Is All Religion Just Fiction?

[philipdalton]

Tom considers religion to be fiction, so let's all have a debate on whether there really is a God, angels, a devil or whatever.
Do you think the Bible is merely a collection of stories or the inspired word of God?
Did life get here by evolution or by creation?
Let's all be careful NOT to post links to other websites though.

[Clara Listensprechen]

Well, this is something I didn't know about Tom but am delighted to hear, as I agree with him. Now, when you speak of "the Bible", and if you're British, you're doubtless referring to the King James Authorized version. This particular version came about as the result of King James Stuart (I of England, II of Scotland) taking issue with the Geneva Version in popular use before his own was launched. The issue was recognizing his claim to Divine Right to Rule--the Geneva Version did no such thing.

There are many disparate versions of Bible to the point that today's Bible versions are Standardized. This means that other versions of Bible are "consulted" but the amalgam which results is forced to fit a Protestant (typically Anglican) model, a Roman Catholic model, or Orthodox model.

These facts alone should serve as clue enough that any version of Bible is a human creation, as there exists no single authoritative source for all versions of Bible. Staunch believers will make claims about a codex referred to as Textus Receptus, but that's only because there are different versions of "original texts" running around out there, too.

[tch]

Pretty much, yeah. It's all fables, allegories and other words I learned while working on my English major to explain how the world worked or as teaching tools.
Personally, I prefer the Greek and Norse myths over the bible. More monster fights and babes.

[Clara Listensprechen]

Given that, then the British royals and lords don't have a reason for being but for the fable factor, the House of Coburg-Saxe in particular (aka the nonetheless Saxon House of Windsor). And yet the UK remains an Anglican theocracy. Go figure.

[CorinaMLennox]

Is all religion just fiction? A very good question asked if the person asking is really seeking the truth on the issue and not just assuming one way or the other.. However, for many of us the study of all the multiple different religions that are out there would be tedious at best and imposible at worst. Since the topic is answered, so far, by those who question biblical accuracy.. in otherwords who believe it to be entirely fictional.. here are some topics to look up... (Too bad actual websites can't be placed here, it would make this a lot easier if they could be.) Archaological proofs of historical accuracies
1. Pithon bricks... In reference to the oppression of the children of Israel in Egypt.
2. Hittites
3. Sargon
4. George Smith, 1872 On the mentioned world wide flood
5. Doctor John Garstang, 1929 on what he discovered about the walls of Jericho
6. The writings of Josephus
Just for starters....
I find it hard to say that the bible is entirely fictitious when there are archaeologal proofs of its historical accuracy. But you be the judge.

[Clara Listensprechen]

You failed to specify which version of Bible is the accurate one, sorry.

As for archaeology, archaeology also proved that the Civil War actually happened...so therefore we should consider the novel "Gone With The Wind" to be true.

"All Quiet on the Western Front" is just as true as The Bible is because archaeology can prove that, too.

By the way, much of Josephus is a forgery.

Pleased to meet you--incidentally, I'm a fan of Christopher Hitchens, but feel that I can do a better job.

[philipdalton]

Tom seems to be being bombarded with questions related to religion this month, he's had three of them for starters already, including my own.

[tch]

The bible is either fiction or it's not. Even if 'bits of it might be sort of true', that does not make it non-fiction, at best it's historical fiction.

and I'm using the bible as my yardstick for judging religion because it's the manual/textbook/ etc for religion. If it's the 'creatively edited' word of god, then it's still fiction.

religion has it's use in society, but being treated as historical fact is not it.

[Clara Listensprechen]

Which version?

When folks refer to "the Bible" one would think that the same folks would say which flavor they're talking about. Not all Bibles agree with each other, so you still need to tell us which measuring stick you're using, if you're using one as a measuring stick.

[Clara Listensprechen]

Tom seems to be being bombarded with questions related to religion this month, he's had three of them for starters already, including my own.

I wonder why that is, I wonder I wonder...

I rather liked that question as to which biblical character Tom would like to play, because when you get down to brass tacks, it's mainly passionate drama and bloodshed. So is Shakespeare.