Hard time believing
 

I'm a Christian but I don't buy into some of the stories in the bible.. I don't know, does this make me a bad christian? I think you have to be a little brainwashed to believe stories such as Jonah and the whale and Noahs ark.Just my opinion. It's kind of turning me off Christianity altogether, although I agree with the moral teachings of the bible. And i do believe in Jesus. Maybe i have to just strike a balance with christianity. Anyone out there in the same boat?

Biblical stories are just stories.... most are copied from previous beliefs from other era's and cultures going back to the beginning of time. If you look at genesis, Noahs flood and many more which you can research if you are interested you will see they are all connected to previous religions. Myths and legends make good stories and help our ancestors understand the world around them when they didn't have science.

Christianity means to follow the teachings of Christ, it doesn't mean you have to believe in the bible and every word and story it contains, it was written by ordinary people like you and me and comes from how they percieve the world in the times they lived.

The OT is full of violence, slavery, rape and pillage, my God would never have inspired that type of behaviour, my God is love......

Thankyou so much Sky. I feel a lot better now

Your welcome.:smile:

Religious books that pre-date the bible.
 

@ chasinglight........http://www.ancientfacts.net/5-holy-books-predate-bible/

If you google 'Stories that pre-date the bible ' you can see where biblical stories came from .

Ok maybe I'll check them out. Thanks

Yeah I checked it out. Pretty interesting. I was on another Christian forum and so many of the people took the bible literally. It was a little unsettling

Religion can be very mind controlling , you either do exactly what your told or you go to hell, it doesn't give you an option to think for yourself. Looking back to Medieval times alone you can see where priest/bishops came to you while you are on your deathbed and charged you money to absolve your sins before you died, people were so afraid they would pay. The churches amassed vast amounts of money for their coffers through this practise... especially from the rich, the poor are just left to starve having greased the hands of priests/bishops.

Jesus himself said ' The kingdom of God is within, without, in your midst and around you, that to me means you can find God in many places not just by following religion. I always think that ' You will know them by their fruits ' is sensible, peoples actions show more than words from a book but this is just my opinion and if others find comfort in religious books then thats their choice, each to their own.

Jesus believed the stories about Jonah and Noah's ark.

But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Matthew 12:38,40 ESV

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:26,27 ESV

We don't know really if Jesus believed in the flood, what we do know 100% is that the people who wrote about the life and teachings of Jesus believed in it, thats the difference.
The NT was written a longggggggg time after the death of Jesus so we will never know what Jesus believed.