Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 03-03-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

DP: Every page, every chapter has something that is culturally significant that has come down to us. So going through life without knowing this book is like wearing a veil. Also, there are millions of Americans who believe in the Bible literally—that every single word is true. For you to fully engage in discussion about the issues that they and you care about, you have to do the duty of understanding why they hold the beliefs they do.

Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible (or via: amazon.co.uk)

Quote:

Thanks to David Plotz s amazing book, I will never have to read The Bible. When can he do this for Madame Bovary? --Andy Borowitz, author of The Borowitz Report

Delerium · 03-03-2009, 05:26 PM

Here's him discussing it with Robert Wright (haven't seen this posted yet) . Worth watching IMO.

http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/18107

DCHindley · 03-03-2009, 06:34 PM

It is true.

Most Westerners simply do not comprehend just how much of our culture, vocabulary, turns of phrase, and world view are dependent upon either Christian or even Jewish religious traditions or directly on the bible (both the Jewish and Christian scriptures). I would put it at somewhere around 85%!

For English speakers, most of it comes from the KJV. When I first read the KJV NT at age 15, I couldn't put it down on account of all the familiar phrases and teachings I had been taught were there clearly to be seen. It was very weird to see them in context (as hard, though, as it was to discern the context by reading semi-archaic English). I kinda liked weird in those days. Like Tertullian, I "believe(d) because it is absurd." (yeah yeah, I know that is not really what Tertullian said ... but my Jesuit trained history teacher in jr college purposely misquoted him that way and it stuck).

Mark Alan Stamaty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

Slate editor thumps Bible

Quote:

DP: Every page, every chapter has something that is culturally significant that has come down to us. So going through life without knowing this book is like wearing a veil. Also, there are millions of Americans who believe in the Bible literally—that every single word is true. For you to fully engage in discussion about the issues that they and you care about, you have to do the duty of understanding why they hold the beliefs they do.

Toto · 03-04-2009, 03:11 PM

Christianity Today interview

Quote:

You say you started as an agnostic. Have your religious views changed by reading the Bible?

I guess I'm one of these agnostics who is becoming closer to atheism now because I am so upset by the picture of the God there. I am so disturbed by the God that I found there. The most disturbing part of this whole journey for me was, how do I as a Jew cling to a God who seems to be so unmerciful so much of the time and so cruel so much of the time? That's very troubling. Do I want such a God to exist? I don't know that I do.

. . .

I've heard a lot of sermons, and even at evangelical churches, I feel like there's never any kind of attempt to critique the Bible. It's like it's always an attempt to find a really good way to spin it. The world is messy. People do immoral things. In Joshua, we see the slaughter of innocent people. Why isn't that the subject of discussion rather than the celebration of the conquest of the land?

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03-03-2009, 05:26 PM	#2
Delerium Regular Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Nashua NH Posts: 288	Here's him discussing it with Robert Wright (haven't seen this posted yet) . Worth watching IMO. http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/18107

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