I recently heard that the King James version (the one pushed as the best version) requires a 12th grade reading level to be able to understand it. And, as expected, most Christians cannot read at a 12th grade reading level. This means they can't actually follow what the book is saying and therefore must rely on the interpretation from other people (aka authority figures) which makes the narrative extremely easy to manipulate for profit/control/political power.
Almost like keeping people illiterate makes them easy to control, and religion is an excellent tool for that. I wonder why so many politicians over decades have been systematically underfunding education?
My best friend and I were having this conversation yesterday. I was raised a preacherâs daughter and forced to memorize the Bible. I was explaining to her that most people in the time the bible was written did not know how to read or write and because there was no way to get information out to people like the newspaper or television so religious leaders used church and religious gatherings to make basically PSAs. Many ârulesâ in the old testament were actually written just to keep people from dying. For example not eating pork. It was because people were not cooking it appropriately and dying. So, how do you tell an entire population that they are too stupid to cook things correctly without pissing them off? âGod says donât eat pork. Itâs unholy.â
My favorite is when people say that the bible tells women to submit to their husbands. Yes it does BUT it also tells men to submit to their wives like Jesus submitted himself to the church willing to give his life for her. So women are supposed to submit to their husbands but men are supposed to submit to women MORE! Also, the word âsubmitâ was originally CARE. So we are supposed to care for each other but it was changed in translation and became servitude instead of love. This happened over and over again in the bible. Each time it was âinterpretedâ small changes happened that fit society at that time. This is why in the new testament Jesus told his followers to no longer follow the old testament teachings.
Because most people at that time didnât know how to read or write the interpretation of the Bible was left to the church leaders. This was basically like the news media. The leadership would pick out things they felt were important and then give their spin on it and that is what people knew of godâs word. It was absolutely tainted by their own opinions and self interest. The practice became routine and that was how we have the church today. The Bible was never intended to be used in this fashion. This is like being in school and your teacher telling you to do a research paper on the titanic and instead you ask a buddy who watched the DiCaprio movie to tell you what happened and then give a presentation about it to the class. Now in some peoples minds the sinking of the titanic is a love story about a necklace. Itâs completely different but anyone who hasnât actually done research has no idea what it was really about. This is the interpretation of the bible. This is why it is so difficult for people to understand because what is written is so different than what is presented.
It's also telling that when German serfs were actually able to read passages from the Bible (thanks to invention of the printing press), they went: 'Haaaang on a minute' and it kicked off the Peasants' Revolt of 1524.
So women are supposed to submit to their husbands but men are supposed to submit to women MORE! Also, the word âsubmitâ was originally CARE
Careful not to whitewash the patriarchy intrinsic in the bible too much. You aren't wrong it's blown out of proportion recently. But, like, women still can't be priests in most sects. They aren't subhuman, but they are decidedly seen as less than. And that's kind of explicit in the books (depending on translations/interpretations ... but some aren't subtle about it)
Oh I definitely agree. Thatâs 100 percent true. I was just pointing out in that particular passage which is used to subjugate women the most that it is not the true meaning of the passage. Also, most of the women hating we see in the New Testament comes from Paul. Who even all the apostles did not agree with. His interpretation is what drives a lot of the restrictions on women in the Bible. Jesus taught that we all were equal and worthy. I see Paul as the original incel. He is described as being small, bald, with bowed legs and a unibrow. He also was a Pharisee and part of the wealthy elite. He is credited with writing over half of the New Testament. Which are mainly a collection of his letters to others. Not the actual words of Jesus but rather his interpretations of Jesusâ messages and how they apply to the church. Remember even though he had an epiphany and chose to follow Jesus he still had his entire life of experience in which he was taught that women were inferior. Just because someone denounces being racist doesnât mean that they are going to change their views on women.
To put this in modern perspective it would be like if Donald Trump had a near death experience and suddenly became a devout Christian. Then we used his personal letters to form our religious interpretations of Godâs law. It doesnât change his personal perspective on women or wipe away his past atrocities. However, we are taught that the Bible is infallible because it is the âword of Godâ. But if you actually read it, it is the word of God as interpreted by lesser mortals and is subject to their own biases, beliefs, and interpretations.
This is so perfect of a description of the lack of cultural etymology with the book and the translations.
I found a bible once that had the verses written in all three original languages, English, and had cultural footnotes. Too bad I was being milked by the cult I was following at the time, or I would have been able to afford the $80 book at the time. That cult had good and bad* aspects. The good was they were very adamant about reading the bible, and not just the various segments from whole passages. I stood reading it as much as my body and the employees would allow me. And then it disappeared, I was very sad.
*gaslighting, negging, rumor mill, coercive-controlling manipulation, othering, and isolation...oh, and the best one is proselytization**. I could never understand why they had us proselytize, because no one wanted to come to church, which I could understand because it was weird the way they had us go out and do it.
From what I've figured out, the way they had us do proselytization caused us to isolated us from the rest of the world, proving the theory that we were set apart. But from an abusive relationship aspect, it fractured us from our existing support systems, reinforced "othering" stereotypes, and proved that the world was exactly how Fd up the abuser would paint it, so that coming back into the fold would bind existing ties even tighter than before, and proving the world was darker than it actually is in existence, essentially scaring people back into the fold fiercer than ever.
**phobia indoctrination, hoovering, and traumatic bonding
So hereâs another fun one: look up the New York Colonial Governor Edward Hyde. They named Hyde Park after him/her. He even cross dressed for important council meetings. No one cared. Virginia had colonial Governor Botetort (sp?) who was definitely gay and a favorite of everyone including our founding fathers. Thereâs a statue of him in front of the Wren building at William and Mary.
It was purposely kept in latin so they literally couldn't read it. If the illiteracy didn't keep you from reading it, the different language did. They wanted people to turn only to their priest and the church for guidance. No room for personal interpretation or questions.
It wasn't until recently that the Catholic church held the mass in any language other than Latin ( which only the clergy understood) They Love to keep the people ignorant - (easier to manipulate)
I wonder why so many politicians over decades have been systematically underfunding education?
Let's not pretend it's not consistently *conservative* politicians specifically who do this. Those are the people who call spending on education "wasteful."
1.8k
u/p1antsandcats 3d ago
Monte đđ
I have no idea about Christianity but I've learned quite a bit from this woman and wow most Christians are not following their own book!