Question:
Do theists ever look at the bible in the context of the time it was written?
anonymous
2009-08-04 13:13:56 UTC
For instance, people believed earth was the center of the universe because they didn't know any better. Since they didn't understand we we in fact extremely insignificant in comparison to the universe, we were god's favorite and made in god's image.

The Jews were shepards, farmers and the like. Hence all the references to jesus being a shepard leading the sheeple.

I can go on if you like, but most religions have gods that fit the time period and culture with which it sprung from.

What makes the bible any different? Please don't say "JESUS IS LORD THE BIBLE SAYS ITS TRUE" because if you do you're missing the point.
Eight answers:
anonymous
2009-08-04 13:22:51 UTC
Your clearly interpreting the bible without any understanding. Yes some of us have looked at the time-line and peoples understanding (be it limited).



The bible is posed over a 5000+ years of history and prophecy. Understanding of the word is a gift from God, not man. Many Christians can relate to the two separate sections in the bible, and make sense of the world as it stands today.
yrag
2009-08-04 20:23:36 UTC
i believe that the bible wasn't 100% written by god, but as you said was slightly influenced by the culture a the time



because it said that the world was created in 6 days and that isn't true.



but it did predict many historical events such as the holocaust and the birth of a jewish state etc



people these days either take the bible too literally eg creationists or not seriously enough eg the unitarians.



people need to find a middle ground if any sense is to be made out of the bible.
Demi
2009-08-04 20:27:36 UTC
I really truly doubt most even have taken the time to educate themselves about the geopolitical climate and socio-economics of the times. And of course all faiths tend to be cultural. The deities address region-specific issues. That's why I usually refer to the Abrahamic faiths as worshippers of "the desert deity".



I'm Scandinavian. I've spent most of my life up to my eyeballs in snow and a lot of that in gloomy natural "lighting" as we lived in the Northern part of Norway. So I'm going to follow a younger, desert deity? That makes no sense to me culturally or spiritually. That would be like me asking a Bedouin to follow Skadi, Goddess of skiing, death and winter snow.



I truly don't understand what drives people to follow a deity that is foreign to their culture other than a lack of a distinct cultural identity of their very own. I'm not saying they *shouldn't* or *can't* - that would be rude of me. I simply don't understand *why* some people do and why they expect others to do the same. If they do feel driven to such things, then they should at least educate themselves so they have a better understanding of *why* those rules were put into place and determine if they even apply to them in this day and age. Most of the time - they don't.
Knowledge + Application = Wisdom
2009-08-04 20:26:13 UTC
Whell first yo would have to study the Bible objectively and without prejudice and see for your self the wisdom in it.



For example, consider these two things:

__________________________________________________________

What Is the Shape of the Earth?



That question has intrigued humans for thousands of years. The general view in ancient times was that the earth was flat. The Babylonians, for example, believed that the universe was a box or a chamber with the earth as its floor. Vedic priests of India imagined that the earth was flat and that only one side of it was inhabited. A primitive tribe in Asia pictured the earth as a huge tea tray.



As early as the sixth century B.C.E., Greek philosopher Pythagoras theorized that since the moon and the sun are spherical, the earth must also be a sphere. Aristotle (fourth century B.C.E.) later agreed, explaining that the sphericity of the earth is proved by lunar eclipses. The earth’s shadow on the moon is curved.



However, the notion of a flat earth (with only its upper side inhabited) did not disappear completely. Some could not accept the logical implication of a round earth—the concept of antipodes. Lactantius, Christian apologist of the fourth century C.E., ridiculed the very idea. He reasoned: “Is there any one so senseless as to believe that there are men whose footsteps are higher than their heads? . . . that the crops and trees grow downwards? that the rains, and snow, and hail fall upwards?”2



The concept of antipodes posed a dilemma for a few theologians. Certain theories held that if there were antipodeans, they could have no possible connection with known humans either because the sea was too wide to navigate or because an impassable torrid zone surrounded the equator. So where could any antipodeans have come from? Perplexed, some theologians preferred to believe that there could be no antipodeans, or even, as Lactantius argued, that the earth could not be a sphere in the first place!



Nonetheless, the concept of a spherical earth prevailed, and eventually it was widely accepted. Only with the dawn of the space age in the 20th century, however, has it been possible for humans to travel far enough into space to verify by direct observation that the earth is a globe.



And where did the Bible stand on this issue? In the eighth century B.C.E., when the prevailing view was that the earth was flat, centuries before Greek philosophers theorized that the earth likely was spherical, and thousands of years before humans saw the earth as a globe from space, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah stated with remarkable simplicity: “There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22) The Hebrew word chugh, here translated “circle,” may also be rendered “sphere.”3 Other Bible translations read, “the globe of the earth” (Douay Version) and “the round earth.”—Moffatt.

