Thursday, January 19, 2006

Biblical Foolishness...


I'm sure that nearly all atheists who've discussed religion with xians have been hit with:
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (Psalm 14:1)

Or is it Psalm 53:1?
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.

I can definitely see the temptation to throw this in a non-believer's face -- afterall it MUST be important, they wrote it down twice (god really should have hired a better proofreader).

But, being absolutely sick and tired of hearing this particular verse, I got curious and went to a bible site and did a search on the word "fool". Honestly, I was looking for Matthew 5:22 in particular:
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

(HA! Take that beyotch! Straight out the mouth of Jeez-us-uh!)

What I found were 180+ instances of "fool". I always knew the bible was fool of it (that's so, soo bad).

Of particular interest to me are:
You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? (Matthew 23:17)

See, this is Jesus speaking again. Yeah, the same guy who, according to his own words just 18 chapters ago, is now "in danger of the fire of hell".

Even better, the Big Guy Himself says (actually this is Jesus quoting his pops, so YHWH might have a case for slander, or at least a hearsay defense):
But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' (Luke 12:20)

Some political prophesying:
Arrogant (or Eloquent) lips are unsuited to a fool —- how much worse lying lips to a ruler! (Proverbs 17:7)

All I have to say is Dubya.

A new biblical record (actually, there very well might be other instances of immediate contradiction:
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.

Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes
(Proverbs 26:4-5)

Hold up. But, I thought you just said.... Ok, wait - I'm confused.

Fanciful, yes; in denial, not always:
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

I don't know about that: god's foolishness can be pretty darned foolish sometimes.

And the future motto of this site and my new personla mantra:
Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. (2 Timothy 2:23)

So, what's my point? Stop quoting Psalm 14/53 to me, pretty much. Other than that I just wanted to heap a lil' bit more on the contradiction pile. I was going to list all 183 incidents, but I'm still trying to shorten up my posts so people will actually read them.

2 comments:

DUB said...

Anyhow, the bible site noted on its entry for Psalm 14:1 "The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient."

Now, for some crazy reason, whenever I see something like this, red flags go up, and I immediately sense some weasling and/or sugar-coating going on, so I looked to the trusty old Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, Thayer's Greek Definitions, and Brown-Driver-Brigg's Hebrew Definitions.

Fool:

G3474
μωρóς
mōros
mo-ros'
Probably form the base of G3466; dull or stupid (as if shut up), that is, heedless, (morally) blockhead, (apparently) absurd: - fool (-ish, X -ishness).
Thayer Definition:
1) foolish
2) impious, godless

G878
αφρων
aphrōn
af'-rone
From G1 (as a negative particle) and G5424; properly mindless, that is, stupid, (by implication) ignorant, (specifically) egotistic, (practically) rash, or (morally) unbelieving: - fool (-ish), unwise.
Thayer Definition:
1) without reason
2) senseless, foolish, stupid
3) without reflection or intelligence, acting rashly

H5036
נבל
nâbâl
naw-bawl'
From H5034; stupid; wicked (especially impious): - fool (-ish, -ish man, -ish woman), vile person.
BDB Definition:
1) foolish, senseless, fool

H5037
נבל
nâbâl
naw-bawl'
The same as H5036; dolt; Nabal, an Israelite: - Nabal.
(This is actually a person. Nice parents.)

H3684
כּסיל
kesîyl
kes-eel'
From H3688; properly fat, that is, (figuratively) stupid or silly: - fool (-ish).

H191
אויל
'ĕvîyl
ev-eel'
From an unused root (meaning to be perverse); (figuratively) silly: - fool (-ish) (man).

Folly:

H200
אוּלת
'ivveleth
iv-veh'-leth
From the same as H191; silliness: - folly, foolishly (-ness).
BDB Definition:
1) foolishness, folly

H5039
נבלה
nebâlâh
neb-aw-law'
Feminine of H5036; foolishness, that is, (morally) wickedness; concretely a crime; by extension punishment: - folly, vile, villany.
BDB Definition:
1) senselessness, folly
1a) disgraceful folly
1a1) of immorality, profane actions
1b) disgrace, contumely disgrace

OK. So, yes, the word nâbâl (used in Psalm 14/53, for instance) can mean impious or immoral, BUT it also - and quite obviously so - means STUPID.

Aaron Kinney said...

Now thats a good anti-Bible post. Jesus put himself in danger of the fires of hell on a number of occasions.

And whats up with all that Biblical redundancy? There are so many stories in the Bible that are told multiple times. I guess they needed filler hehe.