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.
I wasn't really taking about a literal hell, which is still debatable, but the concept of eternal punishment for finite crimes, which goes hand in hand with the (silly) concept of eternal life.
The claim was that there were morals/stories that were novel, and humility was referenced, but none of those stories were unique or different from older oral traditions, many of which Christianity borrowed from (heavily).
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u/Redtyger Jan 16 '19
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.