Taking the Bible Literally

[DOXXP29 5]

Looks like some people take the bible very literally. Self-flagellation taken to a new level. Is this guy a true believer or is he mentally ill? As many have said, there are many ways to interpret the bible...

Man Cuts Off, Microwaves His Own Hand

6 hours ago

HAYDEN, Idaho — A man who believed he bore the "mark of the beast" used a circular saw to cut off one hand, then he cooked it in the microwave and called 911, authorities said.

The man, in his mid-20s, was calm when Kootenai County sheriff's deputies arrived Saturday in this northern Idaho town. He was in protective custody in the mental health unit of Kootenai Medical Center.

"It had been somewhat cooked by the time the deputy arrived," sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said. "He put a tourniquet on his arm before, so he didn't bleed to death. That kind of mental illness is just sad."

It was not immediately clear whether the man has a history of mental illness. Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Johnson would not say whether an attempt was made to reattach the hand, citing patient confidentiality.

The Book of Revelation in the New Testament contains a passage in which an angel is quoted as saying: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink the wine of God's fury."

The book of Matthew also contains the passage: "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."

Wolfinger said he didn't know which hand was amputated.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

[coolotter88 2]

the bible is ONLY a book, no need to take it that seriously. the only books you should follow word for word should be instruction books, because bad things happen when you don't.

maybe next time this guy will cut off something else of his, we don't need more idiots like him running around.

[Micah 16]

I don't get it. He had the mark of the beast? Do they mean a tattoo or what?

[Frankie_Grove 32]

Originally posted by: Micah I don't get it. He had the mark of the beast? Do they mean a tattoo or what?quote>

That's what I'm curious to know...

Especially if he actually read the rest of the passage, he would know that the government installs said marks, they don't just appear...

[skazi89 2]

it's that easy to turn a retard into a handytard..

i was baptised myself and went to church for years but i really started to disagree with the priciples of the church and its fellowship. lets have a war in the name of god! great. if theres something like god he/she/it will definately love to see you die for no apparent reason...

in my opinion he should rather worship SC4. at least that'd make him love his hands. zoning will be too difficult for him now, though

too late. pwned

[BurroDiablo 222]

Yeah... what the hell is the 'Mark of Evil'? Unless a pentagram shaped birth mark appeared on his hand, it felt like burning lava and was seeping puss through an open wound, you shouldn't be worried what the hell appears on your hand. Usually lumps and stuff are easily taken care of, my mum had one and she got it removed... she's a Catholic and she never took a circular saw or a band facer to her hand. Ah, nutters... they make the world go round...

[purpledaddy 6]

Originally posted by: coolotter88 the only books you should follow word for word should be instruction books, because bad things happen when you don't.

quote>

Especially for video and computer games!  

[Mikeaut1 261]

Honestly, he's mentally ill. 

In the Bible it does say that those that follow/associated themselves with the things that are not of God will have the number "666" written on their hand or forehead. I don't think cutting off his hand was the right choice, obviously. He could've easily repented his sins to God and he would've been forgiven.

[Joesocwork 4]

Everything has to be read or listened to in context! For example, how many times have we read humorous threads in these forums about people who have done dumb things b/c they didn't understand metaphorical, idiomatic, or cultural language or where instructions sounded dumb b/c they were written so literally?

[Voar Tok 4]

Speaking of the Mark of the Beast, maybe he has a direct link to the House of Parliament's docket of official business embedded in his hand.

[Psycho_Teddy 25]

Originally posted by: Voar Tok Speaking of the Mark of the Beast, maybe he has a direct link to the House of Parliament's docket of official business embedded in his hand.quote>

 

Now that's just downright hilarity!

But seriosuly, the guy's a nutter.

[panthersimcity4 162]

lol, people just obsess over the book of Revelation because they have nothing better to do.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.

Seriously, I think the book was written in codes and symbols because God knew that idiots in the future would abuse it if they knew too much, and that people should just worry about real problems. The thing I like about God is that he knows we're complete imbeciles.

[ILL Tonkso 1,239]

Plus the number of the beast is 616 anyway. It is only a common misconception and misprint in the bible that leads us to believe it is 666.

