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  3. Are there any examples of a religion giving scientific knowledge that could not have been known to people at the time?

Are there any examples of a religion giving scientific knowledge that could not have been known to people at the time?

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  • H [email protected]

    I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

    After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

    Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

    I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

    Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

    mothra@mander.xyzM This user is from outside of this forum
    mothra@mander.xyzM This user is from outside of this forum
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    wrote last edited by
    #33

    Not sure if I'm following you correctly but the two main problems, for lack of a better word, getting in the way of religion adopting science is that it requires 1) change the already "proven to work" model they already had for ages and 2) some critical thinking and openness to new ideas. As for point 2, it not be much required, but it's population averages we're talking about, so that makes it more difficult.

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    • H [email protected]

      I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

      After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

      Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

      I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

      Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

      lustyargonianmana@lemmy.worldL This user is from outside of this forum
      lustyargonianmana@lemmy.worldL This user is from outside of this forum
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      wrote last edited by
      #34

      Religion is made up by people. Stop trying to support religious psychosis.

      1 Reply Last reply
      9
      • H [email protected]

        I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

        After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

        Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

        I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

        Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

        F This user is from outside of this forum
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        wrote last edited by [email protected]
        #35

        Let’s say you’re arguing in good faith. What if I offered you a different conception of God?

        You’re reading the Torah. Have you read the Gnostic gospels? They are early Christian texts & beliefs, some that run roughshod over the beliefs in Judaism. Some Gnostics believed YHWH was a false God, because why would God say, “You must believe in me?” Or why would he genocide the earth with a flood?

        Other people have said it, but religion is made by humans. However, what if God was more like the Dao/Tao? Maybe it’s not a person (that’s a human notion), but more like a spring or fountain? Like a source of goodness? Or it’s a foundational substrate for metaphysical realities?

        You say, “Why has no holy text predicted what science has revealed?” To me, it sounds like, “Why hasn’t a pig flown?” I think the critique misaligns religion with a goal.

        Science reveals the physical world to us. We know there’s an inherent gap between what we observe and some sort of capital T Truth. We could be brains in a vat, a demon could have us hostage, etc. Religion lives in the gap, and I’d say it can reveal things. What it reveals isn’t about the physical world, though.

        When I read a Bible verse, a Buddhist Sutra, or hear an Islamic Surah, it connects me to our species. I go to church for the people, the community. The values resonate with me, and I think my family & kids are better off because of that environment. I have science to explain the physical world.

        I’m a Unitarian Universalist, so I look at religion in my own way (was an atheist for 20 years prior). Have you tried reframing God as not “old man in the clouds?” If you have, does that framing change how you read the Torah?

        P.S. Check out some of the discussion of quantum science and consciousness. Some are arguing that consciousness is the metaphysical reality. Everything may be conscious, but certain conditions may need to be met for the emergence of it in physical reality. Some people have also theorized that all electrons are the same. Some fun theories out there.

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        • F [email protected]

          God of the gaps: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/God_of_the_gaps

          The Quotes section is great.

          People think that epilepsy is divine simply because they don't have any idea what causes epilepsy. But I believe that someday we will understand what causes epilepsy, and at that moment, we will cease to believe that it's divine. And so it is with everything in the universe.

          F This user is from outside of this forum
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          wrote last edited by
          #36

          http://www.thelastquestion.net/

          The God of the Gap will always live at some level.

          F 1 Reply Last reply
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          • F [email protected]

            http://www.thelastquestion.net/

            The God of the Gap will always live at some level.

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            wrote last edited by
            #37

            Nice... this reminds me that I need to finish Robot Dreams.

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            • U [email protected]

              In Abrahamic religions the eating of pork is prohibited because pork is an “unclean” animal, and indeed pork is one of the most dangerous meats to consume when not cooked properly.

              Yet plenty of people ate pork and didn't suffer any noticeable setback. This is a myth, or rather some kind of apologetics aimed at attempting a rational explanation at something which wasn't decided by rationality.

              otter@lemmy.dbzer0.comO This user is from outside of this forum
              otter@lemmy.dbzer0.comO This user is from outside of this forum
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              wrote last edited by
              #38

              Don't even get me started on the broadcloth bullshit that is the entire section of "oriental" 🤢 "medicine".

              FFS.

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              • sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

                I got a free copy of the Qur'an last year and it's packed with stuff like this, it's kinda annoying because I just wanted to understand the actual text. It's all the same stuff I've seen Christian creationists talk about, obviously false if you understand the basics but it'll probably deceive lots of people who don't.

                otter@lemmy.dbzer0.comO This user is from outside of this forum
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                wrote last edited by
                #39

                ...deceive lots of people who don't.

                That's intrinsic to religion itself.

