🚀 go-pugleaf

Linda Fox wrote:
> On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:17:40 +0100, The Natural Philosopher <a@b.c>
> wrote:
> 
>> BuddyThunder wrote:
>>> Antares 531 wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:59:50 +1200, BuddyThunder
>>>> <nospam@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> rbwinn wrote:
>>>>>> On Jul 6, 12:57 am, BuddyThunder <nos...@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>>>>>>> rbwinn wrote:
>>>> (snip)
>>>>> The Bible was very accurately transcribed - for humans. They did an 
>>>>> amazing job. Not a perfect job, there are lots of differences between 
>>>>> the early versions we have, but not bad for a bunch of people.
>>>>>
>>>>> It's the content that I find even less reliable though, that's what I 
>>>>> was driving at, and I think you know that.
>>>>>
>>>>> Much reported as history in the Bible simply never happened. No 
>>>>> global flood, no special creation, no exodus...
>>>>>
>>>> Few of those Biblical stories are to be taken literally. Most are
>>>> allegory, parable, simile, etc., sometimes based upon an existing
>>>> legend. The purpose was to make it possible for a mostly illiterate
>>>> people to get the embedded meaning, retain the story, and pass it on
>>>> from generation to generation with little drift.
>>>>
>>>> The flood was probably based upon the ancient stories about the
>>>> flooding of the Mediterranean basin shortly after the last ice age
>>>> ended. The Strait of Gibraltar was breached as the Atlantic ocean
>>>> level raised. When this happened the whole Mediterranean basin was
>>>> flooded in a very short time...like 40 days and 40 nights. The relics
>>>> of those stone walls and buildings that were out in what is now the
>>>> Mediterranean are still available for divers to see.
>>>>
>>>> The main point I'm making is that we should not get hung up on the
>>>> literary form used in the Bible. We can read it and interpret it just
>>>> as effectively as those ancient people could. Neither of us has an
>>>> advantage over the other.   Gordon
>>> They can't sensibly be taken literally, as they apparently never 
>>> happened. I think you're right, these things were sometimes adapted from 
>>> existing legend, which all points to a concerted human authorship effort 
>>> rather than divine origins.
>>>
>>> The Bible presents these things as if they happened. Jesus was clear 
>>> when he was speaking in parables, why couldn't the OT be similarly 
>>> up-front? I'm unconvinced that we're meant to disbelieve in the story of 
>>> Noah. Why would the dimensions of the ark be given if it was a parable?
>>>
>>> Anyway, where do you draw the line between literal truth and "symbolic 
>>> allegory", or falsified story?
>>>
>> Variably and carefully?
>>
>>
>>> How do I know which bits really happened and which bits are fancy? If I 
>>> can't depend on all of it, how can I depend on any of it?
>> Well, by independent verification. Ocne you dethrone the Bible from The 
>> One True Book, to just A Very Old Book, and realise that largely the OT 
>> was in fact not written down for many many centuries of oral 
>> tradition..then all becomes much easier.
>>
>> Was there a Great Flood? It would seem likely that there have been more 
>> than one. Did Noah exist? probably. Did he get instructions from God as 
>> to how to build an ark and stock it with the world's animal population? 
>> of course not. That's a typical bit of religious propaganda added in 
>> much later.
>>
>> Consider, "In the days of Bush, there came a great retribution by the 
>> hand of the Almighty, and he smote down the twin towers of the latter 
>> day Sodom and Gomorrah, with two great birds of mighty pinions, and 
>> rained fire and destruction down upon the glodless and profane, in the 
>> city of Sin, dedicated to Mammon, known also as Newyorksittee: And the 
>> people cried out, some saying that this was the work of the New Satan, 
>> or Osamabinladen, whilst others cried that it was the Emperor Bush 
>> himself who had caused this, in order to raise more taxes  and throw 
>> down fire on his enemies. But the righteous rejoiced, for this confusion 
>> was foretold in the prophecies of Allah, and  only the righteous were 
>> left with manna from heaven (which they called Oyl) in the Holy lands, 
>> and so the destruction of the great Empire of the West began, and the 
>> righteous and devout in the Holy lands triumphed over all."
>>
>>
>> (The Gospel according to Muhmmamed Bin Wankin, written in 2050 after the 
>> Fall of the West).
> 
> NP, is that your own work? If so, <applause>
> 

All my own.
Remember when you had to have use of english A level to get to Uni?

> Linda ff