01-27-2010, 10:55 PM
Hi,
No, I think the bible is a treasure trove of the ancient Middle East. I wish we had similar collections from every part of the world -- from Greece, from Northern Europe, from the British Islands, from sub-Sahara Africa, central Asia, North, South, and mezzo-America, etc. We would know so much more of so many fascinating cultures. Stripped of the superstition surrounding it, the Bible is a fascinating work.
--Pete
Quote:It looks like the education system does a pretty decent job. I would guess the lack of people shifting to 'work of fiction' is because people just don't want to admit that the whole thing might be built on a lie.If the educational system were really doing a good job, then educated people would look for the truth and accept it when they found it.
Quote:I mean, if its not the word of god, or at least inspired, then its just some incoherent ramblings from some crazies in the desert 2000 years ago.Not necessarily so. No one claims that the works of Plato (for instance) are inspired by god, yet his writings are still studied and still contribute to the foundations of our present ethics. There are concepts of value in the Bible. There are quasi-historical tales that, like the Iliad of the Greeks, may be based on actual events. There are fictional tales that give us an insight into the behavior of people in that region and at that time. Some of the stories have been 'borrowed' from adjoining cultures, and that gives us indications of how different people related to each other and how the stories evolved.
No, I think the bible is a treasure trove of the ancient Middle East. I wish we had similar collections from every part of the world -- from Greece, from Northern Europe, from the British Islands, from sub-Sahara Africa, central Asia, North, South, and mezzo-America, etc. We would know so much more of so many fascinating cultures. Stripped of the superstition surrounding it, the Bible is a fascinating work.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?