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                • U [email protected]

                  In Abrahamic religions the eating of pork is prohibited because pork is an “unclean” animal, and indeed pork is one of the most dangerous meats to consume when not cooked properly.

                  Yet plenty of people ate pork and didn't suffer any noticeable setback. This is a myth, or rather some kind of apologetics aimed at attempting a rational explanation at something which wasn't decided by rationality.

                  T This user is from outside of this forum
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                  wrote last edited by
                  #40

                  Wrong, it could be based on plenty of solid, evidence based objectives and cultural materialisms that sadly might be lost to time, atleast from the context of these religions.

                  Some armchair historians have theorised that sweating remove toxins from the body and pigs that dont sweat very well might be bad to eat because of toxin accumulation in their bodies, but this has been debunked some time ago. Toxins don't accumulate to significant levels, neither does sweating remove them in any meaningful manner.

                  The strongest indicator is that this idea that pigs = dirty comes from abrahamic religions that all developed in the middle east and the levant - arid, inhospitable regions with precious water sources.

                  Also important to note is that this idea also did NOT originate independently in other regions where water and the vegetative life it spawns, was more plentiful.

                  There are some valid concerns when raising pigs in arid climates:

                  • Food hygiene: Meat, especially non-lean meat, spoils quickly in hotter climates. Further pigs eat anything including garbage, waste, and carrion meat, spoiled or otherwise, meaning higher chance of parasite/ disease transmission.

                  plenty of people ate pork and didnt have any noticeable setback
                  Yeah, but if enough people from your village puke+shits themselves to death every once in a while after eating pork, and you can't find any other valid reason, you might just blame the pork.

                  • Shitty sweat glands: Pigs have very ineffective sweat glands that are really shitty at keeping them cool. Instead, pigs cool themselves down by wallowing in water or mud. In a desert setting were water and mud are rare if at all available, pigs tend to get very hot and resort to wallowing whatever is closely available - which as it turns out, especially in an animal pen, is pigshit.

                  • Food economy: Pigs are both omnivorous and need more water and shelter than other desert livestock like goats or sheep - desert animals survive on less water, and have fur coats that protect them from the harsh sun. In a place where resource conservation was a necessity, it is costlier and harder to raise pigs and the returns from them was consequently less.

                  • Symbolic: Okay this is not a very strong evidence based approach but people watching pigs eat their own shit and wallow in them makes people not want to associate with it.

                  Now in regions with ample rainfall and forests, keeping pigs is easy. Just stay near a river or pond and you're good. Pigs are even capable of foraging for food in forests themselves, though a pig farmer that lets his pigs do that will lose a bunch to wild animals and other people. Pigs are efficient converters of food into meat, and they can pretty much eat human leftovers and byproducts that come from farming, which you were doing anyway.

                  Take for example Europe and China: Both have had pigs as cornerstones in their diets. Europe survived winter months with preserved pig products like hams and sausages. In China, pigs are even more important. It's practically unavoidable and their cuisine reflects that.

                  Now one might raise a relevant question: If abrahamic religions, due to their locations of origin, hates pork, why doesn't Christianity, an abrahamic religion, place as much focus on avoiding it? I can't be sure of the answer to this one; Jesus in the new testament does say that every animal under the sun is game for food: the old testament does prohibit pig as food, but the new testament overwrites the old.
                  My best bet is that Christianity, with it's apostles travelling all over the world, spread into and flourished in non-arid regions - and given that the new testament removed the restriction on pork, it also flourished as a food source under it.

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                  • H [email protected]

                    I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

                    After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

                    Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

                    I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

                    Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

                    kissaki@feddit.orgK This user is from outside of this forum
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                    wrote last edited by
                    #41

                    After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren’t there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren’t important enough to mention?

                    It's difficult to answer if your premise is that the Torah is truthfully the word of god.

                    If you take a neutral, or opposite viewpoint, it's very simple and obvious to answer. If people created the Tora, and they either had no knowledge or no interest during the creation process, it's obvious why they are not mentioned.

                    Wouldn’t it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it?

                    This makes me think of shamans using powdered materials to create colorful sparks when thrown into a fire. It's entirely based on existing material and physical phenomenon, but through knowledge and ignorance, can be used as a tool of misguidance and misinterpretation.

                    Why wouldn’t he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of?

                    You're asking so many questions that throughout so many religions and gods can not be answered. You get more and more confused.

                    If you shift the perspective, and don't assume a god as a premise, I think it's fairly obvious to answer. If instead of asking "why did god do it this way" you ask "if this exists now, how did it reach this today through history, why is it presented the way it is, and who originally created it an why", will you reach a conclusion of "god did it because x", or something else?


                    It is good that you are asking these questions. What does it mean if there are such uncertainties about these religious documents? What value do they hold? Who gives them their value? And why? How was it in the past, and how is it today?

