This whole endeavor is endemic to pushing our own presuppositions onto ancient texts, rather than looking at them from the historical and literary contexts that produced them. For shame http://contradictionsinthebible.com/the-flood-narratives/
Posts by srd
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42NOAHS BIBLICAL FLOOD ACTUALLY HAPPENED, SAYS FAMED ARCHEOLOGIST WHO FOUND THE TITANIC
by ÁrbolesdeArabia inhttp://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/12/11/noahs-biblical-flood-actually-happened-says-famed-archeologist-who-found-the-titanic/ .
"the story of noah's ark and its associated flood continues to be retold to children and studied by theologians, alike.
while some dismiss it as a mere fable, others believe wholeheartedly that the event literally unfolded, with a massive down-pouring of water ravaging the earth at god's command.
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How to fight biblical ignorance??
by srd inthe bible this; the bible that; 'tis the word of the almighty.
we all be following its every word... blah, blah, blah.
many biblical scholars lament the fact that the bible is the most misunderstood, abused, and appropriated text by numerous different religious communities, each one claiming to provide its right interpretation, while ironically supporting their own belief system.
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srd
Apog,
Thanks for the support. Yea the material is pretty dense and maybe too scholarly in its tone. I've been trying to tone it down in more recent posts. Please leave a comment on the site since I'm desperately trying to get some dialogue going on over there. Tired of looking at 0 comments today. :(
I'd be very curious to know what type of problems or conflicts you might have with what I'm doing giving your background, and secondly how to reach more people like yourself. Again, converse with me at the blog.
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Jacob wrestled with God?
by MrFreeze inone story in the bible that always left me puzzled was the story of jacob wrestling with the man/angel/god.
whoever it was that was wrestling with him was said not to have been able to overpower jacob so he disjointed his hip.
at the end of the account it said jacob named the place peniel because "there i saw god face to face and and yet my life was spared.".
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srd
It is a story modeled on an old folklore them -- the crossing of a ford and the need to fight a spirit/troll/deity. Here Jacob is crossing the Jabbok (pun intened by the author). In other words the returnee is returning to the land of Canaan. It's a monumentuous event. Jacob is now Israel. The folklore story merely accentuates the importance of this crossing/transformation.
Over at my site (http://contradictionsinthebible.com) we are currently going through the Abraham stories, and then we will get into the Jacob stories. I will be comparing this story with the one in chapter 28, where it is recorded that Jacob also crosses the Jordan and gets his name changed to Israel. Both stories were preserved, but they come from two different traditions.
Armstrong is NOT a biblical scholar. She's a theologian who speaks in very general terms, over generalizations....
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What Are Words That You Or Others Have A Hard Time Pronouncing?
by minimus init drives me crazy when people say "altimers disease".. or jewlery.. .
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srd
Yahweh
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How to fight biblical ignorance??
by srd inthe bible this; the bible that; 'tis the word of the almighty.
we all be following its every word... blah, blah, blah.
many biblical scholars lament the fact that the bible is the most misunderstood, abused, and appropriated text by numerous different religious communities, each one claiming to provide its right interpretation, while ironically supporting their own belief system.
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srd
Thanks for the support all!
@PSacramento. "my opinion" ?? No. This is exactly what I'm aiming not to do. My opinion, beliefs, as yours, are secondary to irrelevant in the project I'm envisioning. It's all about the text, and specifically what the text tells us about the compositional nature of the Bible, who wrote it, to whom, and why, etc. Certainly with respect to these questions there is room for educated hypotheses, opinions. But the task of simply displaying the textual data --- here contradictions --- is an objective endeavor. Yes, we might quibble of the words "contradiction" but nearly 99% of the Bible's contradictions are the result of later editors having stitched together two variant textual traditions, each with their own beliefs, worldviews, etc.
Today, I started posting the "contradictions" between the Priestly writer's version of the Abraham story and the earlier Yahwist version, and why and how the Priestly writer modified the ealier Yahwist text. The conclusion that I draw at the end of this post is a good example of the questions and sort of discussion that examining the Bible's contradictions ought to lead us to.
