Freethought & Rationalism ArchiveThe archives are read only. |
11-06-2007, 03:51 PM | #1 | |
Contributor
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 40,549
|
Ehrman's latest book: God's Problem: How the Bible Fails at Theodicy
God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer (or via: amazon.co.uk)
This title will be released on February 19, 2008. Discussed here by Stanley Fish on his New York Times blog. Quote:
|
|
11-06-2007, 04:36 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: 36078
Posts: 849
|
This sounds like a tough read, but I think I'll tackle it when it's released.
I read C.S. Lewis' The Problem With Pain, though, so I think it would be a good comparison to revisit it, then compare with Ehrman's take. |
11-06-2007, 05:43 PM | #3 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Colorado
Posts: 8,674
|
Seems like a silly premise for a book. Why go into all this nonsense about God and not just go strait to explaining the text from the human point of view, and how and why the Jewish people wrote what they wrote and invented the God that they did.
How can he "blame God", when God didn't write the book in the first place? |
11-07-2007, 06:03 AM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 932
|
If the book is simply Ehrman's personal exposition on the problem of theodicy and the Bible's insufficiency in dealing with it (as opposed to an academic survey of the issue), I would prefer that he not devote his resources to a "popular" topic at the loss to other work.
|
11-07-2007, 06:17 AM | #5 | |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Surrey, England
Posts: 1,255
|
Quote:
What we need are more real biblical scholars educating the rest of us on what can be learned from biblical criticism. |
|
11-07-2007, 08:53 AM | #6 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: N/A
Posts: 4,370
|
I was wondering what part of text critical studies equips him specially to write on this, in a way that being a professional software developer would not. So evidently secure, well-off, and successful a person is perhaps not best placed to complain that a non-existent God permits "suffering", after all.
|
11-07-2007, 02:29 PM | #7 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Bli Bli
Posts: 3,135
|
At least Ehrman has people's ear, to some degree. AFAIR there is no place in the bible where it explains why people suffer in any broad perspective (many have recognized that the metaphysical teaching of Christ or Paul do touch on how to alleviate ones own suffering though).
And so many people are left with the idea that the bible is God's inerrant word and therefore the answer to the question can be extracted from it. The problem is, as Ehrman found, the answers christian theology can give can be deeply unsatisfying or even cruel. So it might be a positive that someone who is to some degree in the public eye can give some encouragement to look beyond some of the less satisfying options to find a better approach to this earthly life. |
11-07-2007, 02:44 PM | #8 | |
Contributor
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 40,549
|
Quote:
I gather he gets most of his examples from the Bible in any case. |
|
11-08-2007, 06:25 AM | #9 | |
Regular Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: London
Posts: 176
|
Quote:
|
|
11-08-2007, 07:15 AM | #10 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Between a rock and a hard place
Posts: 916
|
Quote:
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|