The Bible writer Isaiah avoided the common myths about the earth. Instead, he penned a statement that was not threatened by the advances of scientific discovery.



__________________________________________________________

What Holds Up the Earth?



In ancient times, humans were perplexed by other questions about the cosmos: What is the earth resting on? What holds up the sun, the moon, and the stars? They had no knowledge of the law of universal gravitation, formulated by Isaac Newton and published in 1687. The idea that heavenly bodies are, in effect, suspended in empty space upon nothing was unknown to them. Thus, their explanations often suggested that tangible objects or substances held the earth and other heavenly bodies aloft.



For example, one ancient theory, perhaps originated by people who lived on an island, was that the earth was surrounded by water and that it floated in these waters. The Hindus conceived that the earth had several foundations, one on top of the other. It rested on four elephants, the elephants stood on an enormous tortoise, the tortoise stood on an immense serpent, and the coiled serpent floated on universal waters. Empedocles, a Greek philosopher of the fifth century B.C.E., believed that the earth rested upon a whirlwind and that this whirlwind was the cause of the motion of the heavenly bodies.

Among the most influential views were those of Aristotle. Although he theorized that the earth is a sphere, he denied that it could ever hang in empty space. In his treatise On the Heavens, when refuting the notion that the earth rests on water, he said: “It is not the nature of water, any more than of earth, to stay in mid-air: it must have something to rest upon.”4 So, what does the earth “rest upon”? Aristotle taught that the sun, the moon, and the stars were attached to the surface of solid, transparent spheres. Sphere lay nestled within sphere, with the earth—immobile—at the center. As the spheres revolved within one another, the objects on them—the sun, the moon, and the planets—moved across the sky.



Aristotle’s explanation seemed logical.
anonymous
2009-08-04 20:20:38 UTC
Theists always say you're out of context. It's interesting however that prophets in the old testament that preached kill the infidels etc--existed in a time when kingdoms outside of israel were agressive and wanted to expand. When kingdoms neighboring israel were benign--the prophets took a lets all get along approach. If we take it in context what we see is --in the ancient world religion was power--a nationalist prophet gathered more power in the times when there was strife without (just like the fevor against japanese americans in ww2). When times were good-the prophets that preached lets get along--gathered more power. Wasn't about religion--it was about power.
A DRAGON
2009-08-04 20:20:16 UTC
Not all theists are driven by the Jewish or Christian bible.



What makes the Christian bible any different from any other Holy Book?
Kennedy
2009-08-04 20:20:49 UTC
Only if they don't agree with something, like women not being allowed to hold positions in church, or adulterers going to hell.
anonymous
2009-08-04 20:20:22 UTC
THAT IS BLASPHEMY!!! THE ETERNAL NEVER CHANGING GOD HAS NO TIME FOR ANY CONTEXT!!!!



If you have the patience of reading Numbers 5:11-31 with all the foot notes you will discover that Jesus’ Dad in the sky is in the BUSINESS of making life miserable for the ladies, especially any pregnant lady. The Jewish Bible writers developed the idea of using their God TO MAKE MONEY PERFORMING FORCED ABORTIONS!!! Christians reject the fact that God is decisively pro-abortion only because they were trained since childhood that “God is love!” This portion of Holy Scripture is so sickening that it is totally ignored and even rejected by fundamentalist Bible believing Christians! In essence, the wife of a jealous husband is FORCED BY LAW OF GOD “to appear before the LORD” and drink a full dose of a sickening concoction brewed by the priest, made of dirt taken from the soil around the altar of the LORD that is covered with all the blood, fat drippings and ashes of the thousands of animals that are being burned up in a “sweet smell pleasant to God” that will cause the “womb to swell and the thigh* (*fetus) to fall away”…



Numbers 5:22 (NIV) May this water that brings a curse enter your BODY SO THAT YOUR ABDOMEN SWELLS AND YOUR THIGH WASTES AWAY.

[fn5] Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”* (*Yeap! You better say it loud and clear so we can all hear ya!!!)

