September 2009 Weddings
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s/o the Bible, a poll of sorts
Don't have to be of Christian faith to answer.
For what purpose to you believe the Bible (and similar texts) was created?
Discuss.
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Re: s/o the Bible, a poll of sorts
To explain things.
I'm not Christian, so I'm not really going to take it further than that, because I don't want to become unintentionally offensive.
to explain what? Things that happened in the past? Why things happened? What's going to happen in the future? How people should live?
C'mon, give us at least a *little* more?
I believe books, such as The Bible, are supposed to be read as guidelines more than rules... stories reflecting the history of the belief that one may or may not be able to interperet into daily life. I also believe, however, that they should not be taken literally and with a narrow-closed mind. I had a professor, an Assumptionist Brother, tell us that clearly everything wasn't made in 7 days, nor should it ever be believed as such, but to take the Book of Genesis as an interpretation of God's abilities and power.
The Bible is also antiquated. And edited horrendously. There was one meme going around recently that portrayed exactly this so if I can find it I'mma gonna post it because I think it explains all of this perfectly.
And before anyone *cough* zachsgirl*cough* think I shouldn't be opening my mouth about that which I know nothing about, I was born and raised Catholic up until I was Confirmed, and then I made the personal and educated decision to leave the faith, therefore I do believe I have a little bit of knowledge in this.
updated 10.03.12
EXACTLY what I mean. I do not believe that the Bible was INTENDED to be taken literally. Like the people who wrote it did not intend for anyone to take it literally.
<a href="http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/adia83/?action=view
I *believe* that the Bible, or any other book that people use as a basis for their beliefs, was meant to relay stories about the purpose and the beginning of said beliefs.
My *opinion* is that some people can interpret these stories in ways that they think benefit them and ways that are just so drastic that I can't possibly fathom them (I'm looking at you West Boro).
Pretty much all of this...coming from another raised Catholic (CCD, bible studies, and confirmation). While I am in no way meaning this to be offensive, I personally feel that the Bible holds as much lesson as Aesop's fables, but also as much fiction.
The Bible is a collection of letters/stories/accounts of various happenings. The Old Testament is an account of things that happened in the area in and around Israel BC (Before Christ) or BCE (Before Common Era). The New Testament is an account of things that happened after christ was born and AD (After Death) or CE (Common Era), in that same area of the world.
Does this mean that everything is an ACCURATE account of the happenings of these eras? Absolutely not. Not only are many of the books of the bible grossly edited (as PP's have said), but there are books that were also left out altogether. Many of the stories told in the bible were handed down from generation to generation before they were written down - so, much like a game of telephone, they have been distorted.
Does the fact that the accuracy of the Bible mean that we cannot learn from it? Not at all. We can learn from these teachings much like we learn from textbooks in school. We can take the teachings and apply them to our own lives. But we also must realize that the way we interpret these teachings may not be the same as the way another person interprets it.
Is the Bible the only religious text that we can do this with? Nope. We can also take teachings from the Torah, the Quran, the Buddhist text known as the Tipitaka, and on and on.
I think that people latch on to the Bible (or any other religious text) as the source for the meaning of things because they so desparately want to know why we're here, what we're supposed to do, and what will happen when we die. And that's fine, whatever gets you through the night. But for me, I feel like there is more to it than what is found in the Bible.
ETA to correct spelling.
There, that. That's what I meant by explain things.
Also, I'm really jealous of people who are able to accept religion fully. I have a lot of religious friends, and while they are often cast as being close minded (and some surely are) the majority are so happy and at peace with their lives. It's lovely. I wish I could live like that.
Sort of both of these.
I do believe it is the word of God, but I also believe, and was taught, that these are stories and parables used to teach the way of God. For me, this being "the word of God" doesn't mean that it is accurate history. It is a collection of God's teachings as told and interpreted by various prophets and teachers.
FTR, I am a practicing Catholic and I went to Catholic School (K to HS).
So as not to completely quote MB & Ames:
~I believe the Bible encompasses many things.
1. To me the Bible is the written Word of God. However through how distorted it has become through years of translation/re-translation, different denominational interpretations, etc, I do not believe it is meant to be taken literally. Also, as Ames mentioned, all of the gospels/books aren't even in the Bible as we know it. If I'm not mistaken, it wasn't until the Council of Trent (in the 1500s) when Church leaders decided what books would make up the Bible specifically, so how do we know they didn't leave out some Word that God deemed superlative? Also, most of the books of the New Testament were written 30-200 years after Jesus was crucified. Until they were written down, it was all oral tradition, and oral tradition can be skewed (i.e. the telephone game). After so many retellings, intentional or unintentional changes are bound to happen.
2. I also believe it is a historical book (though not always historically accurate). It is a collection of oral traditions of specific important occurrences in the history of the Hebrew people.
3. It is also a political agenda. The Letters books in the New Testament are disciples of Jesus converting the Gentiles to their way of thinking. The same way politicians campaign today, the disciples were campaigning against Rome and Roman culture in their homeland. Which is why there are so many antiquated themes in the Bible that were a-okay at the time (slavery, dehumanization of women, etc).
As for my Faith, I take the Bible seriously, but not literally. I believe it tells us how we should behave to make life happy for everyone. But also that we shouldn't be too obsessed with being alive that we miss the idea of fulfillment in heaven. And I can spin that for people who don't believe in heaven/hell as well: It's basically saying that you shouldn't get so caught up in the rat race that you lose sight of priorities: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Hello, Declaration of Independence). As our founding fathers said, these are inalienable rights afforded to all the people. But to truly achieve those things, you must treat your fellow man with love and respect.