The Bible Is Whatever You Want It to Be.

Englishman

I don't read the Bible very much. I don't call God 'Jehovah', either.

You know why, of course, both the Bible and 'Jehovah' make me think of the WTBTS. That, folks, is a very unpleasant memory, so if Satan is living in Brooklyn, he's succeeded in pushing me away from the Good Book. Until recently!

I recall, as a JW, being horrified when people from other faiths would say: "The Bible is wonderful, because you can make it fit any situation or problem. You can interpret it just the way you want to".

Sacrilege! The Bible is inflexible! It is the word of God and not open to interpretation by man!

Hmm. I think, maybe, that this is where many of us make a mistake. Take the Creation account for instance, the Adam and Eve thing. Now I'm pretty sure that this tale comes via word of mouth and is probably a highly simplified version of mans earliest memories with a dose of morality thrown in by the writer. I expect the same thing applies to the Flood. Definitely a local phenomenon loosely based on a cataclysmic event, nonetheless it provides rich pickings for a writer who wants to be listened to seriously. Cheers, Moses.

The same with Paul in the NT, lots of his own wisdom on top of his "Christ crucified" message, some of it very good, some of it appallingly bad. Typical, in fact of someone who is used to being listened to.

So now, yes, I do read the Bible more than I used to. Is it inspired of God? Nah! No way. But now I can pick and choose what I want to, whatever suits me and discard the stuff that doesn't appeal. Some would say that was... well, I'm not really sure, but something with an "..asy" on the end, I expect.

Come to think of it, maybe that's what God wants us to do so as bring out our srengths and weakneses, maybe it is inspired after all! Oh dear..

Englishman.

Bring on the dancing girls!

Will Power

Hi

I once heard out of the mouth of a little girl who had had NO bible training:

"Maybe God is just testing our family?"

Now that was inspiring!

Mr Ben

EM,
A book I found very interesting was, "Who Wrote The Bible" by Richard Freidman, professor of Hebrew at California Uni. Anyone brought up thinking that characters like Moses wrote the bible need to dig. The other thread on Jesus not existing is also v interesting.

PS - Did you get the chimp pics ok?

Religion n.
An organisation designed to promote atheism.

Joseph Joachim

I agree with you E-man. The Bible is the product, not the cause, of Judeo-Christian thaught. Had Protestants got the point, Christianity wouldn't be as pathetically divided as it is in so many sects.

Joseph Joachim

A book I found very interesting was, "Who Wrote The Bible" by Richard Freidman

Very recomendable indeed. I also recomend "On being a Christian", by the liberal catholic theologian Hans Kunsch (a european best-seller for two decades, completely ignored by the american public).

Englishman

Mr Ben,

Indeed I did get your email, I was a bit wary of the download as we haven't spoken before, but I have just done it!

Interesting.... bit more explanatory stuff to accompany the diagrams would be appreciated.

Englishman.

Bring on the dancing girls!

RationalWitness

Joseph,

I believe you mean Hans Kung. Yes, excellent reading. No, NOT entirely ignored by the American public. Here is a brief summary fo the twenty propositions from "On Being a Christian": http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/challenge.html .

I would also recommend Paul Tillich's writings for those interested in modern Christian theology. Here's a starting point: http://www.crosscurrents.org/Tillich.htm . "The Essential Tillich: An Anthology of the Writings of Paul Tillich" is a wonderful overview of his very rational and articulate ideas.

Best wishes,
RW

Mr Ben

EM,
Sounds like you need to buy some anti-virus software!

Most of the info you need is on my reply to your post about your mate Ray. But essentially, in 1967 the WTS fabricated the first picture to try and explain away australopithecines using their invented "extinct ape" skull. It was a red herring then and now as the whole point about austr.. was their hip and knee joints - it has nothing to do with their skulls. Their is no dispute that austr.. were apes - that was the whole point! They WERE apes but they walked upright like us. Anyway, same BS in 1985 book, but now the same pic is transformed into a modern chimp! The head drones at Borg Central have such contempt for R&F drones that they didn't even use a different pic! The whole point being the plain use of lies and fraud. Comparing the two pics shows one at least must be lie without necessarily knowing anything about science. The extra pic was to show a real chimp skull. The line about wanting to join the collective but can't refuse to believe chimps have no canines is just a way to get behind her defences.

Is this making sense to you? If not I'll re-do the whole thing so Ray can follow it real easy. Though he cant use anything pre-printed as Borg antibodies will react. Just use the two creation/evolution books and the real chimp pic on its own and maybe he crack her conditioning. Let me know how it goes or if I can help.

Religion n.
An organisation designed to promote atheism.

Billygoat

E-man,

Interesting thoughts! I am still on my spiritual journey and have so much to learn, but I do believe a lot of what you mentioned.

I do try to live my life by biblical standards. I do so because I do believe that the Bible is inspired of God, but not in the sense that God told the writers what to write. Last Sunday I witnessed some pretty amazing things at church, which inspired me to pen my thoughts in another thread. Where my thoughts inspired of God? I think so, since my relationship with Him inspires a lot of what I do and say in my life. But did God tell me what to write? No, not at all. They were my words. Those words were shared in order to inspire others and make them think about their lives.

So with that thought in mind, the inconsistencies in the Bible don't bother me so much. Dozens of imperfect men wrote the Bible as a whole and they each shared their story. Details were bound to be different from the different perspectives of the writers. But I don't think that means the Bible isn't from God. The fact that these books have survived thousands of years, pretty well intact, says to me that they have some type of meaning/purpose in this world, beyond a typical book. But I don't expect it to be perfect and contain all the answers to the mysteries of the world and mankind. To me the Bible is a guide book. It contains guidelines that are practical and worthwhile to live by. It does provide some answers, but more than anything it provides additional questions. Questions that I am capable of answering with my own conscience, which I also feel is God-given and to be used hand in hand with the Bible.

I'm still in the process of trying to figure this stuff out, but this is where my thoughts are at now...

Andi

duped

Billygoat,

I had never thought of the Bible like that before. But I like it. And I like the way you put it. You have a way with words. By the way, if you don't mind my asking, what kind of church do you go to?

duped

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug." Mary Chapin-Carpentar

The Bible Is Whatever You Want It to Be.

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