Replies

Qu- Heretics (and others) were killed for their opposition to the Catholic Church ... not the bible.

Bb- Isn't the "The Church" largely based on "The Bible". Of course we would need to delineate which Church is based on which Bible.

Can any rational person believe that the Bible is anything but a human document?
We now know pretty well where the various books came from, and about when they were written. We know that they were written by human beings who had no knowledge of science, little knowledge of life, and were influenced by the barbarous morality of primitive times, and were grossly ignorant of most things that men know today. For instance, Genesis says that God made the earth, and he made the sun to light the day and the moon to light the night, and in one clause disposes of the stars by saying that "he made the stars also." This was plainly written by someone who had no conception of the stars. Man, by the aid of his telescope, has looked out into the heavens and found stars whose diameter is as great as the distance between the earth and the sun. We know that the universe is filled with stars and suns and planets and systems. Every new telescope looking further into the heavens only discovers more and more worlds and suns and systems in the endless reaches of space. The men who wrote Genesis believed, of course, that this tiny speck of mud that we call the earth was the center of the universe, the only world in space, and made for man, who was the only being worth considering. These men believed that the stars were only a little way above the earth, and were set in the firmament for man to look at, and for nothing else. Everyone today knows that this conception is not true.

Qu- It was through his reading of the bible that Luther was motivated to stand up against
the Catholic Church, ... thus beginning the Protestant Reformation.

Bb- Martin Luther certainly started to get the idea.

Qu- When government has been forced to make a choice between the bible and increased
power ... the bible has always been discarded.

Bb- I Think they've worked quite closely together for a long time.

Qu- Heretics (and others) were killed for their opposition to the Catholic Church ... not the bible.

Bb- Isn't the "The Church" largely based on "The Bible". Of course we would need to delineate which Church is based on which Bible.

That which has called itself the Church (at any given point in it's history) ... was supposed to be based on the Bible.

That all which has called itself the Church (at any given point in it's history) ... has been based upon the Bible ... is not the case.

Can any rational person believe that the Bible is anything but a human document?

We now know pretty well where the various books came from, and about when they were written. We know that they were written by human beings who had no knowledge of science, little knowledge of life, and were influenced by the barbarous morality of primitive times, and were grossly ignorant of most things that men know today. For instance, Genesis says that God made the earth, and he made the sun to light the day and the moon to light the night, and in one clause disposes of the stars by saying that "he made the stars also." This was plainly written by someone who had no conception of the stars. Man, by the aid of his telescope, has looked out into the heavens and found stars whose diameter is as great as the distance between the earth and the sun. We know that the universe is filled with stars and suns and planets and systems. Every new telescope looking further into the heavens only discovers more and more worlds and suns and systems in the endless reaches of space. The men who wrote Genesis believed, of course, that this tiny speck of mud that we call the earth was the center of the universe, the only world in space, and made for man, who was the only being worth considering. These men believed that the stars were only a little way above the earth, and were set in the firmament for man to look at, and for nothing else. Everyone today knows that this conception is not true.

I don't think taht anyone argues that the Bible is a scientific textbook ... that, simply, is not it's purpose.

I also think that it is significant that even modern humanity appreciates the moral teachings of Jesus as being, largely, unparallelled in human history.

The Bible was written for the understanding of the common man ... at whatever point in history that man is found.

We view the starry night sky with the same wonder as did the ancients. We may know a bit more about the reality ... but the wonder is still the same.

Qu- When government has been forced to make a choice between the bible and increased power ... the bible has always been discarded.

Bb- I Think they've worked quite closely together for a long time.

Perhaps you do.

Unfortunately though, ... you've no evidence for this.