Quote:
Originally posted by floonine
This is what I don't get:
If the Bible is a lie, then what is it's point?
OR
What is the purpose of lying to Christians? Who benefits from this?
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It isn't so much that the Bible is a lie per se... it is a series of stories, laws, customs, anecdotes, etc that have been collected over time.
Each of the stories in the Old Testament have been told and re-told, written and re-written by various figures throughout history. The New Testament is fist the Gospels - a series of stories about Jesus told for various reasons. Matthew (I believe) starts with a long list of who begat whom so as to show that Jesus is a direct decendant of David... this is extremely important if you are trying to convince Jews that Jesus is the messiah... Remember this was written (it is believed) about 20 to 30 years after the death of Christ.
This is followed by letters from Paul about how to be a Christian...
Essentially the laws of the OT and Paul's rules and judgements in the NT are all written for an audience that existed anywhere from 2000 to 8000 years ago (give or take a few thousand).
The OT starts with some colourful etiologies about where we came from and how we got here (Genesis) and some ur stories of the worship of Yahweh (Abe and his offspring). This is followed by Moses and the Exodous where a lot of laws are laid down. Including some the are quite heinous in today's context.
They were rules that allowed a nomadic people to survive (ie Onan's sin of wasted seed). They are also laws and rules from a very Patriarchal culture (ie women are property to be sold).
While there are some very good stories in the Bible that can provide guidance (the Good Samaratian in the NT is a great example) it must be noted that their is no reason to suppose that any of it is fact (while some of it might be close to historical fact - yes there was a Jerico but archeology has proven that it wasn't where the bible says it was and it most certainly didn't collapse after the blast of a horn).
The Bible like any good literature (and I'm using the term good loosely) is only as good as the reader who reads it. Take from it what you will. Read it with an eye to the fact that it was written long ago for a context specific purpose (the writers were not writing it for people in 2003).
Most importantly, the Bible was written by men (and possibly but highly unlikely in most cases women). Not by God.
Whether or not you believe in God doesn't mean that you have to take the Bible as unassailable. It is an historical work. Use it responsibly.