(September 9, 2024 at 1:15 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote:(September 8, 2024 at 12:24 am)Belacqua Wrote: Yeah, it was not written by Bronze Age goat herders or compiled in the Dark Ages.
I've found that a lot of atheists don't use terms like this literally. They are comfortable, in their own language, speaking in metaphor or allegory.
It's okay to do that as long as you don't insist that it's NOT metaphor or allegory.
Absolutely!
Some of the best, most important writing in history has been in non-literal forms. Philosophy, literature, all kinds of wisdom literature have different tools at their disposal. Especially in pre-modern writing, but today also.
It's a shame and a dumbing-down when people take these things literally.
So if someone wanted to use "Bronze Age sheepherder" as a kind of historically inaccurate insult, that wouldn't be strange. It's like calling Trump voters Neanderthals*. But some less informed people might read it and think it's literally true.
*I am aware that modern humans may retain some Neanderthal DNA, but I've never heard that it's enough to affect political affiliation.
