Proverbs, should you read this material to your children?

cyberjesus

5 Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. 6 In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight.

I called on the phone the other day An Ex-JW friend of mine. When he answer the phone he was reading to his children from Proverbs. Although he says he doesn't believe in God anymore he mentioned that we needed to get wisdom from some parts of the bible specially proverbs and the psalms. So my mind went straight into this verse. A favorite of many. (Every time I talk to my mom she mentions this quote)

I just realized that a book that many see as a source of wisdom has many parts that forces you to not think of you as an intelligent person. Verses that actually say :

DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING (because you are an idiot who doesnt have the ability to understand things?).

Trust in Jehovah, how could you trust in a God who could't even preserve his own name (if you still believe in God). Whose first human creation was a failure? whom punished his own faulty creation for his own faults? Who created angels ( very similar to him) that rebel themselves against him. Who sent his only direct creation to suffer and pay for his own faults. Who could have just changed the rules of the game. who punish you and me for a sin that we didn't even commit.

New Living Translation (©2007)
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take...... Really? seek his will? the jealous, violent, malicious, capricious, arrogant God from the new testament? and he will show me which path to take? I am better off asking my Son who is only 13 and i think he will show me a more human and considerate path to take.

Which other verses of the WISE books of the bible do you consider to be a blatant attack to human intellect?

I consider this verse to be one of the most destructive verses of human intellect.

What do you think?

asilentone

I agree with you, cyberjesus.

mindmelda

If you made a realistic movie out of the Old Testament...I'd say it'd need at least an R rating as defined by the American Motion Picture whoevers.

Ironic that people will read that mess of sex and violence to their kids and confiscate their video games and music for being too violent and sexual in content.

cyberjesus

HOw about the infamous chapter 30:

7 Let one drink and forget one’s poverty, and let one remember one’s own trouble no more.

10 A capable wife who can find?

30 Charm may be false, and prettiness may be vain; [but] the woman that fears Jehovah is the one that procures praise for herself.

serenitynow!

Even though I no longer believe the bible to be inspired, I do still like the book of Proverbs. I think overall that it is practical. I think that perception is a large part of how a person views certain passages. About not leaning upon your own understanding, I have always thought of that as an admonishment to seek God's view on matters (as a JW), but I think that it can also mean as individuals we don't have all the answers, and maybe there is something to be gained by listening to the wisdom of others. I don't take that scripture as meaning to turn your brain off, but rather to open your mind and be open to wisdom from sources outside oneself.

Now the Song of Solomon, definitely not for children, along with Revelation, and alot of other books.

snowbird

Of course you should read Proverbs to your children!

Where else can you find gems like this?

Proverbs 23:1 -3 When you go out to dinner with an influential person, mind your manners: Don't gobble your food,
don't talk with your mouth full. And don't stuff yourself;
bridle your appetite. MSG

Tee hee hee.

Syl

BurnTheShips

What do you think?

You cite verses 5-6.

Verse 7 adds nuance:

Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil

This is a precaution against pride. In fact, the entire third chapter of Proverbs is a precaution against a pride that would feed itself at all costs, even to do evil in order to fulfill itself.

He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.

BTS

stillin

I don't understand what it means to not lean on my own understanding. I must be doing something right. I should make it a point to not understand anything at all.

Isn't this the ancient equivalent of "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZR64EF3OpA

snowbird

Proverbs 3:5 -12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this. MSG

Syl

TastingFreedom

To me it's like reading a story about Santa Claus, or the Sleeping Beauty!

There may be some morals to the story. It was written as a way to get some practical advise, granted, it wasn't always literal but it carried a massage. The message could be one of many others.

Proverbs, should you read this material to your children?

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