Anyone can read the Bible. - Really?

[Me-Ki-Gal]

Humans superior to the other animals ? In what way ? Good tool makers ? What ? Does that make humans superior ? Deer have superior hearing. Superior running skills . Superior external coats part of there biology were as not having to need shelter from the elements . How is a human superior to a deer ? Show Me how a human is superior to a cock roach ?

 

[Dywyddyr]

You state yourself you are false?

Not at all.

You hold no aspirations of honor, correct?

On the contrary. But my concept of honour is my concept.

I know what I think of me

Hmm, I don't think you do.

and what I think of you.

Not really.

You do meditate don't you? Of course not, silly me. lol

Depends on what one classes as "meditation".

Whenever I interact with someone,
May I view myself as the lowest amongst all,
And, from the very depths of my heart,
Respectfully hold others as superior.​

Hmm, strange view. All others as superior? Without question? Regardless of their abilities (or lack thereof)?

And I'd never expect you to apologize for something you don't recall.

I wouldn't. IF I didn't recall

In fact, I wouldn't expect an apology from anyone for anything on here, would you?

Depends on circumstance.

 

[AlexG]

Whenever I interact with someone,
May I view myself as the lowest amongst all,
And, from the very depths of my heart,
Respectfully hold others as superior.

He's trying to be humble and buddha like. It just comes off as snarky and snide.

 

[wynn]

I don't see how you extract that sense from my list.
1. Knowledge of historical context.
2. Critical thinking skills.
3. Ability to source and understand scholarly research
4. Absence of any strong prejudicial beliefs

You appear to be taking the position that anyone with these characteristics would arrive at an atheist position. That would appear to be valid if and only if there is no God. Positing that seems to indicate that you have a strong prejudicial belief in this matter and should be excluded from the attempts to understand scripture.

Lol!

 

[Captain Kremmen]

He's trying to be humble and buddha like. It just comes off as snarky and snide.

Watch it, Grasshopper!
You insult honourable master again, you get thick ear.

 

[Yazata]

This is a rather relativistic view. I don't think many theistic religions would approve of it.

It's certainly consistent with Christianity. We have Mark's, Luke's, Matthew's and John's gospels. We have Paul's letters. Letters whose names are the geographical locations of the early Christian churches that the letters were addressed to. They are all written in koine Greek. They all make use of a diaspora Jewish conceptual vocabulary that's strongly influenced by its time and its circumstances.

I don't think that most Christians conceive of their New Testament in the manner that many Muslims think of the Quran, imagining that it's God's heavenly and eternal Word. In Christianity the Word was made flesh, not text.

But it's true that there is a tendency towards that kind of thinking among Christian fundamentalists. They often do insist that the Bible is the Word of God, and often interpret that idea literally, as a claim that God actually dictated the books word-for-word. It's only a short step from there to the Islamic-style idea that the words exist eternally in the eternal God.

 

[Pincho Paxton]

If we look at the discussions here, many people enter discussions on the assumption that anyone can read scriptures, discuss them, and also understand them or make judicial assessments of what is said.

But in some religious circles, this assumption is not considered appropriate. Instead, it is believed that a person must first have particular qualifications (such as humility), before they can hope to understand scriptures.


Question:
On the grounds of what do some people think they can read scriptures and evaluate them?

Didn't they find some scriptures which outdated the bible, and these scriptures had the same story, and that story contradicted some of the bible? I think the story was not about Jesus, but about James, and James was supposed to be Jesus's brother. Anyway, I think that the only bible that counts is the first Bible, and nobody uses that one.

 

[Ophiolite]

Lol!

That is meant to constitute a serious response? You have, apparently, such a warped view of matters that you don't understand how biased you are, so you try to blow it off with a Lol. At least it reveals the truth of your position to any astute observer.

 

[Pineal]

Question:
On the grounds of what do some people think they can read scriptures and evaluate them?

I think the grounds vary wildly.

I have no grounds for not feeling/thinking I can evaluate them. Though it depends on what parts how confident I feel. I was raised partially with them as holy scriptures, so in a sense I have to evaluate them.

But there are likely contexts I would not evaluate them. If a believing Christian was seeking help to understand scripture - rather than telling me what God wants, for example - I would probably not feel like I had grounds to answer and would gesture towards their church or pastor.

I could probably think of other contexts where I might not care to weigh in with my evaluations.

 

[Pineal]

Instead, it is believed that a person must first have particular qualifications (such as humility), before they can hope to understand scriptures.

A person who can evaluate their own humility is trusting their intuition rather strongly. Is it more strongly or less strongly than the evaluation that one can evaluate scripture? I really have no idea.

And would a humble person, in the religious sense, consider themselves utterly unable to make certain kinds of evaluations of a religious text?

IOW isn't humility a bias?

Could a humble person, in the religious sense, decide that the Bible is culture dependent and personality dependent writings by humans and thus flawed?

 

[wynn]

That is meant to constitute a serious response? You have, apparently, such a warped view of matters that you don't understand how biased you are, so you try to blow it off with a Lol. At least it reveals the truth of your position to any astute observer.

Yes, mom!

 

[wynn]

Could a humble person, in the religious sense, decide that the Bible is culture dependent and personality dependent writings by humans and thus flawed?

I don' think so.

But for someone who is a member of a religion, the situation of deciding whether the scriptures are flawed or man-made in some way that would diminish their value - for a member such a situation on principle does not occur.

It occurs for outsiders.

 

[Ophiolite]

Yes, mom!

I had a modicum of respect for you based upon reading of a number of your posts in several threads. I rarely agreed with you, but had mistaken you for a sensible, mature individual. Ah, well, we all make mistakes. When you've been demolished it is best if you just shut up entirely instead of offering infantile trash.

 

[Pineal]

I don' think so.

But for someone who is a member of a religion, the situation of deciding whether the scriptures are flawed or man-made in some way that would diminish their value - for a member such a situation on principle does not occur.

It occurs for outsiders.

I think there are Christians and Jews who question specific portions of their scriptures and these are not an insignificant minority.

Also, to say it diminishes their value seems to assume they have the value of perfect relaying of God's word. But if they are, rather, best attempts, let's say, at a specific time in history but inspired but fallible interpreters, then their value is precisely that of having a lot of correct things but also having problem areas.

(my choice there was not quite how I viewed the Bible, but it fits insiders I know.)

 

[Pineal]

When you've been demolished

? Was a specific argument demolished in this thread?

 

[kx000]

Why am I superior to a deer? Because I can kill an entire group deer in an instant and I wouldnt even bat an eye.

 

[Dywyddyr]

So botulism is superior to you?
And anthrax?
And a pointed stick?
(For purists: I won't mention fruit).

 

[kx000]

I can dismember anthrax, or break a pointed stick in half to make two pointed sticks, and use those pointed sticks to my advantage.

 

[Dywyddyr]

I can dismember anthrax, or break a pointed stick in half to make two pointed sticks, and use those pointed sticks to my advantage.

Regardless, either of those could kill you.
Your so-called "superiority" is as spurious as the rest of your inane claims.

 

[Arioch]

How exactly does one "dismember" anthrax? I didn't think that anthrax had limbs.