No, certainly not, the proper response to someone who says what you believe is elf-contradictory however, is.

@ Ice

I'm always looking for another "Taking it outside" thread. If you'd like to settle on any one of those perceived problems and put them to the test, open a thread and we can discuss it. However, the OP specifically asked for help from believers and you do not appear to be one. There is little reason to highjack this thread, as we can debate any of your objections in other threads.

@vamosrammstein that is the usual response from anyone, think of every major war in the past, some if not all of the problem was religion and beliefs.

The first humans given the spark of the Divine were Adam and Eve. This does not imply that they were the only humans. the Bible was written by people trying to understand the mystery of the world, and the Diety communicating with them. Not everything in it can be taken literally

Someone else create a new thread about it then Anglican, I'm quite content in this thread but more then happy to move to another one to continue this discussion.

Cyrano the only life on this planet according to the bible were plants and animals (excluding humans) until god created man. He created Adam and then he created Eve. It makes no mention of any other humans until much later with their children and by that point it's a contradiction.

Usual does not equal appropriate, just because someone says your beliefs are bullshit doesn't mean you have the right to beat them to shit over it. It also is a striking example of how people can preach love and compassion for all, but will instantly resort to malicious name calling and completely inhumane treatment of people when they are called a dumbass for being a christian.

I'm not referring to anybody on here for the record, just pointing out that even the people who are devout and open christians will tear you to pieces if you disagree with them.

I agree with the Anglican, that was my original point. Another verse you might find helpful is Luke 10:2, "The harvest is plenty but the lsbourers are few" about the need to bring in others to spread GOD'S word.

I agree completely Vamos, people use violence as a first resort instead of a last, quite sad actually

Again, Iceray, and please listen this time: THE BIBLE IS NOT TO BE INTERPRATED LITERALLY!!! It was written thousands of years ago. In that span of time we have learned things the primitives living in mud huts on the euphrates didn't know. they struggled to comprehend the subtleties of GOD'S creation. We grasp them more clearly now, and thus understand things such as evolution.

"Violence is the last excuse of the incompetant" I quite agree Iceray, it is sad.

I can't believe I missed that one Cyrano. That's the perfect central verse for the study.

Cool, glad I could help!

Cyrano, can I quote you on that to a certain person very physically close to me? The capitalized part I mean. Also, what denomination are you?

Please, be my guest! I am a Catholic. It saddens me to say that even many catholics ignore that fact, even though the Vatican has issued numerous statements to that effect. The Protestant belief that the Bible alone is the root of faith doesn't help things either. (No offense to any protestants out there, I love Protestants, but that particular doctrine does tend to cause confusion.)

The bible is not to be interpreted literally, when it seems to offer contradictions, otherwise it should be...

God created the first humans on earth, but he didn't...he just created the better ones...but he created everything, and Genesis is the story of creation..ok, I am confused.

My favorite part about Christianity is...God created all life, created humans, knows everything they will do, and will punish them for eternity if they don't follow God's convulted/confused/unclear rules. So, God created the earth as a big test, and either doesn't love/respect humanity(sees us as mice), or he is just pretty sadistic.

@ ZaZaMaRanDaBo

Remember that you Bible Study is just that as well. Once you begin with the scriptural basis for your discussion you can use a concordance to more deeply into it. How to apply is to your lives will be a big issue as you move forward.

With leading any group though. Be patient with them. They are not going to do things just as you plan and that's okay. Make a plan, but be flexible and take notes as to what are topics of interest for them. This will give you ideas for future talks.

However you feel about what Iceray0 is saying his questions are still something that ZaZaMaRaNDaBo may have to face in his class. I do think that his posts are relevant because many people do look at the apparent contradictions in the Bible and conclude that it is "ridiculous". My advice to ZaZaMaRaNDaBo is to explain some of the more famous metaphors to his class and show how they can interpreted in a meaningful way. Also I think it is necessary to admit that there are contradictions. The Bible was written and compiled by men and it is not a perfect book but this does not mean that it doesn't contain the truth.

Why did we make a new thread if the argument here continues?

We've taken the argument over there, so quick everyone, migrate over to the new thread, plenty of arguing over there people!

If you actually wanna help the OP with his bible study question, feel free to stay here and not argue:]

This is my advice. Love the Lord your God and all people of the earth with all your heart. And believe in Christ the Redeemer and you will have eternal life!

I'll be sure to do that. At least, I hope I continue past the first Bible study. There might not be such a big turnout for the first one. Advertising has been minimal because I didn't get the go-ahead until Friday.

Don't worry about the turnout. Pray about it; prepared for it as best you can and don't get discouraged. It will grow over time. Having a huge turnout has problems of its own. Just take the time to study, even if your the only one there the first time. I had much the same situation as a martial arts instructor. My first classes were terribly small, but I ended up teaching a lot of people over the years and promoted people to high rank. If you stick to it people will come. I'll be praying for you.

I would say that get past all of the "God" and Moses and jesus bullshit and get down to the morals

Thank you Crazy Anglican. Denis, thanks for your input, but you can't have one without the other in a Bible study.

why? isn't the point to teach morals? because all the rest is a buffer for people who don't get it.

I've found a stereotype between Christians and non-Christians. The Christians have good morals. The non-Christians generally don't as good of morals.

Well that depends because, I would call my self a christian because I go to church every sunday for the morals not God. If you mean christian as in "if I do something bad god will display his wrath upon me" then probably because they were scared into it. Religon touches one of the most primal truths about humans it scares them into it.

Like I said, that's a stereotype.