Answerer

The bible, itself, is crap.

spin

You know, if you really believed that, why spend so much time worrying about it?

It certainly isn't crap as I see it. And people who see it as crap are a bit like Luddites who attempted to destroy the machines, apparently not realising that it's not the machines' fault, but that of those who employ them.

The bible itself is a cultural artefact which in itself is a showpiece of cultural artefacts and it offers a lot to anyone who is willing to stop and look.


spin

Vinnie

I think most of us realize the Bible is not a sentient being with volition. Its how the "Bible" is used by fundibots that most of us object to. Other than that, the Bible has lots of intereting things in it. It also has some very inspiring stuff (e.g. 1 Cor 13) and lets us learn about some past cultures and the views which dirctly helped to shape a lot of history and present conditions in the world..

Vinnie

Goliath

Sorry for the potential deraliment, but I find this claim to be ridiculous at best. Name one worthwhile thing that I can get from the bible that I can't get elsewhere.

Sincerely,

Goliath

The Evil One

You can get an insight into the worldview of an ancient people, much as you can from the Iliad, the Mabinogion, the Eddas, or Beowulf. Of course, those are all rather better literature than most of the Bible

Vinnie

Why does something worthwhile have to be unique? Chances are, if you can only get it from one, exclusive place, it isn't worthwhile to begn with.

Vinnie

Goliath

When did I say that worthwhile things had to be unique?

Care to back up that assertion?

Sincerely,

Goliath

spin

1. The English translation has provided us with very many expressions which have come to be in everyday usage, showing that the underlying language and ideas are potent, "turn the other cheek", "an eye for an eye", "let there be light", "Jesus wept", "the lilies of the fields", "cast the first stone", etc.

2. Sources for such compact images such as a Judas, a Jezebel, a Doubting Thomas, a Philistine, a Delilah, a Pharisee, an angel, a devil, Satan, etc.

3. Explanations of why we have a seven day week, and why Jews are discriminated against in our societies, and other aspects of our modern society.

4. We get to see how a particular ancient society coped with a pre-scientific world and explained it.

5. Wisdom. Read Ecclesiastes for a very bleak wisdom that will give you an insight not only into the ancient world of the writers, but also of our own times.

6. Hebrew literature. You need to understand how it worked, because literature is very culture bound, but a simple passage like Isaiah against the king of Babylon shows a great deal of art. Have you read the book of Ruth as a socially aware novelette? (And Evil One, you need to know the literature before you can evaluate it.)

7. Literary history, due to the fact that the literature was constantly being worked on.

8. Aetiological mythology and social mechanics. The mirror relationship between society and its mythology.

9. History of early Jewish religious thought.

10. A complex window into the ancient world through Jewish eyes, as a kind of sum total of the various text types found in the bible.

People don't tend to read the bible for what it has to say, usually just for what one wants it to say. People who can't find anything of significant value in the bible may also have difficulty finding value in more contemporary literature.


spin

Goliath

Not particularly worthwhile or interesting.

Again, if euphemisms are the best that the bible can offer, then I'll take an episode of Seinfeld over the bible any day.

So what? If xianity had not existed, then there might've been a 10 day week. It matters little to me (as long as everyone agrees on the length of a week).

Oh, so crackpot conspiracy theories about Jews "owning everying" have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with anti-semitism?

Again, there are extrabiblical historical sources.

Give me one passage of "wisdom" from the bible that can't be found outside of the bible, please.

Uninteresting to me, as I cannot read Hebrew. Moreover, I'm sure that the bible is not the only source of Hebrew writing.

Ditto.

Ditto, and ditto.

A restatement of 9.

Care to back that up?

Sincerely,

Goliath

spin

I don't mind if you dont want to read either the bible or what I said about it.


spin