(October 29, 2017 at 9:01 am)downbeatplumb Wrote:That's exactly my point.(October 29, 2017 at 6:49 am)Captain_Nemo Wrote: This is what many miss today.Religious writings come in a number of flavours all of which are present in the bible.
The mode of communication 2000 years ago was different to what we use today.
To decode the past one must teach oneself to code in the same way. One has to understand things like informational warfare. Sabotage of the code etc.
The greatness of Jesus can actually only be seen when one understands the way humans communicate in a broad sense.
Let's compare it to ant feromone - there is no smell like Jesus, no behaviour like the behaviour of a true believer - and it already lasts over 2000 years.
I mean others smell good too - like Socrates, Confucius etc. but their smell is hidden and has to be looked for. Jesus no matter if You like him or not is just present in the air all the time.
Of course there is no way to grasp the glory of God - it's as if teaching a worm mathematical algorithms - but God is able - if You allow him inside he will teach You those algorithms. With those algorithms one becomes powerful enough to influence reality.
Faith could be translated into trust - if You stick to something long enough it will be woth it. Some subjects need years to achive full mastery. Love (not the romantic one) also needs training, but its like runnning on a completely different fuel. To never fear again, to never be demotivated, to feel this constant hunger for more.
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Ultimately - people react to religious writings like somebody who saw morse code the first time and complaints about dots and strokes. Imagine getting a page in morse code and having to decode it - it would take a few hours at least.
They list laws.
Contain myths, normally including creation accounts but above all they are vague.
If you want to find love.
There's a verse for that.
If you want to excuse incest.
There's a verse for that.
If you want to get rid of all capitalism.
Theres's a verse for that.
If you look at most religions, but especially the Abrahamic ones, they tend to not be a reflection not of the religion but a reflection of the reader.
The same bible that gives you intolerant American evangelists gave the world anti-slavers in the 1700s.
Let's say there is this skill called cryptoanalysis.
There is a certain level You have to reach as human being to be able to use a source of information. Certain preliminaries have to be met.
Something like - from what is faith by deceptive illusion:
"After about 10 years as an atheist. I have realized that the MOST important thing for theists, atheists and agnostics is tolerance and acceptance. I used to be an impatient atheist and would scratch my head at the fact that other people wouldn't see things as I see them. But now, I think that the point is to embrace everyone's point of view. Sadly many goverments and scholars of religion don't think the same. Sigh."
As said before trying to build a generator of truth will always lead to warfare between fractions of power. One has to be knowledgeable about certain things if one wants to be part of a discussion.
There are two options, I prefer to treat faith as an enticement and road to knowledge, but one does not have to know everything, sometimes accepting a truth just because somebody trustworthy said so is also ok.
It's like the pythagorean theorem - You don't have to understand why or how it works, just use it if there is use for it.
Similarly here, You have the possibility to learn truths that have a use in certain situations.
Truths that are deeper than what You are exposed to during the average daily life.
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This would be just the old testament.
The new gives something of a different nature. Because You get an undestructible definition of love - Jesus's death on the cross says it all. No need for more.
