Enlarge your perspective, Free Thinker, open your mind, let some fresh air come in. Read between the lines, try to understand what people really mean when they talk or write, you may be surprised.That's real critical and free thinking.
Forgive me if I don't endorse your brand of theocracy. Yes I Steadfastly refuse to be charitable through the medium of govt. The fact that it's done by force of imprisonment or death does not escape my notice and my consent is merely a fabricated lie.
So, can't read the entire thread, but what I presume we've learned is that critical thinking is progressive/liberal and a threat to religious dogma because if employed makes much of religious tradition ( and slow-paced conservative thinking) look ridiculous thus the righties hate critical thinking. Is that about right?
"Talking snake" Who can say what talking meant, when this event happened. A talking snake could have been just the interpretation of somebody watching a snake live in nature. Why do you assume it was in the form of a language or spoken word. You are really hung up on the issue of God and the afterlife. The bible has many lessons on living a good life regards if you believe in a God or not.
You can't be bothered to read 13 pages of posts , evidently not even 2or 3 to have clue as to what is being posted. Yet somehow you feel supremely confident your ignorant a$$ prejudices are meaningful and relevant to the discussion. Perhaps if you didn't have everyone who's embarrassed your stupidity in the past on ignore you would know what's being posted.
The problem is not that the Bible is not easy to understand. The problem is that the Bible allows you to understand almost anything you want, dependent on your Christian flavor. Creationist Christians believe that it was really a talking snake. European Christians believe there was no snake and the story is a myth. Catholics believe that the story happened, but it was no snake but human temptation. You can choose. The Bible also tells us to kill enemy's woman and children. Again, you can choose.
keyword is presume. the wanker has no clue what critical thinking is, so closed minded from his religion
geeze. why is it that those that so readily defend the bible are so ignorant about what it says? why dont you pick one up and read Genesis 3. how can you think critically about something if you never even think about it? the talking snake isnt all that important by itself since there are hundreds of other things in the bible just as silly. it just points out that those who believe the bible is literal have to suspend their critical thinking ability to do so.
the bible is chock full of murder and cruelty: 2 Kings 8:12 "You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women." Isaiah 13:16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives ravished. Hosea 13:16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open."