Sheshbazzar

THANK YOU, Fortuna, for an answer that addressed the subject of this thread, your observations seem to be astute, and persuasive.
I am inclined to agree with the analysis that the target audience would have been Greco-Roman, as it seems that had the intended audience been Jewish, the narrative of the water crossing would likely have been more closely tailored to the OT patterns and examples, rather than to tales from Greco-Roman/Egyptian religious mythology.

I have only been here since mid-December, after living my entire 57 years in Michigan, bought a home on 5 acres on the North side of the Red River Valley, just two miles North of Stanton. I am not aware of a "New Stanton", but then there are many small communities scattered throughout these hills that I've yet to discover.
I have an old cemetery up on the hill behind my house, and from that vantage point I can just barely see the Mountain Parkway over on the far side of the valley. The cemetery has been abandoned, and emptied (I think?) anyway, there remains only a single marker that is legible, a large, beautiful monument with only "POWELL" inscribed on it.
I can really relate to your memories of this area, people have not changed all that much, and we are finding it is much more difficult to get a doctors appointment, or any non emergency medical services, than we are accustomed to.
But with very few minor reservations, this place seems as close to my idea of "heaven" as I've found.

The Path of Needles

Earliest, no, greatest, I don't know, but I wouldn't say so. I'm a fan of Gilgamesh myself.

Steve Weiss

Why do you choose to live in such a retrograde society? Since there are no laws against moving, why don't you? I would never live in such loathsome states below the Mason-Dixon line as you have done, and by the way, I am an American. If you have sufficient capital, Europe would also be an option where religion is a joke, though state power is not.

Steve Weiss

I prefer to focus more on what is being said rather than on how it is said. Sweet prose advocating depraved behavior is not at all appealing to me. What I don't understand is that the proponent of the bible as great literature is the same one who complains about living in the "Bible Belt." He appears to be just where he should be.

Sheshbazzar

See my reply to Fortuna above, I just moved here, have a location that I am very pleased with, beautiful scenery, The Daniel Boon National Forest in my back yard, The Red River Valley, and green pastures with horses frolicking out front, LOTS of my kinfolk in the area, and a much more agreeable climate than I am accustomed to, along with very low property taxes (about 1/10th of what I paid in Michigan) No oppressive zoning regulations or property rules restricting my enjoyment of my land,....and much, much more.

Looking back on the history of Europe, and even events transpiring within the last ten years, is enough to convince me that I'd never find peace or happiness there, always looking over my shoulder for the next war, dictator or genocidal government. No thanks.

While I may have to endure the existence of "Blue Laws", very few of them have any significant impact on me, Powell is a "dry county", but booze is available in quantity ten miles up the road. (Not much of a drinker anyhow)
My kids are grown, so I don't have much worry about the religious fundamentalist warping their minds by posting of the Ten Commandments or some other such silly religious agenda.

Sheshbazzar

I rather expect that you understand the Bible to be a composition, compiled from a variety of ancient writings, yes, some are violent, and some do advocate depraved behaviour, and along with those are also those writings that also appeal to a more gentle nature, but collectively, all of them serve as a window onto the past.
I did not "complain" about living in the "Bible Belt", only pointed out that in certain societies, the government, and hence control of "social policy" is effectively in the hands of the churches. That does not in itself constitute a complaint.
Yes, I like to think I AM where I should be, heaven on earth :angel:
Thanks YHWH!

Godless Dave

My explanation is it never happened. Also, the lakes in Minnesota are not Paul Bunyan's footprints.

Steve Weiss

I also thought of a Paul Bunyan analogy. I could have used Johnny Appleseed, Jack and the Beanstalk, or Alice in Wonderland as well.

RAFH

Assuming, for the sake of argument, there is something other than sheer fiction to the story, there is only the words of the disciples and JC on this walking on water thing. Nobody else sees it happen and its just assumed because the locals saw them leave without JC and no other boat had left and when they arrived at the destination the next day they find JC and the Disciples there with their explanation that's how JC caught up to them.

Perhaps JC walked a way down the shoreline and waited for the Ds to pick him up. Then they rowed on over. Good show for the local yokels. Build up the image.

Typical snake oil tactic.

mountainman

The NT texts IMO are fiction. Any greatness in these texts reflects
earlier unacknowledged authors from whom wisdom sayings, and
themes, and plots, were fraudulently obtained by the fabricators
of the NT.

For example, there is nothing novel in the NT "wisdom sayings"
over anything in the OT or anything extant BCE, such as the
sayings of the Essenes, via Philo and Josephus. It is as if the
NT was assembled by people who had learned nothing new
about their human condition, except perhaps a blind and
bloated will to believe a textual "authority".

The OT texts are simply the Judaic traditional texts, which had
been hanging around the ROman empire in Greek for centuries
before they were conscripted by Constantine to become part
of his fabrication of the Galilaeans in the 4th century.