(February 13, 2010 at 1:54 pm)chatpilot Wrote: tavarish said: "It's good that you see it for what it is, a beautifully written work of fiction."
I think that is the most inaccurate statement I have ever heard. You give the bible way too much credit, it is in fact a horrible and discordant work of fiction mixed with history and a mess of ancient plagiarized myths. That also includes all the bad editing and retelling of the same tales several times throughout usually in ways that contradict previous versions of it throughout the book itself. This is obviously due to the many authors involved and the attempt to transcribe tales that were originally oral traditions. Otherwise I agree with you on your entire post and your refutations of fr0d0s beliefs regarding the veracity of god.
I'm giving it the credit that it's due. It the most widely circulated book in history, and a very important piece of literature. Although many argue its internal validity, it does not change the fact that it's an important book, if only to illustrate the fact that we must progress from its ideals and beliefs.
It is not entirely cohesive, but to be honest, it IS a collection of 66 books translated and edited over a period of 2000 years. You'd be crazy not to expect some sort of internal contradiction. I have a problem with those that believe it is inerrant and should be taken literally, as they clearly don't understand the concept of logic.
