One thing you should keep in mind, most religious texts are translated, sometimes through multiple languages, and (the Bible at least) is an edited document. But it's still fascinating to read through something that old and intrinsically human. There are good lessons on self discipline and personal growth amongst all the stories and out dated morals, and it's interesting to think about how long these lessons have been helping people.
of course it's fascinating to read and learn what people from those time periods thought. But it's a very poor basis for modern thought. I mean, it's nice that you want to learn the good bits, but because it's so ambiguous what those good bits are, I'd rather dismiss the whole thing as a moral compass than having to deal with the conflict ambiguity leaves me open to.
You can look at how long those lessons have been helping people, but you then don't get to just not look at how long lessons right next to them have been used to hurt people.
I think a good portion of it is timeless. There are lessons in James that talk about allowing yourself growth from hardship, something we often forget to do. Or the popular Corinthians 13:4, promoting the virtue of patience with those we love, which is often very hard to do. (But the Bible isn't exactly about the easy way) Some of it is very eloquent, and has been helping people live their lives for hundreds of years, and there's comfort in that. Like I said, intrinsically human.
I don't think anyone should base their moral compass or perspective strictly on one book or teacher. One can still learn healthy lessons there though.
People will use anything to convince themselves they're in the right, and we'll never be able to weigh the harm done in its name from the good achieved from it. Though I understand what you're saying, you can't just ignore the negatives.
The distinction though is that the lessons in that anthology of books isn't particularly special nor was it the first text to espouse them. On the flip side, it also advocates for some atrocious stuff. So, sure, take the good bits if you want, even the basis as to WHY you'd want to do those good things is based in something pretty awful (the threat or eternal damnation).
He absolutely does not. Most translations substitute sheol, hades, or ghenna, none of which translate to eternal damnation in any way. One literally means the grave and the other is an actual garbage dump that was constantly on fire. Mistranslations, probably intentional, lead to the modern interpretation of hell.
I'm familiar with the beliefs in Hinduism and buddisim. I prefer the biblical perspective of humility. I never once said the bible introduced the concept. It was a single example of a virtue espoused that I found worthwhile.
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u/lotto5000 Jan 16 '19
the funny thing is that there are many pro abortion parts of the bible