Are you reading the bible? And if so.....

[Kirby101]

Why is the Bible So Badly Written?

Interesting article on the language in the Bible from a particular viewpoint.

[Carabas]

Why is the Bible So Badly Written?

Interesting article on the language in the Bible from a particular viewpoint.

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.

[The Whovian]

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.

[The Whovian]

Why is the Bible So Badly Written?

Interesting article on the language in the Bible from a particular viewpoint.

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.

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

THE GOD OF NO COMPARISON
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/23/

[Carabas]

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.

I can tell you didn't read very far into the article because it's not about Junia in the slightest.

[Kirby101]

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.

These are your opinions and thinking about the Bible. 25% to 30% of Americans do think it was dictated by God. Including the fundamentalist family she grew up in. She is speaking about those believers.

[The Whovian]

I can tell you didn't read very far into the article because it's not about Junia in the slightest.

Yeah, I get what the article is about. I just replied about the first part to show how they don't know what their talking about.

[The Whovian]

These are your opinions and thinking about the Bible. 25% to 30% of Americans do think it was dictated by God. Including the fundamentalist family she grew up in. She is speaking about those believers.

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.

[Carabas]

Yeah, I get what the article is about. I just replied about the first part to show how they don't know what their talking about.

Welp, I do know from practical experience that American Bibles and Bibles in the rest of the world (and American Bibles that are old enough) have some very interesting translation differences.

[Kees_L]

Yeah, I get what the article is about. I just replied about the first part to show how they don't know what their talking about.

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.

[Kirby101]

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.

25% to 30% of Americans are millions that believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God. And she is quoting major biblical scholars throughout. You can disagree, but I think dismissing her just because you disagree isn't a fair rebuttal.

[dancj]

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.

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.

[David Walton]

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.

[The Whovian]

25% to 30% of Americans are millions that believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God. And she is quoting major biblical scholars throughout. You can disagree, but I think dismissing her just because you disagree isn't a fair rebuttal.

I believe what you wrote that I put in bold.