"The bible...was written by man with divine inspiration"
You state that as a matter of fact. You are therefore certain that anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Does that fall into line with your knowledge of science and the scientific method?
If so, how do you know it to be true?
Well, I know for a fact it was written by man. Because you see, there were these men, who were writing, and they said, "Hey, look what we wrote!" And they sent their writings around. My point in saying that biblical writings weren't written by God himself was that they are not infallible. They are, in fact, filled with hyperbole and parable and misinterpretation.
The thing is, they wrote of stuff that they couldn't have experienced and at least some of those things were true. Coincidence? Perhaps. I don't think so. I think they were inspired. You don't need to think so.
I think, also, you'll find I rarely state religious thoughts in terms of fact. When it seems from a single sentence that I do so, take the context of my writings into account. I frequently admit that these are matters of faith, and that I hold no ill will towards those who don't share it.
Wayne: So what is the room like after you take out another marble? "What was the universe like before time?" can make no sense because there wasn't any time to be before.
that's what's bothering me! if there wasn't any time to be before, why is it before? what initiated the beggining...you'll say big bang
Okay, my marble metaphor was lacking. That's to be expected, I suppose, since I made it up as I went along. Here's another one I made up, but also illustrates the same thing. Maybe it will be more to your liking...
Imagine, if you will, a sentient bacteria living in a balloon. You talk to it and ask it about the universe. It tells you, "In the beginning, the creator breathed life into the universe at the great nipple. The universe expanded and expanded in all it's rubbery goodness. We call the Universe the Great Balloon."
You ask, "Well, what's outside the Great Balloon?"
"Outside the Great Balloon? What do you mean? There can be nothing outside the Great Balloon! Inside are all our laws of physics: Everything is under pressure! Outside the balloon would be no pressure. We can't even begin to imagine the world without pressure. It's beyond our imaginations and so nothing can be there."
"Okay," you respond, "How about before the Creator's Exhalation at the Great Nipple?"
"Before the Nipple? That would be outside the balloon! The universe, as we know it, came into existence at the Great Nipple. There is nothing before that!"
The point being, of course, that our minds are not equipped to imagine the world from outside of time, so we cannot imagine a "before" the Big Bang. Even seeing it, we would be unable to comprehend it. To the capabilities of our minds, there is no "it" to comprehend. What if no organism in the Universe had ever evolved eyes or any ability to sense any part of the spectrum? Would the color Purple still exist? It might as well not because we would be unable to comprehend it. People might talk about the existence of Purple. They might write whole books about it. Others would condemn them saying there is no proof of Purple. But they'd write about it anyway, and they would call it faith. Would they be right? I dunno.
So what existed before the big band and what exists outside the self-contained universe? Nothing, or God, or the color Purple. Choose the one most comfortable for you and know that while you can't be proven wrong, nor will you ever prove yourself right.
w