@leolaia. Thanks for the encouragement. I highly respect your level of knowledge in these matters.
cheers
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How to fight biblical ignorance??
by srd inthe bible this; the bible that; 'tis the word of the almighty.
we all be following its every word... blah, blah, blah.
many biblical scholars lament the fact that the bible is the most misunderstood, abused, and appropriated text by numerous different religious communities, each one claiming to provide its right interpretation, while ironically supporting their own belief system.
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srd
Thanks for your support. Pass the word around. I'd like to get more people on this site commenting and giving some feedback. -- cheers
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Why study the Bible?
by jam infrom my local paper in the religious section.. christians are taught to trust god in all things.
trust.
is, at best, difficult and at wost, impossible without knowing.
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srd
Good point. I'd say because it can shed light on how the Bible is misused and abused. It can shed light on the fact that these texts were composed by men not God, etc...
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Why study the Bible?
by jam infrom my local paper in the religious section.. christians are taught to trust god in all things.
trust.
is, at best, difficult and at wost, impossible without knowing.
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srd
Studying the Bible in an objective manner from within the historical and literary contexts of the texts themselves is what I have been advocating all along. PLease join in the discussion http://contradictionsinthebible.com
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How to fight biblical ignorance??
by srd inthe bible this; the bible that; 'tis the word of the almighty.
we all be following its every word... blah, blah, blah.
many biblical scholars lament the fact that the bible is the most misunderstood, abused, and appropriated text by numerous different religious communities, each one claiming to provide its right interpretation, while ironically supporting their own belief system.
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srd
The Bible this; the Bible that; 'tis the word of the Almighty. We all be following its every word... blah, blah, blah
Many biblical scholars lament the fact that the Bible is the most misunderstood, abused, and appropriated text by numerous different religious communities, each one claiming to provide its right interpretation, while ironically supporting their own belief system. Fact is, however, that this so-called book is a collection of diverse and conflicting 2,000 to 3,000 year old texts, and written by over 60+ authors to address specific concerns and needs of their historical contexts, etc.
I have found, and many of you too I imagine, that most religious people merely do lip service to the Bible, to these 2,000 to 3,000 year old texts --- claiming that their belief system is totally supported by these texts and its god(s). I would argue that that is just not the case. And my goal as a scholar is to reveal this.
Anyway, I have recently picked up me shovel and spade and, naively, am attempting to combat biblical ignorance. How so, ye ask? By trying to create a discussion of the texts themselves, in their own historical and literary contexts, etc., irregardless of the reader's belief or lack there of -- an objective and scientific study of the Bible. This scientific approach to the Bible will yield the following conclusions: 1) the Bible is a collection of conflicting sources; 2) biblical scribes were not recording history (that's not to say there is no history in these texts); 3) these texts are most certainly the product of elite scribes advocating and/or legitimating beliefs, geopolitical worldviews, cultic institutions, etc., and thus are not the word of (a) God...
These are the conclusions that the Bible itself leads us to when we study it objectively and in these texts’ own historical and literary contexts and worldviews, not our own. I have started this project at http://contradictionsinthebible.com and would like to know if this focus on the texts and the texts themselves, on their own terms, can create a meaningful, and educational, dialogue between theists and atheists. Check the site out, and by all means leave a comment, critique, challenge, etc. I am sincere about creating a dialogue about the texts, not our beliefs which is often the focus of modern debates albeit clothed behind the rhetoric of "the Bible says."
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Does the Bible contradict itself?
by exwhyzee inour old jw friend who is about to shun us says,there's nothing in the bible that contradicts itself?.
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can anyone think of certain scriptures that could prove otherwise?.
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srd
Leolaia,
Your response has got to be the most intelligent and well presented response that I have ever seen in such forums. Bravo. Are you a student, just an avid reader, professr? I'd love to get you over to my site and give me some feedback on what we're doing over there. It only deals with Contradiction in the Bible, and that's the site's name...
cheers,
srd