Quote Originally Posted by denuseri View Post

First off God didn't write anything...men did. Hence the imperfections.
That would depend upon which sect you listen to. Many of them believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, even if it was transcribed by men. Mormons believe the same of their holy books, as do Muslims. They can't ALL be right!

Secondly: In some interpretations the entire creation story is allegorical with the tree of life being the ultimate goal that can only be reached by first eating one's way through the tree of knowledge. Since God is perfect, "the serpent" acting out of jealousy or not...is still doing exactly what God intended it to do (so is mankind by the way), which is prompt mankind to seek knowledge so that one day eternal life could be obtained. The act of taking the apple being one of rebellion, yet also one of seeking to be like God. After all Eve was only tempted because she was told that if she ate of it, she could indeed become like God.
In some interpretations the creation story is literally true! Again, how can you tell whose interpretation is right? And if you are correct, and God intended for mankind to attain knowledge, why did he supposedly curse us with Original Sin? Why is attaining knowledge sinful in the eyes of so many of His followers? As a parable, I have no problem with the idea of the story of Eve, but using it as the basis for demeaning and hating women, as so many theists do, is just plain wrong! By your interpretation we should be praising Eve, and her daughters, for doing what God intended in the first place!

Third: The overall message...that we should all become more loving and peaceful with each other and work together seeking harmony (in essence be like God wants us to be) stands alone regardless of interpretation.
It stands alone without religion, too. To quote Benjamin Franklin, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." This applies to society as a whole, not just to revolutionaries.

Which is a good concept...love one another as you would wish to be loved.
It IS a good concept. I firmly believe in it myself. What frosts me is when theists, of any stripe, try to claim exclusive rights to the concept, claiming that you cannot be a good person unless you follow the tenets of their particular brand of shamanism. And then they will only apply that concept to those they deem worthy!

Religion was, and still could be, a teaching mechanism, used to inform people of the laws and morality of their society. Religions, or their gods, are not the origins of these laws and moralities, though. And given the excesses to which so many religions have fallen, they certainly don't deserve the respect and adoration given to them by their followers. Especially when they must lie and threaten to keep those followers from walking away with their money.