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What is the bible to you?

Being raised Catholic the bible is to them the word of god, right? To me the bible is a book just like Harry Potter is. Who is to say that 2000 yrs from Harry Potter is the new bible.
My question is, what is the bible to you?

CeciRosane60 7 Dec 11
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9

A collection of ancient stories. Nothing more.

2

I'm sure there is some actual human history in it -- or at least how those people perceived their world. Or at least however it was altered by the Church.....

The notion that this "Jehovah" or whatever was from another world / time makes an awful lot of sense to me!

2

A tool used by others to gain control of my thought processes for their purposes. A loss of 25 years of my adult life.

9

A way to get people to put 10% of their income toward "death insurance". Here's where it says you have a soul and there is an afterlife. Since the bible says so, that makes it true. To be sure you get in, just give me 10% of your income and I will get you in. Guaranteed.

Oh by the way, when you die, you can't come back and tell these people that they lied, that there is no afterlife. So their con game is 100% safe. Nobody can refute it. See, it says so right here...in the bible.

Like a time share on beach front property in the galaxy, right?

Sounds right! 🙂

14

I concur with Mark Twain and this saying on it in his Letters from the Earth: "It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies."

I will also add that it contains many contradictions.

555 contradictions according to A book I had.

3

An afterthought.
That's the best I can come up with. 🙂

3

An ancient sewer with some diamonds in it.

skado Level 9 Dec 11, 2017

Define diamonds, please?

That's a load of shit!

Why did you say that?

@CeciRosane60 Archetypal images that tell us something about our nature. An ancient predecessor to modern psychology; an effort to relieve psychological suffering. And some thoughtful insight on social cooperation, which is still scientifically sound.

@BucketlistBob Why did who?

The bible is a sewer, sewers are full of shit. Therefore, bible is full of shit! QED

@CeciRosane60 industrial diamonds are used as abrasives.

20

My thoughts: The Bible is a collection of written works from different periods in the Middle East, composed and edited by many different people with a variety of motivations, and compiled and canonized by the established Roman Catholic Church (for the New Testament) based upon what they already believed to be true, discarding any writings that disagreed with their established theology. None of the New Testament is a first-hand account of the life and times of a Jewish carpenter-turned-preacher who may never have existed at all. Paul of Tarsus is the true founder of the faith, and his ministry was one of power and money and influence for the sake of political and social revolution. The gospels are basically Jesus fan fiction. And many of the books are now seen by historians to be fraudulent. Some of the more symbolic works, seen by fundamentalists to speak to our age, were indeed coded language to criticize the powerful in its own time.

Yep.

I have always found it interesting that, although the biblical canon was not settled by the Roman Catholic Church until the 4th century, and then only gradually, Protestants (with the exception of discarding the Old Testament Apocrypha) bought into it hook, line and sinker. If the Protestants thought the Catholics were so wrong, why did they think their theological choices were so right when it came to the Bible?

7

A very well written book of fiction.

Not that well written is my opinion ...

Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with CeciRosane60. That book contridicrs itself just a little too much to be taken seriously if it is supposed to be the word of a God.

4

A long hard lesson...

9

A doorstop

2

A collection of myths and speculative bs of historical significance and cultural importance.

3

Historical fiction

1

Totally irrelevant… I view it as an often revised extremely distorted attempt to blend myth and history. The western world’s collection of folklore. The written, or printed equivalent of any number of cultures oral depictions and descriptions of ‘how we got here.’ Seems it’s become the equivalent of a flag, or an emblem representing those who continue to use it to validate the subjugation of others…

In an attempt to ‘read it,’ I got hold of the oldest version I could find, assuming that being a tad closer to the original intent - couldn’t get past the first 3 pages … not only filled to overflowing with ‘murder, death & war,’ but obviously open to any desired interpretation inimaginable… I’m pretty sure it hasn’t the power to stop a bullet 😉

Varn Level 8 Dec 11, 2017
1

a book

2

To me saying 'the Bible says this or that' is like saying 'the library says this or that'.

There is no single 'bible', it is actually a collection of books, and which ones are in a particular bible varies depending on whether it is Protestant, Roman Catholic and there are variations between the Orthodox churches. And there are many versions, and if the translators had a free reign then hardly any verse would mean the same thing in every possible version..

7

My Mother revered the bible, in her words, "I believe the bible word for word," and in her last days, I sat by her bedside and read to her from the bible, and could see her lips saying the words, as I read them. I never saw Mother read the bible aside from when reading along in church. I haven't picked up a bible since, regard it and the philosophy it fosters, is the most dangerous thing we, as a people face, religions and religious people.

2

A book of mythology

2

And a lot of people get the direction wrong, things didn't come from the Bible, books went into the Bible. Job for example as I understand it was a play performed in Babylon with some additions at the start and end, and the historical books are pure fabrications.

If I have any confidence in the text in a Bible then I simply quote the text and say it was about 2,500 years old (OT) or nearly 2,000 years old (NT), that it happens to be included in a Bible does not necessarily mean it is nonsense.

1

Fiction.

3

The most misused publication in mankind history.

2

A book of beautiful poetry and imagery with a sometimes divisive and zealous fanbase - kinda like anime.

3

a very strange series of legends written 1400 years ago translated badly twice, about something that never happened 2000 years ago. beats me how anyone finds any solace in it .

I have wondered the same thing.

7

kindling

turf Level 5 Dec 11, 2017

@turf, now that I like 🙂

4

Much of the Old Testament is also found in The Torah and The Koran. But, a good place to start is, "Which Edition, version, translation or language of the Bible are we talking about?"

It is a magnificent influential historical document. Poetry, parables, allegory, love, war, prayer and life.

But, it is a book. To many, a holy book. To others its a bludgeon.

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