesus' "Mission" (for want of a better word) though.
I'm sorry, but I'm not even opening that link. Answers In Genesis is utter bullshit, not even children's science. To their credit, they actually have a list of "arguments not to use", though clearly it is failing otherwise "don't use anything from our site" would also be on there.
How does it prove his love!? How does it open people's eyes, and why is a violent torture of His son by the people He is trying to save the only way to do this!? How does it spread the word!?
