Identifying the word of god

[robvalue]

I have a question for the religious. In simple terms, how can you spot the difference between a text that is the word of god, and one that just says it is but was written by men?

To paint a picture and to produce a non-biased answer:

Imagine you have all your current knowledge and experience about any and all holy books wiped from your mind.

Then you are presented with two books. The names aren't important, let's just call them A and B. It has been guaranteed to you somehow that one of these really is the dictated word of god. The other is an elaborate fake, a book written by men to mimic the style of the true book.

Both books contain their accounts of what god is, what its laws are, various stories, and proclaim that they are the one and only true word of god. They both seem about as convincing as each other after a read through.

My question is, how do you decide which one is actually the word of god, and which one is the fake? What is your criteria?

[vorlon13]

The religousites certainly aren't going to pick anything inconvenient. If both books are unpalatable, regardless of the guarantee that one of the books really is Scripture of the One True Faith, both can be ignored.

If both comport to existing prejudice, and are not otherwise onerous in regards to the effort to effect compliance, both could be selected.

[Dystopia]

Cherry picking. No other answer is possible.

[Eel_LahjicK]

Then you are presented with two books. The names aren't important, let's just call them A and B. It has been guaranteed to you somehow that one of these really is the dictated word of god. The other is an elaborate fake, a book written by men to mimic the style of the true book.

Both books contain their accounts of what god is, what its laws are, various stories, and proclaim that they are the one and only true word of god. They both seem about as convincing as each other after a read through.

My question is, how do you decide which one is actually the word of god, and which one is the fake? What is your criteria?

I have presented similar questions to the religious on here, and they have been totally ignored. To me, one with less fairy tale-ish stories, moronic, evil bullshit would be a good starting point, but that doesn't stop the christians. I guarantee you no religious person could ever truthfully answer that. If I wasn't indoctrinated into any religion, and I looked at some of these books when I was 12, I would have laughed my ass off.
I still laugh at myself for believing all the things I did that whole time.

[ShaMan]

[Michael]

ShaMan. For me, as with the faith I have, I would always take small steps and check things against reality and against conscience. So I would allow the book to challenge me, but then I would check the results of such challenge against my conscience and against the real experience of my life. Questions I might reflect on are....

Does the book speak to my life and the life I see around me? Is its guidence in line with my conscience? Has it helped me to dig deeper into my conscence? Where have others found inspiration in its pages? Where am I most unsure of its guidence and what is it that makes me wary of it? Where might have it led others astray, and do I need to be careful of interpretatation or do I need to reject it outright? Could I be reading a mixture of 'good' and 'bad', and if so can I learn from the good and set aside the bad? How does the text compare to wisdom found elsewhere - does it point to, or contradict, widely held truths? And finally, and perhaps most importantly, what small step can I take to then reflect on?

There is a lovely paragrah in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, reflecting the influence of John Henry Newman on the Catholic Church, which has always spoken like a clarion call to me, and it seems aposite here...

"Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths."

That's just a highly personal view; I don't pretend to speak for other theists. I'm not sure this is the right or best path, but it's the path that I have taken and do take.

[The Grand Nudger]

I'm actually a huge fan of that one Michael, though I would say that the bit about god inscribing some law on mans heart is unnecessary and puts undue burden (let alone inaccuracy) on the claim in-toto.

There -is- a voice calling me to love, to do good and to avoid evil...but it has nothing to do with my heart or any inscription upon it, or any god. It's my own voice- and that's enough for me.

[Diablo]

ShaMan. For me, as with the faith I have, I would always take small steps and check things against reality and against conscience. So I would allow the book the challenge me, but then I would check the results of such challenge against my conscience and against the real experience of my life. Question I might reflect on are....

Does the book speak to my life and the life I see around me? Is its guidence in line with my conscience? Has it helped me to dig deeper into my conscence? Where have others found inspiration in its pages? Where am I most unsure of its guidence and what is it that makes me wary of it? Where might have it led others astray, and do I need to be careful of interpretatation or do I need to reject it outright? Could I be reading a mixture of 'good' and 'bad', and if so can I learn from the good and set aside the bad? How does the text compare to wisdom found elsewhere - does it point to, or contradict, widely held truths? And finally, and perhaps most importantly, what small step can I take to then reflect on?

There is a lovely paragrah in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, reflecting the influence of John Henry Newman on the Catholic Church, which has always spoken like a clarion call to me, and it seems aposite here...

"Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths."

That's just a highly personal view; I don't pretend to speak for other theists. I'm not sure this is the right or best path, but it's the path that I do take.

My bold. So miracles would be out, along with the 7 days thing, and Adam and Eve, and snakes and apples, and heaven and/or paradise, and people rising from the dead, and, and...

Wouldn't be much left then. I suppose all the genocide and murder would represent reality, though.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

A trickier test might be to determine not which book is holy and which is human, but which book is Divine and which is Diabolic.

The devil's dashed clever (according to the handbook); it doesn't seem out of the rules for him to create a book which could fool the faithful. In point of fact, there's a passage in (I think) 2 Thessalonians in which God makes people believe a lie. So...how could one reliably tell holy writ from a devilish temptation to do wrong, especially if God takes a hand and forces you to believe the wrong book?

Boru

[Diablo]

A trickier test might be to determine not which book is holy and which is human, but which book is Divine and which is Diabolic.

The devil's dashed clever (according to the handbook); it doesn't seem out of the rules for him to create a book which could fool the faithful. In point of fact, there's a passage in (I think) 2 Thessalonians in which God makes people believe a lie. So...how could one reliably tell holy writ from a devilish temptation to do wrong, especially if God takes a hand and forces you to believe the wrong book?

Boru

Why don't you shut up! They would have never guessed!