Gotta love Stephen Fry

[miguelkuk 111]

Originally posted by: panthersimcity4 Seriously, I think the book was written in codes and symbols because God knew that idiots in the future would abuse it if they knew too much, and that people should just worry about real problems. The thing I like about God is that he knows we're complete imbeciles.quote>

 

One thing that really bugs me is how Christians can so easily overlook their religion's contradictions and are able to happily concile two opposing ideas.

If God knows the future, it implies that it is already set. Each individual has therefore their own destiny already traced, which completely eliminates free will. If mankind has no free will, how can God judge you for your actions since all of everyone's actions have been determined from the beginning, and thus created by God making Him the sole responsible for Men's actions.

Another thing, you say that God knows we're imbecils. Well, if He made us imbecils it was His fault, and besides, that would also make him responsible for our sins and mistakes: we're just imbecils...

[GingerBlokey 30]

Originally posted by: ILL Tonkso Plus the number of the beast is 616 anyway. It is only a common misconception and misprint in the bible that leads us to believe it is 666.

Gotta love Stephen Fry quote>

QI for the win, problem is that little-known facts become common knowlege as soon as they are mentioned so when I say them I don't appear as intellegent.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: panthersimcity4

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.

quote>

Taken to an extreme, that means long term planning is bad.

There are many quotes in there which, taken a literal extreme, make no sense.

But then, I'm not a fan of extremists, no matter what extreme direction they are going in.

[saltandsauce 0]

by that he must have worshipped the beast and been branded 616 what a weirdo im a Catholic and i have a mind

[miguelkuk 111]

How would he know if it was 666 or 999 upside down on his hand?

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 7, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[JDRCRASH 53]

One problem our society today has is that they make the HUGE mistake in believing that everything is LITERAL in the Bible.

Example:

Hell doctrine

Trinity Doctrine

The reality is that some are Figuratively and Spiritually described.

[Rymac91 15]

what I'm more confused about is why did he microwave it?

[Mikeaut1 261]

Originally posted by: Rymac91 what I'm more confused about is why did he microwave it?quote>

That also eludes me too.

[patriots_1228 51]

lol....what an idiot...

Well, I have a birthmark on my leg, might be the mark of the devil, so im going to go cut my leg off and throw it in the microwave.

[nihonkaranws 88]

I have to say that religion is one of the stupidest beliefs in the world. The only reason that so many people are religious is because they were raised that way. The Christian religion was invented a long time ago by men and women who were so scientificully uneducated, that they couldn't live their lives without knowing how their existence was created. So they wrote a series of books about how God created Heaven and Earth and Hades or whatever, and that he created life, just so that they wouldn't wonder how it all really happened. I bet that half of them meant it to be fictional!!

So they all went about telling everyone about this, and Jesus Christ ended up being the most famous of these storytellers. He pretended that he was the son of God and was here to wash away their sins. People were gullible back then, because advanced science didn't exist. So they believed him. They raised their kids with religion, and those kids raised their kids with religion. It just kept being passed down, and is surprisingly still around today.

There is a vast amount of scientific evidence that proves many of the facts presented in the Bible to be untrue. For example, core samples in the ice high above the arctic circle prove that the ice is over millions of years old, yet the Bible says that Earth is only 7000 years old. What are they talking about?! The Bible said that there were three heavens; Heaven, Earth and Hades (or Hell). Then what are all those other planets doing, floating around in space? Don't even get me started on how much scientific evidence there is about the unexistence of religion.

Another question I have is this. If there is so much war in the world because of different religious beliefs, than why doesn't the REAL God just come down and say: "Hey, everyone, I'm the real God. Now stop fighting because now you know who really exists."? He is supposed to be watching over us, and that would surely end a lot of the wars going on. So why doesn't God show himself. BECAUSE HE DOESN'T EXIST. Did you know that the Bible says that if a man discovers that his fiancé is not a virgin, he must stone her to death at her father's front door? What's that all about?

