Gay Marriage

[Occhidiangela]

Let's not forget that the bible is a book written thousands of years ago over 300 years AFTER the events took place and no reliable sources available at that time besides mouth to mouth stories to rely it on (which could get exaggerated then as much as now with each and every telling).

And of course, it has been edited and translated now and again. Which is the meaning, eh? Thou shalt not kill, or thou shall commit no murder? Among other bits and pieces under long scrutiny . . .

For what it's worth, the Bible, as we know it, is a compendium of philosopht, teachings, parables, poetry, law, story, history, and doctrine that spans considerable time before the events recorded in the Gospels, as well as writings after the Crucifixion.

The oldest copies of the Gospels were, depending on which scholar you believe most, written down within one to one and a half centuries after the Crucifixion, though there is some question as to the earliest writings of, for example, Paul whose various epistles form a considerable portion of Christian doctrine. I am not aware of any originals being still in existence, nor that any were ever found. The decision to include some writings and not others was, depending on who you read (Sword of Constantine is enlightening, if long, as are Elaine Pagel's somewhat shorter books on the Gnostic movement) a political or ecumenical decision, or both.

Hence, to correct your assertion, the Bible was not written "300 years later" but rather, a series of things written previously was agreed for inclusion into "The Book" (I think it was originally referred to as Biblos in Greek, which IIRC means "book.") That makes the Bible at the very least a source of doctrine: agreed principles. What it is beyond that is of course not going to be solved or universally agreed any time soon, nor in this thread. :)

I am not going to start a discussion on that, but my point is that the bible was probably written by standards of that time. Had Jesus said that the earth was a globe instead of flat one would not find it back in the bible, for instance.

But you did start a discussion in that, by writing that post, my friend. :D Again, the various books included in the Bible were indeed written in standards that differ from todays, and I will point out one further tidbit for you:

Not every chronicler tried to adhere to Heradotus and Thucydides initial efforts at making history more objective and less "story." It is only relatively recently, in the past few centuries, that history has been accumulating the rigor that the scientific method developed. A lot of story in "history."

Warm regards

Occhi