Question for freethinkers

[Anymouse]

Atheist and all nonbelievers are the worst when it comes to interpreting what the Bible says, translation is writting a book, paper or ie. from one language to another, you are talking about intrepretation not translation. Scientist often take the evidence and interpret it differently, so where's the difference, the difference is that the scientist are looking at the same wording and believers might not depending on the particular Bible translation they are reading. The King James is a good translation however it is not the best, the New American Standard is generally considered the best translation of the scriptures and if you want to see the more literal wording the Inductive Study version of the NAS is very good. As with all ancient languages we are learning more about them as more writtings are discovered.

Leaving aside for the moment that there are so many different translations of the Bible that it is impossible to tell which is "divinely inspired," (if any), if the Bible is meant to be the Word of God, why should it require any interpretation at all?

It opens with confusion in the two mutually-exclusive creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2 and does not stop the confusion until the "Amen" at the end of the Apocalypse (Revelation).

Why wouldn't God, who after all loves his children and only wishes them to enter Heaven, give his word with such obfuscation to the unbeliever? Why would he not want it to be clear as possible? Why write it so only learned priests and mystics can hope to glean the import of the writings, yet have his prophets such as Martin Luther insist that all should read the Bible?

When he tells you how to treat your slaves, he is telling you how to treat them, not that slavery is evil. When he says that women should keep silent in church, he is telling you they should keep silent, not that they deserve equal rights. If the inspired writers of the Bible really meant that keeping people as property was evil and oppressing the weak and powerless was also evil (oh they did say that, as long as they weren't women), why not just write that?

And anything that starts, "Well, you have to look at the times the Bible was written in" is making excuses for promoting slavery, slaughtering all in warfare, and oppressing women. Jesus and his apostles could have ended such nonsense two thousand years ago, if they were truly interested in such things as love and equal treatment of all God's children. On the other hand, that statement makes perfect sense if the Bible is not divinely inspired.

Jesus is propounded to be God. He could have Laid Down the Law. His apostles could have, too. Yet they chose to keep the system in place which Dixie used to justify their own slavery, and oppresses women in some places to this day.

James.