Wanderer..You may also want to consider the books that were left out of the bible..If I remember correctly only 1/4 of the books were chosen at the wim of a politically driven leader..That means there is 3/4 of the bible missing,from the bible we have today...OUTLAW
An Open Discussion About The Bible
by The wanderer 23 Replies latest jw friends
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jgnat
OUTLAW, I've read some of those books left out...and let me tell you, I can see why! Some of them are awful.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/apo/index.htm
P.S. Revelation made it by the skin of it's teeth. Some days I wished they had left it off.
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Terry
I work in a used bookstore chain in the Religion, Philosophy and Metaphysics sections. I get to see a tremendous variety of specialized books dealing with multifarious facets of these specificities.
I have the advantage of an employee perk which allows me to take any book home for 30 days without having to purchase it. This enables me to read things I either would not ordinarily afford, or, books the local library may never include.
With the above as a preamble, I say this.
Reading anything is an act of interpretation. It is a focus of the mind. It requires a context which creates a kind of leverage which moves the subject from the abstract into your own intellect through a sorting process.
The sorting of material you read (or hear others speak) is highly personal!
For one thing, the books you don't read have as much to do with your point of view as the ones you do read. This is a filter and is presumptive of bias at the get-go.
The act of exclusion is a form of judgement in advance.
How I try to solve this problem is procedural.
When I choose a subject I try to select three different kinds of books for study. Ideally, I want a book that is PRO a certain point of view, a book that is CON and one regarded as middle-of-the-road (or disinterested in outcome).
This is not always possible in extra-biblical subjects. In Religion, however, it is rather easy!
Jehovah's Witnesses, as we all know, exclude external reading material from any possible consideration by labeling all OTHER writings as secular and tainted by satanic influences. Objectivity is proscribed.
It was not until many many years after I left the Kingdom Hall that I even allowed my own self the opportunity of reading the work of bible scholars, historians, theologians and finally, apologists of various stripes.
If I may presume to offer you some very practical advice I'd include the following:
1. Become conversant with a comprehensive list of LOGICAL FALLACIES, tactics of DEBATE and try to practice looking behind any statement for the premise which enables the statement to work.
2.Make a list of sources for the history of the early church. First read about who these men actually were and what their reputation is. As an example, how do other historians regard Josephus and his writings? Is Josephus considered reliable? Why or why not? How about Eusebius? What kind of man was he and who did he get his views from?
3.What were the competing views about Judaism and Christianity very early on? Who decided what was acceptable as "true" and what got destroyed and why?
4.Make a list of ordinary terms such as "Heresy", "Apostacy", "Spirit", "Justice", "Truth" and ask yourself how narrowly you can define them and through what process historically.
5.Alway read with an end in view of discovering the process behind the subject; rather than merely taking the information as being de facto "information".
6.Learn to distinguish the Presuppositions which invisibly load into a Premise (or Foundationally accepted starting points) before the chain of reasoning begins. For example: When somebody says: "The Bible says...." there is a chain of Presuppositions already loaded into the "given" starting point. Among them being:
a.The translation b.the authority of the translation c.the chain of evidence as to authenticity d.the attribution of the bible writer e.the theological background historically
7.Always simplify your basic understanding down to a one statement definition if possible. For example, when talking about the Ten Commandments; try and discover which version (there are at least 3 versions according to specific religion) held as THE Ten Commandments.
8.Find debates and read them for living examples of the role presentation plays in persuasion and destruction of key points. (I always enjoy Farrell Till)
9.Stand at the bookshelf in a well-stocked bookstore and look at the thousands of books written from thousands of points of view and ask yourself how it is possible that anything TRUE can be just one thing with so many equally sincere contradictions.
Perhaps, as I have often posted, what is True about Christianity is that the source of measuring what is True is the problem and not the conclusions. A conclusion always follows its premise. False premises always lead to false conclusions. Contradiction is the first red flag to error.
In reality there is no such thing as contradiction. A thing is what it is and cannot be other at the same time.
Happy hunting!
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The wanderer
I appreciate the viewpoints and perspectives
on the matter from all parties.
Thank you once again.
The Wanderer