[fn5] or… BODY AND CAUSE YOU TO BE BARREN AND HAVE A MISCARRYING WOMB*

(*either one of the 2 translations is OK, it means TO ABORT! This sadistic Bible God is in the hurting of pregnant women, too)



If the woman is lucky to survive the noxious test without anything “falling away from her womb*” (*aborting) then she is innocent of “suspicion of adultery.” There is a good chance that the child may be born sick because of the toxic concoction, but the Priestly Bible writers didn’t take that into any consideration! If the pregnant woman aborts the fetus, the pregnant woman is stoned to death for adultery! This is the Holy Bible way of getting rid of any adulterous, or UNLUCKY wife! BTW… notice that you need to bring MONEY to the PRIEST every time that YOU WANT to perform this test on your wife! The Priestly Bible writers are promoting this test on your wife ANYTIME YOU FEEL JEALOUS! There is no limitation of any sort! NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE MEN ARE SUBJECT TO ANY ADULTERY “TEST!” (Lucky we! One is a JEW by birth ONLY if the mother is Jewish! You never know who the father can be!) In the Bible, JEALOUSY is a VALID REASON for a FORCED ABORTION! Saint Joseph should have taken his young “virgin” wife-to-be the Blessed Virgin Mary to have the JEALOUSY test done on her! The sucker didn’t do it and now the world is stuck with Christianity! No other Heathen God ever known is as sadistically oriented as the Bible God! Christians ought to be shocked to learn that God answers prayers requesting any forced abortion, IMMEDIATELY! But since Christians hardly read the Bible, they flush down the toilet anything that they hear that is detrimental to their faith, or current political platform. They are brainwashed to preserve their gullibility, aka faith “like a virgin unto Christ!” Spiritually speaking, of course!



Hosea 9:14-16 (NIV) Give them, O LORD— what will you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry* (*this is THE CLEAREST EXAMPLE OF FORCED ABORTION/MISCARRIAGE IMPOSED by the Clergy/Priests in the Bible stories, but today Christians ignore for political reasons! Their agenda is to sadistically hurt pregnant women in real need of an abortionThe Prophet Hosea is talking the Bible God into KILLING CHILDREN, AND GETTING UNSUSPECTING PREGNANT WOMEN TO ABORT! Christians and even the Pope totally ignore and don’t give a hoot about all the FORCED UNWANTED ABORTIONS on unsuspecting pregnant women that “God” does all the time in the Bible stories! The “GOD IS LOVE” bit is sheer religious hogwash of the most primitive sadistic sort that Christians still deep throat today like a charm!) and breasts that are dry. (…HOW EVIL MINDED CAN A PROPHET OF THE LOVING GOD BE? Yet, God rushes immediately to answer his prayer!!!) "Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I HATED them there* (*the Prophet Hosea and God go to the same bar, and they found out that they both HATE the same tribe in Israel, ESPECIALLY their babies and pregnant women! It is all throughout the Bible that Christians hate to read!). Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them* (*GOD won’t love them anymore for all of the most ridiculous reasons in the world!); all their leaders are rebellious. Ephraim is blighted, their root is withered. They yield no fruit. EVEN IF THEY BEAR CHILDREN* (*GOD ALWAYS TAKES IT ON THE INNOCENT CHILDREN AND THE PREGNANT WOMEN! The Bible writers knew how to “touch the heart” of religious people!) I WILL SLAY THEIR CHERISHED OFFSPRING."



The Christian ANTI-ABORTION politics is based on some oddball verses in the Bible, because they believe that with “MUCH SUFFERING” they must go to Heaven, regardless of any adverse effect on the health of any pregnant woman (I Tim 2:14-15)! The Bible and Church dogmas are so full of Holy crap that it is no joke! Christians are imposing their misguided and in some cases sadistic “pro-life” views on the rest of the non-religious population just to fulfill a religious satisfaction imposed on them by the preachers who know how to handle the Bible, like a “2-edged sword,” spiritually speaking, of course!



Under God’s Law the parents of the bride must ALWAYS keep at hand the last period tampon (or "cloth") especially on the wedding day, otherwise the wedding party might turn into a PREGNANT BRIDE stoning party! The Blessed Virgin Mary was VERY LUCKY that Saint Joseph was such a good sucker to her!



Deuteronomy 22:20-21 (NIV) If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found* (*It was obvious that the “Virgin” Mary was pregnant!), she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you* (*In so many areas Christianity turned out to be quite a noxious evil in our society! Some Christian fanatics are determined to make life miserable for the rest of us in spite of what it is written in the Bible!).



Preachers won’t tell you this much because they know what to skim off the Bible for you so your faithful giving to The LORD won’t waiver! Regardless of what the Bible says, most Christians are brainwashed to blindly obey “them that have the rule” over them!



Deuteronomy 17:12-13 (NIV) The man who shows contempt for the judge or for the PRIEST who stands ministering there to the Lord your God MUST BE PUT TO DEATH! You must purge the evil from Israel* (*it is an EVIL worthy of death in the eyes of this Bible God to question the priest/preacher authority!). ALL THE PEOPLE WILL HEAR AND BE AFRAID, AND WILL NOT BE CONTEMPTUOUS AGAIN* (*a bit of Holy Mafia talk ought to teach any Christian moron a lesson -Rom 15:4 !).



Luke 16:17 (NIV) (Jesus said) It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law* (*more Mafia talk).


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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