Jonah and the Whale

I'm a christian. But my biggest hang up on believing isnt about there being no proof or bible inconsistancies or all that we hear so much about in debates. What I wanna know is how the hell did one man live inside a whale for 40 days??

Anythings possible with God, I guess.

thats cos the critical word here is stories. STORIES. the bible is full of stories. how did a man live in a whale?
come on i ask you. even with modern technology it isnt possible.

Thats nothing my grandad spent a fortnight in the sharks mouth... Of course that is the name of the pub.


So you don't mind the lack of evidence for christianity?

I find I focus a hell of a lot more the the New Testement anyway. Right or wrong, I'm much more about Christ's teachings than the OT.

Honestly, I find all the evidence I need in my heart (corny though it sounds). And if in the end it turns out to be all untrue then it doesnt matter anyways.

It does sound corny

Is there something wrong with my heart i can't find anything in it, not even with a scalpel.

Do you not find it strange that muslims can find proof of their religion in their heart, or hindus, or basically any religion. Does that not make you think that perhaps hearts aren't the best organ to do our critical thinking with?

Personally I view the bible as a political tool. It's been edited, pruned and simply changed to suit a particular purpose. As such it can not be taken literally.

However the messages and core ideas have survived.

Sometimes our heart leads us to the best places!
And sometimes not...
But like I said, in the end if I'm wrong it wont even matter. And meanwhile, its nice to believe in something. It creates purpose for my life. I think thats something anyone of any religion can understand.

I can understand it too, but purpose without religion can you understand that?

If we are all on this earth just to live and die then what purpose is there? Once we are dead nothing will matter. Not even what we leave behind. So no, I dont understand purpose without religion.

Personally yes, but it would probably scare quite a few people.

Of course you can't understand it, you are obviosuly one of those people who needs religion to give their life meaning.

The purpose of life is to live, does it need more purpose than that?

Even if the thought of no afterlife was unpleasant to me i would still follow truth wherever it leads.

Yeah but we all die eventually... so isnt that kind of a pointless purpose?

Not at all, i want to leave the world a better place than when i entered it, even if i'm not floating on a cloud to watch it.

This is a similar idea to one that says if you don't believe in god what is the point of being moral.

Leave the world a better place... but even the world is gonna die. Really if I didnt believe in an afterlife I would feel I had no more purpose on earth than an ant. Or a monkey. LOL
You don't have to believe in God but it is true that believing does create a hope that others dont have. Which is why so many people do believe. Hope is something we all need. I believe it is instilled in us.