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@keithprosser
Pride in ones so called knowledge is at the root of gnosticism.
It really has not changed much.
Very appealing to that crowd these days for sure.
Reading the Bible: Genesis - Creation
Posts
Total:
42
I don't like the phrase "your truth", it reduces truth to something arbitrary.
I was simply referencing your quote from earlier:
"We don't mistake knowledge for truth."
Edit: the most commonly accepted definition of knowledge is "justified and true belief"... just in case there wasn't enough irony here.
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@Discipulus_Didicit
There is knowledge, and there is knowledge falsely so called.
It isn't usually apparent to the one who believes in knowledge falsely so called that what they believe isn't knowledge.
But it is also true that The Truth is not the same thing as knowledge.
Well, just spent several hours putting together the OP for part 2 only to lose everything I wrote just as I was almost done. Guess part 2 is going to have to wait for tonight or tomorrow.
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@Discipulus_Didicit
I would recommend trying out the NKJV, since you are coming from the NIV. It's definitely worth the small investment in time, and it will be nice having two versions. After you verify the authenticity, you can pick one up quite reasonably and you may come to your own conclusions. I think you will generally have a little more care to respect the original texts with the NKJV, while the NIV seems to compromise a little more for general reading. The KJV, although not perfect, represents a great undertaking in its translation, and has a connection to protestant American heritage. I own three NIV at the moment, one in a parallel text, one I take with when I travel, and one pocket book. It's okay, used on a regular basis. I personally do not recommend it, but none the less, the one you have and get engaged in is capable of providing great service.
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@Discipulus_Didicit
Lilith is a Jewish folk tale not part of the Bible or Torah.
602 days later
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@Discipulus_Didicit
I've never read the Bible in full myself, tend to get bored.
I suppose part of the problem is being an atheist with not much interest in it.
Another problem likely is that I see it as too much of a puzzle to want to bother.
So many different translations, so many different words that in other languages/contexts/definitions change one's understanding of the Bible.
There's a reason why Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof says,
"If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack
To sit in the synagogue and pray,
And maybe have a seat by the Eastern Wall.
And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men
Seven hours every day.
That would be the sweetest thing of all.
If I were a rich man,
Yaha-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-deeuh-dum,"
He realizes he'd have to study it, to understand it deeply, see?
I dunno, sometimes I look upon it a bit the way I do Buddhist koans, that is what very little I know about Buddhist koans.
Going by Wikipedia a koan "is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen."
I'm willing to suppose there's value in the Christian Bible,
but there's value in many writings, even non religious writings.
So onto my take on Genesis 1 (NIV),
To me it's just a story that people told each other and their children, to give 'some voice to that Who/What/Why/When/Where/How feeling humans get. Though maybe the story doesn't answer all those questions, or in so much detail.
It also seems to me that Preachers of the Bible are often spinning it according to their own take. And maybe that's not a terrible picture, if their flock is people like the Preacher themself, and the people listening exhibit a bit of doubt and reasoning themselves, without acting blindly and ending up cult like.
After all, there are people in the world, more keen on reason and wisdom than others, likely 'even more so in the older days when not everyone could read. Or when there weren't writing's around, didn't have the time or ability to memorize by ear and tongue.
Brings to mind Father Mapple a bit, from Melville's Moby Dick. Who's elevated pulpit was decorated with ship gear and backed by a wall painting of a seascape, as well as being reachable only by a rope ladder. And as I remember it, Father Mapple's preaching had a style of a rough sailor to it, which matched well with the lives and makeup of his flock.
Back to Genesis 1 though,
And this might be one of the factors that makes the Bible a formidable tool, for good or ill.
I think it'd be easy enough for even a pantheist to read Genesis 1, and interpret God as the personification of existence, perhaps further as a personification of life or control/direction.
Man certainly seems more able to control the world around him at his own will than all the other animals.
Still, to me, just a story, told by a people to express their culture and their view, in an artsy story. Maybe to illuminate or put focus on the importance of certain realities or cultural givens of a society. Such as marriage, monogamy, faithfulness, and how special your partner is. From a Christian viewpoint, well, from a Christian viewpoint thousands of years ago, when strife was all too common, when family sticking together and not having infighting was invaluable.
"24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."
And to earlier post,
"The theme of the early universe starting as a vast expanse of water is a common one in many mythologies. Ancient Egyptian, Hindu, and even some Native American Folklore share this concept. This would seem to give credence to the idea that early mythologies, including the oral traditions from which the biblical tales are descended, either borrowed heavily from each other or share one or several common ancestor mythologies from which all take inspiration."
'Could be, though I'm more inclined to think that humans think alike. We see the same world for the most part, so our stories of it's formation come about mostly the same, just my take.
And to another part of your post, I don't know anything about Lilith really, or cut parts of the Bible.
Other posts make me think of comic books a bit, which reboot of Spiderman truly expresses the Hero and his philosophy best? (Joke)
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@Discipulus_Didicit
Did you ever finish reading it?
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@SirAnonymous
Yeah, just got bored of typing about it after the first four or five threads.
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@Discipulus_Didicit
Yeah, just got bored of typing about it after the first four or five threads.
I could tell just from reading the OP that talking about each part as you read it wasn't going to last. It's a long book.
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@Discipulus_Didicit
So, what's your impression now, having read all of it?
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@Lemming
6/10 overall, though there were definitely some parts that deserved lower or higher marks individually. Significantly less fun than the book of Mormon.