KevinE

I interact with a number of people who take the Bible very seriously as the inspired word of God. It would be helpful for me to be able to point to aspects of scripture that provide good evidence that it is a deeply human document, expressing the culture, worldview, and interests of its human authors. (I suppose that one could still hold on “faith� that God also speaks through the text, but this would then be a fairly unsupported position.) One way to go, of course, is to point out inconsistencies in the text, but I’d prefer to be able to point out broad themes rather than just specific inconsistencies. Another way to go, I suppose, would be to provide evidence for multiple sources and editors that contributed to the text. However, I would value advice on some of the most compelling and easy ways to convince people of those multiple sources and editors if they’re not that familiar with historical biblical criticism.

Let me provide three examples of the sort of thing that I’m looking for:

(1) It seems that the OT pretty clearly expresses a three-tier view of the universe, with a flat earth and a dome over the earth keeping out the waters above. I think that’s a really nice example of scripture reflecting the human culture of that time.

(2) Perhaps another way to go would be to point out legal regulations in the OT (e.g., stoning disobedient children or treating slaves like property) that could more plausibly be explained as aspects of the ancient culture than as commands directly given by God.

(3) In the NT, the way the later gospels sort of “clean up� the image of the disciples given in Mark might be another example of the way the human author is playing an important role in framing the text according to his interests. Or, I suppose that Matthew’s effort to have Jesus riding onto Jerusalem on two animals at once in order to fulfill prophecy as literally as possible could be another example. I’d love any ideas for broader and more pervasive examples of the human influence, though.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

kctan

All the books are clearly of human origins. The themes in each & every book reflects the life at large of the populace.

The genesis accounts are folklores regarding the origins of humans with a story of how snakes end up traveling as they do. These tales are comparable to all folklores out there as regards to the origin of humans plus stories of how animals end up the way they are.

Exodus is just a long story of the origin of a tribe of people.

The evolution of god from an in-your-nose badass daddy (OT) to one who don't dare to show it's face (NT) also reflects the changing view of god from one era to another. A show of 'maturity' of the human thought on theology as knowledge (environment & natural phenomenons) increases. The changing of required sacrifice, the rules regarding punishments etc... are also signs of changing culture.

The teachings & parables are just what they are - lessons on how humans should behave & treat each other for good of the society. You don't need a god to 'inspire' you on such matters as anyone regardless of education back then would have these taught to them one way or another.

The most telling aspect I would say would be the one regarding the changing view of god from OT to NT.

1) From a being who watches each & everyone & creates big miracles & would appear to any without a thought to one who don't appear at all & needs his miracles performed by an alleged 'human/god hybrid' avatar. IOW from the "ever present omnipotence everything also can accomplish except against iron chariots" to "no on-site visits, pls refer to human/god hybrid for miracles".

2) From a god for each & every jew to one for all but can only obtained thru the one way of the human/god hybrid avatar. IOW from "public access limited to jews" to "open to public but for exclusive membership only".

God changing with the time... or... human thoughts changing with the time... :devil1: An evolving god ? See whether they dare to accept or not... :devil3:

Aravnah Ornan

You could use just about anything relating to science or medicine. A deity that had created everything would presumably know about it and thus could easily inspire the Biblical authors with the germ theory of disease, the fact that snow and hail aren't stored in "treasures" for later use, or even the correct number of feet on an insect. Instead, the manner in which the Bible treats such things shows that the Bible is a product of its time and place.