Quote Originally Posted by Pete_S View Post
Yeah, you can, even William Jennings Bryant admitted that he believed parts of the bible were metaphor under the questioning of Clarence Darrow during the Scopes monkey trial.
Quote Originally Posted by Oglethorpe View Post
This is exactly what Catholics do. They accept that the creation story is just that: a story. Many old testament chapters are the same way. They are fables used more importantly as teachings on certain things rather than as historical events.
The problem with the above posts is that, while they admit that "some" biblical elements are metaphor (read fabricated), they do not address my original point; how can a person accept that some parts are false but whole-heartedly believe the other parts? It's simple, you can't.

True religious people would say you can't just pick and choose the parts you want to believe and discard the rest; that's called fanaticism. Look at what's going on in the Muslim world, fanatics blowing themselves up (and many innocent bystanders as well) all in the name of their "branch" of Islam. Top Islamic clerics agree that the koran does not condone such behaviour, yet it still happens. Manipulation by religious clerics is not a new concept by any means, and has been practiced since the beginning of time, whether you pray to god, allah, zues or ra the sun god. I believe this type of manipulation was part of X-Man's original thread: dangerous dogma.

Quote Originally Posted by fccexpert View Post
The problem with your statement is, some parts of the bible are based on real events. They may not be portrayed with historical accuracy, and the interpretations and meanings assigned to them are subject to debate and even disagreement. But then, the same can be said for much that passes as science as well (e.g. the role of human activity in the current global warming trend). The bible is not a history text, but it is not a total fabrication either.
The problem with your statement sir is that, while it is true that the bible takes place in historical times and references real events and places, there is no real proof that described biblical stories actually took place. The real historical events/places are merely in the periphery. In any event, whether or not the historical backdrop is accurate or not is entirely irrellevant. Just because a story is set in Rome doesn't mean it actually happened in Rome. Like I said before, you either believe all of it or none of it.