Are religions manmade and natural or supernaturally based?

This would be the famous tomb known the world over, the one studied by historians, theologians, archaeologists, anthropologists and all the other -ists and demonstrated to be *the* tomb where Jesus was placed after he died and where he rose after three days?

That's fine if that's what you choose to believe, but there's no evidence of a tomb, nor of Jesus's death or resurrection, nor even of Jesus himself. Evidence was what PaulK requested. You can, I suppose, respond that here in the Faith and Belief forum that evidence isn't required, but that doesn't mean your stories are evidence. It means you don't have evidence.--Percy

A story can be written about anything. Stories aren't evidence. The difference between the faith forums and the science forums is that in the faith forums you don't need evidence. That doesn't mean that in the faith forums faith *is* evidence. You have faith that the Bible stories are true, and in the faith forums that's all you need. If you don't want to provide evidence for your beliefs in the faith forums then you don't have to, but that doesn't mean faith is evidence.I think you could correctly argue that people shouldn't be raising issues of evidence in the faith forums. These are the forums to argue, for example, how well one's faith accords with the Bible, not whether what the Bible says is true in any evidence-based sense. The right forum for arguments like that would be The Bible: Accuracy and Inerrancy.But I won't be moderating this thread because I don't usually moderate in the faith forums.--Percy

No. It isn't evidence. Many Biblical accounts are simply made-up stories that are not historical accounts and do not have any of the requisite marks of authenticity and believability.Now that we've marked out our positions, I guess you can begin presenting your evidence that the Bible is true. Could you start with the talking snake?Seriously, take the out that this isn't the forum for discussing evidence. Or take the out that whether the Bible is true is off-topic in this thread, since that's what The Bible: Accuracy and Inerrancy is for.--Percy

What do things not seen tell you? While not worthless, it's kind of limited as evidence, isn't it? For example, nobody saw who broke the window. What does that tell you? Wouldn't things seen tell you a bit more, like a video of kids playing baseball in the street?--Percy

You mean in Message 161, Message 166 and Message 170? What list? Here's what you said or quoted in arguing that Biblical accounts are true:

• Seems very plausible to me that all are true because I think the supposed contradictions either aren't contradictions but resolved in terms of different angles of perception, or are actually evidence of authenticity because they reflect the natural misperceptions human beings are prone to, which is more or less what GDR was getting at.
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• They are written the way someone would write a careful account of real events.

Naturally I could have missed some things in your list since there was no actual list, so if there's anything missing just let us know, but otherwise this looks pretty much like you arguing that the particular style means they're true.What prevents anyone from adopting the style of truth in whatever they say, whether true or not? Isn't that the skill of the flim-flam man?--Percy

You don't even know who many of the writers were, let alone their credibility. But they don't all "present themselves as historical accounts," and stylistic approach is not an indicator of credibility. Correct away. You can begin with my supposition that the story of the talking snake is not true.Seriously, if you'd like to turn this thread into an evidence based discussion as if the thread were actually in the The Bible: Accuracy and Inerrancy forum, then I not only think moderation is a good idea, I would love to moderate. I'll recuse myself for a couple days so that the discussion will have moved on from anything I was discussing, then begin moderating on Wednesday. See you then!--Percy

ICANT will occasionally refer to God as his friend or his best friend. Sometimes it's Jesus. I've found it confusing, too--Percy

Hi Pressie,I think you may still be misunderstanding ICANT's answer to your question: You asked ICANT if he knew of any supernatural powers outside the universe. ICANT replied that he did, namely God, his best friend.

You.C'mon, ICANT. Seriously? You really didn't understand that Pressie thought you were addressing him when you said "my best friend"? How can you hope to understand a few simple scientific principles if you can't even follow a simple conversation?--Percy

Hi ICANT,My apologies. I lost track of the fact that I'm moderating this thread. I believe my original response to Pressie was meant to be as Admin, but I accidentally posted as Percy, and then you replied to that post. Please ignore my posts as Percy.--Percy