People connect with religions and other social movements because they don’t wish to stand alone. And that’s fair enough. Although the elders of religions may wish follows to believe in a certain way, the truth is no one can control how each individual interprets religious teachings or which parts of it they choose to embrace and which they choose to ignore.
My own view is that a large portion of the Bible could be scrubbed and the book would only benefit from it. The teachings of Jesus certainly don’t align with much that is written in the Old Testament, for example. By putting them both in the same book it just causes confusion and a reason for those with poor motives to justify their actions by referencing some obscure part of the book that is barbaric and lacking any enlightenment at all. It also gives critics something to attack. It needs to be admitted that the Bible is a hotchpotch of enlightened and unenlightened thinking and that the modern man is responsible for choosing and applying the parts that represent intelligence and wisdom and not the egocentric and foolish parts which should be left where they belong- in 1400 BC.
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I'm not arguing that some of the Bible happened and some didn't, I'm just saying that some teachings are worthwhile and others aren't. The truth is, I don't know who said (or wrote) what is written in the Bible and it seems even the scholars are unsure. I read widely but still find much of the teachings attributed to Jesus powerful and useful to consider. However, I don't treat the Bible with the reverence that many give it and I seek wisdom from a myriad of sources. That being said, I do see Jesus as a model of the ideal man and I think this is what many resonate with, it's just that some have decided to place him on a pedestal beyond the reach of us mortals to the position of a God. A common theme among humans it seems, but not one I think is useful or constructive!
Sharka Todd
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