Twyll The ChyllTyran

for a true atheist... the bible should read like a bad mockery.

PEACE

Heurismus

Salaam! That it is a mockery to you is not a problem for me or many people of faith or non-faith. I would only suggest it is in the canon of human literature and be treated as such. That is why I would not countenance the burning of it like some religionists love to do to works which offend their intellect. Whether they have the intellect to see through and beyond words is not my problem, but philosophers and historians have found it to be a rich source, a font as it were to explore many more aspects than 'mindless' religion. It is a shame that our educational establishments cannot inculcate more critical thinking and instill the fact that doxa remains doxa, and it is the task of every student to 'see through and beyond words'.

Words don't offend me and the Bible is only a book of words written by men.

Kosh

I enjoy both the Bible and "Lord of the Rings". Both are fictional, and gratuitously long. But that doesn't mean I have to believe in Hobbits or Angels.

Jayhawker Soule

Excellent post.

g-21-lto

I do like parts of the Bible. Some of the psalms are beautiful, and the Book of Ecclesiastes is a very interesting read. Song of Solomon is good if you're in the mood. Revelations is a good read late at night when it's dark and there aren't any good horror films on TV

Anat

I love the way the HB uses the Hebrew language. So much can be expressed with so little! Some of the archaic etymologies and grammatical forms are inriguing. Some of the poetry is not bad at all (once you get into the religious mindset).

johntheapostate

I love the Bible. But only for the simple reason that it represents the greatest weakness in the Christian faith.

It represents the only real justification for Christian belief. Yet is so hopelessly flawed that it is in fact a straw man of there own making.

It is a straw man that I like to burn down at any opportunity

LeeBuhrul

So she gets... well, you know... visited Dec 8 and he's born on the 25th?

17 days or 12 months and 17 days of gestation!!!!!!!!!!

There you go, proof positive he's not human!!!!!!!!!!!

starling

Nooooooo problem. Well. One problem is that people might learn you follow the bible and conclude, "If my friend macintologist believes it, the Bible must be 100% literal historical truth!" Peer pressure is amazing when everyone in the room makes a decision they don't want, because they assume everyone else must know that it's a good idea. They call it groupthink.

So be sure to let people know that you don't support banning abortion, killing gay people, massacring cities in the name of God, treating women as inferior, etc, but that you draw some good teachings out from this most ancient work of fiction. The simple bumper sticker that says 'Jesus is my savior' will gratify religous nuts, and disenhearten those of us looking for sanity in this crazy world, no matter what reason you put that bumper sticker there for.

Even I draw teachings from the Christian bible. My Evangelical uncle is convinced I'm becoming a converted Christian by what I babble on about. He doesn't know how vehemently I criticize the bad parts of KJV, reject institutionalized religion, and can't accept things without hard evidence of course.

Clutch

"There's a blaze of light
in every word
it doesn't matter which you heard
the holy or the broken Hallelujah."

-- Leonard Cohen