Whats your religious beliefs?

[05GT]

Originally Posted by sisforsurfing

haha, gotcha, should've read it that way the first time around. Fun conspiracy theory, but I'm pretty firmly rooted against that thought process. No proof for you, though

05GT - I know and totally understand what you said about Leviticus... I was also just rebutting your statement with something meant simply to trip you up. Fortunately, you're pretty well informed in your belief system (and for fear of generalizing, most Jehovah's Witnesses are.)
Why I brought up a section from Leviticus is so that you would say that parts of text have been rendered irrelevant. Back to the 144,000 people (which I understand is something you won't easily take back since it is a backbone for your belief system, so we'll agree to disagree). But aren't those 144,000 people from the 12 tribes of 12,000, all of whom were celibate men. I just find it hard to believe someone like Mary, or any other woman, even Mother Theresa, wouldn't get a place in heaven.

I also don't mean to offend or even come off as stuck up, preachy, or a prick. If I do just let me know and I'll stop typing, I just enjoy this type of conversation.

Hey no problem, I enjoy this myself as I said.

As far as the 144,000, orginally yes, they were meant to be from the 12 tribes of Israel. However, Israel, as God's choosen people, broke the law coventant that he had saet forth to them, at which time God made it known that he was going to then extend the covenant to include the Gentiles, or in other words, people from other nations and backgrounds.

If the 144,000 wasn't true, then what would be the purpose Revelation talking about about God doing away with death, and suffering? In Psalms 37 it talks about the meek ones inheriting the earth and living forever. God's orginal purpose was for humans that worshiped and obeyed him to live forever in a paradise earth.

[20th1519]

My god can beat up your god.

[Renegade_]

Originally Posted by 05GT

Ok right....so now people in the past....assuming people in the future were gonna debate what the bible said, wrote something, hoping that it would be uncovered thousands of years later, so that the people who believed the bible had proof?
We're strecthing a little here I think....

No, not to justify it now, to justify it then. They needed to establish the religion as rooted in fact. They most likely used the scrolls as a point of justification and indication of fact.

I am not saying that some of the stuff in the sea scrolls happened, but some of the others may be fabrications because not everything in the sea scrolls is in the bible and vice versa.

[05GT]

Originally Posted by Renegade_

I am not saying that some of the stuff in the sea scrolls happened, but some of the others may be fabrications because not everything in the sea scrolls is in the bible and vice versa.

That is true, but think of the Sea Scrolls as history books today. Our history books don't aren't fabrications, they are based off of things that have been proven and are known to have happened in the past.
Of course the Sea Scrolls are not going to contain everything the bible does, for the bible spanded many many years and its human authors were many.

[eviltalon]

So since we are talking about the bible, I believe that the Old Testament for the most part is not to be taken literally. I believe that those books are stories, examples etc. used to teach us many different lessons. Now, it is very possible that the stories spoken of in the old testament could have happened. But I'd like to think that most of them never really took place, but are there for a reason. But i do take the New Testament literally.