                    What are alternative explanations? What is more fundamentally true vs arbitrary or artificial meaning? What views are more likely, what claims are more likely truthful, what is complete or incomplete, what is selective or encompassing, what served personal, community, political purposes vs what are fundamental truths?

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                    • sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS [email protected]

                      I got a free copy of the Qur'an last year and it's packed with stuff like this, it's kinda annoying because I just wanted to understand the actual text. It's all the same stuff I've seen Christian creationists talk about, obviously false if you understand the basics but it'll probably deceive lots of people who don't.

                      F This user is from outside of this forum
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                      wrote last edited by
                      #42

                      obviously false if you understand the basics

                      Do you have examples?

                      sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zoneS 1 Reply Last reply
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                      • H [email protected]

                        I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

                        After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

                        Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

                        I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

                        Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

                        tattorack@lemmy.worldT This user is from outside of this forum
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                        wrote last edited by
                        #43

                        Occam's razor:

                        Humans created religion. These things aren't found in any religious texts because people, with their superstitions and limited knowledge, made these religious texts.

                        Just look at more "modern" religions, like scientology, drawing on elements of science-fiction for its mythos.

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                        • H [email protected]

                          I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

                          After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

                          Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

                          I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

                          Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

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                          wrote last edited by [email protected]
                          #44

                          I know many will not like what I am going to say but still ...

                          The Bible mentioned scientific facts long before they were discovered. For example, around 3,000 years ago, Job 26:7 said that God “hangs the earth on nothing,” describing the earth suspended in space—centuries before scientists understood this. Over 2,700 years ago, Isaiah 40:22 said that God “sits above the circle of the earth,” indicating its round shape, long before it was widely accepted.

                          Later, in the mid-19th century (around 1851–1852), the physicist Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) helped formulate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As part of his theological reflections, he cited Psalm 111:2—“Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them”—to affirm that scientific inquiry only deepens reverence for a Creator.

                          There are few other similar examples like these in the Bible.

                          A T 2 Replies Last reply
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                          • S [email protected]

                            I know many will not like what I am going to say but still ...

                            The Bible mentioned scientific facts long before they were discovered. For example, around 3,000 years ago, Job 26:7 said that God “hangs the earth on nothing,” describing the earth suspended in space—centuries before scientists understood this. Over 2,700 years ago, Isaiah 40:22 said that God “sits above the circle of the earth,” indicating its round shape, long before it was widely accepted.

                            Later, in the mid-19th century (around 1851–1852), the physicist Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) helped formulate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As part of his theological reflections, he cited Psalm 111:2—“Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them”—to affirm that scientific inquiry only deepens reverence for a Creator.

                            There are few other similar examples like these in the Bible.

                            A This user is from outside of this forum
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                            wrote last edited by
                            #45

                            The circle of earth is a very big stretch there. Circles are not spheres. So your assuming it means round because of your bias but it could mean a flat circle.

                            S F 2 Replies Last reply
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                            • N [email protected]

                              Yes, but it's not what you're thinking, and they could be known at the time, just not through scientific method, but we had to rediscover them.

                              In Abrahamic religions the eating of pork is prohibited because pork is an "unclean" animal, and indeed pork is one of the most dangerous meats to consume when not cooked properly. This could be divine knowledge, or people simply realizing that those who ate pork got more sick than those who didn't.

                              Another example is about meditation and other mental health from oriental religions. The science to back up that is very recent but they have been doing it for thousands of years and have been claiming all of the benefits that we're now discovering. But also this could have slowly evolved by observing yourself which is a lot of what meditation is about, so who could have thought that self inspection would allow you to understand yourself better?

                              So at the end of the day I don't think there's any example of what you're looking for, because anything we know now they could have guessed back then and would not necessarily be divine knowledge. Accurate precognition would be an example of something we would have no explanation for, but that has never happened, most prophecies are abstract and open to interpretation.

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                              wrote last edited by [email protected]
                              #46

                              But tons of people are pork with nothing happening do it's a bullshit hypothesis.

                              N 1 Reply Last reply
                              1
                              • H [email protected]

                                I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

                                After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

                                Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

                                I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

                                Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

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                                wrote last edited by
                                #47

                                Not religious texts specifically, but books in general - human imagination often creates something that is later discovered or invented. So I don't know why it would not be true of older books.

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                                • H [email protected]

                                  I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

                                  After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

                                  Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

                                  I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

                                  Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

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                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #48

                                  Check out www.lawofone.info. The first few sessions (they're short) say what happened in ancient Egyptian and South American cultures when aliens came and tried to share the simple thought that "we are all one." Shit devolved into human sacrifice. Apparently we can't handle anything even approximating religion.

