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Well quite simply, no one ever specifically told me if i was supposed to take the bible literally.
No one told me either. Of course, I don't recall anyone telling me as an adult how to understand a book.
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So if it's ever proven that the earth is 10,000 years old, that's the first step in a whole new series of questions to determine who/what i believe in.
The age of the planet isn't mentioned in the Bible, so the age of the planet is irrelevant to current religion or in determining who to believe. In reality, the people of the Bible didn't know they were on a planet or that there was more than the lands they knew.
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Right now, the reason I've really started to chase this down, is that my belief that the story of Jesus may be not just inaccurate but a 100% complete fabrication. I like the idea that this was the son of God and died for my sins, despite that fact that there is no evidence, besides the bible and folklore (for lack of a more respectable term).
If you like the idea, then go with it. Why do you like the idea? Is it because of a possible afterlife?
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It's a vicious cycle really. I have already questioned and eventually denied almost everything in that book because of rational thought, which soon I'm afraid will cause me to deny the entire book, then deny the existence of God or a god. to the atheist this doesn't matter, but when you go further it means there is no reason, short of self preservation, to obey any sort of morals. It's kind of depressing really.
You're going through a spiritual crisis. Been there, done that. Try studying what the Bible is and not what current religion or you want it to be. Each writing, whether fiction, poetry, or history; had a point to make to the civilization of the time. Remember, it was written for you.
Moral lessons, hope, and information can be passed through poetry, fiction, myth, legends, fables and parables. Lack of a god doesn't change one's moral fiber unless one wishes it to, just as having a god doesn't change one's moral fiber unless one wishes it to. So whatever path you choose is up to you. Don't blame it on a lack of a god. You decide whether you want to be a moral and ethical person or not.
Scripture is like Newton’s third law of motionfor every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In other words, for every biblical directive that exists, there is another scriptural mandate challenging it.
-- Carlene Cross in The Bible and Newton’s Third Law of Motion