Originally posted by spgoode:
So your post confirms that the bible is a collection of contradictory information that no person could or should actually follow for guidance.



Life is a study in contradiction; for one that professes knowlege, I would expect you to be aware of this. The greatest contradiction is that the more studies and learned one becomes, invariably the more questions one usually ends up with...

But, I would rather say that the unstudied must be careful in jumping to conclusions on any religious text, especially if they insist on letting 4-5 words or a particular passage blind them to thousands of pages of a rather cohesive message.

One must study the religious message itself, the time it was written in and the social norms and the political strucures that historically existed then. The Bible, as with other religous texts, is a guide and tool (from a secular point of view) that was meant to help one find meaning and discipline in life. As with all tools, it can be misused and has been in the past and most assuredly will in the future. When compared with the social norms of today, there are some passsages and concepts within The Bible that certainly don't line up with common belief or thought (slavery being one of them).

Is this a function of religious belief, though, or a social norm that was prevalent at the time of it's writing? Does the institution of slavery collapse the ENTIRE message of Christianity? Only if you are a fool...

The Bible is a multi-layered, multi-authored document that touches on an almost endless number of social, religious and political thoughts. Some of it is history, some of it is poetry, some of it is theological discourse and much of it is a profound tale of love, faith and devotion to a higher cause than one's own self. Much of it's message is one of hope, peace, respect and love, though man's interpretations over small pieces of it at times has proven bloody and downright shameful.

Few documents in existance discuss or represent the human condition in such beauty as The Bible; I find it immensely disturbing and patently ignorant if one can't get past their hangups on religion and discern this. You can disagree with the theology all you want; it still doesn't detract from most of the core messages at the heart of the document.

JaTo e-Tough Guy Missouri City, TX 99 Contour SVT #143/2760 00 Corvette Coupe