Why is the Bible So Badly Written?
Interesting article on the language in the Bible from a particular viewpoint.
Why is the Bible So Badly Written?
Interesting article on the language in the Bible from a particular viewpoint.
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
Great article.
And it links to this little gem of an article.
I didn't know that, which lead to some confusion in this thread because my (Dutch) Bible retains the original meaning.
First of all, saying Junia is a woman's name so they changed it to Junias is ridiculous. Everyone knows that there are a lot of names that can either be for a woman or man.
Second, why would the writers of the NT do this when they have featured other women prominently like in the case where they discovered the empty tomb and Christ first, not any of the apostles? If they really wanted to take women out of featured roles, they would have changed that very important detail as well as other times in the NT where women are featured and honored. That articles is ridiculous and makes no sense at all.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"--Romans 8:28
“A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know that the world hadn't ended.”--Batman
“Would you like a jelly baby?”--The Doctor
I stopped reading after the first paragraph when she said "Millions of Evangelicals and other Christian fundamentalists believe that the Bible was essentially dictated by God to men who acted as human channelers. Each phrase is considered so perfect that it merits careful linguistic analysis to determine His precise meaning. If that were the case, one would have to conclude that God is a terrible writer."
Either she is an idiot (which I don't think she is), or she hasn't read the bible at all, nor does she has one clue about how it was written (which is evident). She says the bible was "essentially dictated by God to men who acted as human channelers". Well, that is not the case at all. The writers of the bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they did. There's a difference. So she doesn't know what she's talking about.
Then she goes on to say "Each phrase is considered so perfect that it merits careful linguistic analysis to determine His precise meaning. If that were the case, one would have to conclude that God is a terrible writer." Wait, what?? Either it's written by "just men" as she claims or it was written by men inspired by God (Holy Spirit). She can't have it both ways. IF, as she claims, it was written just by men, then why does she care? BUT, if it's written by God (inspired by the Holy Spirit), then she has to admit that it was before we can debate if it is perfect or not.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"--Romans 8:28
“A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know that the world hadn't ended.”--Batman
“Would you like a jelly baby?”--The Doctor
Today's devotion:
THE GOD OF NO COMPARISON
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/23/
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"--Romans 8:28
“A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know that the world hadn't ended.”--Batman
“Would you like a jelly baby?”--The Doctor
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"--Romans 8:28
“A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know that the world hadn't ended.”--Batman
“Would you like a jelly baby?”--The Doctor
Just because she grew up in a fundamentalist household doesn't mean she believes or knows what she is talking about. I know a lot of people who have done so but didn't know a lick about anything because they didn't care what was being taught or fell away from the church at a young time. When she says "Millions of Evangelicals and other Christian fundamentalists believe that the Bible was essentially dictated by God to men who acted as human channelers.", her credibility goes flying out the window.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"--Romans 8:28
“A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know that the world hadn't ended.”--Batman
“Would you like a jelly baby?”--The Doctor
They're.
I think it's a good article. And I think it's common knowledge that any and all Biblical translations as we know them today will be TRANSLATIONS - i. e. redacted versions only.
Translations by institutions having been a huge commercial industry since before Biblical times.
It may be true the first books or version of the Bible will have come about under the influence of some Holy Spirit but it surely won't have been written in a Western language nor either a language any people of our time could still be fluent in.
Not that it matters since even if a God today would dictate the Holy Scripture to someone then that someone wouldn't be believed, just like how Jesus wasn't. Because the world is governed by rulers, not by Gods. And Religion didn't come into existence for the sake of Belief but instead it was managed for the sake of Rule and government.
The only way a person can come to their own Faith is but personally and as pertaining to their own private person only. Or at least that's my take on it.
Last edited by Kees_L; 07-23-2018 at 03:52 PM.
SLINT / Mike Mignola / Walt Whitman / Arthur Lourié / Dr. Pepper
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
It sounds to me like there are "Millions of Evangelicals and other Christian fundamentalists" who "believe that the Bible was essentially dictated by God to men who acted as human channelers" - so her credibility is intact.
It appear so be the credibility of those "Millions of Evangelicals and other Christian fundamentalists" who you are doubting rather than hers.
It's a well written piece, even if I disagree with the conclusion that we'd better off if the Bible were 'culled' or if the seemingly 'useless' passages were dropped altogether.
We can learn truths from the more disturbing passages that we couldn't from the best ones. We see, for instance, humanity's ability to aspire to great moral heights ("love your neighbor as yourself") while applying God's sanction to dehumanizing practices like slavery. "Good and evil are monstrously mixed up in man," as Dostoevsky says. We must recognize the danger that we ourselves are honoring God with our lips but dishonoring others made in His/Her/Its image. What, for instance, are the implications of this realization with regard to the modern debates on immigration policies?
Also, the 'boring' stuff gives us real insight into what the various biblical authors and redactors valued. Some might argue in good conscience that they overvalued certain things, like genealogies, but you can't even have the conversation if you try to purge those from the text.
Last edited by David Walton; 07-24-2018 at 08:38 AM.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"--Romans 8:28
“A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know that the world hadn't ended.”--Batman
“Would you like a jelly baby?”--The Doctor