Old Seer wrote:

This is hard to see, but we were surprised to learn also. What we have here with this bible deal is a people who had a way and understanding of how to live in peace with others. After a bit it becomes very simple to understand. So how did they do it and why is it important.? What they understood and found can be used by any society. But, the book deals with the book first and it's inhabitants and not necessarily everyone else on the planet. However, what goes for them goes for all others. There is nothing different about them except their beliefs. If their beliefs worked for them then those beliefs work for everyone else.

?!?!?!? Have you read the bible? Are you familiar with the history of the area at all? They hardly lived at peace with others either based on biblical accounts or based on other historical records. The entire region has been a hotbed of war and has been conquered by several of the major empires our world has seen. If your goal is to mimic ancient cultures that lived at peace with one another you should probably study cultures like the Moriori who lived on a small island with extremely limited resources but managed to avoid warfare or significant violence- at least until they were invaded by another island. (the downside of being a pacifist is you always lose wars if the other side doesn't mind annihilating you). I don't see why you would focus on the Hebrew religion or lend any more credibility to it than you would to any other religion, whatever peace it was able to establish was clearly not long lived. 

 

Sapient wrote:

Greatest I am wrote:

Does the award for the greatest evil go to Satan or God?

How many did God kill vs Satan in the Bible?

 

One side of or aspect of Yahweh. Yahweh does not mean God, it means person or persons including one's own person.  However, it's people that did the killing, so then Satan is part of ones own character. There's different applications to understand. Devil is mere evil perpetrated by people. Satan is Deception to bring about an evil as "deceiver". In Hebrew a person is comprised of good and evil and the duality is considered to be Satan/Deceiver on one hand and human on the other. This is how all people are made. The understanding of The Hebrew mind needs to be understood. There is no such word as "God" in the Hebrew language. Satan, Yahweh, Devil are all references to the conditions of persons. The Hebrew mind has no relatives in Europe. The two are not related. The Hebrew religion is of the interior not the exterior. Yahweh signifies ones own person or the personage of all combined. If one changes Yahweh to a Euro interpretation or concept then God means "people", as Yahweh means person or people. "I" can mean singular or multiple. "I" can also mean, one speaking from the Hebrew concept of being, such as. "I" speak from Yahweh. Hebrew prophets spoke from the "I" concept of Yahweh. Yahweh is one's own person in Hebrew.

 

I agree that all the biblical characters are archetypal and represent all of us.

We are all to be Moses or Jesus like. They are all fictional.

 

Regards

DL

cj wrote:

 

I read a book by an historian - I'll have to go look up the title and author, but if you wish.  She was discussing the importance of evidence when one theorized about historical facts and figures.  One of the things she mentioned in the book was how the Masons came to be.

They had found Egypt and all the hieroglyphics, but had not yet found the Rosetta Stone.  So no one knew exactly what the writings said.  So this kook with too much time on his hands, started guessing what the hieroglyphics meant.  Yes, guessed.  And also guessed all these strange rituals and such based on a combination of his guessed language and the bas relief and murals and frescoes recently discovered in Egypt.  Guessed.  Made up.

Of course, by the time the Rosetta Stone was discovered, the group was not going to let a little thing like facts get in the way of having fun.

Bullpucky.  Just like all the rest of them.

 

If you could find that book and title I would be interested.

I suppose the Google god could find some interesting facts.

Can you imagine that a historian would stress the importance of evidence when it comes to theories ? Wow. That might get in the way of people's fantasies.

 

TWD39 wrote:

Humans commiting genocide vs God commiting genocide (as a LAST resort which you refuse to acknowledge) are not on equal terms.

 

of moral inconsistency. The fact you can even make a statement like this shows you have serious empathy deficits. Have you ever tried to feel as another person might feel? Or is always and ever about you and your greed for eternal life. 

Vastet wrote:

You're officially the first theist I've ever seen reclassify the terminology of the 'great flood'.

Eh. No.

 

The Jews have always recognized the O T as myth with a message, not literally true.

 

Regards

DL

 

 

 

If real, it would not have needed a metaphore .

It would have been history.

Regards

DL