h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What's so childish about that? Everyone likes nice, round numbers.

Math.

I would like to endorse whole-heartedly every point you have been making since I left.

I now I'm leaving again, but only because I'm a tad busy right now.

May your gods go with you all, as mine do with me.

Jez - heathen, witch and cosmic hoover...

"I'm not sure how you got the weapon analogy... it doesn't kill people."

1 Samuel 6:19
And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten [many] of the people with a great slaughter.

He's very fussy who gets a peek at it Math!

Um... it's not a weapon. God did that. And the Bible varies on the number. Mine says only seventy.

Myst

Whatever the numbers the story is the same. And repeated all through the bible.

Your god does seem terribly fond of killing people.

Jez - heathen and witch, and pledged to a goddess who leads the Wild Hunt in Her spare time, but who still hasn't clocked up the number of deaths the OT god has before his cosmic breakfast...

1 Samuel 6:19
And He smiteth among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the ark of Jehovah, yea, He smiteth among the people seventy men -- fifty chief men; and the people mourn, because Jehovah smote among the people -- a great smiting.

1 Samuel 6:19
But he slew of the men of Bethsames, because they had seen the ark of the Lord: and he slew of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten the people with a great slaughter.

1 Samuel 6:19
He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.

1 Samuel 6:19
He struck of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh, he struck of the people fifty thousand seventy men; and the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter.

1 Samuel 6:19
But the Lord sent destruction on seventy men of the people of Beth-shemesh for looking into the ark of the Lord; and great was the sorrow of the people for the destruction which the Lord had sent on them.

1 Samuel 6:19
And he smote among the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah, and smote of the people seventy men; and the people lamented, because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter.

1 Samuel 6:19
But he slew of the men of Bethsames, because they had seen the ark of the Lord: and he slew of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten the people with a great slaughter.


I could only find three out of ten I looked at which had seventy.

Alji

So which version was which?

I have an old KJV and a NI and a Good News.

You've got access to TEN?

LOL

1 Samuel 6:19

Three substantially different versions of just one text? What happens to the number of variations when you look at all of the thousands of verses?

Gods, no wonder they are always fighting...

There can be advantages to not having scripture, then?

--- --- ---

A paltry man and poor of mind
At all things ever mocks;
For never he knows, what he ought to know,
That he is not free from faults.

Poetic Edda

--- --- ---

Jezreell - Benighted Heathen, and Damned Witch, booking her place next door to Math and Bod LOL - oh, and Cosmic Hoover, Bane of fluff-bunnies. Not that there are any here, they are all scared of the level of debate.

And a person who definitely knows she has faults... LOL

One thing we all have to remember is the Trinity... that Jesus is the same God as the OT one... so if they are the same person, I think that perhaps the ones writing the OT were a bit overenthusiasitc in their renditions.

If it were fifty thousand, I doubt there'd be any people left to mourn... in fact, you'd probably have to borrow a few to even be in the positives.

/Ten/ renditions? Wow.

Jez - We all have faults. That we recognise them- that puts us apart.

Yes, loving your neighbour, God and yourself are central tenets! As for the rest of the 'rules' *none* are obligatory as far as I know, though avoiding fornication, adultery, theft and lying are ideals that everyone should follow - and God enables this following!
That's why I like and defend Paul - myth notwithstanding, he did not write what are called the 'housekeeping' epistles full of rules - he emphasises faith, and grace, not rule keeping! He's far closer to Jesus than those who oppose him realise - unlike Paul's own opponents at the time, who wanted to force obedience to the Jewish rules.

Exactly, Bod! The only people who think they don't are up a river in Egypt

What is this hate everyone has against Paul? I think that people are scared of the idea of commitment to, slavery, in Math's word God. They think that if they ignore Paul, and concentrate on the lovey-dovey parts of the Gospels, they will be fine. Ironically, they hate the O.T., I say ironically because of Marcion (I googled him yesterday) who rejected the OT and accepted *only* Paul, two gospels and 10 epistles.

Sorry I can't remember which was which but these are the versions;

Young's Litteral Translation (YLT)

World English Bible (WEB)

Basic English Bible

New American Standard Version

American Standard Version (ASV)

King James Version (KJV)

English Darby Translation

Douay-Rheims Version

Webster's Bible

and the Common Bible.

I also checked the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint/LXX)

Wow... well, you have to think, they all are translated differently. I mean, from what I remember, the word for love could be translated from many choices, like 'Love between brothers,' or 'Love for parents,' or 'Love for spouce,' and so on.

I'm using the NIV (New International Version)... as that's all I've on me. I think mes perents may have a KJV around, somewhere...

Comparing versions can be very valuable - and the words for love you are thinking of are;
Agape = disinterested love of everyone
Eros = love of spouse
Storge
Philia. (From C S Lewis' book 'The Four Loves'.

I think people believe in God for the same reason they believe in life-after-death, telekinesis, horoscopes, Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, goblins, ghosts, magic, spirits, the NHS and Bush's intelligence...

...believing in these things makes us happy.

But is it better to be happy, or to know the truth?

Believing such things doesn't necessarily make people happy; people are much more complicated than that. But the question of the role that a belief, or the reasons for holding a belief, play in a person's life is important and interesting, and plainly whether something is actually true or not is frequently not the deciding factor in belief - even when this can be ascertained.

Noggin

I say that it's all about organisation and caste, and opression which is taken up just as fervently by lower as upper classes, and self-control, and not in a good way. As many have before, of course, but I echo them.

I'm interested, Door - what makes you so sure *you* know the truth, and we poor benighted fools are the ones who are wrong?

Possibly the same thing that does the opposite for you?

Those holding the beliefs are also basing it on what is, to them, sufficient evidence. Happiness, comfort, do not form a solid enough foundation. This evidence does not suffice for everyone of course and is not to be equated with scientifically-validated proof etc.

The beliefs you list are not equal, they vary greatly in importance/ influence, which is one way to 'grade' such things.

Sometimes deeply-held beliefs can cause the opposite of happiness.