An Open Discussion About The Bible

by The wanderer 23 Replies latest jw friends

  • The wanderer
    The wanderer

    Actually, thank you all for your input.

    Respectfully,

    The Wanderer

  • jaguarbass
    jaguarbass

    am debating whether to research the Bible and have an open discussion about it.
    The challenge I think is to do it without the influence from a “religious source.”

    I would like to stay clear of religion and maybe discuss it on a historical or perhaps
    a moral level. However, I am still debating this    .

    Hello Richard, We see what we want to see. What do you want to see?

    HIstory is written by the victors. Truth is in the eye of the beholder.

    Everybodys working an angle. The devil is in the details.

    When you sift through all of that you have six of one and half a dozen of the other.

    So its back to what do you want to see?

    Can anyone provide any ideas on how to find some creditable unbiased sources
    that do not have their brand of philosophy, ideology, or dogmatic doctrine attached
    to the Bible?

    I can tell you what I did. I went to myself. I dont know anyone more creditable and unbiased than I when it comes to trying to find the truth about my existence. Since 83, I read the bible cover to cover 5 times I made notes. I catagorized my notes. And came up with my working hypothesis. I did my homework and I am comfortable in what I feel about the bible. I'm not trying to sell it. But there does seem to be a market for organized, catagorized opinions about the bible.

    There seems to be a bigger market for pro bible literature marketing. Because people are looking for hope. And the bible is associated with hope. But you can hope in one hand and crap in the other and see which hand fills up fastest.

    Does addressing hope with unquantifiable promises make us feel warm and fuzzy? For some it does. Is that what we want? To feel warm and fuzzy?

    If so, then we have begun to figure out what we want to see. Is this reality?

    It could be ours if we fall under the Gospell, God Spell.

    Or we could throw our bibles off the Sunshine sky way and be as happy as a bump on a log.

    Or could we? We cant ever go back to the point where our brains are like a blank pice of papper or an unformatted hard drive. So we dont really know if God put these questions in us to try to find him. Or if it is just enviromental religious charlatans that are playing with our brain.

    So I think there comes a time when we tire of spining our wheels and either go this way or that, never to look back.

    Hope seems to always have a price. And those who want to have hope have to pay the price.

    Freedom on the other hand can be free.

    But in the end you are free from hope. Hope which is unquantifiable.

    So what do you want to see. Hope or reality?

  • Narkissos
    Narkissos

    Sounds a bit like entering a restaurant and saying: "I want to stay clear of food." Without at least a historical/philosophical interest in religion, I really wonder why anybody would waste time with the Bible.

    Disinterested is next to uninteresting.

  • Borgia
    Borgia

    Wanderer, have you ever tried to compare nautical maps from say: the 14 hundreds with current maps?

    If you have not, try that one. It may give you some idears about the issue you raised.

    Cheers

    Borgia

  • XJW4EVR
    XJW4EVR
    To discount or discredit the Bible because men have manipulated or tainted it

    Source, please?

  • The wanderer
    The wanderer

    From personal experience this is one
    of the organizations responsible for
    tainting and manipulating the Bible.

    Source: http://www.watchtower.org/

  • chappy
    chappy

    Have you watched the series on TLC/Discovery - "Mysteries of the Bible?" It's about as unbiased as anything I've ever seen or read. You can order the series from the TLC/Discovery Channel website. The format gives good credible information and points out different views of people but encourages you to draw your own conclusions.

    chappy

  • The wanderer
    The wanderer

    Dear Chappy:

    Thank you for that information.
    I will look into it and if that is
    the case I will look into purchasing
    it.

    Thank you for your time and effort.

    Respectfully,

    The Wanderer

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    We don't even have to prove deliberate tainting or manipulation. TIME itself corrupts, or fades history. It can't be helped.

    I am amused at any recent claims to have discovered original, source documents or artifacts. After two thousand years, what are the odds? In two thousand years from now, experts will be saying that JESUS was riding with Jackie Onassis in the back of the convertible, and Elvis shot the president from the Grassy Knoll.

  • XJW4EVR
    XJW4EVR
    From personal experience this is one
    of the organizations responsible for
    tainting and manipulating the Bible.

    I agree that people manipulate the Bible for their personal interests. Paul said that this would happen, and even stated that it was happening in his day. So it does not suprise me when it does happen.

    As far as being tainted. I recall reading an interview with Bruce Metzger, a leading Evangelical scholar, and he stated that bsaed on the maniscripts we do have, we can be 99.99% certain that what we have in the Bible is accurate, and that where there are discrepancies, they do not affect any major Biblical doctrine.

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