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fiction or non-fiction

Ok, so it goes without saying that I think the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, and all other religious books should be considered fiction. Now, how the hell do I convince others of this?

We were having a discussion at work (i am a teacher) about fiction and non-fiction. A student asked a teacher if the bible was fiction or non-fiction. The teacher said the student should ask his parent. I thought that was a cheap ass answer, I mean the kid deserves a straightforward answer.

Another teacher said that, as a christian, she would put it as non-fiction. I replied that to a Muslim the Koran was non-fiction and should be held to be true. Well, uh, both can't be true, now can they?

According to her definition believing something is true makes it non-fiction. So all the stories about Santa, the Tooth fairy, easter bunny - those are all non-fiction since millions of kids everywhere believe they are true??? wha???

So, anyone got any definitions for this fiction vs. non-fiction concept? I would really like to win this argument.

Tags: bible, fairy, fiction, non-fiction, tails

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Comment by Tony Carroll on October 4, 2012 at 11:18pm

Here is an exchange I had with a mormon over belief, but it might fit in here also;

Tony Carroll May I ask a question? What do you mean when you say "I know that ___________ (insert assertation, i.e., the church, the bom, Joseph Smith, etc.) is true? Thank you.

Monday at 10:15pm · Like

Mark Ian Ward "I know that Jesus is the Christ, that he is my Lord and Savior. I know that He paid the price for my sins, and I know that he is coming back to reign upon this earth for 1,000 years. One knows by study, evidences, and faith that some things are very real even though we don't have solid proof. It is a strong affirmation that we believe in something for which we have no real proof. For some it may require a leap of faith.

Delusion, for sure. You're not gonna win when the terms you are using are being defined by another person. No solid proof=strong affirmation=belief=knowing. All b.s. So the holy book they subscribe to is 'true', and until reason and logic is brought to bear, it will always be true, and non-fiction. Your logic is right, but they are incapable of seeing it.

Comment by roland707 on October 4, 2012 at 10:52pm: Of course it's fiction. But maybe you could call it "reference".

Comment by Daniel B on October 2, 2012 at 10:43pm: I like your point that conflicting texts can't all be true and that simply believing a story is true does not make it so, but I'm still feeling stumped on this one. I'm hoping to see everyone else's answer.