Tag: Religion

Reading the Bible as Literature

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constellation-3301781 https://pixabay.com/images/id-3301781/

My esteem for the text which we call “Holy Bible” is as high as my regard for literature, art, poetry, and music. Those things which convey a certain truth, beauty, and wisdom in a way that causes the need to turn inward and consider what is being presented. Hold Literature in High Esteem I often encounter something that is along the lines of claiming that if the Bible is not literal and historical, then it’s “just” another book. This is where my issue is. Why is there such a low view by Biblical literalists for literature? Why is there such a dim view of writings that self acknowledge as being metaphorical, allegorical, fictional, or opinion? I frequently notice statements that seem to imply that those who wrote the text were ignorant, and did not know how to properly explain things without attributing the unknown to supernatural phenomena. I suggest that… Read moreReading the Bible as Literature

What Makes a Functional Society?

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Moses Sculpture from GoranH on Pixabay https://pixabay.com/images/id-4226960/

​”God is the abstraction of an idea by which we orient ourselves to create a functional society.” * Dr. Michael W. Jones If we accept this definition of God, even if only for the purpose of the intellectual exercise of it, then God is the abstraction of an idea, as opposed to an objective ontological singularity, meaning God is simply whatever idea you have abstracted. To simplify, God is the representation of the idea, and the idea is one “towards which we orient ourselves to create a functional society.” So the question is, what is the idea towards which we orient ourselves to create a functional society? The point of this exercise is to ask, What idea do we have that we think is the thing that creates a functional society? Law Orientation If we orient ourselves towards law, and the enforcement of the law as a means to create a… Read moreWhat Makes a Functional Society?

Matthew 11:28-30 Misread

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Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you new rules to follow, which depending upon your denomination may be easier or more difficult to keep than the law of Moses. 29 take my yoke upon you, and work for me; for I am demanding and lacking in heart: and you shall find escape from eternal conscious torment after you die for your souls. 30 for my yoke is unremovable, and my burden is yours.