The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

Okay with regards to poking fun at biblical literalism that you get in the fundamentalist Christian culture (particularly in America), let's say for example, that all the stories from the past mentioned in the bible were true. Meaning that instead of the 200+ years of evolutionary research that scientists have found on the earth's evolution and the evolution of the human race and other animals, etc were actually reversed. Meaning that all the scientific evidence in the beginning confirmed the existence of a 40 plus day flood that killed almost everything on earth, human evolution really did start with a man and woman being created from dust and bones, and apparently did not start out as babies but teenagers and/or young adults that quickly learned how to take care of themselves, sin, and procreate, etc. And supposedly what if no fossils or rocks found could predate a 6,000 or 10,000 year date? The list can go on and on (not to mention, even the creation story contradict itself) How do you think we would be living today? Do you think we would've be able to discover the planets and galaxies outside of earth?

I know you can also question other mythology but since there's always an evolution vs. creationism debate going on with America, especially in the deep south of what to teach students in school, I was kind of curious to imagine how the world be like if what is said in the bible as far as it's history and future predictions were true or became true??? Any thoughts.

Do you think we would've been able to discover the planets and galaxies outside of earth?

Well, in one instance in the Bible, God stopped the sun so that a day went on for longer than...ermm...a (technical) day.

What would the veracity of that Biblical event mean for contemptibly godless astrophysics? Would this divine force have halted the rotation of the earth, and be perceived by the writers of holy scripture as stopping the sun in the sky...or would the earth be flat and the sun rotate around it, and by holy grace save the scribes from the libelous sin of expressing any personal perspective?

If God wills us to "Go forth and terraform thine Promised Planet" then we would probably manage to explore planets and galaxies, whether by the instruction of a divine download of technological knowledge (like with Noah's ark) or being dragged there by angelic intervention.

How do you think we would be living today?

The same way we already do, except that scientists, atheists, feminists, pagans, and probably Jews and Muslims and Christians Who Don't Really Get It By Some Seemingly Arbitrary Margin That Can Be Easily Intuited By True Christians would be under the thrall of a divine adversary and would all be headed for an inevitable defeat and doom that is also somehow all our own fault.

The Christian mythology wasn't written in a vacuum. Of course by now there would be ways to explain away non-believers and incompatible facts (or, if the Bible were true or became true, incompatible "facts",) to sustain belief and confirmation bias.

As long as we cultivate confirmation bias especially, then within every particle of society that serves as a cultural foothold of this mythology, the Bible would already be as good as true. Whether the political dominion would have greater expanse (by the grace and power of God) or a smaller one (to test believers who continue to live in a sinful world, because world=sin as a given, or because Satan) you see how those who believe no explanation is necessary--and for those who do not believe, no real explanation is sufficient.

Okay with regards to poking fun at biblical literalism that you get in the fundamentalist Christian culture (particularly in America), let's say for example, that all the stories from the past mentioned in the bible were true.

If all the stories the the Bible were true, the world as we know it would not exist: For example, plants with seeds smaller than the the Bible-declared "smallest seed" (the mustard seed) would not exist.

The world would also be a very strange place as contradictory things would be true as there are cases where the Bible states completely different and contradictory things (about "X") to be both true.

If all the stories the the Bible were true, the world as we know it would not exist: For example, plants with seeds smaller than the the Bible-declared "smallest seed" (the mustard seed) would not exist.

 
We would live on a flat disc under a giant blue bowl with portals in it to let the weather in.  I'm not sure I can begin to speculate on what a hypothetical world would look like if we basically lived inside a bubble.

We would live on a flat disc under a giant blue bowl with portals in it to let the weather in.  I'm not sure I can begin to speculate on what a hypothetical world would look like if we basically lived inside a bubble.

 
I wonder if Ancient Astronaut theories would still exist? I mean, sometimes people love to point to the flaming wheels of fire as evidence of Ancient Astronauts or would everyone accept that they are angels from god or would angels actually be the aliens?

let's say for example, that all the stories from the past mentioned in the bible were true.

Including the stuff that contradicts the other stuff! -- Ned Flanders.

Links: Slacktivist on the two creation stories and the Synoptic Problem.

The idea that God created the world 6,000 years ago with fossils, geological history, radioactive isotope ratios and distant starlight already in place, is known formally as Ophthalmos and informally as Last Thursdayism. It also kind of implies that the JCI God is a huge liar.

I know you can also question other mythology but since there's always an evolution vs. creationism debate going on with America, especially in the deep south of what to teach students in school,

Note that this debate is not occurring among scientists, and the 'debate' is more a political wrangle than anything else.
 
The places to go for information on this are AnswersInGenesis.org (the most sensible of the creationists) and Talkorigins.org (the evolution/science advocates).

Including the stuff that contradicts the other stuff! -- Ned Flanders.

Links: Slacktivist on the two creation stories and the Synoptic Problem.

The essay about the Synoptic problem, to my understanding: the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are different in some details and fundamentalist Christians are anxious about that (because true details don't change, and all four should be completely true. But that they're different from one another means that something changed. Horrors!)

However, the essayist says that it's not a problem but an opportunity to appreciate the themes that each book wanted to emphasize, and did so through the change in details.

But for somebody for whom the canon text is literal truth, this isn't supposed to be folklore with different versions and gritty reboots. It's more like the testimonies in Rashomon where they have to figure out what to arrest who for, and if they can't figure it out because of contradicting testimonies then society will fall apart because there is no truth or faith.

But if you're not a literalist, it's a fascinating insight into the development of the early church over the first 100 years after Jesus. I'm an early church geek! It's totally fascinating how Jesus is a quiet, secret messiah in Mark, and by the time John rolls around he's God. Amazing sociology of the early stages of a religion.

 
Luke!Jesus is my favorite.