(January 23, 2012 at 2:16 pm)Aardverk Wrote:(January 6, 2012 at 12:38 pm)Barre Wrote: You should take the Bible seriously because of its tremendous inlfuence it has.
OK, it's easy to mock this statement but if Barre had said 'you should take Christians seriously because of their tremendous influence' I would be 100% in agreement. They are a terribly dangerous bunch, often full of hate and ignorance. The Americans in particular are not afraid to show it either - they are definitely the worst as a short stroll through their forums will quickly demonstrate.
I have no idea where Barre is heading with this bit of analysis, no where useful I expect, but why mock someone trying to raise yet another valid criticism of the Christian book? Little by little the message is getting through to Christians that the real 'good news' is that there are no gods and that they were lied to as children. Maybe Barre won't influence many of them but why try to discourage him? We all try to spread the word in our own ways - mainly ineffectively.
Who said anything about discouraging him?? Yes that little collection of stories has caused a great deal of grief and anger and multitudinous spin-off/ copycat crimes against humanity.
What I take objection to is that to "understand the bible" one must look at ALL the stories from ALL the cultures around ALL the world and also realise that people have never stayed in one place but have moved around quite alot over the millennia. It takes and "understanding" of Ancient History, Anthropology, Archaeology and their relevant sub-disciplines ...not just the book itself.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
