by Englishman 13 Replies latest jw friends
Andi:
If the Bible's having survived for so long gives credence to it's authority, veracity or it being from God, what does that say for other older surviving religious texts like the Vedas that predate Abrahamic religious writings? Are they equally from God, though written from by imperfect men expressing their personal viewpoints? Do they too have some meaning and purpose for mankind? Are they valid guides for one's life?
Just curious.
CPiolo
Duped,
I've gone to the same church for almost 4 years now. It is a Baptist church in the Dallas metro area. I do not consider myself a Baptist as I haven't fully accepted all the Baptist doctrine. But the reasons I continue going to this church?
1. The ministerial staff is very concerned for the members of the congregation. I've never fully understood the term "shepherd" until I joined this church.
2. They don't kick you out when you sin. They encourage you and try to help you live a better life.
3. They encourage questions and open discussions. The bible is used heavily in the sermons as well as Sunday School.
4. Love. This church truly knows the meaning of community and unconditional love. They surround you when you need help and encouragement. They rejoice with you when your life is going good.
5. They helps those in need, not just in the church, but also out in the community. The outreach ministry grows every year. Pretty amazing to me!
CPiolo,
I don't have an answer to your question since I haven't read the Vedas. But if it has affected people positively in their spiritual walk, then I can't see why it would be considered bad. Only each person can decide if it's a valid guide for their life. I can't decide that for them.
Just my thoughts...
Andi
I believe the bible is a book written to a certian group. However, it can be very much to our benefit. And the bible does hold alot of good ideas about living your life so that you can reap the best rewards off of it. Because I believe this, I find it very easy to accept believes (even those that don't really worship "God" particualarly). My reasoning is that maybe the group this book was written for this group because they needed a little extra push in the right direction (the right direction being one of love and kindness). Whereas those in the Orient didn't every hear of the bible, had a heading in a better direction or a more open manifestation of love. After all, would it make sense that he'd ignore half the human population, they were made in his image too ya know.
E-man,
I took a break, if you will, from the Bible. I decided I needed to see life through different eyes. I also do not call God "Jehovah" or attribute divinity to Jesus.
I know the Bible very well and have taken a scholarly approach to it's study for years. There are many fine passages contained in it's pages. But the same can be said about a multitude of other books and codices both ancient and modern. No written text can be said to be God's Word. And as for inspiration, that's in the eye of the beholder. Inspiration means differnt thing to differnt people. Personally, I think all inspirational writing comes from within our human spirit and is not from an outside source.
I hope to spend some time in the coming years in a more careful study of other books from other cultures such as the Vidas (sp?) and other eastern texts. But I also like to consider modern writings and thoughts as they frame our contemporary world. Some thoughts seem to be in a thread through all these various sources and can form a sort of common expression on the mystery of life.
I think it's important to remember that what we call the Bible is really a collection of texts that was canonized by a particular religious body. Only a small fraction of what was written has been called "the Bible", but there are many more extant texts that can shed light on the thinking of people in Biblical times. Only in the mind of a seperatist does the Bible equate to God's written Word. For the rest of us, it is merely another collection of texts from antiquity that have merit as we see fit.
Sean
