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Question

Can the Bible be trusted???

Mar 15, 2018 2:47AM PDT

1Ki 7:23. The large wash water basin outside Solomon's Temple was 10 cubits in diameter and 30 cubits in circumference.
π = C / d
so, in the Bible, π = 3.00.
Is not Jehovah smarter than a fifth grader???

Discussion is locked

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Maybe a double post.
Mar 17, 2018 5:35PM PDT

Transliteration is the classic way to translate, and usually the best way to define a word in the new language. In that case, there s/b no "Hell" or "hell" in a modern bible. That's an English word, from the Scandinavian, not Semitic or Greek. Transliteration would have avoided some of the theological "problems" in the KJV, like Rev 20:14, where the 'everlasting torture' beloved of the KJV translators is said itself to undergo death, "cast into the lake of fire".
How did they miss that? As with Luke 23, they already believed in a falsehood; torture after death, in this case.
That one clause got me into three references simultaneously, plus two Bibles. Ades is the mss. version of what is often given as haides. [No aitch in Gk.] Wilson _transliterates_ as "the invisible", which Vine's says is "questionable"; it prefers hades, which it says "corresponds to Sheol in the OT", which is correct. But Wilson does _translate_ as Hades. Vine's: "It has been unhappily rendered 'Hell', e.g. Ps 16;10". That's of interest because that's a prophetic psalm of David, who was certainly not a candidate for everlasting torture. In fact, when Peter quotes it to the Jewish multitude at Acts 2:31 and 3:15, and Paul likewise at Acts 13:34-37, esp. v.36, they are teaching the scriptural view of death, not the church view.
I've been told that the original Greek Hades was simply a dark place underground where dead folks went. Not much happened there; just hangin' with their peeps. Later, action-adventure stuff was added, a la Xena Wonderbra Princess. All religions are subject to accretion, if not monitored. Acts 20:30. Did you see the David and Goliath episode? A hoot. Goliath was the good guy, the misunderstood oaf and long-time friend of Xena. Made sense; writers would see him as legendary, like her. Belonged to the same union, so to speak.
This is fun, innit?
Full disclosure: We revised our Bible in 2013, and dropped some of the literalism for easier reading, without changing the theology. Much of what I give here is from the 1984 revision, which the new one supports via footnotes and glossary. The new one is a house-to-house teaching aid in one package. Old farts like me miss some of the older language, but we'll survive.

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For more fun in understanding
Mar 17, 2018 8:06PM PDT

Run a search on prison and prisoners in the bible. Specifically I'm thinking of Isaiah and Jeremiah where those who failed to let their prisoners go after they'd served their time were condemned. In NT it says Jesus released those who had previously failed to repent during the days of Noah and were destroyed by The Flood. I guess they'd already served their sentence. There's an extra biblical book where he and Peter have a discussion on that and how Sheol-Hades works with God.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Peter

There is also a section which explains that in the end God will save all sinners from their plight in Hell:


"My Father will give unto them all the life, the glory, and the kingdom that passeth not away, ... It is because of them that have believed in me that I am come. It is also because of them that have believed in me, that, at their word, I shall have pity on men... "

[and God said]"... thou must not tell that which thou hearest unto the sinners lest they transgress the more, and sin
"

I have no idea why that would make people want to transgress even more. I can see why the Catholic church might object to that, yet there is that odd mention of Christ in accepted canon, removing those who previously sinned in Noah's days, from Hades.

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My comments on the Apocalypses and Gospels
Mar 17, 2018 10:16PM PDT

and Epistles of Peter, Paul, John - outside of the ones in scripture - can't be printed here because of the strong, even insulting, language. Steven will come after me with crackling fagots; the Mods will carry pitchforks and torches. You can read them, though, in the Catholic Encyclopedia at newadvent.org. That's where the words come from.
In other words, you're getting your "Christian teaching" from documents that even the RCC's Fathers and Doctors rejected.
>The dead know nothing.
>The soul, the man, dies completely at death.
>There is a resurrection for those of whom Jesus approves, and only those. Their second chance. No third chance.
[Gregory of Nyssa is your guy for universal salvation; got it from Origen's use of your Peter.]
When you have these ideas firmly entrenched in your belief system, we can talk.

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Your tradition vs. scripture.
Mar 17, 2018 6:01PM PDT

"_probably_ Paradise" Gen 1:28.
'Jesus' body' 1Cor 15:35 ff. Tradition is why Catholics shy away from cremation.
'wounds in flesh' of spirit creatures: Why not? Angels can eat and drink. Gen 18 & 19. Bodies were assumed for convenience.
"In the spirit" does not = dead. That church teaching is the "immortal soul", a phrase NOT found in the Bible. Church teaching. Eze 18:4. Heb 4:12: soul diff. from spirit.
Conjectures: "obviously", "would seem", "probably". Scripture is certain.
"Cross". Don't get me started! Happy
See my other post for certainties.

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PS.
Mar 17, 2018 6:10PM PDT

Rich man and Lazarus, literal or parable?
Can't be literal, from internal evidence. If a parable, Jesus explains it at the end. Quite a different message. Another time, perhaps.

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you need to learn...
Mar 17, 2018 8:09PM PDT

...the differences between a parable and a fable.

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355/113
Mar 16, 2018 5:20PM PDT

is a very close approximation when either your calculator does not have a pi key or you just want to admire the ancient Chinese and their math prowess. I once surprised my 8th grade chemistry teacher with this factoid and was rewarded with being called "teachers pet" for about a week. My sister ain't the only smart-aleck in our family... :^)

Rick

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First, I always showed them 22/7.
Mar 16, 2018 6:57PM PDT

Try it on a calculator; close enough for middle- and high-school, and better in fraction problems. Especially since 7 is prime, and 22 has only two factors, both primes. I used to encourage them to make a prime chart: Pencilled array from 1 to 100, erase all non-primes, study the chart from time to time. Saves time when trying to find a LCD for, say, 41 in a denominator; there is none, at a glance.

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Clicked too soon.
Mar 16, 2018 7:05PM PDT

Didn't know about your equivalent.
If they can remember trap #37 in Mario Bros. they can remember 3.14159, also 'close enough'.
Second, my threat to the unruly in HS was. 'I'll tell everyone you're the teacher's pet, and then they'll beat you up on the playground at recess.'
Took the kids a while to realize no recess or playground in HS.

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Good call.
Mar 16, 2018 7:09PM PDT

My PC calculator shows a difference of only 0.001264... between yours and mine. And yours is more mysterious. Happy
If you don't want to eschew obfuscation.