** I am not poking fun of any religion, nor am i insulting the core of your beliefs **
I hear the Bible being brought up a few times. FE'ers are Christian based i am assuming. (i could be assuming wrong.) Coming from a highly Christian upbringing, turned atheist, i'm wondering how the Bible can be seen as a Scientific text.
The Bible is a great book. It has been reproduced easily more times than any other publication. It's social effects are vast, and for some, answers questions that can't be answered by science.
Politically it gives a church that controls people and gives them structure and foundation for society
Mentally it gives a higher power to answer to, and ultimately controlling ones actions for and against the fellow man.
Historically it is an account on what happened on Earth for thousands of years.
I'm a firm believer that the world is a better, more organized place because of the Bible. Just imagine if the average person didn't have anyone to answer to, and couldn't be held accountable for anything. This can be said for most all writings of Faith.
Having said that, and firmly believing:
I can not for the life of me see how the Bible can be used as Scientific fact. I can't apply what i have learned in my Calculus book to the psychology of humans. I apply Math when Math is needed. I apply psychology where psychology is needed. I apply history when history is needed. I don't pull out the US History book when i need to know the density of lead. So i can't see pulling out a socio-political-religious book out when i need answers to the physical world around me.
The Bible was written thousands of years ago. And whether you believe it is Divinely inspired or not, you can't refute the fact that it was scribed by man. Interpreted by man. Reproduced by man. And past on from generation to generation by man. Since it has been in the hands of man and men are sometimes wrong, I can't see believing this few thousand old document as Scientific fact.
ie. Lightning is caused by static electricity in the clouds. But the ppl in the Biblical ERA believed Lightning came directly from God and showed his wrath. Now whether or now God created the storm itself for whatever purpose is irrelevant. The ppl saw the lightning as coming directly from God, where as today we see it coming from a storm.
How can a ppl so ignorant of today's modern day Science write and reproduce a book of science when their faith was not based on scientific fact? And how come ppl continue to use a religious text as scientific fact, when it doesn't follow or support our modern day findings?