Don't get me wrong, though. Religion is very interesting when it comes to the stories (I have read a lot of the bible myself), the architecture, and some of the practices, but I just find it hard to believe that people actually believe that it's true.

Tell me why I should believe, and why the Earth is 7000 years old if science proves that it's over a billion. Prove it to me that God exists.

Your fellow athiest,

nihonkaranws

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: nihonkaranws

Tell me why I should believe, and why the Earth is 7000 years old if science proves that it's over a billion. Prove it to me that God exists.

quote>

We have a few threads going that discuss these issues:

The Existence of God

The Simtropolis House of Worship

You are welcome to join in those discussions over there.

Thanks!

[Hahayoudied 3]

If anyone read the Bible, one sentence of it says that anyone that doesn't believe in god are fools and the second sentence says that all non religious people does nothing good. There are loads of famous people, people who did good things, and regular people who aren't religous. Also, in 1997, more than 75 % of the people in jail were religous.

[Nerd_Guy 4]

Originally posted by: miguelkuk

Originally posted by: panthersimcity4 Seriously, I think the book was written in codes and symbols because God knew that idiots in the future would abuse it if they knew too much, and that people should just worry about real problems. The thing I like about God is that he knows we're complete imbeciles.quote>

 

One thing that really bugs me is how Christians can so easily overlook their religion's contradictions and are able to happily concile two opposing ideas.

If God knows the future, it implies that it is already set. Each individual has therefore their own destiny already traced, which completely eliminates free will. If mankind has no free will, how can God judge you for your actions since all of everyone's actions have been determined from the beginning, and thus created by God making Him the sole responsible for Men's actions.

Another thing, you say that God knows we're imbecils. Well, if He made us imbecils it was His fault, and besides, that would also make him responsible for our sins and mistakes: we're just imbecils...

quote>

 

And that is where Einstein's Many Worlds theory comes into play. It basically states that there are an infinate amount of "parralel" universes that contain the infinite combination of possibilities. For example, the only thing different in one universe is that you have 4 less hairs on your head, while in another, Earth might not exist. This therefore could mean that God, being infinate, can see all possible things we can do. At least that is what I think...

[purpledaddy 6]

Originally posted by: Mikeaut1

Originally posted by: Rymac91 what I'm more confused about is why did he microwave it?quote>

That also eludes me too. quote>

 

Maybe he thought it was cook book.

Kind of reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode To Serve Man.

[patriots_1228 51]

You guys really have a problem.

You turn every thread into a religious debate, and the athiests are always trying to make the religious people feel like [Edited for masked language] Marc.

guess what. Science is not fact. Religion is not fact. Not everything in the bible is true, but part of the bible is true. Not everything in Science is true, but part of science is true.

The point is, if there were one right answer to "the question" (why are we here?) there would be no debate about it.

we all agree that 1+1=2, right?

but what is the answer to 2x=y? there are a million different possibilities! I believe x=2 and y=4. You beleive x=4 and y=8. One single way is not the right way. If you beleive it's right, then you have a right to beleive that without other people trying to shoot it down. I hope this could be used in future religious debates here at ST.

As ski geek pointed out, if you want to debate about religion, there are more then enough threads already available.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

Originally posted by: Barbarossa The guy is nuts, plain and simple. There is no need to start pointing fingers, since every faith and non-faith has its own wacko. 
quote>

 

Thanks B, that needed to be said as some people are already getting out of hand...

---

This whole thing reminds me of Corporal Boston Corbett, the man who shot John Wilkes Booth.  A 'Christian Scientist', he castrated himself with scissors based upon the verse going something like '...if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; for it is better to enter Heaven lame than Hell with both feet...' I'm too lazy to look up the exact quote at the moment but that's the gist of it.  No word if he cooked them on a campfire afterwards, microwaves not having been invented yet.

     Orders were given to take Booth alive, but Corbett shot him through a crack in the wall. It was supposedly a trick shot-type of situation. When the CO asked him why he did it, he said God told him to. The CO replied that He must have, for the corporal to have made that shot. 
Some accounts are unclear on that conversation, so it may be just legend. Later events showed he was indeed insane and he was committed to an institution until his death.