The Holy Bible: Good, or Evil?

[Sebytania]

The New Testament (which applies to Christians, whether the Old one is partly or completely obsolete is prone to interpretation - so reading it somewhat selectively is actually agreeable - see Romans 7:6) is allright I guess, with all it's love and stuff. I prefer to live by my own morals though, and form my opinion on what's good and what's bad without having to be afraid of some sadistic sicko (which God appears to be, at least in the Old Testament - he calmed down a lot when he got a kid though, as happens with most people too). But if someone wants to live by the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, et cetera, feel free. Just don't go stoning any gays or any of that stuff, and don't try to convert me.

Now, if Big J was to descend for a while and teach me that water-to-wine trick, I might reconsider.

[Nature-Spirits]

I'd like to take a moment and point out that Karma is just a belief perpetuated by people who want to simply "balance the scales", so to speak, and people who control the system. The people who want to balance the scales want to be able to have their life as they please, and give some money to charity (which they then add as a tax deduction) to balance the scales. I'm sorry, but life just doesn't work that way. Serial killers may kill a dozen people before they are caught, and imprisoned. Can any amount of punishment or good deeds bring back the life of one person? No. Even death for the killer would not "balance" the scales or be true justice. In that sense, Karma does not exist.

As for The Holy Bible - I'd say good. The people who follow it are often evil though.

What about reincarnation? Someone dies and is reborn. A life is lost, but that same life is regained in another body. That balances the scales.
For more info on karma go to: http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/three-fold-law.html

[Nature-Spirits]

If we think about most major religions, they're based on male dominance, which was true back then.

Ah, but if you go back too a certain time period society was matriarchal.

[Political Pilgrims]

To answer the question in the poll, effectively, yes. The best way to prevent someone from doing something is by creating a suitable consequence or punishment. To get at the broader question posited by the OP, ethically, the Bible could be a good moral foundation, or it could not. After all, who wants to follow the God of the Old Testament? Who could refuse the Christ of the New Testament? It's a personal decision that a person should make after faithfully studying the Bible and the teachings therein.

[Nature-Spirits]

To answer the question in the poll, effectively, yes. The best way to prevent someone from doing something is by creating a suitable consequence or punishment. To get at the broader question posited by the OP, ethically, the Bible could be a good moral foundation, or it could not. After all, who wants to follow the God of the Old Testament? Who could refuse the Christ of the New Testament? It's a personal decision that a person should make after faithfully studying the Bible and the teachings therein.

Yes, people should study the Bible to learn what Christianity is all about, but other religions such as Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Druidism, Asatru, Voodoo, Taoism, Gaianism, New Age spirituality, Wicca, and others should also be studied to find what's right for you.

[Airstrip 100]

Well, Nietzsche thought that without the morality of christianity, society would descend into nihilism.

[Nature-Spirits]

Now, if Big J was to descend for a while and teach me that water-to-wine trick, I might reconsider.

It's really quite simple (in theory). Everything is composed of energy, including matter and thoughts (this is the basis of more or less all psychic abilities). Energy can affect other energy, therefore your thoughts can affect and, in theory, alter matter. THIS HAS BEEN PROVEN BY SCIENCE and been practised by witches, shamans, and spiritual teachers (yes, that includes Jesus) for countless millennia. Therefore, if you had enough knowledge on chemistry, physics, metaphysics, parapsychology and a few others, along with sufficient willpower, you could turn water into wine.

[Chinese Regions]

It's a book, if your treat it as a story it is not evil

[Kalaspia-Shimarata]

The bible is good!

[Sartovia]

I'd say it's chaotic neutral.

[Megilhirile]

Don't blame the Bible or the God for the Church's mistakes. Any text is ethically neutral, but what a body of people chooses to do with it can make it good or evil. The Bible doesn't tell people they have to practice Christianity, but it serves as a guide book for those who choose to practice Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church, which you vindictively lift as an example of the evil of the Bible, is only a small portion of those who claim the Christian faith. Firstly, not all Christians are Roman Catholic, and secondly, the Church is not the Bible. There is no one correct interpretation of the Bible, and there is no one correct way to practice Christianity. Yes, the Bible has been used to alienate and subjugate certain sectors of the world's population, but that does not mean the text itself is evil.

EDIT: Looks like the post I was replying to has been deleted. Still, it is important to distinguish between the power a text itself possesses and the power given to it by a group of people.

[DaWoad]

Now, if Big J was to descend for a while and teach me that water-to-wine trick, I might reconsider.

It's really quite simple (in theory).

grape juice powder, sugar and some fast-acting yeast?

Everything is composed of energy, including matter and thoughts

true,kinda

(this is the basis of more or less all psychic abilities).

those are generally proven to be fake or an outright sham.
"those people aren't applying a skill, they're either lying or mentally ill"

Energy can affect other energy, therefore your thoughts can affect and, in theory, alter matter.

hold. Sure they can, in fact, they do (that's how nerve impulses work, it's voltage (and occasionally ligand) gated ion channels. but it's on the order of, at most, a difference of about 90mV. To reference, an AA battery produces between 1.25 and 1.6 V. nearly 20x more.

THIS HAS BEEN PROVEN BY SCIENCE

I'm sorry, what's been proven by science?

and been practised by witches, shamans, and spiritual teachers (yes, that includes Jesus) for countless millennia.

again. Not once has any of those been proven to be anything but a fake or mentally ill.

Therefore, if you had enough knowledge on chemistry, physics, metaphysics, parapsychology and a few others, along with sufficient willpower, you could turn water into wine.

nope. changing even simple matter from one type to another (hydrogen-helium for example) takes a fusion reaction to power which requires something like 10^9 times more power than produced by ones brain.

[Chinese Regions]

It's really quite simple (in theory). Everything is composed of energy, including matter and thoughts (this is the basis of more or less all psychic abilities). Energy can affect other energy, therefore your thoughts can affect and, in theory, alter matter. THIS HAS BEEN PROVEN BY SCIENCE and been practised by witches, shamans, and spiritual teachers (yes, that includes Jesus) for countless millennia. Therefore, if you had enough knowledge on chemistry, physics, metaphysics, parapsychology and a few others, along with sufficient willpower, you could turn water into wine.

There is one thing you forgot it is called a "supply of energy" and the energy required is impossible to get back then or even today.

[Ceannairceach]

The new on is rather fine, but I prefer the brine and brimstone of the Old Testament. Much more exciting.