Discussing the Bible must start with a discussion of the Bible's veracity. Otherwise all one has is a circle j***.
The wisest thig to learn from the bible is thay Jesus is Lord. Check out these words of Jesus. Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law 37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. When you think about wisdom you'll miss the mark thinking in terms life on earth. " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"
There is no evidence that Jesus was more than a Jewish Preacher born in Nazareth who became a Jewish evangelist. If we believe what was written about him decades after his death in 28CE then he lived as a Jew, spoke as a Jew, acted as a Jew. There are words put in his mouth by the \gospel writers which have turned the people against him, not for him. To claim to be the Son of God - the charge used by the Sanhedrin - would have gone against the teachings with which the people had been brought up. Hear O' Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. To claim to be A son of God was acceptable as all Jews believed - according to the Tanakh - that they were God's sons. A lot of what Jesus said that you've printed comes from the OT. Isaiah, Micah, Samuel etc and is put together by the gospel writers after the fall of Jerusalem, when families were indeed split apart. Some sided with the Romans in that they attempted to avoid fighting, others fought the Romans. His Baptism, supposed temptation and his teachings were in line with Judaism. Mosr of his parables related to Israels relationship with Jahweh. The Good Shepherd, the Vine etc are all from the OT. That's why, when asked by the disciples why he spoke in parables (a Jewish way) - he said it's because you (Jewish disciples) know them. Gentiles don't. In other words they mean something to you and not to the Gentiles Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven
Despite the hard evidence in an artifact.. The Shroud of Turin.. It wasn't painted on.. it wasn't burned in by the sun.. it was the result of a nanoburst of energy in a straight-line wave pattern that can't be reproduced (tho' one experiment did a poor imitation of the process); to get an image such as is imprinted on the Shroud requires equipment that is at the far edge of our present technology. The image contains billions of pieces of information by which a 3-D model can be made.. no other imaging technic can do this from a flat image.. and there is but one explanation to how such an image was made on a two thousand year old piece of cloth. When it comes right down to it.. it is they who want to deny scientific research. So.. they must have another agenda other than "it's contrary to science" when it comes to debunking Christianity. and to you Margot.. what is your definition of "creationism" ? I do not believe the Earth was created in six 24 hour periods of time, I do believe God created the universe and everything in it.. it's up to science to discover how He did it. " Then Jesus left the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.” Luke 4:1-4 There’s much to say about this story, but one thing that always strikes me is this: the devil knows Scripture, and he knows it well. Not only that, but he knows it well enough to twist it. He knows it well enough to change it, slightly, and urge us to latch on. Frankly, the devil knows the Bible better than we do. He’s been a student of it for thousands of years, and he forges the sharp sword of Scripture that discerns truth into a grenade that explodes lies and cuts and kills those near to it. "
And any discussion of veracity must include an understanding of the reality and purpose of the Biblical content. That content contains a brilliant and masterful collection of writings and manuscripts that cover concepts, explanations, history, law, myth, symbolism, metaphor, allegory, parables, illustrations, wisdom writings, poetry, and instructions. I don't have to believe the Creation story literally to look through the writer's eyes and see it as an allegorical explanation that all that has ever been, is, or will be is because God made it so. And it is an explanation of how sin came into the world and spread to the family and then the community and then the whole world and that is why things are as they are. And why our sin doesn't just affect us but spoils all of God's magnificent creation. But God is there when we sin and offers us a path out of our sin. I can see the patterns of cycles of creation, sin, judgment, redemption which has always been the lot of humankind. The message can be on point and true in every aspect without the vehicle for presenting it being literally accurate in every detail. The Bible is the most magnificent body of literature the Earth has ever known. Which is why it has been the best selling book in the world since the Gutenberg Bible was printed in the mid 15th Century to this very day.
So...veracity makes no difference to you as your mind is already made up, thus creating whatever reasoning for it is totally okay. It is not okay for me or anyone who thinks deeply.
That does not make sense as all knowledge is the human mind fathoming something. As for "Wisdom", it is arbitrary and subjective personal interpretation of events or experience....nothing more.
Are Aesop's Fables true? No. Do they teach truth? Yes. How about Grimm's Fairy tales? No. Do they teach positive human attributes? Yes. Is Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" an accurate rendition of the history? No. Are there many universal truths contained in it? Yes. Did Washington chop down a cherry tree? Probably not. Does the story teach children an important lesson about telling the truth? Yes. Was there a Harry Potter? No. Do those wonderful tales teach much about personal integrity, acceptance, courage, problem solving? Yes. You would dismiss all of those purely because they lacked 'veracity'? I don't require every passage in the Bible to pass your test for veracity in order to see the truth of what it is teaching us or how God is speaking to us through the words. Nor do I dismiss the veracity of some Biblical content. I believe there was a King David and numerous others mentioned in the Old Testament. I believe Jesus of Nazareth was the son of God and is God and that the Jewish leaders condemned him and the Roman's crucified him. I believe the people of the New Testament existed. Jesus Himself taught in parables as that was the Jewish means of teaching, and in human form he was thoroughly and completely Jewish trained in the Jewish way of approaching problems, teaching, thinking. As were those who wrote the Old Testament manuscripts.
I dismiss nothing, but instead desire furtherance of these wonderful concepts and so delve into literature and sciences that can do so. I fully accept the lessons and societal insights presented in the Bible(s) and many other teachings but do not limit myself by taking it to dogmatic ignorance.
Why? Satan originally started in Judaism out as gods messenger. His task was to test men's faith - as he did with Job. He was always under gods control. Christianity turned him into gods enemy. Even the supposed 'temptation' of Jesus was in line with Judaism. I suppose blaming the 'devil' for your own 'sinful' actions is one way. It saves accepting the blame yourself.
