And aside from language changes, the Bible has also been edited hundreds of times and had about a dozen possible books taken out of it by the Catholic Church in an effort to censor it.
Those books were not taken out...the Bible as we know it was assembled from the many manuscripts which were the gospel according to (insert name here) during the time in which Christianity was being persecuted by the Romans and people like me were being killed for not denying our faith. They chose the most cohesive gospels to spread among the Christians help unify them and grant more solidity to the faith. In a time where being a Christian was such a bad thing you needed as much foundation and ground to stand on as you could get.
Yes, Christianity survived for quite some time without a Bible. The gospel was orated and passed from one person to another for quite some time. In history this is quite common for many events. Even without the Bible the gospel would still be spread.
One fringe notion in my mind (I say notion because I've never given it much thought and have absolutely no evidence to back it up) is that maybe when the angels that followed Lucifer were cast down they were given a chance to redeem themselves? Maybe their actions made it impossible to exist in heaven due to their (our?) sin
However if you assault a pregnant woman (regardless of the fetus' stage of development or if the assailant has knowledge of the womans' pregnancy) you can be charged with any harm that befalls the unborn as if it were any other person...including a charge of murder in the case of a micarriage. Why is it okay for a criminal to be charged with a crime even if he doesn't realize or mean to hurt the fetus; however the mother is allowed to intentionally murder ot as long as it is by her choice?
Why consider it a human being in one circumstance but not the other?
According to the Unborn victims of violence act they are considered alive only when it is effected by a violent crime. Kind of a double standard if you ask me. I suppose thats law for ya.
Moloch:
"King". The sun god of the Canaanites (Ammonites?) in old Palestine and sometimes associated with the Sumerian Baal, although Moloch (or Molekh) was entirely malevolent. In the 8th-6th century BCE, firstborn children were sacrificed to him by the Israelites in the Valleye of Hinnom, south-east of Jerusalem (see also Gehenna). These sacrifices to the sun god were made to renew the strength of the sun fire. This ritual was probably borrowed from surrounding nations, and was also popular in ancient Carthage.
Moloch was represented as a huge bronze statue with the head of a bull. The statue was hollow, and inside there burned a fire which colored the Moloch a glowing red. Children were placed on the hands of the statue. Through an ingenious system the hands were raised to the mouth (as if Moloch were eating) and the children fell into the fire where they were consumed by the flames. The people gathered before the Moloch were dancing on the sounds of flutes and tambourines to drown out the screams of the victims.
According to some sources, the Moloch in the Old Testament is not a god, but a specific form of sacrifice.
Baal:
The antiquity of the worship of the god or gods of Baal extends back to the 14th century BCE among the ancient Semitic peoples, the descendants of Shem, the oldest son of Biblical Noah. Semitic is more of a linguistic classification than a racial one. Thus, people speaking the same or similar languages first worshiped Baal in his many forms. The word Baal means "master" or "owner". In ancient religions the name denoted sun, lord or god. Baal was common a name of small Syrian and Persian deities. Baal is still principally thought of as a Canaanite fertility deity. The Great Baal was of Canaan. He was the son of El, the high god of Canaan. The cult of Baal celebrated annually his death and resurrection as a part of the Canaanite fertility rituals. These ceremonies often included human sacrifice and temple prostitution.
Baal, literal meaning is "lord," in the Canaanite pantheon was the local title of fertility gods. Baal never emerged as a rain god until later times when he assumed the special functions of each. Although there is no equivalent in Canaan of the sterile summer drought that occurs in Mesopotamia, the season cycle was marked enough to have caused a concentration on the disappearing fertility god, who took with him the autumn rain clouds into the neither world.
After defeating the sea god Yam, and building a house on Mount Saphon, and taking possession of numerous cities, Baal announced that he would no longer acknowledge the authority of Mot, "death." Baal not only excluded Mot from his hospitality and friendship, but also told him that he could only visit the deserts of the earth. In response to this challenge, Mot invited Baal to his abode to taste his fare, mud. Being terrified and unable to avoid the dreadful summons to the land of the dead, Baal coupled with a calf in order to strengthen himself for the ordeal, and then set out. El and the other gods donned funeral garments, poured ashes on their heads, and mutilated their limbs, while Anat, aided by the sun goddess Shapash, brought the corpse back for burial. El placed Athtar, the irrigation god, on the vacant throne of Baal, but Anat bitterly missed her dead husband. She begged Mot to restore Baal to life, but her pleas went without avail, and Anat's attempts to interest the other gods in helping her were met with cautious indifference. Thus, Anat assaulted Mot, ripping him to pieces "with a sharp knife," scattering his members "with a winnowing fan," burning him "in a fire," grinding him "in a mill," and "over the fields strewing his remains." El, in the meantime, had a dream in which fertility returned, which suggested that Baal was not dead. Afterwards, he instructed Shapash to keep watch for him during her daily travels. In the due course of time Baal was restored, and Athtar fled from his throne. Yet Mot was able to arrange another attack, but on this occasion all of the gods supported Baal, and neither combatant could gain the victory. Finally El intervened and dismissed Mot, leaving Baal in possession of the field.
The above myth, fragments of which are on the Ras Shamra tablets, relates to the alteration of the seasons. Baal is the god of rain, thunder, and lightening. "At the touch of his right hand, even colors wilt." Yam, the owner of salt water, gave place to Baal as the genius of rainfall and vegetation, a displacement that left Mot as sole contender under the mighty El. Torrid heat, sterility, the arid desert, death, the neither world: these were Mot's irresistible realm till Anat threshed, winnowed, and ground the harvested corn, the fecundity of Baal's land, just as the siding of El with the resurrected rain god ensured the continuation of the annual cycle. A parallel of the magical rites can be found in Psalms, where "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that go forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bearing sheaves with him." This is sympathetic magic the tears shed were expected to induce drops of rain.
