Monday, November 11, 2013

Even The Bible Is Inconsistent On Why There Is Suffering





Prof. Bart Ehrman gives a lecture on the Bible's many explanations why suffering exists. In doing so, he shows it isn't exactly consistent. (Surprise!) Some books in the Bible (like Amos) say that suffering comes from god's punishment for disobeying him, others (like the Book of Daniel) say that there are evil forces in the world that tempt you to do evil and disobey god, and these forces cause suffering, and yet others (like Ecclesiastes) say that we should live with the focus on our current life and enjoy it as much as we can since there is nothing after this.

Wow, talk about being all over the map.



3 comments:

  1. It seems to me that the chief benefit of a set of (odd) documents collected in "The Bible" is that they offer a little something for everyone -- their hallmark is not so much their continuity and consistency, but that one can find support for at least two sides of just about anything by choosing which part is relevant. So, it's a small thing, but I would have written the headline to "The Bible can't even consistently explain suffering."

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    Replies
    1. And it's not only that there's so many different, inconsistent viewpoints, but there doesn't seem to be any objective means to choose one position over another.
      It's cherry picking according to what is already believed, and the only way the person's understanding of the bible seems to change is if their own opinion concerning the issue is changed.

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  2. I agree with Ehrman, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." Well not like literally, but you know.

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