ok so it has pretty much been universally accepted by all people that Genesis is not to be taken literally. The earth is not 6000 years old, and evolution says that not all animals as we have them today were all created at the same exact moment. Atheist love to bring this up. So here is the question. When Moses wrote Genesis, he obviously WAS trying to be taken literally. Why would he write a complex metaphor that no one really understands, when he could just say what he meant. So, if Moses had no real understanding when he wrote that book, who is to say that any of his other books should be taken literally too? B/c you see, people always like to take Moses' law from the old testament as a tribute to the absurdity of Christianity. So, Im suggesting that maybe NONE of Moses' books should be taken literally? This would include leviticus, which has all those crazy ass laws? any thoughts?
what, the story of Jesus? it's feel good. it gives me the fuzzies. think about it this way. what if everyone was like Jesus? the world would be a perfect place. it's a great story b/c he loved humanity just as much as he loved himself, and was totally free of things that generally make humans human. the fact that he died shows how sincere he was towards enlightening all of us. the fact that he died in arguably one of the most horrific ways even more strongly shows his devotion to us. Jesus is an ideal that should be strived for. Perfection is love, and good. Since we are not perfect, we can only be partly good. That means we must be partly evil. I think the whole point Jesus was making is that anyone could be like him, you just have to transcend the falsehoods of this world, and all the temptations that are thrown at you everyday. Even if God is not real (which i highly highly doubt) , I still think it is a wonderful story that everyone should know.
Me, too. As for Moses and Genesis, Jewish and Christian tradition regard him as the source of the first five books of the OT, but the Bible doesn't say this. Moses may have had a major hand in the writing, but to fundamentalists, God was the author & Moses was taking dictation, or in the case of the Ten Commandments delivering the tablets. I'm surprised FedUp didn't tell us Moses didn't exist, since like most of these early historical figures who don't happen to be kings, the documentation is fuzzy. But the general outline of his life isn't improbable, and some of the details seem to confirm Egyptian origins and terminology. The authorship of the books has been disputed. One approach, called the "Documentary" approach, thinks that they were actually written in different periods by different people: the so-called E texts which use the term Elohim for God, reflect northern tribal influence, and present a human-like God and a talking snake; the J texts which use the term Jehovah (Yaweh or Yaweh-Elohim), and reflect a later southern influence built on the previous northern one, and a P tradition reflecting a priestly perspective and incorporating Babylonian/Chaldean influence picked up during the Babylonian captivity. The picky rules and rituals, including those in Leviticus, are attributed to the P dudes. But of course other writers dispute all this, as in Duane Garrett's Rethinking Genesis: The Sources and Authorship of the Pentatuech.
You beat me to this. But I would probably have provided bare-bones in the way of explanation. I might just have to check out that book. Thanks
his followers did not kill him. they didn't sacrifice him so his death was more like murder. but....he could have stopped it from happening. so i think jesus' death falls into the catagory of self-sacrifice, probably the most loving, noble, selfless was to go. and on behalf of all mankind. yes, i get the fuzzies.
Oh, the good ol' days. JD4U and his pop, Libertine the anti-christ---those were some good times I think more what neo means by "like Jesus" is not a human sacrifice, but ready to lay down their life for love. One of the letters that is found in the NT tells husbands to be like that. Right before, it tells women that they should be subject to their husbands, and that husbands should love their wives as Jesus loved us...pretty headdy stuff