Baal was the son of El, or Dagon, an obscure deity linked by the Hebrews with the Philistine city of Ashdod. Dagon was perhaps associated with the sea, as a coin found in the vicinity portrays a god having a fish tail. Although Baal personally overcame Yam, it is uncertain whether or not he fought Lotan, the Leviathan of the Old Testament, but it is known that Anat "crushed the writhing serpent, the accused one of the seven heads." Another echo of the Mesopotamian thought patterns are nestled in these reasons advanced by Baal for needing a "house." His food offerings were too meager for a god "that rides on the clouds." As far apart as Carthage and Palmyra were temples dedicated to Baal-Hammon, "the lord of the altar of incense," whom the Greeks identified with Cronos. On Mount Carmel it was the prophet Elijah who discredited King Ahab's belief in the power of Baal, when at his request "the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice," and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. Afterwards Elijah had the people slay "the prophets of Baal," thereby assuring the survival of the worship of Yahweh in Israel.
The worship of Baal extended from the Canaanites to the Phoenicians who also were partially an agricultural people. Both Baal and his cohort Ashtoreth, or Astarte, who is equivalent to the Greek goddess Aphrodite, were both Phoenician fertility symbols. Baal, the sun god, was fervently prayed to for the protection of livestock and crops. Priests instructed the people that Baal was responsible for droughts, plagues, and other calamities. People were often worked up into great frenzies at the prospects of displeasing Baal. In times of great turbulence human sacrifices, particularly children, were made to the great god Moloch.
Since the Phoenicians also were superb ship builders the religion and cults of Baal spread throughout the Mediterranean world. The worship of Baal was found among the Moabites and their allies Midinites during Moses' time. It was also introduced to the Israelites.
The religion of the god Baal was widely accepted among the ancient Jews, and although it was put down at times, it was never permanently stamped out. Kings and other royalty of the ten Biblical tribes worshiped the god. The ordinary people ardently worshipped this sun god too because their prosperity depended on the productivity of their crops and livestock. The god's images were erected on many buildings. Within the religion there appeared to be numerous priests and various classes of devotees. During the ceremonies they wore appropriate robes. The ceremonies included burning incense, and offering burnt sacrifices, occasionally consisting of human victims. The officiating priests danced around the altars, chanting frantically and cutting themselves with knives to inspire the attention and compassion of the god.
In the Bible Baal is also called Beelzebub, or Baalzebub, one of the fallen angels of Satan.
India:
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=6705
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/1999/09/29/anti-christian-violence-rise-india
If you come in as a Christian you might be fine, if you convert from Islam you might be dead
Qatar:
The government uses Sunni law as the basis of its criminal and civil regulations. Some religious tolerance is granted. Foreign nationals are free to affiliate with their faiths other than Islam, i.e. Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Bahai, as long as they are religious in private and do not offend 'public order' or 'morality'. There is persecution here.
Bangladesh:
Religious minorities may worship openly, but they face social discrimination. Most discrimination against Christians comes from Muslims, but Buddhists in southeastern Bangladesh also cause trouble for Christians. Christians are denied access to public water wells, beaten and blackmailed. Last year, six Christian health-care workers accused of “hurting religious feelings” were arrested while working with a Japanese volunteer doctor. A judge dismissed the case in April because police failed to submit a primary investigation report.
Malaysia:
In Malaysia if you want to be considered a Malay then you are legally required to be a Muslim. If a non-Muslim marries a Muslim, they are legally required to convert to Islam. Oh, also Christians are not allowed to proselytize Muslims, only Muslims are allowed to do that.
Pakistan, are you serrious?:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rt_pakis.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1624223.stm
http://www.domini.org/openbook/pak20020925.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2281191.stm
http://www.wnd.com/2006/09/37799/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/nyregion/24missionary.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8179823.stm
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Eight-Christians-burned-alive-in-Punjab-15943.html
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/14/132031645/
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/
Sri Lanka:
The persecution of Christians, including violence and hate propaganda, has escalated in Sri Lanka in recent years with the rise of militant Buddhist nationalist groups. Although the constitution guarantees religious freedom, minority Protestants have experienced violent persecution as well as discrimination in employment and education. An anti-conversion law is awaiting legislative approval. The law would make evangelism punishable by up to seven years in prison. In February 2011, a pastor and his family were attacked in their home. The attacker was arrested but later released with only a severe warning and the requirement that he apologize to the pastor.
As far as the statistic:
1. God is Omnibenevolent (God is all good or perfectly good)
2. God is Omnipotent (God is all powerful)
3. God is Omniscient (God is all knowing)
_________________________________
4. Evil exists.
If god is all good, how or why does evil exist?
If god is all good and powerful, why does god not stop evil?
If god is all knowing why does he allow evil to happen? or why does god create evil beings.
do you challenge the fact that evil exists? or are the things that we (society) consider evil, not really evil?
This is the premise of the debate, so where does it say anything to the effect of "if God exists" or "does God exist"?
The answer is nowhere, in fact if you look at the first three statements it is working off of the assumption of the existence of God in order to answer the questions.
I believe God commands us to do what is morally correct. When you look at the commandments (in a generalized sense) you have:
1. Don't worship any other gods (reference my post to the right)
2. Don't worship graven images...ditto as above
3/4. Don't misuse my name and remember the sabbath: he wants a relationship with us.
5.honor your parents: parents by nature should love their children...asking them to do the same is understandable.
6.-10. Don't kill, cheat on your spouse, steal, lie, or covet others property or spouse: the coveting part is typically what leads to stealing, murdering, and adultry.
I think these commandments are a pretty good moral list, espcially Jesus, last command: love one another.