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                                  • A [email protected]

                                    The circle of earth is a very big stretch there. Circles are not spheres. So your assuming it means round because of your bias but it could mean a flat circle.

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                                    wrote last edited by [email protected]
                                    #49

                                    You are perfectly right, so a little research brought up the following:

                                    The Hebrew word chûg in Isaiah 40:22 often referred to three-dimensional celestial or vaulted forms rather than a flat circle, a usage also found in nearby cultures. Moreover, the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaᵃ) dating from the second century BC, include the entire chapter 40 of Isaiah, confirming the stability of this wording over more than two millennia.

                                    It is still a stretch, but not so big IMHO.

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                                    • H [email protected]

                                      I've been doing a lot of research into Judaism. They seem to encourage asking tough questions and taking the answers seriously, which is good.

                                      After reading a bit of the Torah, it got me thinking, why aren't there any references to people who could not have been known to its followers at the time? No mention of East Asians or Native Americans. Did God just forget about them when he talked through Moses? Or he thought they weren't important enough to mention?

                                      Then it got me thinking some more. What about science? Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of legitimacy if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it? Say, "And God said, let there be bacteria! And then there was bacteria." But there is nothing like that. Anywhere, as far as I can tell. Among any religion.

                                      I'm not a theologian and I'm always interested in learning more, so any insights would be helpful.

                                      Edit: A lot of responses seem to be saying "people wouldn't have had a use for that knowledge at the time" seem to be parroting religious talking points without fully understanding their implications. Why would God only tell people what they would have a use for at the time? Why wouldn't he give them information that could expand the possibilities of what they were capable of? Why does it matter if people had a word for something at the time? Couldn't God just tell them new words for new things? If God was only telling them things that were relevant to them at the time, why didn't He say so? Also, how come he doesn't come back and tell us things that are relevant now, or at least mention that he isn't coming back?

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                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #50

                                      I'll give two answers to this question, from the perspective of a Christian reading the Old Testament/Torah.

                                      Wouldn't it be effective to convince followers of a religion if a religion could accurately predict a scientific phenomenon before its followers have the means of discovering it?

                                      This is interpretative, but if there is a God, he seems big on free will. Why give humanity the option to sin in the garden at all? Why not just reveal himself in the sky each morning? Why even bother creating a universe that can be explained without him? There's an abundance of easy ways God could make himself irrefutable, and yet in the Bible he makes us "in His image", and offers us choices like that tree in the garden.

                                      Furthermore, why even create us to sin in the first place? My interpretation of the Torah is that God is big on relationship, and that free will is a key part of that. Just like a human relationship based on a love potion is kinda creepy, and a pale imitation of something real, it seems like God doesn't want to be irrefutable.

                                      --

                                      I think that's the more relevant answer to your question, but I'll also give the only example that comes to mind of the Bible seemingly imparting "scientific knowledge", which is to look at the laws around "cleanliness". Someone else already mentioned some "unclean" animals, but if you read more, they pretty consistently seem like good advice around bacteria. Some examples of times you need to "purify" (essentially take a bath) that seem like common sense now:

                                      • being around dead bodies
                                      • touching blood that's not yours
                                      • having your period
                                      • etc.

                                      Reading this as a modern person aware of germs, many of these "laws" seem like they would have kept the death rate of faithful Jews a lot lower than their neighbours in that day.

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                                      • S [email protected]

                                        I know many will not like what I am going to say but still ...

                                        The Bible mentioned scientific facts long before they were discovered. For example, around 3,000 years ago, Job 26:7 said that God “hangs the earth on nothing,” describing the earth suspended in space—centuries before scientists understood this. Over 2,700 years ago, Isaiah 40:22 said that God “sits above the circle of the earth,” indicating its round shape, long before it was widely accepted.

                                        Later, in the mid-19th century (around 1851–1852), the physicist Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) helped formulate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As part of his theological reflections, he cited Psalm 111:2—“Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them”—to affirm that scientific inquiry only deepens reverence for a Creator.

                                        There are few other similar examples like these in the Bible.

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                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #51

                                        The distance you can see standing on the earths surface looks like a circle. If he called it a sphere that would be more interesting.

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                                        • F [email protected]

                                          obviously false if you understand the basics

                                          Do you have examples?

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                                          wrote last edited by [email protected]
                                          #52

                                          When I say the basics, I mean understanding logic and reasoning and what constitutes scientific evidence. Much of it is word association at best, the example that comes to mind is the claim that the pillars of creation prove that creationism is true.

                                          In one example in my copy of the Qur'an, they point to a journalist using the word smoke to discuss the state of the early universe as proof that the Qur'an predicted modern cosmology because heaven was smoke before Allah commanded it to exist. It's an unproven claim, they've just drawn a vague connection and decided that counts as evidence.

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